Congressman Neal Announces Winner of 2025 Congressional App Challenge
GREAT BARRINGTON — On Jan. 16, U.S. Rep. Richard Neal joined Peter Dillon, superintendent of Berkshire Hills Regional School District; Christopher Barnes, principal of Monument Mountain Regional High School; faculty; staff; and students to announce the winner of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge.
Established by the U.S. House of Representatives in 2013, the Congressional App Challenge officially commenced in 2015. It was created to inspire students to explore STEM, coding, and computer science through hands-on practice. Since 2015, more than 85,000 students across all 50 states have participated in the competition. This year, nearly 5,000 applications were submitted by more than 13,000 students.
The winning app from the First District of Massachusetts was submitted by Jonah Sanabria of Monument Mountain Regional High School. His app is designed to serve as a patient advocate, learning each user’s health conditions, medications, and medical history. The app helps its users prepare for appointments by compiling questions to ask providers and listening during appointments to ensure all questions are answered. As a result, users leave their appointments feeling heard and with a clear path forward to deliver better patient outcomes.
“In a society where technology has become an integral part of our everyday lives, the need for professionals in the STEM field is more important now than ever. The Congressional App Challenge encourages students to explore these fields through hands-on practice, and as we witnessed here today, our students are excelling,” Neal said. “I am grateful to the administration, faculty, and staff at Monument Mountain Regional High School for providing their students the opportunity to gain valuable experience in a field with great potential. We often celebrate students for their athletic achievements, but it is equally important to recognize them in moments like these. Jonah has demonstrated his superb talent in coding and computer science — skills that will greatly benefit him in his future careers.”
As the winning student from the First District of Massachusetts, Sanabria’s app will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for one year. In addition, he will have the opportunity to visit Capitol Hill in the spring at a celebration called #HouseOfCode, where winning teams from across the country hear from lawmakers, interact with sponsors and partners at the STEM Expo, and demonstrate their apps.
“Jonah is obviously a bright, driven, and self-motivated young man. We are incredibly proud of him and his initiative and skills with technology,” Barnes said. “That he focused his efforts on healthcare is also highly impressive. I do have to say that we very much appreciate Jonah bringing Congressman Neal to our school. It’s a great honor.”