New Dorp High School student wins 2022 Congressional App Challenge

New Dorp High School student Marta Bekirman is the winner of the 2022 Congressional App Challenge for New York’s 11th Congressional District, Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn) announced Friday.

Bekirman developed the Student Tracker App.

The app was coded using JavaScript and allows students of all ages to track their daily school-related activities, such as how long a student has studied, how much homework there is to be done for the week, and the amount of community service hours completed in a school year. It also allows students to set assignment reminders, and access student resources.

“I was proud to congratulate Marta for winning this year’s Congressional App Challenge,” Malliotakis said. “In today’s day and age, technology can play a critical role in helping our students stay organized. Student Tracker App would be a fantastic resource for our schools to utilize to help students stay on top of their studies and extracurricular activities after school.”

Marta said she was inspired by her peers who sometimes forget when certain homework assignments are due.

“My app helps them out by keeping it all in one structured area,” Marta said. “My app inspired me to include resources that can help these students out.”

Lilliana Vendra, the assistant principal of mathematics and the supervisor of the math and science institute at New Dorp High School, says the school is very proud of Marta for not only winning this year’s Congressional App Challenge, but for also using her passion for STEM to help others.

The second place winner is Vanhuong Ly of Xavierian High School who created TheraFish, an app that works to address and reduce anxiety or stress through the use of six different ‘chatbots.’ Sophia Zheng of Tottenville High School earned third place for creating Happy Space, a self-care journal app that allows users to track their mood and sleep habits with games to further alleviate stress.

Student Tracker App will be displayed in the Capitol Building, along with House.Gov and the Congressional App Challenge’s website for one year. The Congressional App Challenge is an annual nationwide competition sponsored by the Internet Education Foundation to inspire students to explore STEM, coding, and computer science through hands-on practice.