Dreambound wins Rep. Mike Simpson’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Idaho’s Second District
Rep. Mike Simpson has named Kade Poulson, Hazel Rivadeneira, and Sebastian Maldonado of Burley High School as the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Idaho’s Second District. Their app Dreambound is a game with the premise of escaping the dream world you are trapped in.
When asked what inspired the creation of Dreambound, the students said, “I actually don’t know! One day, I decided to ask if I could download Unity on the computer we owned at home. To my GREAT surprise, my dad said yes! So I just kind of.. got on and decided to do whatever.”
The 2025 Congressional App Challenge marked another record-setting year for the program. A total of 394 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives hosted App Challenges in their congressional districts, the highest level of participation in the program’s history. More than 13,800 students from across the country participated, submitting over 4,600 original apps focused on real-world challenges ranging from health and accessibility to education, sustainability, and civic engagement.
The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives that encourages middle school and high school students to learn to code, explore computer science, and build practical technology solutions for their communities. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and winning teams are invited to showcase their projects to Members of Congress, staff, and industry leaders at the annual #HouseOfCode celebration on Capitol Hill.
The Challenge is proudly bipartisan and reflects a shared commitment to expanding access to STEM education and preparing the next generation of American innovators for the future workforce. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from the Broadcom Foundation, AWS, Infosys Foundation USA, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.
The 2026 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.