Congratulations to NHHS Junior, Emily Cerasoli, recipient of Connecticut's 2023 Computer Science Congressional App Challenge award for her "Mandarin Made Easy" app. The app is based on Emily's own methods of learning the language and is designed to enlighten/enable/assist other students to benefit from her experiences. As this year's winning entry, Emily's app will be displayed in the US Capitol Building for one year, and featured on House.gov. (10 million visitors per year)
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro attended a ceremony on December 19 in the NHHS theater lobby to present Emily with her award. DeLauro explained that The Challenge was founded in 2013 by then Congress members to uplift young innovators and give them a platform to showcase their abilities to the American pulbic. In the last seven years, participation in the Congressional App Challenge has jumped from 2000 to over 9000 students per year, across all 50 states, and suppported by 335 members of Congress. It is considered the premier national coding challenge in terms of competition as well as exposure and at this point it has involved 30,000 participants. DeLauro explained that, "Students must identify a problem and draft a solution...and some of the this year's impressive topics included mental health support, aiding people with disabilities, and environmental preservation."
DeLauro stressed the importance of education and that it must be available and accessible to all as it is the "great equalizer" that allows people to reach their goals. She sees young people as "important developers of emerging technologies" that will take us safely and productively into the future.
When asked about her app, Cerasoli said "I worked on this app in my independent study with Mr. Hughes who supported me a lot during the process of making it. I am very grateful that I got this opportunity, I could never have accomplished this without my computer teacher Mr. Hughes. I hope that my app will be helpful for people practicing Mandarin as it is a difficult language to learn." The event was attended by many local/state politicians, Emily's parents and classmates, faculty and administration. Pictured left is the entire group in attendance. Pictured right (left to right) is Computer Science instructor, Dan Hughes, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, Emily Cerasoli, Superintendent Patrick Stirk and Principal, Russell Dallai. Congratulations to Mr. Hughes for his support of students and to Emily, for an extraordinary achievement! Bravo!