Te’Jean Florestal of Atlantic City, a 10th grader at the Atlantic County Institute of Technology, is the winner of the Congressional App Challenge for NJ District 2.
By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jeff Van Drew announced in a press release Tuesday that Te’Jean Florestal of Atlantic City, a 10th grader at Atlantic County Institute of Technology, is the winner of the 2021 Congressional App Challenge for the 2nd Congressional District of New Jersey.
The App Challenge asked local middle and high school students to submit a developed computer application. The apps are judged based on impact, structure, function, technical capability of coding, and innovation.
Florestal’s app helps users calculate equations and convert metric and imperial units. It can convert temperature, time, length, mass and volume. It is specifically designed with students as the target audience to aid them in their schoolwork. The app speeds up the task of converting mathematical units, which is useful not only to students, but also to professionals. Florestal coded his app, called “Mr. Homework-Helper,” using JavaScript.
“I was inspired by other tools online like ‘Photo-Math’ that also help students with their schoolwork,” Florestal said when asked what inspired him to create the app. “Our teachers said apps that are useful usually win, so I created the Mr. Homework-Helper.”
Florestal said all the students in his class were encouraged to create an app, and his app was selected for submission to the App Challenge.
“I was very happy and grateful to be recognized,” he said.
It took him about a month to code the app.
“I came to ACIT because they teach coding here,” he said, noting that he will most likely go to college and seek a career in computer sciences.
“I am very impressed with all of the app submissions this year and the ideas and innovation that went into their creation,” Van Drew said in his release. “It is apparent through Te’Jean’s app, Mr. Homework Helper, that he put in a lot of time and effort to create a tool for students to assist them with their schoolwork.”
ACIT Principal Joseph Potkay said the app will be helpful to students.
“It’s neat what he did with it,” Potkay said. “Our IT Department has a lot of brilliant minds. The App Challenge is a great way to showcase what our students can do.”
The 2021 Congressional App Challenge yielded 2,101 fully functioning apps. After 18 months of disruptions, the Congressional App Challenge came roaring back with 7,174 students registering for the 2021 competition. All told, 340 members of Congress hosted Congressional App Challenges in their districts across 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, Mariana Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages students to learn to code and pursue careers in computer science.
The 2022 Congressional App Challenge will launch in June of 2022, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.
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