Cent-Sation wins Rep. Gary Palmer’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Alabama’s Sixth District
Rep. Gary Palmer has named Harini Chakilam, Monisha Bommu, Harsha Bheemanathini, and Greeshma Vinoy of the Alabama School of Fine Arts as the winners of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in Alabama’s Sixth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of Cent-Sation, the students said, “As two of us are high school seniors preparing for the next big step, college, we realized how important it was to learn how to budget effectively. We were facing the challenge of managing our own finances for the first time after finding a local tutoring job, and wanted a tool that could help keep us organized and on track financially. This inspired us to create Cent-sation, an app that allows users to input their budget, set spending goals, and allocate money to different categories, while having an easy way to look at our spending progress over the month. Our goal was to help not only ourselves but also others who might be facing the same challenge of staying financially organized as they transition to college or adulthood. We hope that Cent-sation can make budgeting accessible and easy to understand for everyone.”
This year’s Congressional App Challenge set new records, with an unprecedented 382 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions—surpassing the previous high of 374. An incredible 12,682 students from across the country participated, representing a growth of over 1,000 students compared to 2023. These talented students submitted an astounding 3,881 original applications, showcasing their creativity, passion for technology, and the limitless potential of America’s next generation of innovators. This surge in participation reflects the increasing excitement around STEM and highlights a bright future for American innovation.
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 the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2025, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.