Crusader Connect did not begin with a master plan or a perfectly defined product. It began with a simple question: “How can student life be a little more connected, organized, and human?” That simple question became the lens for every technical and design decision behind the app. 

The original idea was formed during a conversation with my close friend Tate Nanda. Sitting on the dock at my lake house, I told him how much I enjoyed working with numbers and technology. We were discussing how disconnected the student body was in general, to which I replied that I wanted to connect the student body instead of leaving information scattered across multiple platforms. He told me, “You’re the tech bro; if anyone could figure it out, you can.” That short line turned a vague idea into a responsibility. From then on, Crusader Connect stopped being hypothetical and became a project that I felt compelled to pursue. 

Building Crusader Connect meant learning how real software systems are designed and maintained. I worked with Apple’s developer ecosystem using Xcode to manage native app development. To take a step back, when I was exposed to the program Cursor for the first time, I was blown away. The concept of simply putting prompts into an AI chatbot and getting thousands of lines of perfect code in mere seconds was surreal. Cursor became my primary coding environment, which forced me to structure a real codebase across multiple files rather than working on isolated scripts. I used Python to handle some data organization and features, such as clubs and resources. APIs enabled the app to dynamically pull and organize information, teaching me how modern applications communicate across systems. For authentication and storage, I implemented Firebase, which enabled Google login and persistent storage of user data. The technical learning curve was definitely steep. At one point, while using AI tools inside Cursor, my files were dumped, and large portions of my project were gone. Features broke, builds failed, and weeks of progress were lost. This forced me to learn version control and use GitHub as a backup system. That moment reframed how I thought of computing: progress beats perfection. Software development is not about writing flawless code on the first attempt. It is about iteration, debugging, and building resilience into both the systems and my own character. 

The features of Crusader Connect were designed with purpose rather than novelty. The whole idea of Crusader Connect rested on the shoulders of giving students all of their necessities in one simple resource. For instance, the lunch schedule was added to simplify daily planning, the athletic calendar is there so students can show up for each other, the club view lowers the barrier to involvement, and academic resources reduce friction between devices so students are not scrambling for materials. Even the games section, including a Wordle feature using Notre Dame and faith-based words, exists to bring personality and joy into the experience. 

This project also reshaped my understanding of collaboration in computing. I worked with my mentor Brian Huang, an MIT graduate and the developer, founder, and shareholder of the now international crypto company, Glider. He pushed me to think beyond short-term fixes and toward scalable, maintainable systems. I collaborated with my business club, Crusader Capitalists, club leaders, and peers to shape features based on real student needs. Building Crusader Connect reinforced that computer science is very difficult to do solo. It is collaborating with different individuals that blends technical skill, user feedback, leadership, and vision. 

Crusader Connect reflects a broader culture of initiative and ambition at Notre Dame High School. Students here are encouraged to build real things rather than just discuss ideas. When I first arrived at Notre Dame, I remember thinking that we were one of the schools that paved the way for the next generation, thinking ahead into the future. It made me irate when people would slander our school, saying that “there were no opportunities,” but they were the same individuals who would sit back and just complain and talk, not actually take action.  I wanted to reset the precedent to put Notre Dame back into the forefront of innovation, technology, and leadership. This mindset is also central to Crusader Capitalists, which focuses on turning ideas into action. Business and computer science intersect through leadership and the willingness to take risks. Building this app taught me that you do not become “ready” before you start, but rather become ready by starting. 

Crusader Connect did not start as an assignment. It started as a belief that students could build something meaningful if they were willing to try, fail, debug, and build again. This project changed how I see computer science. It is no longer just code. It is a way to serve people, connect communities, and turn ideas into systems that actually matter.