Three Tallahassee students were recognized for their app making abilities.
Chiles junior Andy Jiang was selected as the Congressional App Challenge winner for District 2. Tallahassee School of Math and Sciences sixth graders Liam Tolia and Xander Frost were selected as winners of District 5.
Jiang's app, the Timed Cube, was created to improve reaction times. The app prompts users to respond to a command and times their response. He built it with people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease in mind. He hopes to make it available in the app store next month.
"I love working on apps and building different programs and I love helping people out," the 16-year-old said. "This is a great way to integrate both of them."
He was surprised by Rep. Neal Dunn Friday morning. The congressman gave him a challenge coin and a certificate.
"That's a competitive thing to do," Dunn said. "(The students are) smart and they understand it and really it's great."
The most challenging part for Andy, who taught himself to code and wants to study computer science in college, was working out the bugs. It was the same issue Liam and Xander faced.
Their app, called Xander's Math Adventure, takes users on a journey where they have to answer math questions to proceed. It took about two months to create.
"A lot of kids need help learning math," 12-year-old Liam said. "We made it a fun and interactive experience to help with that."
Liam and Xander will be visited by Rep. Al Lawson in March. Each of the winners received $250 in Amazon Web Services. They're invited to Washington, D.C. for the #HouseofCode Capitol Hill Reception.
"I'm happy about the rewards," Xander said.
Contact Ashley White at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or on Twitter @AshleyyDi.
