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Congresswoman Veronica Escobar Announces 2019 Congressional App Challenge Winners

“Congratulations to D’Andre and Daniel from Parkland Middle School. Their winning app to pre-order school meals with just a few taps allows students to get their lunch quicker and helps schools with food preparation and reduce waste,” said Congresswoman Escobar. “I commend them and all the talented El Paso coders who submitted such innovative and creative apps and thank their families and educators for sparking student’s curiosity in STEM.”

Today, Congresswoman Veronica Escobar (TX-16) announced the winners of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge: Parkland Middle School students D’Andre Ramirez and Daniel Avalos, who won with the submission of LunchWeek.

“Congratulations to D’Andre and Daniel from Parkland Middle School. Their winning app to pre-order school meals with just a few taps allows students to get their lunch quicker and helps schools with food preparation and reduce waste,” said Congresswoman Escobar. “I commend them and all the talented El Paso coders who submitted such innovative and creative apps and thank their families and educators for sparking student’s curiosity in STEM.”

Officially launched by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, this nationwide competition encourages middle and high school students to learn how to code by creating their own applications. The App Challenge is intended to highlight the value of computer science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education.

Applicants competed to win prizes, including a $250 Amazon Web Services credit that can be used toward the cost of hosting their app, and to have their work displayed in the Capitol Building and featured on the House of Representatives’ website, House.gov.

D’Andre and Daniel, alongside winners from across the country, will be recognized by Congresswoman Escobar during her January town hall meeting and will attend the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception in Washington D.C., where they will demonstrate their app to Members of Congress and staff.

Congresswoman Escobar received a total of 32 submissions from students across five middle and high schools within Texas’ 16th Congressional District.

Below are the full results of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge:

1st Place: LunchWeek by Daniel Avalos and D'Andre Ramirez. 7th Grade at Parkland Middle School

2nd Place: Blued-Away by Gustavo Ramirez, Dennis Carroll, Enrique Bermudez, and Juan Carlos Gallegos. 12th Grade Americas High School

3rd Place: Benji’s Adventure by Lianna Estrada, Alondra Baquier, and Kamilla Madera. 11th Grade Northwest Early College High School

More information on the Congressional App Challenge can be found here.

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