MHS team wins Congressional App Challenge

Julia Malate, Nan Xie, and Grace Zhang of Marianas High School are the winners of the fourth annual Northern Mariana Islands Congressional App Challenge. (Contributed Photo)

WASHINGTON, D.C. —Julia Malate, Nan Xie, and Grace Zhang of Marianas High School are the winners of the fourth annual Northern Mariana Islands Congressional App Challenge.

The Marianas High School students scored the top rank over 16 other submissions from schools in the Northern Marianas.

“This year’s competition received the largest number of submissions since the Northern Marianas App Challenge began in 2014,” said Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP). “Every submission we received showed the students’ dedication to learning how to code, and how to express their ideas through tech. ”

Judges for this year’s app challenge were three computer science professionals: Hansel Lynn, CEO of theCoderSchool in Palo Alto, California; Bradley Hontz, computer science educator at Girl Scouts of Orange County; and Ti-Fen Pan, software engineer at San Francisco-based company, Kiddom. Judges were recommended by the national coordinators of the App Challenge.

Malate, Xie, and Zhang’s app is called “SPA (Summer Program Application),” a mobile app with the purpose of helping high school students learn and research pre-college summer programs in the United States with ease and convenience.

As the Northern Marianas’ winning team, the team will receive national recognition and have their work eligible for display at the U.S. Capitol. They will also be invited to attend the House of Code reception in Washington, D.C., happening next spring, where they will have the opportunity to meet fellow coders nationwide and be honored for their work.

This year’s honorable mentions are both from Mount Carmel School. Coming in second place is “Saipan Spots,” a map app with lists and markers of key locations on Saipan, by Vincent Reyes. Third place is “Saipan Health and Nutrition,” an informational health app that incorporates a water intake tracker, by Danielle Jaden Yamagata-Santos and Kalea Borja.

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual competition open to middle school and high school students to encourage and inspire students to actively be involved in STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) learning and innovation. Apps can be submitted for any platform, such as Web browsers, smartphones, computers, or tablets. Next year’s app challenge will commence in late summer 2020. (PR)