Two Buchholz students win Congressional App Challenge for 3rd Congressional District

Press release from Congresswoman Kat Cammack
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Rep. Kat Cammack named Aliana Chen and Jolie Huang of Buchholz High School as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Florida’s Third Congressional District. Their app CritiCare spreads awareness of endangered species and works to protect them through conservation and fundraising efforts.Â
“Congratulations to these young women for their outstanding work as part of this year’s Congressional App Challenge,” said Rep. Kat Cammack. “We are always excited to see the work submitted by students across North Central Florida and look forward to displaying this app in the Capitol next year.”
When asked what inspired the creation of CritiCare, the students said, “Our app motivates people to support the conservation of endangered species by spreading awareness and encouraging donations. Each animal featured in our app is accompanied by an information paragraph, providing users with valuable information ranging from their population, habitat, and threats they may face. In addition to raising awareness and knowledge, our app takes conservation support to a tangible level. It offers a wide array of animal-themed products, ranging from soft plushies to adorable hair clips. Each purchase made through the app contributes directly to the preservation and protection of the chosen animal.”
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. 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. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
Winning apps from congressional districts across the country will be displayed in the Capitol in 2024. Learn more about the Congressional App Challenge here.
Great job, BHS students!
It is terrific to hear that young scholars in our town are accomplishing great things. Congratulations!