Pethsapp
Mobile Development + Design
Engaging the school community during the pandemic through a mobile application.
Technologies
React Native, Expo, Firebase, Google Cloud, Sanity, Figma
Skills
Mobile Development, UI/UX Design, User Research
[0]: Going Mobile
Pethsapp is the official mobile app of my former high school, Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School. It has 1200+ users, including students, parents, and teachers in the school community. Upon release, it peaked at Top 15 on the Apple App Store Education Chart.
It serves as the school's mobile hub, helping students stay updated on school events, announcements, and new opportunities.
[1]: Pandemic Problems
In 2020, students were introduced to an obstacle like no other. With the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, students went from interactive, in-person classes to a completely online experience.
With this shift, I started noticing students becoming disconnected from the school community. Additionally, with the absence of announcements, there was no longer a daily reminder about club events, greatly reducing social connection.
I strongly believe that school should be a very social environment. It's a one-of-a-kind place where students can connect based on their shared interests and passions.
[2]: Technology for Reconnection
As Technology Chairperson of the student council, I worked with other members to envision an app that would serve as a scholastic hub for students, teachers, and parents alike, thus reconnecting the disconnected.
One of our most used features is the daily announcements and events list. We took inspiration from various news apps, highlighting the key points of every day in a list of cards displayed in the format of a carousel.
Our content lives on Sanity.io, an amazing headless CMS that I can't say enough good things about. It provides us with a super simple UI to update our content, as well as ultra-fast data-fetching times. I'd highly recommend checking it out and using it for your projects!
[3]: Moving Forwards
Although my time in high school did come to an end in 2022 when I started at the University of Waterloo, Pethsapp is still a project that I continue to work on.
During the Summer of 2023, I re-invisioned the mobile app and mentored two student council members in developing the new release (the one that's available right now!)
Pethsapp has most definitely been an extremely impactful project and I'm super excited to continue building a better mobile experience for the school community. We're always designing, developing, and shipping new features that we think will positively impact how students, teachers, and parents interact with our app.