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GUILDERLAND, NY — Congressman Paul D. Tonko visited Guilderland High School on Friday to recognize Atri Dey, Anthony Egan, and Joshua Ko, members of the winning team for the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for New York’s 20^th Congressional District. During the visit, Tonko delivered congratulatory remarks and presented each winning student with a Congressional Certificate of Achievement and a letter of recognition for their outstanding work.

“Each year, I am impressed anew by the talent and innovative spirit shown by our Capital Region students through their submissions for the Congressional App Challenge,” Congressman Tonko said. “This year was no exception. With their Polibite app, Atri, Anthony, and Joshua demonstrated not only their outstanding coding skills, but also a commendable dedication to helping their peers participate in the political process and stay informed on current events. I’m proud to welcome these students into the storied ranks of Capital Region innovators, and I’m grateful to Atri, Anthony, and Joshua for their hard work. Congratulations to all the students who participated in this year’s App Challenge!”

During the lead-up to last month’s elections, with many of their peers and classmates registering to vote for the first time, Atri, Anthony, and Joshua set out to create an app that would help people stay informed and engage in the political process. Their winning submission, Polibite, is a web app that aims to help users keep up with news on current legislation while also encouraging them to take political action. The app serves as a one-stop hub for users to get daily updates on Congressional activity, learn more about the lawmaking process, and register to vote. The winning students coded the website from scratch using a combination of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python coding languages.

You can learn more about the app by viewing the students’ submission video on YouTube.

This year’s NY-20 Congressional App Challenge winner was chosen by a distinguished panel of local judges, including Dr. Mohammed J. Zaki, Professor and Department Head of Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Annmarie Lanesey, CEO and Founder of CanCode Communities, and Tobi Saulnier, CEO of 1^st Playable Productions.

The Congressional App Challenge was created by Congress in 2013 to encourage innovation and engagement in coding, computer science, and STEM education.  The App Challenge is open to all eligible middle and high school-aged students in New York’s 20^th Congressional District, regardless of coding experience.

To view and download photos of Congressman Tonko’s visit with Atri, Anthony, and Joshua, see the Congressman’s social media posts HERE, HERE, and HERE.

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