Uplift

Inspiration

Many students feel overwhelmed by career prep, like writing resumes, introducing themselves confidently, and preparing for interviews. We wanted to create something that makes career development feel less scary and more approachable. Uplift was inspired by the idea of “leveling up” in a game: breaking down the job prep process into small, achievable steps so students can build confidence as they go.

What it does

Uplift is a career prep web app that guides users through different “levels” of professional development. Each level focuses on a key skill needed for internships and jobs, such as resumes, elevator pitches, professional profiles, and technical interviews. For example, in Level 2, users can speak or type their elevator pitch and receive AI-powered feedback on strengths, areas for improvement, and a suggested refined version. The app provides interactive, actionable guidance to help users practice real-world career skills in a supportive way.

How we built it

We built Uplift using Expo and React Native for the frontend, allowing us to create a responsive web app with clean navigation between levels. We used Expo Router for file-based routing to structure each level as its own page. To power the AI feedback, we created a Node.js + Express backend that securely communicates with the OpenAI API. This allowed us to keep our API key safe while providing personalized feedback to users. We also integrated browser-based speech-to-text on the web so users can practice their elevator pitch by speaking naturally instead of only typing.

Challenges we ran into

We ran into several technical challenges while building Uplift. Setting up a secure backend for the AI calls was tricky, especially managing environment variables and ensuring API keys were not exposed. We also encountered issues with GitHub merge conflicts while collaborating as a team and had to carefully resolve conflicts to avoid overwriting each other’s work. On the frontend side, integrating speech-to-text in a way that worked smoothly in the browser required extra debugging and testing. Handling different error states (like API limits or malformed AI responses) was also a learning experience.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re proud that we built a fully working end-to-end feature where a user can speak an elevator pitch and receive meaningful AI feedback in real time. We also successfully designed the app as a multi-level career progression system, which makes the experience more engaging and structured.Another big accomplishment was getting the team’s collaboration workflow working smoothly by resolving Git conflicts, setting up proper project structure, and keeping sensitive information secure.

What we learned

We learned how to design and connect a frontend and backend system in a real-world way, including how to securely call third-party APIs from a server instead of the client. We also learned a lot about team collaboration using Git, resolving merge conflicts, and managing environment variables safely. Beyond technical skills, we learned how to think about user experience: breaking down complex career prep tasks into smaller, more approachable steps and making the process feel supportive rather than overwhelming.

What's next for Uplift

Next, we want to expand Uplift by adding more interactive features to each level, such as resume uploads with feedback, mock interview simulations, and progress tracking so users can see how they improve over time. We’d also love to add user accounts, persistence across sessions, and deploy the backend so users can access AI feedback without local setup. Long-term, Uplift could become a platform that helps students continuously “level up” their career skills throughout college and beyond.