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Hailing from Haas Hall Academy Fayetteville, 12th grader Queenie Lin won the 2023 Congressional App Challenge for Arkansas’ Third District! This is a nationwide coding competition for middle and high school students that I have the pleasure of hosting each year. The challenge encourages our nation’s youth to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education and computer science careers and to have fun while doing it!
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Queenie’s winning app, Accelerate, came to be because of the long lunch lines at her school. She knew there must be a better, more efficient way to feed hungry kids. With this app, students can place orders and receive an order number for lunch pickup, with the goal of streamlining lunch order distribution.
Her ingenuity showcased the remarkable creativity and coding talent that’s developed at our impressive Arkansas schools. I shared with the students the importance of doing exactly what Queenie did—identifying some of life’s challenges, whether it be small inconveniences or life-alerting problems—and think about ways to solve them. That’s why STEM education is so important. It’s the pathway for a more efficient and innovative America.
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I’m so proud of all who participated this year. If any of these bright young minds could design an app to make Congress more efficient and get something accomplished, they’d be the grand champion of all Congressional App Challenges!
Read more about the ceremony we held at Haas Hall Fayetteville this week from the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette here.
Touring Bio-Tech Pharmacal
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Bio-Tech Pharmacal, a veteran-owned small business in Fayetteville, is a prime example of a company that makes Northwest Arkansas so special. I had a great visit with Dale Benedict, who founded Bio-Tech Pharmacal in 1984.
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Dale’s passion for helping people guided him to the medical field. After a short time in pharmaceuticals, Dale realized many of labels on vitamins were misleading and dishonest. Dale wanted to change that.
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That’s when he decided he wanted to manufacture vitamins that had exactly what the label advertised. Now, 40 years later, he has a team of about 25 and they produce over 87 products all manufactured right here in Arkansas’ Third.
Listen to what I had to say about this remarkable company from a clip of my visit from 40/29 here.
Visiting with Springdale Firefighters
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Our hardworking firefighters sacrifice for their fellow neighbors. They answer the call to serve each and every day to protect us. I visited with the firefighters from the Springdale Fire Department to see how my team and I can best support them in their work.
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Chief Blake Holte shared with me some of the challenges they face. This includes difficulties with recruiting, especially since the cost of living makes housing unaffordable for many. There also can be long wait periods for ordering new ambulances or fire trucks, sometimes taking multiple years to get ahold of one! Additionally, the high-stress and often traumatic environment these firefighters endure sparks the need for mental health and counseling services.
We had a very insightful visit. My team and I stand ready to serve those who put their lives on the line to serve us.
The Bright Young Minds of Garfield Elementary School
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The highlight of my week was getting to share a bit of life advice with the youngsters at Garfield Elementary School. I broke it down into four pillars—getting a good education, making wise decisions, taking care of your health, and giving back in the spirit of charity. I believe that every one of these young bright minds was placed on this earth to do something profound and suited for each of their individual talents and skills. I hope they’ll hold on to some of these points I shared today, while also having a little bit of fun doing it!
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A big thank you to the teachers at Garfield and across the district—these people mold the minds of our future leaders. Their work is vital to developing our next generation of hardworking, healthy, and successful Arkansans!
Looking ahead
Tomorrow, I look forward to celebrating the grand opening of the brand-new, state-of-the-art Tontitown Fire Station! I will join my fellow Arkansans in congratulating Tontitown on this exciting new facility and praising Ryan Krug on his official new role as Fire Chief of the Tontitown Fire Department. I will be one of the guest speakers and will thank our brave firefighters who are dedicated to keeping us safe. I hope to see you there!
As for next week, I will be back in Washington, laser-focused on solving the pressing issues facing our country.
Have a great weekend ahead, and I hope to see you around soon! Be sure to check out my website, Twitter, and Instagram pages in the meantime!
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