McGovern Announces 2020 Congressional App Challenge Winners

Washington, December 23, 2020

WORCESTER, MASS. – Today, Congressman James P. McGovern (MA-02) announced the winners of the 2020 Congressional App Challenge from Massachusetts’ Second Congressional District: Mahathi Gopinathan and Helen Liu. Both students attend Shrewsbury High School.

Their app, The Kindness Calendar, assigns users one kind thing to do on a daily basis. The coronavirus pandemic has negatively impacted the mental health of millions of Americans. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 53% of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus. Mahathi and Helen created The Kindness Calendar in hopes of increasing positivity in others’ lives.

“I am excited to congratulate Mahathi and Helen on their exceptional app.” said Congressman McGovern. “During these trying times, it is encouraging to see younger generations continue finding innovative ways to care for others. Programs like the Congressional App Challenge help today’s students develop the skills they need to become the inventors and leaders our country needs now more than ever.”

BACKGROUND ON THE CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE:

The Congressional App Challenge highlights the value of computer science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education and encourages students to engage in these fields. By recognizing our nation’s young programming talent, Congress hopes to shine a light on the growing importance of these skills.

The Challenge is open to all U.S. high school students in participating districts. Challenge participants are invited, either as individuals or as teams of up to four, to create and submit their own software application (“app”) for mobile, tablet, or other computing devices on a platform of their choice. A panel of local computer science professionals and congressional representatives will judge the apps, and the winners in each district will have the honor of being recognized by their Congressional representative.

The Challenge is coordinated by the Congressional Internet Caucus and the non-governmental sponsor of the project, the Internet Education Foundation. Click here to read more about the Congressional App Challenge