CampusConnect

Inspiration

CampusConnect was inspired when I went off campus to get a haircut. My friend usually cuts my hair for $15 because barbering is his side hustle, and he’s good at it. When he wasn’t around, I decided to visit other barbershops off campus. To my surprise, every barbershop I visited charged $35 or more, with an additional $20 just to line my beard.

I couldn’t believe it. As a college student supporting myself, I barely have enough money to meet my other needs, including paying my rent. That was when I started thinking of ways to find student barbers on campus the next time my friend isn’t around. As I thought more about it, I realized I wasn’t the only one facing this problem. Other students, including my housemates, were in the same situation—looking for affordable services provided by our peers. That’s how CampusConnect was born.

What it does

CampusConnect is a web platform that helps students find and book affordable, student-run services. It gives students with side hustles a space to showcase what they offer and allows their peers to quickly discover and connect with them all in one place.

How we built it

Everything was built using Bolt's AI. I already had a vision of how I wanted the project to look. I just used the AI to execute my plans. To ensure my instructions were clear enough for Bolt’s AI, I used ChatGPT to help refine my prompts. I would describe the task I wanted Bolt to perform, then ask ChatGPT to explain it in detail so Bolt could understand my intentions.

Challenges we ran into

Using Bolt at first was difficult because I was unfamiliar with it. I often got frustrated because there were moments when I would ask Bolt to perform a simple task, and it would unexpectedly change the entire interface to a completely unrelated website. When I asked it to restore the previous version, it wasn’t able to. That really frustrated me to the point that I felt like quitting.

To work around this issue, I started duplicating my files manually whenever I reached a point that matched my vision. That way, I could preserve versions I liked. Eventually, I discovered the “Undo” button in Bolt, which helped me revert changes when something went wrong. The biggest challenge was staying patient through these experimental experiences.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

First of all, I am proud of the final design and user experience of CampusConnect. It reflected everything I wanted in terms of the colors, gradients, and layout. I am also proud of my patience while working on this. There were moments when I felt like the AI wasn’t helping me achieve my goals because it kept changing things in a direction I didn’t want. I also didn’t always take the time to fully analyze and understand the code it generated, which made things more difficult. But everything turned out great. This project pushed me to become a more patient, thoughtful, and resourceful developer.

What we learned

I learned how important clear communication is when working with AI tools. I became more familiar with TypeScript, backend integration, and managing state across a full web app. I also learned the value of “prompt engineering”—knowing how to ask the right questions and give clear instructions.

What's next for CampusConnect

This summer, I plan to rebuild the platform independently to fully understand every component. I’ll also begin promoting CampusConnect at UC Davis once it’s complete. My goal is to make CampusConnect the go-to platform where students can support other students.

Built With

• eslint
• netlify
• node.js
• postcss
• react
• supabase
• tailwind
• typescript
• vite