Press Releases

Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) announced Kennesaw Mountain High School student Ryan Cobelli and Wheeler High School student Arvin Poddar as the winners of the 2017 Congressional App Challenge for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District for the second year.

Teammates Ryan Cobelli and Arvin Poddar (pictured) created a specially designed app called Legacy Park – an app aimed at closing the communications gap between Homeowners Associations (HOA) and the neighborhoods they serve. It allows the HOA to instantly send out notifications and surveys to subsets of the community, allowing residents to stay up-to-date with information that applies directly to them without receiving unnecessary content.

As the winning app from Georgia’s 11th District, Legacy Park App will be featured on CongressionalAppChallenge.us and exhibited on a digital display at the U.S. Capitol.

“As our world is becoming increasingly dominated by technology, the future of those going into STEM-based fields is bright,” said Rep. Loudermilk. “Georgia students who participated in this challenge showed extraordinary talent in their coding abilities, and I am inspired by their creativity.”

Kennesaw Mountain High School Principal Dr. Mark Trachtenbroit said, “STEM education is essential, and I am impressed by the achievements of Ryan and Arvin. In developing beneficial Apps, and by winning the Congressional App Challenge for a second consecutive year, Ryan and Arvin demonstrate evidence of scientific literacy and an appreciation of the world they live in. This is important because it is imperative that students develop STEM skills and scientific literacy to be competitive in the 21st century workplace.”

The Congressional App Challenge Executive Director Rhianon Anderson said, "Coding and computer science are the skills of our economic future - and every child deserves the chance to participate in that future. We're grateful for Rep. Loudermilk’s participation in the Challenge and his efforts to encourage students to learn how to code. Arvin and Ryan's fantastic work shows just how much potential Georgia's students have, when they're given the opportunity to show it."

The Congressional App Challenge is designed to engage student creativity and encourage participation in STEM-based education fields. Established by members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, this competition is part of a nationwide event that allows high school students from across the country to compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or app, for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on the platform of their choice.

Apps were judged based on the following criteria: quality of idea, including creativity and originality; implementation of the idea, including user experience and design; and demonstrated excellence of coding and programming skills.

Legacy Park App, the winning app for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District, can be viewed here.