OnTask wins Rep. Mike Gallagher’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Wisconsin’s Eighth District
Rep. Gallagher has named Owen Hall, a 12th grader at Appleton West High School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Wisconsin’s Eighth District.
When asked what inspired the creation of OnTask, the student said, “I made OnTask to solve a problem I struggle with daily: staying organized. I have a to-do list in my notes app, events in my calendar, and many school assignments through the school’s app. This system is inconvenient but also leads to a multitude of issues. I often have conflicts due to putting an event/assignment in one area but not another, or from forgetting to check everything. I know many other students struggle with this same problem, so I designed OnTask to solve this issue. I also used this app as a chance to learn web and app development skills while creating a useful product.”
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.