FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Sara Robertson (Sara.Robertson2@mail.house.gov)

Rep. Crawford Announces Annual Congressional App Challenge Winner

1/23/2023

Cabot —  William Rownd, a 10th grader at Cabot High School, took first place in the annual Congressional App Challenge (CAC) hosted by Representative Rick Crawford (AR-01).

The CAC is a smart device app competition for students in 9th – 12th grades in the First District of Arkansas and judged by local STEM educators. The competition was created in 2013 with the goal of fostering STEM and computer-based skills which are essential for economic growth and innovation.

Rownd’s winning app, titled “Rx Advisor,” is a medication reminder app that uses revolutionary technology to allow for ease of use along with drug-to-drug interaction warnings. He developed the app to assist the increasing number of people who take numerous medications on a regular basis and have an increased risk of adverse drug interactions.

“The idea took place while I was on a road trip,” said Rownd. “The Congressional App Challenge was brought up and so we started spit-balling ideas and that’s when a medication reminder app came up. From there we thought ‘how can we take the other medication apps that are already out on the market and make them better?’”

Rep. Crawford attended a small ceremony on Friday to congratulate Rownd and acknowledge the hard work and creativity that went into the development of the app.

“Many inventions like this are designed to answer the inventor’s wishes. From what I can tell about William, this app is all about helping others.” said Rep. Crawford. “He has a bright future, and may improve the lives of many others along the way.”

As the winner, William will be invited to attend the #HouseOfCode reception in Washington, D.C. this spring with other Congressional App Challenge winners from around the country. His app will be displayed with the winners on the official CAC website: https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/students/

The first runner up in this year’s CAC is a team from Cross County High School, under the instruction of Jason Blake. The team members are Bo Cook, Macie McCommon, Konnor Wilson, and Jenna Organ. The EAST program at Cross County High School is an award-winning program with advanced learning opportunities for students. Their app was titled Village Creek Hiking Trails, which consisted of a 360 degree guided virtual tour of the over 33 miles of hiking trails found at Village Creek State Park in Wynne, Arkansas.

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