High School Sophomore Takes First Place in Congressional App Challenge

Midway High School sophomore Stephanie Starks won first place in the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Texas’ 17th Congressional District for the app she created called “Pollinator Party.”

Stephanie, who was named runner-up in the same contest last year, is a student in Project Lead the Way computer science courses at Midway High School.

She was inspired to create her app after seeing an injured butterfly, prompting her to consider how pollinators are impacted by humans.

In conducting her own research, Stephanie learned about the critical role pollinators play in crop growth and food production and their decline due to limited food sources, so she designed an app that helps educate users on the importance of pollinators.

The Congressional App Challenge is hosted annually by members of the U.S. House of Representatives in districts across the country with the goals of encouraging students to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science.

This year’s competition set a new record with over 11,000 students competing nationwide.