WordToASL to Washington D.C.

Hi! We are Sydney and Azul and we're fundraising for our trip to the United States Capitol to demonstrate our app, WordToASL! In our Freshman year, we enrolled in the AP Computer Science Principles class to gain newfound knowledge of computer programming. With our burning passion for coding, we developed an app in class called, WordToASL, and entered it into the Congressional App Challenge. In the making, we went through trials and tribulations ranging from the brainstorming phase, to figuring out how to utilize complex functions, to the revisions, constantly reevaluating our app and asking for feedback. Nevertheless, our ambitions overrode and we persisted, recognizing that struggles were inevitable and necessary to unlocking our fullest potential.

About a month after submission, we scrolled through emails as usual and got the news that we had won! Participating in the #HouseOfCode event (held in DC) will enable us to meet other young driven and audacious STEM individuals and leaders, hoping to pursue a career in this field. Additionally, reaching a larger audience will give us an opportunity to inspire underrepresented minorities to engage in less dominated domains, take down barriers and biases by bridging the gaps between less privileged individuals, and challenge the status quo. A position in this event will take us one step closer to our ultimate goal.

Thank you all so much!! Any help is greatly appreciated :)

Sydney & Azul

Additional speeches:

"Those who are part of the deaf community aren't talked about very often in the U.S., so we created WordToASL with the intention of spreading awareness and closing the gap between hearing, hard of hearing, and deaf people," Rangel said. "Our goal is to spark an interest in learning ASL in an easy and accessible way for everyone."

Vo added, "Minorities often experience social exclusion resulting in underrepresentation and discrimination. An accurate portrayal of a population is vital as it involves recognition and awareness of all cultures and serves as a catalyst for communication. With this thought in mind, we wanted to take action and provide more opportunities and resources dedicated to smaller, frequently neglected communities and raise awareness on this issue in our generation. We hope that our ASL converter app can highlight even the fewest number of people if it involves making an impact, a ripple in an enormous ocean. Nevertheless, in a multicultural and multifaceted society, representation enables people from a wide array of backgrounds and perspectives to have value and a voice."

Mukilteo beacon: https://www.mukilteobeacon.com/story/2023/01/18/news/mariner-duo-wins-congressional-app-challenge/24066.html

Lynnwood times: https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2023/01/19/second-congressional-app-challenge-230119/

Demo video: