Arvin Poddar wins Congressional App Challenge
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) on February 23, 2016 recognized Kennesaw Mountain High School student Ryan Cobelli and Wheeler High School student Arvin Poddar as the winners of the 2016 Congressional App Challenge for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District.
Teammates Ryan and Arvin created a specially designed app called GradeSpark, a free online grading system that allows students to easily calculate and manage their grades for multiple classes. As the winning app from Georgia’s 11th District, GradeSpark will be featured on StudentAppChallenge.US, and exhibited on a digital display at the U.S. Capitol.
“A consistent theme I hear when visiting businesses across our district is the need for highly skilled employees with a focus on STEM,” said Rep. Loudermilk. “[W]e have extremely talented students in our district who are involved, competing, and furthering scientific knowledge. It is a pleasure to represent such talented students whose futures look bright.”
Established by members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, this is a nationwide competition.
The winner from the 11th Congressional District was selected by an independent panel of expert judges, including Mr. K.P. Reddy, CEO, SoftWear Automation; Mr. Jared Miller, CTO, AMB Sports & Entertainment, Atlanta Falcons; and Ms. Svetlana Peltsverger, Interim Assoc. Dean and Assoc. Prof. at the College of Computing and Software Engineering at Kennesaw State University.
Apps were judged based on quality of idea, including creativity and originality; implementation, including user experience and design; and demonstrated excellence of coding and programming skills.
"Our team of judges was highly impressed by the coding talent of the students from the 11th Congressional District,” said K.P. Reddy. “The number of compelling projects submitted certainly made for a difficult decision process. These projects demonstrate how STEM is being prioritized in our schools, and I’m delighted the results are starting to show. These type of Congressional competitions will certainly help develop employees for the high tech sector as well as all manufacturing and technology based companies. I hope to see even more students participate next year."
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Video:
GradeSpark, the winning app for Georgia’s 11th Congressional District, can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbGRoXE3glY&feature=youtu.be
Published on Jan 18, 2016
Links:
Download the GradeSpark app for iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/gradespark/id972429322?mt=8
Or visit the website, for desktop or mobile devices: www.gradespark.com
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