Students from Grisham Middle School and Westwood High School are heading to Washington, D.C., after winning the Congressional App Challenge for Texas’ 37th District.
Congressman Lloyd Doggett recently recognized the students during a presentation celebrating their achievements in the annual competition, which encourages students to explore coding, computer science and STEM innovation while developing solutions to real-world challenges.
The first-place app, CareLoop, was developed by Grisham Middle School students Viraj V., Shivank A., and Vihaan G., along with Pranav K. from Westwood High School.
CareLoop is a mobile app designed to help caregivers manage multiple patients in one place. The platform centralizes schedules, medical information, alerts and care resources while offering emotional support through an AI chatbot. It also connects caregivers to financial assistance programs such as VA benefits, Medicare, Medicaid and local aid resources, linking directly to application forms within the app.
As winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge, the students were invited to attend #HouseofCode, a conference at the US Capitol Building in April.
In addition to this achievement, Westwood High School students Akshara R. and Apple M. earned first runner-up for their app, VoxtAI.
VoxtAI is an AI-powered civic platform that helps students learn about their rights, engage with school and government leaders and build leadership skills. Through modules focused on learning, engagement, empowerment and news, the platform aims to make civic education accessible while encouraging students to become informed and active participants in their communities.
Members of the U.S. House of Representatives host districtwide Congressional App Challenges for middle and high school students each year. The goal of the competition is to “inspire, include and innovate efforts around STEM, coding and computer science education.”
For more information about the program, visit the Congressional App Challenge website.