FocusMate wins Rep. Mike Kennedy’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Utah’s Third District
Rep. Mike Kennedy has named Ishanth Sooram of Hillcrest High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in Utah’s Third District. Their app FocusMate is an AI-powered study buddy that helps students learn efficiently.
When asked what inspired the creation of FocusMate, Ishanth Sooram said, “The idea for FocusMate came to me during Covid with online school and long class timings. I used to get distracted and have no clue if my study methods were really effective. I realized that there are plenty of study timer apps out there, but none of them have real-time feedback or help students understand their learning patterns. The idea I had 5 years ago finally came together a few months ago.”
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.