Broadcom Foundation celebrates Gary Allen Montelongo – Two-time winner of the Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award.
Program Highlights
Photo Credit: Lisa Fryklund/Licensed by Society for Science
Gary at his local science fair in 2023
14-year-old Gary Allen Montelongo from La Joya, Texas, made headlines when he became a two-time winner of the Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award. The award recognizes students in middle school who combine STEM learning with coding to solve a community problem they care about in their neighborhood, region, or on planet Earth that aligns with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Gary began his winning streak in 2023, when he won the Broadcom Foundation award at the Rio Grande Valley Science and Engineering Fair for his innovative project “Intruder Alert,” designed to provide safety in the event of a school shooting by enabling teachers to remotely lock classroom doors to protect their students.
In 2024 Gary’s achievement once again earned him the Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award at the national level when, at the Thermo Fisher Scientific Junior Innovators Challenge, he earned recognition for a completely different coding project. Inspired by the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, Gary shifted his focus to railway safety while interning at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley University Transportation Center for Railway Safety. Finding that old suspension springs on trains contributed to derailments, Gary built model train tracks and used coding to measure vibrations and determined that old springs increased instability. His project earned him a $10,000 cash prize from Broadcom Foundation.
Pictured in 2024, celebrating with Broadcom Foundation's Maria Wronski, CFO, and Melissa DeGandi, Program Coordinator.
Gary and Robert Hoffman, Head of Government Affairs at Broadcom Inc. Photo Credit: Lisa Fryklund/Licensed by Society for Science.
Robert Hoffman, Head of Government Affairs at Broadcom Inc. presented Gary with his second Broadcom Coding with Commitment® award at the national competition. Rachelle Celebrezze – Head of US Public Sector Government Relations, and Sunjeet Randhawa – Director, Government Affairs and Policy Council at Broadcom Inc. celebrated alongside him.
“Gary’s achievement at the national level is no surprise after his regional win,” said Paula Golden, president of the Broadcom Foundation. “His brilliant use of coding to solve important community problems is exactly why Broadcom Foundation created this award.”
Returning home, Gary’s achievements were recognized by his local school district, La Joya Independent School District, during a recent board meeting, where Paula shared a short congratulatory video!
Gary’s victories highlight how his coding skills and passion to solve endemic social problems are evolving. In 2023, his project focused on personal motivation and emotion which students of his generation care about. In 2024, his project focused on integrating complex aerospace engineering concepts into transportation systems and collaborating with a university to find real-world solutions.
When asked why he codes, Gary stated, “Coding makes dreams come true. Anything I can imagine coming to life is possible through coding.” He elaborated, “Coding provides safety for the community, help for the disabled, assurance for our agriculture, and a whole lot of fun for the kids!”
Broadcom Foundation partners with over 50 science fairs across the United States and the world. Discover volunteer opportunities at a science fair, in person or virtually, on the Broadcom Foundation website located here: SCIENCE FAIRS.
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Broadcom Inc. is a technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies semiconductors and infrastructure software for global organizations’ complex, mission-critical needs. Broadcom combines long-term R&D investment with superb execution to deliver the best technology, at scale. Broadcom is a Delaware corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.
Broadcom Foundation advocates basic coding and AI literacy as 21st Century+ skills to solve community problems that students care about that align with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. Broadcom Foundation promotes digital literacy as the confident use of the full range of digital technologies, including basic knowledge of coding and AI, and provides a catalyst for students to learn basic coding and AI as essential problem-solving tools in STEM.
