Phishing Hook wins Rep. John Moolenaar’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Michigan’s Second District
Rep. John Moolenaar has named Levi Willette, Jayvyn Craves, James McGillis, and Nathan Glysz of Meridian Early College HIgh School and Bay City Central High School as the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Michigan’s Second District. Their app Phishing Hook is a web application that provides users access to personal phishing training through games alongside a scam email simulation.
When asked what inspired the creation of Phishing Hook, the students said, “Being an individual who participates online frequently and a Cyber Security student, I’m constantly encountering scams and phishing emails. Acknowledging the impact and devastation that is present through phishing emails, it seemed necessary to introduce a personalized, free, and impactful prevention method to these scams.”
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.