{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://mrvan.house.gov/media/press-releases/mrvan-announces-winners-2023-congressional-app-challenge-hanover-central", "Mrvan Announces Winners of 2023 Congressional App Challenge from Hanover Central Middle School", "2024-01-16", "2024", "2024-01", "Democrat", "House", "IN", "Frank J. Mrvan", "M001214", "mrvan.house.gov", "mrvan", "https://mrvan.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, DC \u2013 Today, Rep. Frank J. Mrvan announced Mason Burdan and Joshua Mola of Hanover Central Middle School are the winning team of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Indiana\u2019s First Congressional District. Mason and Joshua used JavaScript to create their winning application, \u201cThe Dark Forest.\u201d Their application is a game designed for players to collect points under time restrictions while facing obstacles.\n\nCongressman Mrvan stated, \u201cThank you to all of the outstanding students who showcased their tremendous talents in the Congressional App Challenge, and congratulations to Joshua and Mason from Hanover Central Middle School for their recognition and exceptional achievement. It is deeply encouraging to see such technological innovation and creativity in the youth of our region, and I thank all of the schools and teachers for their daily dedication to fostering and encouraging these skills.\u201d\n\nMason Burdan stated, \u201cI wanted to make a horror game for a while, as I really like to draw monsters and other creatures. I used my inspiration from 'survive the night' style games to put my own creative spin on things. I plan to use my coding and computer skills to become an architect and design houses.\u201d\n\nJoshua Mola stated, \u201cI plan to use my coding skills to get a job in the computer coding industry, and to also continue to make games.\u201d\n\nSuzanne Demmond, Computer Science Teacher at Hanover Central Middle School stated, \u201cSTEM is so vital to education because it helps prepare students for adulthood, the workplace and society. Problem solving, working with technology and working with others is a broad example of what STEM really boils down to. If we want our youth to have a chance at becoming successful adults, STEM is the path they need and deserve.\u201d\n\nThomas Martin, Principal of Hanover Central Middle School stated, \u201cI am extremely proud of Josh and Mason. They are the true definition of a team. I love the way Mason explained, with pride, how he was the creative force of the project but was also very quick to give Josh all the credit for the technical end and complimented his coding skills. Josh spoke in the same way about how he did the coding while giving Mason the credit for the storyline. Both of them are very deserving of this award.\u201d\n\nMary Tracy-MacAulay, Superintendent of Hanover Central School Corporation stated, \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to have Mason and Josh recognized for such an amazing accomplishment that embodies creativity and technology. They are great young men, and it will be wonderful to watch what the future holds for them both. It\u2019s always a joy to see our kids succeed!\u201d\n\nAco Sikoski, Chancellor of Ivy Tech Community College Valparaiso Campus and Judge of the Congressional App Challenge stated, \u201cIt was an honor and privilege for me to serve as the judge for the 2023 Congressional App Challenge. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Joshua and Mason for winning this year's completion. They did outstanding work. I would also like to express my gratitude to Congressman Mrvan for his encouragement and promotion of education through STEM.\u201d\n\nA demonstration video of the \u201cThe Dark Forest\u201d app can be viewed here. \u201cThe Dark Forest\u201d will be part of a rotating display in the U.S. Capitol. The app will also be featured on the House.gov website for one year, and the Congressional App Challenge will also highlight the app on its website.\n\n118 students across Indiana\u2019s First Congressional District participated in the 2023 Congressional App Challenge. The Congressional App Challenge is an annual nationwide academic competition for Middle School (6th \u2013 8th grades) and High School (9th \u2013 12th grades) students to create and exhibit their software application, or \"app,\" for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice.\n\nTo learn more about the Congressional App Challenge, click here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T23:46:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://mrvan.house.gov/media/press-releases/mrvan-announces-winners-2023-congressional-app-challenge-hanover-central"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1503067798912525, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}