Inspiration
There are 800, 000 undocumented people across the nation. And so so many of them don’t even think they can pursue higher education. There is an old age saying; knowledge is power. But all this information is scattered and tucked away. Lack of information is preventing them from being aware of their best option. And there is not one single application out there that addresses this issue. So I created an app that centralizes all the resources and services provided by universities for undocumented students. With this, I tackle the most fundamental concerns. First, will I be able to afford to go to college as an undocumented students. Two, will I find a community. Will there be faculty, staff, spaces that foster a sense of community. Three, will I feel safe. Will I be protected, will I be supported. The main goal of this app is for it to be informative, easy to use, and most importantly accessible.
What it does
Essentially it informs undocumented students as well their parents that there is help out there specifically for them.
That they too can go to college and pursue a degree.
U Dream is an app that centralizes all the resources and services provided by universities, specifically for undocumented students. No internet is required after the app has at least connected once to the internet. All the information is saved into the app for easy access when you need it.
Information is divided into five different categories: About, Grants & Funding, Legal Support, Mental Health Support, and Academic Support. In addition, there is contact information of the staff in the programs so that anyone can reach them, links to the respective social media handles to connect with, and links for more information. The main goal of this app is for it to be informative, easy to use, and most importantly accessible for those without internet at home.
Note: The app will update each time it connects to the internet and more schools will be added regularly.
How I built it
I used a toolbar to display the different items in the tableview. I used Firebase extensively. I put all of the information in firebase and formatted it in html. In Xcode, I put an html parser that reads the html formatted info from Firebase and css file that stylizes the webview. Also put images of the schools in firebase. Instead of core data, I used NSCoding and NSCoder to save all the information in the app in case the user does not have internet. And updates the data every time the user connects to the internet
Challenges I ran into
Setting up the different models types for schools, the individual school, the different topics, and the various items in the topic.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
That I made this in 4 weeks!! I never thought I would have finished it in my wildest dream. I was really passionate of helping out my community so that was the driving force that kept me going and so never gave up.
What I learned
I learned that no one is born knowing how to program. Everyone starts somewhere and we gotta push through.
What's next for U Dream
Keep adding more schools and updating information. And an interactive input where users can suggest to add information they know that is not in the app.
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