Congressional STEM Competition

It's my pleasure to announce the Congressional App Challenge winners from W.F. Kaynor Technical High School in Waterbury, CT. As a cofounder of the competition, I'm excited by this opportunity for high school students to compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty with winners Veronika Cordero, Matthew Jones, Raul Calderon, and Joseph Grenier

I visited a 10th grade shop class at Kaynor Tech on Dec. 9, 2016, to surprise students Raul Calderon, Joseph Grenier, Veronika Cordero, and Matthew Jones with the announcement of their winning submission to the 2016 Congressional App Challenge for the 5th Congressional District of Connecticut.

The winning app called “Unmutable,” aims to give someone a voice and creates opportunities for those that are nonverbal to be involved in conversations. The app is designed to ensure that everyone can communicate, even if you're unable to speak.

Their work will be featured for one year on the permanent display in the U.S. Capitol Building, and on the House.gov website. Winning students will also be awarded a portion of $50,000 in credits, generously donated by Amazon Web Services.

Over the last four months thousands of students coded original apps as part of the district-wide competition hosted by Members of the House. Over 2,150 students from 123 participating districts participated.

If you are interested in getting involved as a partner, or in sponsoring the 2018 Congressional App Challenge, please contact Executive Director, Rhianon Anderson at randerson@congressionalappchallenge.us.

The 2018 Congressional App Challenge will be announced in the early spring.  You may contact Xholina Nano, District Aide, in the Office of Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, at Xholina.Nano@mail.house.gov for any general questions about the upcoming Challenge.