Rep. Mike Levin Announces Winner of 2023 Congressional App Challenge
Rep. Mike Levin with the Winners of the Congressional App Challenge
Oceanside, CA – Today, Rep. Mike Levin (CA-49) announced Zonglin Zhang, Jingwen Mao, Liam Dowd, and Chongda You are the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge for California’s 49th Congressional District. The local high school students created Ember, an iOS app that makes the world a safer place for teenagers facing mental health challenges. The students were inspired to create Ember in response to the rise in depression and suicide they have witnessed amongst their peers.
“I was blown away by the level of creativity and skill shown by all the students who entered this year’s Congressional App Challenge,” said Rep. Levin. “Congratulations to this year’s winners for creating Ember, a phone app that will support students facing mental health challenges by providing them with a safe space to receive help. The winners’ commitment to serving their peers is admirable and reminds us of the importance of prioritizing mental health and self-care.”
The Congressional App Challenge launched in 2015 as an effort to promote Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education, and to encourage students to learn coding and computer science skills. Students in participating congressional districts compete against their peers by creating original software applications. Winning apps are featured on the U.S. House of Representatives’ website and the Congressional App Challenge’s website, and are also displayed in an exhibit in the U.S. Capitol Building.
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