Three Hermiston High School seniors have been named winners of the Congressional App Challenge for Oregon’s Second District.
Yahir Conejo-Garcia, Bryson Jeppeson and Yael Estrada Gutierrez designed an app to assist students and professionals in modeling and furnishing rooms showcasing the team’s innovation and teamwork.
Conejo-Garcia, last year’s winner, took on a new challenge by forming a team with Jeppeson and Gutierrez. Together, they learned to manage code collaboratively while overcoming technical hurdles, such as library compatibility issues and 3D modeling challenges.
“The next level of programming is working as a team,” said HHS computer science teacher and mentor Robert Theriault. “Yahir, Bryson, and Yael faced challenges head-on and demonstrated incredible growth.”
Inspired by a personal need for room design tools, the team created a web-based app using their knowledge of HTML and 3D modeling libraries. Despite obstacles, they successfully built a functional tool, embodying the Congressional App Challenge’s mission to inspire and innovate in STEM education.
Hermiston High School has participated in the challenge since 2016 and has won multiple times. This year’s success highlights the school district’s dedication to preparing students for future STEM opportunities.
“Working as a team to solve complex problems is a skill that goes beyond programming — it’s about preparing for the challenges of tomorrow,” said Theriault.
