Press Release
Posted:
Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04) announced Ishaan Dhaliwal from Davis Senior High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge. Ishaan’s app “Anchor: Surgery Recovery” helps patients recovering from orthopedic surgeries stay on track during the recovery process.
“STEM education is critical to prepare our nation’s middle- and high-schoolers for the future workforce. That’s why I look forward to hosting the Congressional App Challenge each year. It’s a great opportunity to engage our community’s students in creative, innovative coding projects," said Thompson.
“Congratulations to Ishaan on his outstanding app to help patients recover from surgeries virtually, and congratulations to Shirochka Janapati from Technology High School for winning second place, and Logan Anello, Kevin Corrales, Maria Torres, and Cheyenne Williams from Winters High School for winning third place! I’m blown away by this year’s submissions. I encourage each and every one of our participants to continue to work hard to develop their coding skills and to spread the word so we can expand our competition even more in 2026.”
The apps were evaluated by a panel of judges from the Fourth District: Laura Swart from Keysight Technologies, Michael Silva from Solano Community College, and Joel Pyzer from Woodland Community College.
The final standings were:
1st Place: Ishaan Dhaliwal from Davis Senior High School for “Anchor: Surgery Recovery” helps patients recovering from orthopedic surgeries stay on track during the recovery process.
2nd Place: Shirochka Janapati from Technology High School in Rohnert Park for “CommUnity,” an app designed to help users track community service and volunteer opportunities.
3rd Place: Logan Anello, Kevin Corrales, Maria Torres, and Cheyenne Williams from Winters High School for “CammyFit,” an app designed to help users track their healthy habits including diet and exercise.
BACKGROUND
Each year, the U.S. House of Representatives hosts the Congressional App Challenge to encourage middle school and high school student participation in computer science. The App Challenge is an opportunity for students to compete against peers within their congressional district to design and code an original application. The student or students behind each winning application are invited to Washington, D.C. to present their application to members of Congress and leaders in the technology sector. Each winning app is also displayed in the U.S. Capitol and shown on House.gov.