William’s Penn wins Rep. Lloyd Smucker’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Pennsylvania’s 11th District
Rep. Smucker has named Jenna Tracey of Red Lion Area School District, Kelechi Okereh of Red Lion Christian School, Chance Keithan of Red Lion High School, and Bannon Green of Red Lion Middle School as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Pennsylvania’s 11th District.
When asked what inspired the creation of William’s Penn, the students said, “Our inspiration for the app came from the lack of our community connections. We wanted to make a way for people to share and ask questions with their fellow neighbors and community mates outside of traditional social media. Much like William Penn whose Quaker beliefs encouraged unity, we hope our app will do the same. ”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival.