Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) today announced the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for the Fourth District of New Jersey.

           The annual competition hosted by Smith is aimed at promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills among middle and high school students.

           “Congratulations to Katrina Migliore, Ahren Gaikwad, and Cameron Mock from Communications High School in Wall Township for winning this year’s competition with their app “Eco-Scan,” said Smith.  

           The winning team was selected by a panel of judges that evaluated the app submissions from high schools across the Fourth Congressional District.

           “As the panel of judges noted, their innovative app combines convenience with education to help inform and encourage users to recycle,” Smith said. “By simply scanning a barcode or searching in the app, users instantly have access to a ton of information about how to properly dispose of a particular item to help them make informed decisions when discarding products.”

           Migliore, Gaikwad, and Mock shared that their inspiration behind developing the app stemmed from their experience with improper product disposal when trying to perform environmentally healthy tasks at home. The three Communications High School seniors pointed out that recycling contaminated products can exacerbate the problem by adding more infected recycling batches to landfills.

           The Congressional App Challenge—simultaneously held in multiple congressional districts across the United States—is intended for students to showcase their software app-developing skills as part of a nationwide competition administered by Members of Congress. Established in 2014, the challenge has become the largest student computer science competition in the world.

           Middle and high school students from the Fourth Congressional District who are interested in participating in next year’s contest should contact Congressman Smith’s Toms River Office at 732-504-0567 or Middletown Office at 732-780-3035.

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