Anchor wins Rep. Ann Wagner’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Missouri’s Second District
Rep. Wagner has named Serena Huang, a 10th grader at Parkway Central High School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Missouri’s Second District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Anchor, the student said, “Managing personal finances is a complicated task for many individuals, but it is something that teenagers struggle with especially. Teens gain more financial freedom as they get jobs and start making their own money for the first time, but they don’t always receive guidance on how to budget and make healthy spending decisions. In fact, according to data published in 2023, almost three-fourths of American teens reported that they lacked confidence in their knowledge of personal finance. While many expense trackers exist that attempt to solve this issue, these trackers have unnecessary features that overcomplicate the planning process. Thus, my app, Anchor, was inspired by the need for teens to have a simple yet functional way to manage their personal finances. Anchor provides users with a balanced solution – it is simple and includes only necessary features for a teen who is starting out with learning to manage their money, but it also has enough functionality so that the app is not limiting and continues to provide flexibility.”
This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.