Anchor: Surgery Recovery wins Rep. Mike Thompson’s 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California’s Fourth District
Rep. Mike Thompson has named Ishaan Dhaliwal of Davis Senior High School as the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge in California’s Fourth District. Their app Anchor: Surgery Recovery provides a tool for patients recovering from orthopedic surgeries, helping them stay on track with their recovery process.
When asked what inspired the creation of Anchor: Surgery Recovery, Ishaan Dhaliwal said, “I was inspired to make this app seeing my grandfather recover from his hip replacement surgery. Even with my family’s support, being stuck in bed and not being able to move for weeks was incredibly frustrating and demotivating for him. Being an immigrant, he also found it difficult to communicate with the physical therapist, making him even less likely to follow through on the exercises he was supposed to do. Because of my grandfather’s experiences, I began exploring the world of surgery recovery, and I quickly realized that many recovering patients –especially older adults, people who live alone, or those in rural areas– need extra support, more that just what the current health care system provides them.”
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.