Champions of the Week: Kaxten McGrew, Bastain Nowak, and Luke Hinkelman

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SYKES. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to honor Kaxten McGrew, Bastian Nowak, and Luke Hinkelman as the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for our district and name them as Ohio's 13th Congressional District's champions of the week.

Their app, Eagle Express, is an innovative system that allows students and teachers to better track and complete transactions within their school's token-based incentive program. The app will help teachers better manage students and students better manage their finances.

Named after STEM High School's mascot, Beak Bucks allow teachers to award points to students for positive behavior in the form of paper money that they can redeem for prizes, but Kaxten, Bastian, and Luke felt this was inconsistent and susceptible to forgery and fraud.

Their app, Eagle Express, establishes online wallets for students to virtually track their Beak Bucks balances and redeem them for prize rewards. Eagle Express also streamlines the process for teachers, creating more efficient ways to track and allocate Beak Bucks.

Mr. Speaker, stories of innovation like these raise my spirits and make me more optimistic for the future of our district and the rest of the country.

Kaxten, Bastian, and Luke are impressive examples of what our children can do when we invest in their futures and set them free to explore their interests.

Mr. Speaker, I, once again, extend to them my congratulations for being named 2025 App Challenge winners for Ohio's 13th Congressional District. We cannot wait to see what the future holds for these three young people.

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