Inspiration
I’ve always loved computers and plan to pursue a career in computer science. I’ve been fortunate to have mentors and resources that helped me grow my skills throughout the years, but I’ve also seen many talented people face barriers because they lacked access to the same resources. I wanted to create something that gives anyone, anywhere, the opportunity to explore careers and grow in their field, as well as people with resources to be able to share their knowledge.
What it does
With this app, users, whether they are a mentor looking to help others or a student looking to grow, can gain a lot in a short amount of time. As a student, users can explore different career fields, have access to skills and resources that they need for the field, have the ability to participate in discussions about the field, and reach out to mentors for assistance with specific skills or direct contact. As a mentor, users can add skills or lessons for students to explore, be available for students that want to reach out for mentorship, and add to discussion posts to answer questions or respond to posts and share their own thoughts.
How we built it
This app was built with HTML, CSS, and Javascript. The HTML and CSS were used to create and design the user interface, and the javascript was used for the functionality of the application. Also, I had to conduct research and learn about all of the careers so I could display and update them accurately.
Challenges we ran into
One of the biggest challenges I ran into with this app was being able to accurately display the features. Since this app is not live yet, there are no real users, which made it harder to demonstrate different features, such as the mentor list or the discussion posts. While I was able to use fake data for development, I hope to publish this application soon so that everyone has access to it.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Some of the major accomplishments that I am proud of with StartSmart is its uniqueness, as there are no other platforms out there that achieve the same purpose as this app. It is unique, adaptable, and can benefit everyone in some way.
What we learned
Throughout the development of this application, I learned about the importance of designing for the user, and looking at the application from the user's point of view in order to create a meaningful user interface. I was also able to deepen my knowledge of HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Overall, I learned about how technology can be a powerful tool, and how new creations can break barriers and empower others to grow.
What's next for StartSmart
StartSmart will continue to be developed, and new features will be added periodically. With more user feedback, I will be able to upgrade the services to broaden the scope of how this app can benefit users around the world.
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