CampusConnect

CampusConnect Connect, Cope, Thrive: Your Freshman Support Hub Inspiration The transition to college is a pivotal moment for freshmen, but it often comes with overwhelming challenges: homesickness, difficulty making friends, roommate conflicts, and mental health struggles. Inspired by the statistic that over 60% of college students report significant anxiety in their first year (American College Health Association, 2023), we envisioned CampusConnect as a lifeline for freshmen. Our goal was to create a centralized, accessible web platform to foster community, provide mental health resources, and empower students to navigate the social and emotional hurdles of college life with confidence. What it does CampusConnect is a web-based platform designed to support college freshmen by addressing their social and emotional needs. It offers four core features: Community Forums: Moderated discussion boards where students connect over shared interests, majors, or campus experiences, reducing isolation and building friendships. Mental Health Resources: Curated articles, videos, a mood tracker, and self-assessment tools to help students manage stress, anxiety, or depression, with links to national hotlines (e.g., 988) and campus counseling services. Roommate Conflict Guide: Interactive scenarios, advice, and a roommate agreement template to resolve disputes, plus an anonymous mediation request form. Virtual Events Calendar: A filterable calendar of campus and virtual events to encourage engagement, with RSVP functionality and a club directory. The platform creates a safe, supportive space for freshmen to connect, access resources, and thrive during their transition to college. How we built it We developed CampusConnect as a mobile-responsive web application using modern technologies: Frontend: Built with React.js for a dynamic, user-friendly interface, using Material-UI for styling and FullCalendar.js for the events calendar. Ensured accessibility (WCAG 2.1) with screen reader support. Backend: Used Node.js with Express and MongoDB for flexible storage of forum posts and user profiles, and PostgreSQL for structured data like events and resources. Authentication: Implemented OAuth for secure login with university email addresses. Features: Integrated a mood tracker with Chart.js, placeholder APIs for university events, and AI-driven moderation (Perspective API) for forums. Deployment: Hosted on Vercel for scalability, with a CDN (Cloudflare) for fast content delivery. Development Process: Leveraged Bolt.new to generate the initial prototype, iterating based on user feedback. Sample data was used for events and resources, with a structure for future integration with university systems. Challenges we ran into Scope Management: Balancing feature richness with MVP simplicity was tough. We prioritized forums and basic resources to keep development feasible within weeks. Moderation: Ensuring safe, inclusive forums required integrating AI moderation tools while planning for human oversight, which added complexity. Accomplishments that we're proud of Functional MVP: Delivered a working prototype with all four core features (forums, mental health resources, roommate guide, events calendar) in under three weeks. User-Centric Design: Created a calming, accessible interface with a mobile-first approach, tested for usability with a small group of student volunteers. Privacy Focus: Implemented robust encryption and FERPA-compliant practices to ensure user trust, especially for sensitive features like the mood tracker. What we learned User Needs: Freshmen crave simple, stigma-free tools for social and emotional support, emphasizing the need for intuitive UX and accessible resources. Technical Balance: Rapid prototyping with tools like Bolt.new accelerates development but requires manual refinement for complex features like moderation. What's next for CampusConnect Beta Testing: Launch a pilot with 100-200 freshmen at a target university, collecting feedback to refine features and UX. University Partnerships: Collaborate with campus counseling and student affairs offices to integrate real event data and tailor resources for specific schools.

Built With

• bolt.new
• react
• typescript