In the News

Texas High School Student Develops Community Service App, Wins Congressional Challenge
KTAL
January 31, 2025
By Hunter Trombetta

Northeast Texas congressional representative Nathaniel Moran stopped by Texas High on Thursday to recognize a rising star in STEM.

“What a great thing this morning to be able to stand in Texarkana, Texas High, and honor our first ever Congressional App Challenge winner, NIrav Neupane,” said US Rep. Nathaniel Moran.

NIrav Neupane’s ServeSmart app won out over every other app developed by students in northeast Texas.

“So it’s basically a volunteering app to help get ideas for volunteering and find local opportunities near you,” said NIrav, a Freshman at Texas High.

He said he decided on the idea because he recognized a need in his community.

“I wanted to build something that could help serve people. So I just came up with this volunteering app because I’ve had previous experiences in student council, and it seemed like something that would help,” said Nirav.

The Congressional App Challenge is a competition that a many other representatives hold for students in their district. Congressman Moran decided to bring it to northeast Texas to encourage more students to reach their potential.

“It helps to get to a place where we honor innovation. We look and say, hey students, we want to honor the work and creativity and ingenuity and innovation that’s coming through on a day-to-day basis that perhaps others would be inspired by if they saw it,” said Rep. Moran.

For now, Nirav is at least inspired to consider a career in coding.

“I’m interested in programming and it’s kind of a hobby right now, but I hope to take it to a next another level in the future. But yeah, it was difficult building the app but I just learned and kept going through it.”

Nirav was awarded a challenge coin, a certificate from the congressman, and plenty of swag from the school and Red River Credit Union.

Read the full story from KTAL here.