HELENA-Two aspiring programmers at Capital High School are celebrating their success, after the app they recently developed won the 2018 Congressional App Challenge in Montana.
The Congressional App Challenge is a nationwide coding competition for students.
Seniors Kyler Nelson and Andrew Stroop’s project is called GCode Helper.
The students designed it to turn user input into a code that automated machines can read to create parts.
They created the app in about a month.
Both Nelson and Stroop say they enjoy working with computers and aspire to work in the field.
“Some people think it’s magic, but once you get down into it, you realize it’s just a thinking process,” said Nelson. “You gotta get into the mindset to be able to figure it out. It’s like a puzzle.”
“It’s a puzzle where you have to make the pieces,” said Stroop.
They both said they appreciate the help of their teacher, Pat Murphy, and are excited to be recognized for work they did outside a classroom.
“It’s kind of like, having your own baby,” said Stroop. “This is what we made. It’s cool, it’s ours, we can call it our own.”
Next year, Stroop will head to college to study computer programming.
Nelson says his passion is machining, and he wants to work for Boeing.
Their GCode Helper app will now be on display at the United States Capitol.
