Congressional App Challenge
I am pleased to announce that Factly was chosen as the 2025 winner in the Congressional App Challenge for Missouri's 2nd District! The information analysis app was created by Parkway West juniors, Kyler Wang and William Tanudyaya. Judges Jerry McNeive and Andrew Kruszka awarded Factly 1st place based on its smart AI safeguards and verification speed. Kyler and William will be invited to participate in the 2026 #HouseofCode this spring. Their app will also be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives website and as part of a U.S. Capitol exhibit.
Congratulations to the 2nd place winners Varun Kurra, Aviral Pandey, Anish Kumar, and Moury Bachina. The judges were very impressed with their food management app, Foodie AI, as it connects waste prevention to local impact and its multi-method input. Varun, Aviral, Anish, and Moury are all students at Parkway West High School.
Parkway Central students Dwaraka Kumar, Jason Matthew, Aaditya Khatavkar, and Metro Academic Classical student Claire Xiao were awarded 3rd place for their digital card app Cardly for its solid backend architecture and emotional impact. I was impressed by all of the young coders who entered the competition.
Thank you to Jerry McNeive and Andrew Kruszka for all your hard work evaluating the entries.
The Congressional App Challenge is a national competition highlighting the value of computer science and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education. Established by Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2015, the Congressional App Challenge allows students from across the country to compete by creating and exhibiting their software application, or "app," for mobile, tablet, or computer devices on a platform of their choice. By recognizing our nation's young programming talent, Congress hopes to shine a light on the growing importance of these skills.
This competition is open to middle and high school students, working individually or in teams of up to four, who meet the eligibility requirements, regardless of coding experience. We strongly encourage students of all skill levels to participate, enabling them to learn how to create their own apps. Students entering the competition must provide a video demo explaining their app and what they learned through this competition process, such as coding or graphic design.
When details regarding the 2026 Congressional App Challenge become available, we will update this page and provide the information to computer science teachers across Missouri's 2nd District. If you have questions or would like more information, contact Jessie Johns at Jessie.Johns@mail.house.gov or 636-779-5449.