Greater Lowell Technical High School senior Madisyn Koza (second from left) speaks with Superintendent Jill Davis on Dec. 19, 2023, after Koza won the 3rd Annual House District Congressional App Challenge. U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan stands with Assistant Superintendent and Principal Michael Burton. (Courtesy of Greater Lowell Tech)
TYGSBORO — U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan visited Greater Lowell Technical High School on Dec. 19 to congratulate junior Madisyn Koza, winner of the Congressional App Challenge.
The Congressional App Challenge is held in every congressional district across the country and challenges students to create apps to help them learn practical lessons about careers in coding and computer science. High school and middle school students from across the 3rd Congressional District participated.
Madisyn Koza, a senior at Greater Lowell Technical High School, won her challenge in the 3rd Congressional District by creating an app called CarbonCalc. The app helps users understand what a carbon footprint is and what their carbon footprint consists of, allowing users to better understand their impact on the environment. The app also provides useful suggestions on how users can reduce their carbon footprint to better protect the environment.
Mr Trahan visited the IT shop during his visit to present Mr Koza with the award. In addition to getting a visit from Trahan, Koza will have his app on display at the U.S. Capitol for a year and will also feature it on the House.gov website and the Congressional App Challenge website. Mr. Koza is also currently invited to participate in House of Code, a special program and celebration to be held at the Capitol in April. She also had the opportunity to attend her three-month class at the Penguin School of Coding in Acton for free. She is also entitled to have the registration fee waived if she chooses to copyright the app.
After meeting Koza, Trahan visited the school's auditorium and spoke to second-year English student Maggie Espinola about the importance of civic engagement. The congressman told his story of growing up in a working-class family in Lowell and his journey to the Capitol. She also fielded questions from her students and offered her thoughts on a variety of topics, from her advice for achieving success to her efforts to motivate young voters.
“We were so excited to congratulate Madisyn, a Greater Lowell Polytechnic Institute student who won this year’s District 3 Congressional App Challenge. This contest recognizes the amazing innovation and innovation of students here in District 3 and across the country. “This is a great opportunity to recognize and celebrate technical ability. We salute Madisyn's hard work that will have a real impact on the environment,” said Trahan. “It was also great to meet with students and educators from Greater Lowell Technical High School, hear about their priorities, and answer questions. Meeting such a talented group of students made me realize this about the next generation of leaders. I’m more confident than ever.”
“I would like to congratulate Ms. Madisyn Koza for winning the challenge and presenting her wonderful and useful app. I would also like to congratulate Madisyn Koza for winning the challenge and publishing this challenge to encourage Madisyn and other students across the district to create applications. I would like to thank Congressman Trahan for giving me this opportunity to learn hands-on,'' said Superintendent Jill Davis. “We are extremely proud of Madisyn and her app and are extremely grateful to Congressman Trahan for her continued support of student and professional education.”
For more information about the Congressional App Challenge, visit CongressionalAppChallenge.us.
