Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today announced the winners of this year’s New Jersey Fourth Congressional District Congressional App Challenge (CAC), part of a nationwide competition for middle and high school students to showcase their software app-developing skills and teamwork.  The winning app, CollabraCart, was designed by Communications High School students Erin Hardiman of Spring Lake, Melody Lin of Freehold and Jacob Rosegarten of Morganville.

   “I am pleased to congratulate all the winning students at Communications High School,” said Rep. Smith. “The first place-winning app, ‘CollabraCart,’ is very timely in the COVID era in which we find ourselves. It can match people who are struggling to purchase groceries with individuals who are seeking to donate their time and/or money to help them.

   “During these unprecedented times when many of our fellow New Jerseyans are struggling to maintain their livelihood and feed their families, it was great to see Melody, Erin and Jacob work together and develop an App that will help others in our community.”

   At a user’s discretion, the service may stay anonymous, and people may opt to connect with another user through a "Friends" feature. All money donated would be used for the payment of somebody's groceries.

   Timed to coincide with Computer Science Education Week (CSEdWeek), December 7-13, 2020, Smith said this year’s contest drew entries from Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

   Twenty-nine students participated in teams and as individuals to design nine apps. Communications High School, a Monmouth County Vocational School District career academy located in Wall Township, swept all three top spots.

   The second-place app is “Green Garden,” designed by Brigid McCarthy of Manasquan, Abi Cohen of Marlboro, Rina Peshori of Holmdel, who all worked to aid the conservation of at-risk insect species through technology and engagement of an audience with a unique potential to create change. The app serves a dual purpose of education and entertainment. Users take care of and grow their own virtual garden while learning how these efforts, when applied to real life,  have the potential to help insect populations.      

Third-place finisher, “Roomiez,” was designed by Nate Riehl of Manasquan, Ava Turner of Middletown, and Jake Polvino of Tinton Falls. Roomiez is an app that helps college students find roommates. The app prompts a user seeking a compatible roommate with multiple choice questions and the ability to select interest tags in various categories. The app saves the answers from each user and will only display other users with similar interests, sorting by the closest match first.

ABOUT THE JUDGES—Rep. Smith expressed appreciation and commended his panel of expert judges who scored the apps saying, “Thank you to the highly specialized tech-savvy judges for their time and commitment to this competition. It wouldn’t be possible without them.”

   The three-member panel of high-tech professionals from the district who volunteered as judges were:  Debbie Smith (no relation to the Congressman) of Jackson, the Director of Administration/Director of Information Technology for the Office of the Standing Chapter 13 Trustee; Vincent DeTommaso of Holmdel, an app designer for Viacom, and; Stadi Sinclair, Managing Member of Code Ninjas in Red Bank.

   Said Judge Sinclair of CollabraCart: “The technical demo showing the app functionality was very clear. Beyond the current crisis this app can be used in communities worldwide to help those who are struggling.”

ABOUT THE CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE—This is Rep. Smith’s fifth year participating in the Congressional App Challenge, which Congress created in 2014 to encourage students to work with their peers to develop computer coding and software application skills. The challenge was created to foster STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) among young students and emphasize their importance for the future especially in areas of the economy like cybersecurity, intellectual property, and the app economy.

   The highest scoring app from each Congressional District is eligible to be displayed in the US Capitol Building and featured on the House of Representatives’ website, www.house.gov. Due to COVID-19, this year the wi8nning students will be invited to a virtual #HouseOfCode Festival Capitol Hill Reception in the spring, and the winning app receives $75 of credit from Southwest Airlines. The contest is sponsored nationally by the Internet Education Foundation, and 303 members of Congress made the Challenge available in their districts this year.

   This year’s competition was the largest yet, with more students eligible to participate than ever before. The 303 participating Members of Congress represent over two-thirds of Americans, providing inspiration to students in all corners of the nation. The over 6,000 students registered for this year’s competition represent the second largest total in the program’s history.

   Students are permitted to create an app on any topic using any coding language or platform. This encourages students to harness creativity to address issues in their own communities. This year, over half of the CAC entries directly or indirectly address issues caused by COVID-19. Over 91 percent of students report that they intend to continue coding and 95 percent say they’re more likely to pursue a career in STEM after participating in the CAC.

   Middle and high school students from Smith’s Fourth Congressional District interested in participating in next year’s contest may contact Smith’s Freehold office at 732-780-3035 and visit www.congressionalappchallenge.us

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