Health Advocate wins Rep. Richard Neal’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Massachusetts’s First District.
Rep. Richard Neal has named Jonah Sanabria of Monument Mountain High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Massachusetts’s First District. Their app Health Advocate acts as a patient advocate for anyone visiting a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider.
When asked what inspired the creation of Health Advocate, Jonah Sanabria said, “I was listening to my mom talk about an appointment she went to and how she still felt dissatisfied and had unanswered questions afterward. I thought that if she could be reminded of what she needed to ask during the appointment, she’d leave feeling satisfied and better cared for. I asked other adults about this, and they agreed that it was a major issue for them. It’s only a prototype, but it demonstrates the concept and shows how a tool like this might be useful. I also spoke to a physician friend of the family, and he mentioned this type of app would be very helpful for some types of patients.”
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.