Ridge High School Students Earn Honorable Mentions In Congressional App Challenge

Congressman Tom Kean Jr. recognized top winners of the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for New Jersey's 7th District.

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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Two Ridge High School students were among the honorable mention winners recognized in the 2025 Congressional App Challenge for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District by Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. The overall winners were Maxwell Brohm and Zander Leon from the Morris County School of Technology, who created the app ChronoIQ to enhance students' time management skills. Four additional apps from students across the district also received honorable mentions in various categories.

Why it matters

The Congressional App Challenge is an annual competition that encourages students to learn coding and computer science skills by creating their own original apps. The recognition of Ridge High School students highlights the strength of STEM education in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District and the talent of young innovators in the region.

The details

At the event hosted by Congressman Kean, the overall winners Maxwell Brohm and Zander Leon were recognized for their app ChronoIQ, designed to help students improve time management and reduce academic stress. Four additional apps received honorable mentions in various categories: SymptoScan by Ridge High School students Madhubala Mohanakrishnan, Riya Laheja, and Rameen Nazim (Healthy Outcomes), forum by Michael Tan of Union County Magnet High School (Social Awareness), SafeSphere by Ridge High School students Aryaman Arora and Kevin Chen (API Usage), and VertiSight by Romit Gurao of Mount Olive Middle School (Rising Star).

  • The 2025 Congressional App Challenge for New Jersey's 7th Congressional District took place.
  • Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. hosted an event on Thursday, February 20, 2026 to recognize the top winners.

The players

Tom Kean Jr.

Congressman representing New Jersey's 7th Congressional District.

Maxwell Brohm

A student at the Morris County School of Technology who, along with Zander Leon, created the overall winning app ChronoIQ.

Zander Leon

A student at the Morris County School of Technology who, along with Maxwell Brohm, created the overall winning app ChronoIQ.

Madhubala Mohanakrishnan

A student at Ridge High School who, along with Riya Laheja and Rameen Nazim, created the app SymptoScan that received an Honorable Mention in the Healthy Outcomes category.

Riya Laheja

A student at Ridge High School who, along with Madhubala Mohanakrishnan and Rameen Nazim, created the app SymptoScan that received an Honorable Mention in the Healthy Outcomes category.

Rameen Nazim

A student at Ridge High School who, along with Madhubala Mohanakrishnan and Riya Laheja, created the app SymptoScan that received an Honorable Mention in the Healthy Outcomes category.

Michael Tan

A student at Union County Magnet High School who created the app forum that received an Honorable Mention in the Social Awareness category.

Aryaman Arora

A student at Ridge High School who, along with Kevin Chen, created the app SafeSphere that received an Honorable Mention in the API Usage category.

Kevin Chen

A student at Ridge High School who, along with Aryaman Arora, created the app SafeSphere that received an Honorable Mention in the API Usage category.

Romit Gurao

A student at Mount Olive Middle School who created the app VertiSight that received the Rising Star Honorable Mention.

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What they’re saying

“It was a privilege to honor the students who excelled in this year's Congressional App Challenge. Each of them designed and built impressive applications that showcased their hard work, creativity, and technical skill. These young innovators possess extraordinary talent, and the level of thought and execution they brought to this competition speak to the strength of STEM education in our district.”

— Tom Kean Jr., Congressman (Patch.com)

The takeaway

The recognition of Ridge High School students in the Congressional App Challenge highlights the strong STEM education programs in New Jersey's 7th Congressional District and the impressive talent of young coders and innovators in the region who are using technology to solve real-world problems.