WashU ESpace

Inspiration

Amid the rhythm of classes and ambition, many students quietly struggle to connect. Studies show that 51 % of Americans find it hard to make new friends, and 83 % of young adults (18–24) experience “friendship anxiety.” Research from the World Health Organization (2025) shows that loneliness doubles the risk of depression and increases the likelihood of heart disease and early death. Meanwhile, findings from The Meadows (2025) highlight that social isolation often triggers irritability, anxiety, and stress, especially among youth and young adults.

Connection and balance are essential to well-being, yet traditional campus events are often scattered across different platforms. Because each host uses a separate channel, students must collect information from multiple sources—raising both the effort and the cost of participation. They need a unified and accessible way to discover and join activities, one that helps them reconnect through shared calm.

What it does

WashU Espace offers a gentle response. It makes campus activities effortless to find and join, transforming small moments into shared calm. With low-cost, easy-to-join experiences such as yoga at sunrise, a picnic in Forest Park, or coffee after class, students rediscover balance through genuine connection. Espace is not about performance; it’s about presence. By turning simple interactions into shared calm, it transforms technology from a source of pressure into a bridge to well-being.

Behind its simplicity lies intention. The E-Score System gamifies connection, rewarding students not for perfection, but for participation. Every post, event, or sign-up gently raises one’s E-Score, while the leaderboard reflects collective energy rather than competition. In Espace, play becomes purpose, and connection becomes calm.

The user experience itself is quiet and inviting. A soft, clean interface greets each user with warmth rather than noise. Users can log in with your WashU email. With a glance, users can explore nearby events, discover what feels right for them, and join instantly. Each event becomes a ripple of empathy across campus, spreading warmth in small but meaningful ways.

How we built it

Our web backend was built using Ruby, chosen for its simplicity, scalability, and strong support for web application development. The backend handles all core event-related functionalities, including creating and posting new events, registering for events, and editing events organized by players. Each function is designed to ensure smooth data flow between users and the database, providing a seamless experience for both organizers and participants. By leveraging Ruby’s clean syntax and efficient frameworks, we were able to implement reliable APIs and maintainable code that supports flexible event management and future feature expansion.

Challenges we ran into

One of the main challenges we faced during development was getting the event posting feature to work properly. We spent a lot of time debugging and refining the backend logic, as the system initially failed to handle event data correctly and often couldn’t complete the posting process successfully. It took multiple rounds of testing and adjustments to the database connections, API endpoints, and form handling before we finally managed to make events post smoothly. This challenge taught us a lot about backend stability, error handling, and the importance of careful debugging.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

What we learned

Through this project, we learned a lot about backend development, teamwork, and problem-solving. We gained hands-on experience with Ruby and improved our understanding of how APIs, databases, and user inputs interact within a web application. We also learned the importance of debugging systematically, testing thoroughly, and communicating effectively as a team when facing technical issues. Most importantly, we realized that persistence and collaboration are key to overcoming challenges and delivering a functional, reliable product.