Rep. Wild Announces 2019 Congressional App Challenge Winner

WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) is excited to announce that the winner of the 2019 Congressional App Challenge (CAC) for PA-07 is Udit Garg of Parkland High School in Allentown, PA. The Congressional App Challenge is an app competition for students in middle and high school. Wild presented Garg with a commendation on January 20 to commemorate this achievement.

“I am incredibly proud of the young people in our community – their innovation and commitment to bettering the lives of others is what makes the Greater Lehigh Valley so special,” Wild said. “When I presented the Congressional App Award to Udit Garg, he showed me how the program worked – not only is it incredibly impressive, I know that the app would be able to save lives. It is my honor to recognize the hard work of Udit. I know we will see great things from him in the years to come.”

Garg is a junior at Parkland High School. His application is called the BACDrive (Breathalyzer and Mobile Application to Prevent Drunk Driving), an iOS phone application and blue-tooth enabled companion breathalyzer to help prevent drunk driving and its negative effects. The application works by alerting programmed emergency contacts of the location and alcohol level of the user before the user gets behind the wheel.

“At my high school, a guest-speaker told her heart-breaking story about a drunk-driving incident that directly affected her entire family all because of the wrong choices of the driver. I began to think, ‘why not help even in the smallest way possible?’,” said Garg. “I have always had a passion for medicine, computer science, and helping people. By building a mobile application, I believe it the fastest way to reach millions of people around the world through just the click of a button.”

The CAC was created because Congress recognized that STEM and computer-based skills are essential for economic growth and innovation and that the U.S. has been falling behind on these fronts. By some estimates, the U.S. may be short by as many as 1 million programmers by 2020. These are high-paying, high-demand jobs. To maintain American competitiveness, it’s crucial that the United States invests in our youth now and helps them acquire these valuable skills. The CAC encourages students to pursue those skills and recognizes them for their efforts.

For further information about the Congressional App Challenge, please visit www.CongressionalAppChallenge.us

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