Press Releases

This week, Congressman Bill Huizenga announced Jacob Williams, Sahib Dhillon, and Jacob VanDyk of Kalamazoo Christian High School as the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge (CAC). The students created WildLife GO, an app that encourages Southwest Michigan residents to get outside and enjoy their local parks and nature areas through an engaging and innovative point system to challenge users to compete to identify Michigan’s diverse array of plants and animals.

As winners of the CAC for Michigan’s 4^th Congressional District, Jacob W., Sahib, and Jacob V will be invited to attend the House of Code event in Washington, DC. The House of Code brings CAC winners to our nation’s capital for a demo day, where students demonstrate their winning apps. At the event, Members of Congress connect with their student constituents and see firsthand the power of computer science. The purpose of the CAC is to encourage students to learn how to code and inspire them to pursue careers in computer science.

“Congratulations to Jacob, Sahib, and Jacob on winning the 2023 Congressional App Challenge,” said Congressman Bill Huizenga. “Their innovative approach to increase engagement with Michigan’s natural resources is a great way to utilize computer science and learn more about the vast array of wildlife across Southwest Michigan and throughout our state. I look forward to seeing what these young leaders develop in the future.”

The Runners Up for the 2023 Congressional App Challenge are seniors Jasjit Chhina and Luke Borozan from the Battle Creek Area Mathematics and Science Center. Jasjit and Luke developed AssignMate, an app designed to help students more effectively study. AssignMate does this by taking information from source material and transferring the content to flashcards. This year’s third place finalists were Katherine Risley and Ellie Reeves, juniors at Kalamazoo Central High School, who developed an informative and important website titled “All About PFAS” detailing the dangers of PFAS facing Southwest Michigan, our state, and our nation.