Bayside Student Wins Congressional App Contest, Invited To The Capitol

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — A high school student from Bayside won a contest held by the U.S. House of Representatives after creating an app that helps people keep a good posture.

Vincent Yip, an 11th grader at Townsend Harris High School, is one of the winners of the “Congressional App Challenge,” a contest held among congressional districts nationwide in which students create an app for mobile, tablet, or computer devices.

Yip, 16, won in New York’s Sixth District by creating the app “Sit Straight!,” which warns people when they are slouching by blurring their screen and providing them with a notification with a reminder to correct their posture.

“The idea for my app came to me when I was slouching in my chair and my mom's endless reminders to sit back straight were lingering in my ear,” said Vincent Yip. “I wanted to create an app that would serve as a second pair of eyes to remind people to correct their posture.”

Yip, along with the winners from app contests in other congressional districts, will have their apps displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol and on the House of Representatives’ official website, www.house.gov.

The 16-year-old and other winners were also invited to showcase their apps to Members of Congress at #HouseOfCode, a reception scheduled to take place on Capitol Hill in April.

“Proper posture is critical to people’s health and wellbeing, and I commend Vincent for creating this practical and useful app to help people maintain it," said Congresswoman Grace Meng, who represents the district.

Yip plans to major in computer science or a related field when he attends college.

Evan Cedeno, an 11th grader from Rego Park, won second place after developing an app to help people generate their own artwork. Isaac Wong, a 10th grader from Bayside, won third place for creating an app that acts as a grade point average calculator.