Back-to-back brilliance

Sophomore wins Congressional App Challenge for the second consecutive year

Story by Max Gaylor and Leighton Kelems

February 25, 2026

Sophomore Nirav Neupane accepts his award from the Congressional App Challenge for Texas First District. Neupane’s app is displayed in the U.S. Capitol building until next year’s winner is announced.

Cameras flash as sophomore Nirav Neupane eagerly shakes hands with U.S Congressman Nathaniel Moran while celebrating his second victory in the Congressional App Challenge.

Neupane’s app is displayed in the U.S. Capitol building until next year’s winner is announced. While competitors around the country seek inspiration for future projects, LionLang is featured on the official House.gov website. Along with the public presentation of the app, Neupane received an invitation to Washington D.C. for a prestigious science fair where demo apps are presented to Members of Congress and tech leaders.

On Jan. 21, 2026, sophomore Nirav Neupane reached a historic milestone by creating an initiative app, LionLang, to serve those in need in the community. The app critiques and assesses public speaking progress, monitoring improvement over time.

“LionLang is a public speaking preparation app,” Neupane said. “You can practice lessons on public speaking and practice speeches to get feedback on your confidence, filler words, words per minute and more to see how you can improve.”

Neupane notes that LionLang’s sole purpose is to help those in need above all and dedicates his time to construct an instrument to serve the greater community with a strong sense of determination.

“I built it because a lot of people have public speaking as their biggest fear,” Neupane said. “I wanted to build something that could help people prepare and [erase] that fear.”

Neupane’s previous app, Serve Smart, assists people in accessing and organizing acts of service towards their community..

“Serve Smart helps come up with creative action for volunteering,” Neupane said. “The app is ideally making a difference in the community, specifically schools and student organizations.”

Neupane continues making his own mark, assisting people in their everyday lives, whether it be through quickening public services or enhancing someone’s public speaking.

“The Congressional App Challenge has been a good experience because I have been able to put skills I have learned to the test,” Neupane said. “[In the future,] I want to continue building things that serve the needs of [the] people.”

About the Contributors

Max Gaylor, Staff Writer

Although Max Gaylor is only just beginning as a first-year writer, he is ready to take on any challenge he faces. At school, he is an athlete who swims and has been since his freshman year. Also, he actively participates in the club, ASPIRE, started by his sister, Kai-ly, who just graduated last year. Besides swimming and playing a part in clubs, Gaylor has always been interested in writing since he was very young and is prepared to write any story this school year.

Leighton Kelems, Copy Editor

Leighton Kelems returns to room 50B as a fan favorite member of Tiger Times Online. With her newly acquired promotion to Copy Editor, she is prepared (hopefully) to spend whatever free time she can scrounge up after work perfecting stories to be Pacemaker-worthy. When she’s not at school, Ironwood, or extending her mile-long TBR at Books-A-Million, you can find her soaring through the night skies with her partner in crime, Rece Beaird. While battling through weeks worth of homework, surviving on 600 mg of caffeine and a handful of Goldfish alone, Kelems blasts the incomparable masterpieces of Billy Joel’s album,“The Stranger”, day in and day out. As for after high school? Still a work-in-progress, but hopes and dreams of analyzing people for a living remain a top dog bucket list item as college tours loom overhead.

Nadia Lopez, Assignments Editor, Photographer

Nadia Lopez is a senior and a third-year returning staff member for THS Publications. Apart from this, she is a member of Mu Alpha Theta, NHS, Quill & Scroll, Rosebuds, Key Club, Science Club, and Reading Club. Lopez loves hanging out with friends, watching shows, and taking pictures. As Assignments Editor this year, she hopes to productively lead the photography team and make a great year out of it.