Perkins student wins app creation contest

PERKINS TWP. — U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, recently recognized Perkins Schools students for their advances in science, technology, engineering, art and math. Kaptur personally congratulated Kia Preston, a Perkins High School student, on his first-place win in an app creation contest. The representative also got a firsthand look at the robotic team's achievements with its satellite. In front of his family, district and school administration, school board member Jason Dulaney and the Perkins Robotics Club members and advisers, Kia was presented with a certificate of recognition from Kaptur for winning the 2025 Congressional App Challenge from Ohio's 9th Congressional District for his app: Light Teachings. Included in the audience was Kia's mother, Charity Preston, who said she is very excited for her son. "He put a lot of work into it, hours and hours of his own time, just because he was interested," Charity said. "He always said he wanted to do something to help others." With this win, Kia is invited to the #HouseofCode reception in Washington, D.C., this spring. His app will be on display in the U.S. Capitol Building and featured on House.gov and CongressionalAppChallenge.us. "I didn't think this was going to happen," Kia said. "Being able to see this and especially going to D.C. in April, that is a chance that not very many people get, where I can put myself out there and try to raise myself up to help my future tremendously." Kia was selected first out of the 16 applications Kaptur received in Ohio's 9th Congressional District. Another local winner includes Ishan Chopra from Sandusky Schools, who took third place. Through his winning app, Kia teaches users about ray tracing, a concept in CGI relating to how light interacts with objects. His inspiration behind this project came from the difficulty of the subject matter. Kia said grasping the idea of ray tracing is difficult because of the complexity of the content. He wanted to create this platform so it would be easier to understand. "With all the different (science, technology, engineering, art and math) areas, this one is a new area. It's a new concept, ray tracing," Kia said. "I found it difficult. Throughout growing up, I've always liked helping other people understand things." In the process of bringing his app to life, Kia faced a few challenges. He said the knowledge behind creating the app was too advanced for those he would turn to for help, like his computer science teacher, Michael Leffler. In total, Kia said he spent well over 500 hours and rewrote the programming three times. The contest "has been promoted as an area in which we need young Americans first to be aware to be conscious (that) there is such a profession, and there are skills that are needed to advance in that sector, which is growing very quickly," Kaptur said. Kaptur theorized that the interest in the app competition could stem from the area's proximity to NASA and its connection to science. She said that students in the area have more opportunities than others due to these assets. Five years in the making After Kia's recognition, the event was turned over to the school's robotics team, which sent a satellite into space last year. Perkins Schools was the only high school chosen by NASA to participate in this project alongside universities and colleges. When Kaptur learned of this accomplishment, she visited the first class of students to begin the satellite. Now five years later, the satellite is in space, and Kaptur is in the presence of the final class of students and their advisor, John Stout, who completed the project. Students from the robotics team explained the project to Kaptur, including what the satellite does, how they completed the project and showed a video of the satellite launching into space. To congratulate those who worked on the project, everyone involved received an outstanding accomplishment award from Kaptur. "I'm extremely impressed, and what I'm most impressed with is their enthusiasm," Kaptur said. "They work together, they help each other, they are proud of one another, so it's a team."