Spanberger Congratulates Congressional App Challenge Winners from Deep Run High School

Vihaan Dutta and Pranav Chinthakuntla Created an App to Make Freelance Community Service or Paid Opportunities Available to Students & Benefit Small Clients

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today announced Deep Run High School students Vihaan Dutta — who took home the gold last year — and Pranav Chinthakuntla as the Seventh District winners of the annual Congressional App Challenge. The team created an app that allows small clients to post freelance community service work or paid projects for students to complete.

Dutta and Chinthakuntla’s app, called Scholance, will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol and shared on the U.S. House of Representatives’ website, alongside winners from congressional districts across the country.

“Each year, I am astounded by the passion and talent behind the apps we receive from Seventh District students,” said Spanberger. “The technical innovations in coding and computer science possessed by the next generation will lead our country into the future — because the security, strength, and economic competitiveness of our nation depend on leaders who can leverage these skills to tackle the complex challenges that lie ahead. I am impressed that this year’s winners used their skills to address a demonstrated need in our communities. Congratulations to Vihaan and Pranav for earning this recognition for their skill and creativity, and thank you to all the Seventh District students who shared their work with my team and I!”

“As students in Deep Run’s Center for Information Technology, we created Scholance for two reasons,” said Dutta and Chinthakuntla. “One, students in our area typically have difficulty finding community service work. And two, we believe students should have easy access to gain experience in the CS field. By combining these two reasons, we created Scholance to let students gain knowledge in their field while producing low-cost projects for small businesses and other consumers.”

Click here for a video tutorial of the app, Scholance.

BACKGROUND

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual opportunity for young people in participating congressional districts across the country to get hands-on practice with coding and computer science. Students are invited to sharpen their skills, push their creativity in STEM disciplines, and begin envisioning their future career, with an emphasis on including and inspiring students from communities that are underrepresented in the tech industry.

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