Finka wins Rep. Janice Schakowsky’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Illinois’ Ninth District
Rep. Janice Schakowsky has named Hriman Shrestha and Jacob Nemirovsky of Senn High School as the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Illinois’s Ninth District. Their app Finka helps you develop better skincare habits through gamification and personalized routines.
When asked what inspired the creation of Finka, the students said, “We came up with Finka after realizing just how confusing and inconsistent skincare is for most people. But my teammate Hriman and I noticed that so many people our age didn’t know where to start or just gave up on skincare after a week or two. We wanted to create something easier, something that made skincare a habit instead of a chore.
“Apps like Duolingo for learning or fitness apps that reward consistency inspired us. We thought, why not skincare? That’s when Finka was born, an app that makes taking care of your skin fun and interactive.
“We also wanted to link self-care and tech in a positive way. So much of the online pressure is on appearance, and we want to put that pressure on self-improvement and confidence. Skincare should be about feeling good in your own skin and not about comparing yourself to others.
“With Finka, we help people make that first step, build habits that stick, and learn more about themselves in the process. The creation of it taught us that even small ideas can be meaningful if you care about the problem being solved.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.