The Congressional App Challenge has announced the winners of the 5th congressional district, all of which are students who attend Eleanor Roosevelt. The first place winner is junior Alex Lugo, and tied for second place are sophomore Nicole Balay, junior Jasmine Brunson, and senior Fernanda Jimenez. Lugo’s app, entitled “Little Elf”, will be on video display at the U.S. Capitol the following year. Congressman Steny Hoyer presented the winners with certificates in honor of their hard work,in which students honed the skills applicable to creating computer applications by using complicated algorithms, or “codes.”

The Congressional App Challenge was sponsored by Congress to help inspire students to learn how to code and program computers, and get students interested in computer science. According to executive director Rhianon Anderson, there are “three overarching goals” of the App challenge. The first goal is to “engage kids in coding and computer science,” she states. The skills that come with coding and programing a computer is necessary for the jobs of the future, especially with the increasing demand for IT and computer engineering careers in the workforce.

“There’s going to be a million jobs that are going to be unfulfilled by 2020,” states Congressional Affairs Director Melissa Medina, “and the value of the App Challenge is to help fill that need.”

“Obviously coding and technology is everywhere now, so it would be really helpful if everyone knew some basic ways to code and to get around computers,” states Balay.

The second goal is to “get kids to learn how to code in a way that acknowledges the entrenched disparities that exists within the tech community,” Ms. Anderson said. According to the National Science Foundation, although Blacks and Hispanics make up 23 percent of the U.S. population, only 6 percent make up the total science and engineering force. Furthermore, areas of science such as “computer science, physics, and engineering are overwhelmingly male,” says pbs.org. “We work very hard to make sure we’re inclusive,” explains Ms. Anderson. “[We] make sure we’re reaching out to young women, young people of color, any group that is traditionally unrepresented in the tech community.

The third goal is to educate the members of Congress on the importance of introducing students to the field of computer science. Congressman Hoyer deems the ability to code as a “valuable” skill, due to an “increasing” computer-specialized workforce.

“We increasingly use computers, programmers, robotics to direct our manufacturing, direct our phones, direct our cars… they’re ubiquitous,” said Congressman Hoyer. “Our society has  increasingly, and very rapidly, become dependent on these electronic applications to run everything.”

“We use computers everywhere, and to be able to modify a program, to run a program, to create a program…is very powerful. Programming is actually a lot of fun as well,” says Cyril Pruszko, one of Roosevelt’s computer science teachers.  

Nowadays, some schools offer a computer science course to students as young as kindergartners. With the increased need for computer skills in almost every job field, many believe that it imperative that we set a strong basis for computer science for future generations to come. After all, “anybody can learn how to program,” says Mr. Pruszko.

Depending on the type of computer program being created, many applications require a minimum level of Algebra math.

“It’s a lot of math, but as long as you have a relatively decent foundation of math, you could probably learn how to code,” says Lugo.