AOC Recognizes Congressional App Challenge Winner

Today, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unveiled the winner of the Congressional App Challenge from New York’s 14th Congressional District: CalendAir by Melissa Chowdhury. CalendAir is a mobile app that allows teachers and students to communicate directly with each other regarding assignments, upcoming deadlines, overall feedback, and more. 

Chowdhury noticed that her school has “a vast number of resources addressing everything content-wise, but there is a great lack of resources addressing the roots of a student’s education, including elements such as organization, procrastination, and mental health.” She hopes to work with her team to “start working with school & district leaders to implement CalendAir into middle & high schools to help maximize efficiency and productivity in the classroom while tackling these root issues that are typically overlooked, creating a stronger, more effective, education for students across the nation and beyond.” A video demonstration of the app is available here.

“We were impressed with the ingenuity, timeliness, and utility of Melissa’s application. She thoughtfully created a method for teachers to easily communicate with students, facilitating time management and organizational skills,” said Naureen Akhter, District Director. “We congratulate her and commend our other applicants for participating in the Congressional App Challenge, and look forward to following the work of this next generation of young leaders.”

Every year, students from across the country participate in the Congressional App Challenge by creating a software application, or “app”, for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. Each Congressional office that participates in the Challenge selects a winner from their district. The Congressional App Challenge’s mission is to inspire, include, and innovate efforts around STEM, coding, and computer science education. Students interested in participating this year can visit the Congressional App Challenge’s website. Applications open in June.