Bonamici Congratulates Local Student Who Won District’s Congressional App Challenge

BEAVERTON, OR [12/02/21] — Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), a member of the House Education and Science Committees, announced that Shreya Suresh from Sunset High School won the 2021 Congressional App Challenge for Oregon's First Congressional District.

"For this year's Congressional App Challenge, students submitted thoughtful apps that respond to the challenges we face as a country," said Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici. "I applaud Shreya for designing and building a useful app that fills a real need and helps make our communities more accessible. Learning to code is a great way for students to tackle real-world problems while developing their skills."

Suresh created an app called "Sightly" for people who are visually impaired. The app uses a smartphone's camera to identify objects in the world, like a staircase or crosswalk signal, and report them to the user with audio messages. She designed the app after a field trip to several organizations that serve people who are visually impaired and has shared it with the Oregon Commission for the Blind.

"After learning more about the struggles of people who are blind, I decided to use my programming skills to create something that would help them navigate safely and help them become more independent," said Shreya Suresh, a junior at Sunset High School. "Current solutions don't have live video recognition or hands-free usage. Sightly recognizes the key obstacles and navigational aids that the visually impaired encounter daily."

A panel of expert judges from Northwest Oregon selected the winning app. The judges evaluated the submissions for creativity, originality, user experience, and design. The three judges are:

• Tong Zhang, Executive Director, Oregon MESA
• Sam Nhim, Grant Coordinator, Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest
• Cyreena Boston Ashby, CEO, Girls, Inc. of the Pacific Northwest

Bonamici recognized Suresh in a virtual reception with all of the students from Oregon's First District who submitted entries. The winning app will be featured on a display in the U.S. Capitol Building and on the House of Representatives website.

Bonamici is a founder and co-chair of the Congressional STEAM Caucus, which advocates for the integration of the arts and design into STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education to encourage creative thinking and engage more students. By supporting and recognizing young programmers, Congress is acknowledging the growing importance of technology development. Students across the country competed in the Congressional App Challenge by creating and demonstrating a software application, or "app," for mobile, tablet, or computer devices. The U.S. House of Representatives organizes the nationwide Congressional App Challenge each year.

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