LAFAYETTE, LA – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) announced today that Luke Schwarz, a student at Episcopal School of Acadiana, is the overall winner of the 2021 Congressional App Challenge for Louisiana’s 3rd District.
Luke’s app titled “Hurricane Helper” is designed to help individuals in need of assistance following a natural disaster. The app will be featured in an exhibition at the U.S. Capitol next year.
“Congratulations to Luke on his winning app. He saw a real-world problem and used his coding skills to provide a solution,”said Congressman Higgins.“Connecting individuals to emergency assistance and recovery resources in the wake of a natural disaster can be difficult. Luke is trying to address those challenges with his app.”
“When, during Hurricane Ida, people started posting on social media for help. I knew there must be an alternative,”said Luke regarding the inspiration for his app.“Hurricane Helper is an app that allows calling for help in case you are trapped by a natural disaster. All that it takes is one click and helpers are instantly notified.”
Watch Luke demonstrate his “Hurricane Helper” app here.
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About the Congressional App Challenge
The U.S. House of Representatives officially launched the Challenge in 2015 to help inspire innovation and learning in computer science and coding. The Challenge is a nationwide effort that allows students to compete against their peers by creating an application or “app” for mobile, tablet, or computer devices. Student teams compete against each other by congressional district, and the winning apps are showcased at the U.S. Capitol each year.
