A team of young students from Virginia has won the first-ever Presidential Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge National Champion Award for creating a chatbot designed to help prevent bullying. The award was presented by US First Lady Melania Trump at a ceremony held at the White House on Tuesday.
PRESIDENTIAL AI CHALLENGE
Open Doors to Realize Dreams pic.twitter.com/5FaqaXsvpR— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) June 10, 2026
The winning project, called “Friendzone Chatbot Bullying Prevention App,” was developed by a five-member team from Aldie, Virginia. The group included Aarna Jaiswal, Eshani Khatri, Riva Madda, Samhitha Pinnamareddy and Sanuli Rathnayake. The students secured the top honour in the Elementary School Track 2 category.
This morning, @FLOTUS @MELANIATRUMP awarded America’s six student National Champion Teams at the White House today during the first Presidential Artificial Intelligence Challenge National Champion Awards Ceremony.
“Today is about opening doors. When new doors open, passions… pic.twitter.com/0qNbBhynFf
— Office of the First Lady (@FirstLadyOffice) June 9, 2026
The chatbot was created to provide support and guidance to children facing bullying, highlighting how technology can be used to address real-life challenges faced by students.
Students from different parts of the United States were recognised across several categories. In the Middle School Track 1 category, a team from NorthStar Middle School in Washington won for their project, “Skillup.” The team included Viha Iyer, Arya Pratap and Shrimayi Shetty.
In the high school division, Khandakar Mahin from Pennsylvania won the national title in Track 1 for a project that uses computer vision technology to help identify hotel rooms during criminal investigations. Mahin is set to graduate from high school this week and will join Harvard University later this year.
Addressing the winners, Melania Trump praised the students for their creativity and dedication. “It is wonderful to see this very impressive group of innovators at the White House. I’m proud that you represent the best of America. You are our future,” she said.
“Congratulations to our Presidential AI Challenge winners. It is wonderful to see this very impressive group of innovators at the White House. I’m proud that you represent the best of America. You are our future.”
First Lady Melania Trump
Presidential AI Challenge National… pic.twitter.com/G2SS9SwSIl— Office of the First Lady (@FirstLadyOffice) June 9, 2026
First Lady Melania Trump Participates in the Presidential AI Challenge National Champions Awards https://t.co/5mYEJg8rKq
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 9, 2026
According to the First Lady, more than 20,000 students participated in the inaugural Presidential AI Challenge. Entries were received from all 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Department of Defence schools located in several countries.
The competition was launched to encourage students to explore artificial intelligence and use technology to develop solutions for real-world problems.
