Rep. John Ratcliffe recognizes local students who won Congressional App Challenge

(ROCKWALL, TX – Feb. 17, 2016) Today Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) formally recognized the first place winners of the Congressional App Challenge for Texas’ Fourth District. The winning team is made up of two local high school students: Taylor Barnes, an 11th grader at Royse City High School, and Linh Ngyen, an 11th grader at Heritage Christian Academy. The students collaborated to design the app together at The Core Rockwall, an after-school enrichment program for STEM.

The Congressional App Challenge is a prestigious competition which engages students’ creativity and encourages their participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education fields. High school students in each congressional district across the country compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or “app,” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.

The first place winners for Texas’ Fourth District submitted an app called “Explorica.”

“It’s inspiring to see such advanced technological innovation from the students of Texas’ Fourth District,” Ratcliffe said. “It gives me great hope know that these young people will be tomorrow’s leaders.”

Taylor Barnes said she would like to attend MIT after high school and eventually work for Google. “My dream is to be an engineer. I love technology,” she said.

Linh Ngyen said that the vast diversity of America’s geography was the inspiration behind the creation of Explorica.

Information provided by Rachel Stephens, Press Secretary, Congressman John Ratcliffe (TX-04), edited for publication by Dawn Redig, Blue Ribbon News.

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  congressional app challenge, heritage christian, John Ratcliffe, Rockwall, Royse City High School, the core