SURPRISE, AZ—U.S. Congresswoman Debbie Lesko (AZ-08) announced the winners of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge for Arizona’s 8^th Congressional District. Om Bankar and Aayush Abhilash, students at BASIS Peoria, won this year’s challenge for their app called FinEdForKids, which provides students with resources to achieve financial literacy at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

“I am so pleased to congratulate Om Bankar and Aayush Abhilash for winning this year’s Congressional App Challenge for Arizona’s 8^th Congressional District,” said Congresswoman Lesko. “FinEdForKids is a commonsense app that will hopefully educate children of all ages on how to use and save their money for the future. It is an honor to represent so many bright students, and it is wonderful to see them using their talents and creativity through these apps to help others!”

The second-place app was The Arizona Clothing Line, created by Nathan Narrik, a student at Deer Valley High School. This app enables users to know exactly how long it would take for them to dry their clothes outside and tells them how much carbon emissions they save by doing so.

The third-place app was Sole Foods, created by Genesis Carrillo, Kenna Yoshimura, and Martin Shepard, students at Deer Valley High School. This app allows users to search for healthy recipes with a single word or food item, and provides the ingredient list and cooking directions.

FinEdForKids was selected from several entries from middle and high school students across the district. Students were invited to submit apps written in any programming language for any platform. The winner from Arizona’s 8^th Congressional District, chosen by a panel of expert judges, will be featured on CongressionalAppChallenge.us. The app will also be displayed in the U.S. Capitol, along with other winners from across the country.

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