Odessa Teen Wins Congressional App Challenge with Mental Health App

ODESSA, TX — Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11) announced Ajay Gundlapalli as the winner of the 2024 Congressional App Challenge for Texas’ 11th District.

Gundlapalli is a freshman in high school from Odessa and created an app called Querapy, which he developed to educate and empower students to better understand and care for their mental health, according to information from Pfluger's office.

Through the app, users are presented with lists of questionnaires that they can take upon signing in, all of which are standardized medical questionnaires on depression, anxiety, stress, and other mental health conditions. Once completed, users are given a result that shows the severity of the condition and are provided with free mental health resources. 

“I am proud to announce Ajay Gundlapalli as the winner of this year’s Congressional App Challenge for Texas’ 11th District,” said Congressman Pfluger. “Ajay’s app gives users quick and easy access to helpful mental health resources and is very impressive considering Ajay coded the application himself. Every year I am blown away by the creativity and skill of each student’s submission and am reminded of how many talented students there are in Texas. I wish Ajay the best of luck as his submission is sent to be judged in the national competition in Washington, D.C., and I am looking forward to seeing what he does next."

Ajay's app was chosen by a panel of expert judges and will be featured on the U.S. House of Representatives website, House.gov, as well as on CongressionalAppChallenge.us. His winning app will also be displayed in the U.S. Capitol among other winners from across the country.

Background: The Congressional App Challenge is a district-wide challenge for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science.