Congressional App Challenge

Here is a timeline of the app challenge:

• October 28: Congressional Offices can begin judging and submitting their winner. 
• November 22: The judging period concludes.
• December 31: Last day for Congressional offices to notify applicants of their status and announce their winner
• January 15, 2025: The Congressional App Challenge website will be updated with winners.
• Spring 2025: #HouseOfCode 2025! This annual event, held at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., will honor the winners from each Congressional district. Winners will have the opportunity to display their app and hear from Members of Congress.

1^st Place: Faizaan Siddique - Conestoga High School (App: TruckPark PA)

• TruckPark PA, aims to resolve the truck parking problem by creating an attractive easy-to-use interface that documents real-time parking information about truck stops. The app is the extension of Faizaan's year-long project supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) surrounding the construction of novel truck stops called “oases” across the state. An oasis offers valuable facilities beyond the bathrooms, vending machines, and food present at traditional rest stops: amenities would include showers, exercise centers, and health screening centers for improving often-neglected truck driver hygiene, health, and well-being.

2^nd Place: Ishan Voleti - Great Valley High School, Prajith Kattamuri, Amrith Pusala, Saharsha Navani - Downingtown STEM Academy (App: Legal Lens)

• Legal Lens, is a cutting-edge solution designed to simplify complex legal documents and enhance user comprehension. Leveraging advanced Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques and chatbot technology, Legal Lens takes intricate legal texts provided by the user and assigns Lexile levels based on their complexity. Then, it skillfully breaks down the most complex sections of the document and elaborates on them, making the content more accessible and understandable. In essence, Legal Lens transforms convoluted legal documents into simplified versions while providing detailed explanations, ensuring users can grasp the full extent of the original content. This app is a game changer for individuals seeking clarity and insight into legal documents, bridging the gap between complex legal jargon and comprehensive understanding.

3^rd Place: Rohan Anne, Meghanadh Vasireddy, Asish Nakka, Hanyang Liu - Conestoga High School (App: iVolunteer)

• iVolunteer is an app the group created to motivate young people to find and sign up for local volunteer opportunities that match their interests and schedule. In this app, users will be able to access and view a large map of their surroundings and look for volunteer events nearby. These locations with volunteer events will also include a detailed description and informational section about each volunteer event. Additionally, the app also allows viewers in another tab to view a full list of either events that are available to them to register for, events that they have already registered for, or events that they have created. The app creates a form in another tab that allows users to create their own volunteer events and publish them on both the map and list of events. Finally, the app offers a profile page and multiple customization options for the user themselves, such as changing the skin of their character.

Thank you to everyone for participating.