'I couldn't believe it': Brookfield Academy teen wins 1st place in 2023 Congressional App Challenge

 

BROOKFIELD, Wis. (CBS 58) -- Millions worldwide are diagnosed with kidney failure. Many require renal dialysis to survive.

Now, a Brookfield teenager is cracking the code when it comes to making a difference to those in need.

Rachel Sun is a junior at Brookfield Academy. Like a typical student, she plays sports, hangs out with friends, and is in band. 

But in between those hobbies, over the last year, she's zeroed in on her love for computer science and even taught herself how to code.

That work ended up paying off -- even bigger than Sun could've imagined.

She was just named the first-place winner in the 2023 Congressional App Challenge for Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District, thanks to her mobile app, "Renal Dialysis."

The tool uses AI monitoring algorithms and encourages patients suffering from the disease to report their conditions, helping bridge the gap between them and their doctors to enhance their care. 

“I couldn’t believe it at first, I was like I should read it again! I never expected to win the award," Sun said to CBS 58's Ellie Nakamoto-White. “I’m really honored that I did because I think it means a lot to me, to Brookfield Academy, and my grandmother.”

Her grandmother is the one who inspired the initiative, after she was diagnosed with kidney failure nearly eight years ago.

“I was planning a vacation with my family. I wasn’t able to bring my grandmother with me," Sun said. “Medical researchers are so scarce nowadays, especially for seniors, and I realized that when I went to the hospital with my grandmother for her regular dialysis treatment, it wasn’t just seniors that was facing this problem. It’s getting younger and younger.”

Right now, with treatment, her grandmother is stable.

“She values her grandmother dearly, you know, she grew up and saw her grandmother getting to the hospital and then develop this disease, so she was on a journey trying to help her," said Rachel's father, Brian.

Sun added that her grandmother was "even happier" than she was when she learned about the competition results.

On Tuesday, Feb. 20, Sun was congratulated in a special ceremony by Congressman Scott Fitzgerald, (R) Clyman, while surrounded by her classmates and parents.

In the spring, she will travel to Washington D.C. to present her award to congresspeople and tech companies at a national science fair.

"I think if the [patients] knew about the fact that there’s people like me that are trying to make their lives much better, I think they’d have a little bit more hope in what they’re going through," Sun said. "That's what I’m trying to do.”