Meeting people like you at a university as big as Penn State can be overwhelming. Whether it’s finding like-minded individuals with similar interests or joining the perfect club, Penn State can feel too big at all the wrong times.

A new app called “HallHub Link” created by Penn State grads can narrow your connections on campus. From searching for a compatible roommate to meeting students within your specific college, HallHub Link makes the Penn State community personable to each user.

Throughout the past year, the pandemic made it a struggle for students to understand campus life, receive answers to questions in a timely manner, and just feel normal. HallHub Link is a platform where students can safely socialize and gather new information.

The app’s creator, Thanh Do, first thought of this program in 2009. While earning his undergraduate degree at Penn State, he was too shy to ask people to study with him, receive help with difficult assignments, or even get to know anyone in the same college as him. Now, Do never wanted students to feel alone or helpless.

“If I was stuck on something, I was very much stuck on my own,” Do said. “In class, I always asked, ‘Is my question even good?’ All of that kept me from getting answers to questions and talking to anyone new.”

HallHub Link initially started out as a website named Student Jibe. At the time, websites were being swapped out with apps, and Do’s focus wasn’t 100% there to run a fully operating program. Do decided to wait a few more years until the program could be utilized at its fullest potential.

Now, in 2021, communication is at its highest peak with new technology. Even though we all have a phone at our fingertips, Do and his partner, Corey Kane, believed a lack of communication was still present within the Penn State student body.

“HallHub Link is everything Penn State. It is one centralized location for everything going on around campus,” Kane said.

Kane added that because there were no specific modes for students to directly reach out to their peers, there was a difficulty to even ask simple questions about homework, Penn State resources, or the campus itself.

“There were no real platforms to share your Penn State experiences,” Kane said. “Thanh is the brains behind the app because he knew what it was like to be a student wanting connection.”

Do recruited a partner to help him construct the app in a user-friendly way. His main focus is morphing the app to what the student body needs assistance on the most. Do cannot emphasize enough that is not for him, but for each student.

“It is not about what we think is best. It is what you guys like to see,” Do said. “The app is open to change for whatever fits the student body’s communication.”

Aside from communication being the app’s mission, Do and Kane wanted safety and security to be the top priority. When signing up for HallHub Link, you are granted an account only through your Penn State email.

The security of the app was something Do never wavered on. He said there have been too many instances where college students are put in danger when meeting new people, so he completely created the app so Penn State students could only join.

“I really believe in student safety,” Do said. “Say you are moving out from school and need to sell an item. If you post it on HallHub Link, you know it is a fellow student around campus and it won’t be a stranger.”

As you sign up, you are able to filter your account with the college your major is under. This narrows down the campus and forms a base for similar majors to engage. As you apply the college you are affiliated with, you can connect with students in a large class that you might struggle with, or you can offer help, too. This entire personalization process finds information relevant to you as a user.

Once you are signed onto the app, there are three sections you can communicate and browse through. “Campus Life,” “Course,” and “Housing” are specific tabs you select, and you can catch up on those personalized threads. If you are looking for specific content or class code, you can hit the search bar at the top and land right where you want to be.

For example, if you are subletting your apartment for the summer, you can access the “Housing” tab and send out an announcement. This is a spot where your post will not get covered up with spammed posts, and Penn State students are the individuals to sublet the apartment.

Whether you are a freshman or senior, you can direct message users, reply to questions or comments publicly, and stay up to date on campus activities and new resources. You have the choice to reveal your name or remain anonymous.

Moving forward, Do is constantly working on new features to keep the app updated to what students prefer.

“I want the app to serve students every step of the way of their college journey,” Do said. “What makes a community is collaboration, working together, and lending a hand to someone who needs it. I wanted to provide that platform where you can help anyone.”