U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (FL-05) recently announced Florida’s 5th Congressional District App Challenge winners to be Tallahassee School of Math and Science (TSMS) eighth grade students Liam Tolia, Issa Allison, Jackson Flowers and Gabriel Campbell.
The students were awarded first place for their app “Escape the CoronaVirus.” The app is intended to entertain and to relieve some of the stress caused by the pandemic. The game is intended to make some fun out of what can be a very scary and stressful situation.
The Congressional App Challenge was created to inspire, encourage and innovate efforts around STEM education. TSMS provides its students with an environment in which they can flourish in STEM and gives them the opportunity to develop skills such as coding in order to prepare them for the real world tech industry.
“Liam, Issa, Jackson and Gabriel are fine examples of what the students of Florida’s 5th Congressional District can accomplish,” Rep. Lawson said. “I am excited to recognize these students for their hard work in creating this fun and engaging app. It is so great to see students flourishing even with the challenges they have faced due to the Coronavirus.”
“We are immensely proud of this achievement,” said TSMS Principal Ahmet Temel. “During a time of such uncertainty in the world of education, these young students have proven all that they can accomplish with just teamwork and a vision.”
In spring 2021, Tolia, Allison, Flowers and Campbell will showcase their apps to members of Congress and members of the tech community during the virtual House of Code event. Since 2015, more than 4,000 functional apps have been created by over 14,000 students. The Congressional App Challenge spans 48 states and aims to engage students in computer science.
This is the school’s third consecutive first place honor, as they previously won the Congressional App Challenge in 2018 and 2019. The Tallahassee School of Math and Science is now accepting applications for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year. Their enrollment period deadline is February 1.
