Tech App To Help Needy A Winner For Wall Communications Students

FREEHOLD, NJ —Three students from the Monmouth County Communications High School have won the 2022 Congressional App Challenge for the Fourth District of New Jersey, U.S. Rep. Chris Smith announced.

The students are Kristen Gallagher of Middletown, Nicholas Martino of Howell and Zaina Saif of Marlboro, who all attend the Monmouth County Vocational School District's Communications High School in Wall.

“Congratulations to Kristen, Nicholas and Zaina for their incredible ingenuity and dedicated teamwork to develop this year’s winning app,” said Smith.

The winning team was selected by a panel of judges that evaluated a total of nine apps submitted by 17 students from several high schools across the Fourth Congressional District, Smith's office said.

Smith hosts the annual contest for students to showcase their software app-developing skills as part of a nationwide competition administered by Members of Congress.

Dubbed “New2U,” the app provides users with a simple way to donate children’s clothes and toys to families in need in the community.

Computer Science educator Laura Gesin explained the project and how it was developed:

She said seniors from the Advanced Java Programming Course at Communications High School have participated in this challenge since 2016 and have won or placed every year since then.

The apps are designed and developed starting on the first day of school in September and will be completely developed and tested by the end of the fall semester in January.

"This semester-long course incorporates human-centered design into the development of a mobile application using Android Studio. This course follows a Python class required for all sophomores, and a course in the Java Programming language at the junior level.

"Many of these students also take the junior level Web Design course and senior Advanced Web Design course which relates to the front end design of the apps," Gesin said.

She said the apps will not be tested and completed until the end of January. At that time, it's up to the students to decide whether they want to release their app on the Google platform.

"I'm incredibly proud of all of the students that participated. This year's cohort were freshmen when the pandemic started; this is the first year where the pandemic has not had a significant impact on their high school experience. It's truly amazing to see what they have produced under unprecedented and adverse circumstances," Gesin said.

And the students said the experience of participating in the challenge was memorable.

"Making New2U was a once in a lifetime experience and definitely one of my most memorable high school projects. I got to work with a group of people with diverse skill sets and when we were teamed up we made something truly impactful, which I think all three of us are really proud of," said Zaina Saif.

Students said they could see their own learning curve advance in working on the project.

"It's crazy to think that we were able to build an app like this after only learning how to code two years ago. It's so rewarding to see our hard work pay off. I’m planning on majoring in computer science in college, and building this app really confirmed that I can effectively use my coding skills to make a positive impact on the community," said Kristen Gallagher.

And Nicholas Martino was equally glad to have the opportunity to compete in the challenge.

"(It) gave me a chance to be able to expand and apply skills I learned in class. The mistakes and struggles I experienced creating New2U strengthened my coding capability. My team and I built upon each other skills to be able to accomplish New2U and win," he said.

Smith was impressed too.

“It is inspiring to see these talented high school students put their minds together and share their gifts to help those who are less fortunate,” Smith said.

Established in 2014, the CAC has become the largest student computer science competition in the world, Smith's office said.

The challenge was created to foster STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) skills among students and emphasize the importance of these skills for the future, especially in areas of the U.S. economy like cybersecurity and intellectual property.

Middle and high school students from the Fourth Congressional District interested in participating in next year’s contest may contact Smith’s Freehold office at 732-780-3035 and visit www.congressionalappchallenge.us for more information.

General information about the Congressional App Challenge can be found here, according to Gesin.