Calipatria students win Congressional App Challenge with MedCentral

Local teens create a healthcare app to assist those in need

CALIPATRIA, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - A group of high school students, including two from Calipatria High School, have been named winners of Representative Raul Ruiz's 2024 Congressional App Challenge in California's 25th District.

The winning app, MedCentral, was developed by Layla Morales and Evelyn Torres-Martìnez of Calipatria High School, along with Alex Tang of Westview High School and Chris Zheng of The Bishop's School in San Diego.

Morales and Torres-Martìnez, who hail from the Imperial Valley, emphasized the importance of their project in addressing language barriers and accessibility for immigrants needing medical assistance. The inspiration stemmed from their personal experiences and observations within their communities.

"In our district, we've seen so many immigrants struggle with medical diagnoses and the need for various medications. My teammate's mother had difficulty reading English, so we designed a feature that translates instructions and reads them aloud. Another teammate's parents had trouble recording their sick grandmother’s symptoms, so we created a logging feature to make that easier," they explained. "We hope to relieve some of the stress of being a first-generation child or immigrant."

Torres-Martìnez added that taking care of a family member with diabetes and dementia made her realize how difficult medication management can be: "It takes a lot to ensure they get the right medication at the right time. Our app simplifies that process and helps families like mine."

Winning a competition of this scale is a rare achievement for students from Calipatria High School, a fact that was not lost on Torres-Martìnez.

"This doesn't really happen to Calipatria High School students," she said. "I would expect it from schools like Brawley or Holtville because they're known for their strong academics. It's shocking that two students from Calipatria met up with two from San Diego, collaborated, and actually won."

Morales echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the lack of resources available in their region: "We're in an area that’s often behind in opportunities compared to other schools. A lot of kids don't think they stand a chance against students from bigger cities like San Diego or those from Northern California. But this win proves that they can. I hope it inspires other students from our community to go after these opportunities."

Despite their ultimate success, Morales and Torres-Martìnez faced significant time constraints.

"We didn't even know the competition opened in May or that the app was due in October," Morales admitted. "We had less than a month to develop MedCentral. We had late-night Zoom meetings, brainstorming and refining our idea. Evelyn and I focused on the inspiration and user experience, while the boys handled the technical aspects."

Their collaboration with Tang and Zheng was a crucial part of the process. Zheng highlighted the teamwork element, saying, "It was like running a small business. We had people with different expertise coming together to build something meaningful. I personally want to go into engineering, whether it's computer science, mechanical, or electrical engineering, so this was a valuable experience.”

Tang added, "If you don’t understand English very well, MedCentral can help with instructions. It's a simple idea, but it can make a huge difference for people who don't have access to resources."

Although MedCentral is still in its early stages, the team is already thinking about further development.

"It's not a full-size product yet, but it's a start," Morales said. "We're exploring ways to refine it and expand its capabilities."

The Congressional App Challenge, which encourages students to explore coding and STEM careers, saw a record-breaking 12,682 participants in 2024.

The winners will have the opportunity to present their app in Washington, D.C., at the annual #HouseOfCode festival.

For Morales and Torres-Martìnez, this victory is more than just a win. It's proof that students from small communities can compete on a national stage.

"We just hope this inspires others from Calipatria and Imperial Valley to take a chance. You never know what can happen," Morales said.