CORREA ANNOUNCES ANAHEIM STUDENT AS CONGRESSIONAL APP CHALLENGE WINNER

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Today, Representative Lou Correa (CA-46) announced Xiong Yi, a student at Fairmont Prep Academy in Anaheim, Calif. as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California's 46th District. As one of the challenge winners, Xiong will be invited to demonstrate his app to Members of Congress and their staff in the U.S. Capitol.

Photo of Xiong Yi

You can watch a walkthrough of Xiong's app, MathFluent, HERE and by clicking the image below.

Screenshot of Xiong's app, MathFluent

When asked what inspired the creation of MathFluent, Yi said: "The idea for Math Fluent came from a personal realization: many students can solve math problems, but they don't always understand why their solutions work. I used to be one of those students. I could follow steps, memorize methods, and get the right answers - but I didn't always grasp the deeper meaning or logic. Everything changed when I began questioning the purpose of each step. Instead of rushing to the answer, I practiced asking myself what the problem was teaching, whether my logic made sense, and how I could explain it clearly. My approach didn't just improve my performance - it made math enjoyable, empowering, and intellectually satisfying. That insight inspired MathFluent. I wanted to create a tool that trains students to think like mathematicians: curious, analytical, expressive, and independent. Math is a language, and fluency in that language comes from understanding, not pattern-recall. Building this app lets me help others build that skill early, rather than discovering it later by chance."

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. 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 wildly successful competition continues to impress upon House Members the importance of computer science education and the need to develop a pipeline of diverse, domestic STEM talent.

"I created this app because I believe every student is capable of deep thinking when given the right guidance. When students learn why math works, the subject becomes exciting, not intimidating. It becomes a tool for life - for engineering, physics, problem-solving, innovation, and even everyday decisions," Yi added. "Math Fluent is more than an app - it's a mission. I want students to feel empowered, capable, and fluent in their thinking. I hope this tool inspires confidence and unlocks the joy that comes from truly understanding math."

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