Rep. Sewell Announces Winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for Alabama’s 7th Congressional District

Birmingham, AL - U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (AL-07) announced the winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for Alabama's 7th Congressional District. The announcement was made at a virtual ceremony Tuesday night. Rep. Sewell joined participants to celebrate the four submissions from talented students across the 7th District.

11th graders Dinah Henkin and Greeshma Vinoy of the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham were selected as winners for their app "Ripple." The app helps support and protect Alabama's river ecosystems.

"The brilliance and creativity of our students never ceases to amaze me," said Rep. Sewell. "All of our participants brought passion, originality, and thoughtful ideas to this competition, and I am incredibly proud of them all. I am especially excited to honor our winners, Dinah and Greeshma, whose bold and innovative app exemplifies the extraordinary talent of our young people. It is my hope that through competitions like this, we can continue to inspire students to advance their coding skills and explore careers in STEM."

Alongside other App Challenge winners from across the nation, Henkin and Vinoy will be invited to attend the #HouseOfCode Reception on Capitol Hill in April 2026, providing them with a unique opportunity to showcase their innovative applications and interact with policymakers.

Additional submissions are below:

App Name: Healing Our City

• Student(s): Jer'Meriyah Burns, Kaitlyn Robinson, Brytania Martinez, Travis Smith
• School: R.B. Hudson Steam Academy
• Watch the video here.

App Name: Track Your Z's

• Student(s): Anna Mrug, Ana Singh, Emily Kim, Cory Kim
• School: Alabama School of Fine Arts
• Watch the video here.

App Name: Vibe Check

• Student(s): Alana Hawkins, TDarrius Crawford
• School: Ramsay High School
• Watch the video here.

Recognizing the power of STEM and computer science to foster economic growth and innovation, Congress created the Congressional App Challenge in 2015 to encourage students to pursue these critical skills and recognize them for their efforts.

More information is available here.

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