Checked-In

Inspiration

The inspiration behind Checked-In is the experience of being an International Student in the US and the additional mental health challenges that students face being far away from home, with a lack of resources to make them feel comfortable. The app is also inspired by the metaphors of travel to create the experience of coming from another country.

What it does

Checked-In is an app that has a community and resources to make you feel less alone as an international student. It curates resources for you based on the questions in the on-boarding experience.

How I built it

I built, designed, and prototyped the app in Adobe XD.

Challenges I ran into

I wanted to add further features to the app but due to time constraints, I was unable to!

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

I am proud of the idea as well as the potential of where it can go.

What I learned

Compared to local students, international students are facing more impediments to maintaining their mental health under the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Even under regular circumstances, international students are more prone to mental disorders (e.g., depression), struggling with the local medical system, and less motivated to seek psychological service than their domestic peers (Alharbi and Smith, 2018; Brunsting et al., 2018). The pandemic may have put them under a more isolated position abroad with less access to public resources due to monetary, informational, language, or cultural barriers. As the minority on campus, the specific needs of international students are often neglected by their host countries. For example, some campuses were closed without considering that many international students do not have a residence outside those campuses, nor do they have accessibility to a safe return to their home countries due to closed borders, reduced amount of international flights, and potential exposure to COVID-19 during the travel. International students need a space where they feel supported and have a community to look up to.

What's next for Checked-In

I would love to develop the app further and make it a reality.

Built With

• adobexd