Niceville High School CTE Students Present Award-Winning Coastal App at US Capitol

Niceville High School Web Programming Instructor Carrie Foxhall and two of her Web students, Gabe Jacobs and Hannah Castor, were invited to the US Capitol to present their award-winning "Coastal" app at the Congressional App Challenge in November. 

Gabe and Hannah designed and programmed their app to educate locals and tourists about the dangers of the beautiful Emerald Coast waters. Students from across the nation had the opportunity to present their apps at the competition. Jacob and Hannah connected the app to the NOAA website to provide users with real-time updates on rip currents, water conditions, flags, and tides along the Florida coast using an application programming interface (API). The app also provides information to help people understand how to swim out of a rip current and other important information about our local waterways to keep everyone safe. The Coastal app provides lifeguard location points on a map, allowing users to report weather conditions affecting their local area. 



Students had the opportunity to meet with Representative Matt Gaetz at the US Capitol. He shared his support of the app and encouraged Gabe and Hannah to present their app to the local Tourist Development Council. Gabe and Hannah received incredible feedback at their Capitol presentation. 

“Our talent in our school district never ceases to amaze me. We are incredibly proud of Ms. Foxhall, Gabe, and Hannah for their accomplishments and for representing our District and Career Technical Education (CTE) at the national level,” stated Superintendent Marcus Chambers. The mission of the Congressional App Challenge is to inspire, include, and innovate efforts around STEM, CODING, and Computer Science Education. For more information, visit https://www.congressionalappchallenge.us.