Browning, Montana High School Students to Showcase Mental Health App at National Science Fair

Browning High School seniors won the 2025 Congressional App Challenge with their mental health app, Sspomo.

Aiyahna Green, Sophia Guerrero-Gobert, and Kalani SunRhodes developed the app, addressing mental health challenges on Native reservations. Their victory signals a growing focus on tech-driven solutions for underserved communities in Montana’s western district.

Using MIT App Inventor, the students built Sspomo with an AI Chatbot and a database containing definitions of depression, cyberbullying, and anxiety. The app links users to resources such as the 988 suicide hotline, though it is not yet publicly available. Their project was supported by Code Girls United, a nonprofit providing programming education since 2016. The team will present their app next week at the National Science Fair’s House of Code event in Washington, D.C.

The students plan to enhance Sspomo with features like online support groups and community resources, such as Sukapi Lodge.

This initiative builds upon Montana’s recent opening of its first tribally run mental health center on the Blackfeet Nation reservation. Programs like Sspomo may resonate in Montana’s rural and reservation communities, where access to mental health resources is limited. Such technology could bridge gaps exacerbated by geographic isolation and cultural barriers, fostering localized solutions rooted in native languages and experiences.

Browning High School Students to Showcase Mental Health App at National Science Fair

By Zoë Buhrmaster, Flathead Beacon