MHS-Linked wins Rep. Alexander Mooney’s 2024 Congressional App Challenge in West Virginia’s Second District
Rep. Alexander Mooney has named Caden Yao, a tenth grader at Morgantown High, as the winner of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge in West Virginia’s Second District.
When asked what inspired the creation of MHS-Linked, the student said, “I was inspired to create this app after countless teachers and students, including myself, found that there wasn’t an easy way to find information about the school online. They couldn’t find information feasibly in-person either, as some information is on the webpage while other information is not so it’s hard as a student to know where to look. Seeing this issue, I decided to take matters into my own hands, as I have been working with computer science for over two years, and just the thought of helping fellow students find information that was once a tedious and vague task is the highest honor any student can have. Making a chatbot that can be accessed at any time would be an excellent addition to the school. I also wanted to design this app using inclusivity, as having this app not be efficient for students is quite literally the opposite of what I intended. That’s why I spent five grueling hours coding text-to-speech and speech-to-text, to ensure that the app is suitable for almost 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.