By Emily Garcia
A group of four juniors won the 2020 Congressional App Competition for California’s 29th congressional district. Last December, Congressmen Tony Cárdenas met virtually with Josh Bowden, Sejin Choi, Achintya Gupta, and Aniket Gupta. The team created an app called “Math4Fun” that allows students grades 6-12 to practice math concepts in a fun way.
“[It] is an interactive mathematics-focused gaming website that caters to visual and tactile learners,” Aniket Gupta said in the Math4Fun video submission for the competition.
The team wanted to benefit those who have struggled with math before and help them practice math skills in an “entertaining and intuitive way.” They each had their own unique ideas when contributing. For example, one of the members found it boring to always use the same practice sites, so the team made the effort to surround numbers in an exciting environment that changes every time in their app.
“Math usually gets repetitive so this app helps you have fun while learning,” Choi said.
The website includes visual representations of what users are learning, which is much more helpful to visual learners. Hints are also available throughout the games.
Once the team collected their award, they were asked about what it meant to them.
“This award means a lot to us because it represents something we were able to achieve on our own in a field that we all express interest in. All those months of hard work have finally paid off! Through this award, we were not only assured of our own abilities, but we were also invited to attend the #HOUSEOFCODE event along with state representatives and other winners where we hope to broaden our creative horizons and expose ourselves to new ideas that we can implement in the future. Following high school, we all hope to pursue a career in the STEM field, using our ideas to hopefully change the world for the better,” Achintya Gupta said.
Congressman Cárdenas also spoke on their behalf.
“As an engineer, I am excited to see thousands of students across the country express an interest in coding and computer sciences at an early age. I am especially proud of the brilliant students of the 29th District, and applaud the work of Josh, Achintya, Aniket, and Sejin. The world is changing, and we must encourage the next generation of Americans to pursue careers in the STEM fields and prepare them for the economy of the future,” Cárdenas said in his press release.
They all hope to inspire other young adults struggling in high school to find new, easier ways of learning. The students hope to have fun while doing so as well.
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