McCollum Announces Winners of 2022 Congressional App Challenge

On Monday, Congresswoman Betty McCollum (MN-04) held a virtual event to congratulate Coolsjes and Riddhi Singhvi of Stillwater, Minnesota, for winning the 2022 Fourth Congressional District App Challenge. Their app, Smart Planner, was chosen by a panel of judges from the Fourth Congressional District. Designed to help users create and implement SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals, the app allows users to track their progress through goal milestones, set reminders, schedule evaluations from mentors, and integrate rewards for achieving a goal.

Coolsjes and Riddhi were inspired to create Smart Planner to give students a free resource to help them make the most of their education and plan for their future. As the winners of this year's competition, Coolsjes and Riddhi will have the opportunity to visit Washington D.C. for the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception, and to have their entry featured in a display at the U.S. Capitol.

During the virtual event, Congresswoman McCollum also congratulated the second and third place winners of the App Challenge:

Anna Baldauff, Tia Cyriac, Katherine Lengyel, and Alexa McKusick from Mahtomedi High School took second place with their app, Diversifi, which allows users to assess the gender equity of a public company's leadership; John Liu from Mounds View High School took third place with his app, MiniTax, an educational app to help teens or first-time taxpayers understand the importance and function of taxes in our society.

"It is a pleasure to congratulate Coolsjes and Riddhi Singhvi as the winners of the 2022 Fourth Congressional District App Challenge, and recognize the other finalists," Congresswoman McCollum said. "This was the most competitive year yet, and my office and our panel of judges were blown away with the creativity and quality of entries! Students in Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District excel in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM), and that was apparent when viewing their impressive submissions. All students who entered should be extremely proud of their creativity and hard work. It is exciting to host this competition to foster the next generation of technology superstars."

Judges for this year's competition were Ted Kozlowski and Eric Ebbesen. Ted Kozlowski is the Mayor of the City of Stillwater and founder and president of the DemandQuest Marketing Institute. A Silicon Valley veteran, Kozlowski is a seasoned technology sales and marketing executive. Eric Ebbesen is a brigade captain for Open Twin Cities, a local organization fostering an inclusive community of civic collaboration and championing open government and civic technology for positive social impact and civic engagement.

The Congressional App Challenge is a nationwide STEAM competition where students create an application or "app" for desktop/PC, web, tablet, mobile, or other devices. Fourth Congressional District middle and high school students are encouraged to enter next year's competition by submitting an app of their own creation by late October 2023.

Students and teachers can find more information about the competition at mccollum.house.gov.

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