Could a back-to-basics social media approach like the original Facebook help University of New Hampshire students feel connected?
That's what Brett Schultz '26 is hoping for as he works to launch College Connector, a social media and e-commerce platform.
Schultz, who majors in business administration at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics, which also offers options in finance and entrepreneurship studies, has developed a platform to help alleviate students' social, emotional, and financial anxieties. is being developed.
A recent Gallup poll found that one in four people around the world feel lonely, with the highest rates among young adults aged 19 to 29. Schultz said these statistics, coupled with the stress some students are feeling from being away from home and the lingering social effects of COVID-19, increase the urgency to improve student engagement. It is said that there is
“Due to COVID-19, we have noticed an overall decline in student engagement, and as we seek to find ways to solve problems that are better than current alternatives. ,” Schultz said. “I want to build a sense of community for new students and help them find their place on the UNH campus and take advantage of opportunities that will have a huge impact.”
Schultz said College Connector addresses some of those concerns because UNH students can exclusively interconnect on the platform by being able to chat with like-minded people while participating in specific interest groups. It is said to be helpful in dealing with. Campus clubs and organizations can also promote their activities and resources on the platform.
Schultz points out that while traditional social media once offered exclusive communities like the one offered by College Connector, they have had to adapt to changing business models and advertising methods.
“Attempts like traditional social media and student interaction apps have shown us that they are inauthentic solutions…What we are trying to do is address social isolation while having a sound business model. “It's about building real solutions that solve problems,” Schultz said. “We're not trying to reinvent the wheel. We're trying to change the model.”
To be economically sustainable, College Connector will utilize a marketplace feature where students can sell textbooks, school supplies, furniture, and more. Schultz points out that marketplaces can be a good source of income for students to alleviate financial stress.
Schultz aims to fully implement College Connector on the UNH campus by fall 2024. His team also participates in his UNH Paul J. Holloway Award Competition.
College Connector recently won $2,750 for the most financially sustainable solution in the NH Social Venture Innovation Challenge. Schultz used the funding to hire four more developers to improve and grow the platform.
Schultz envisions expanding College Connector to other college campuses and has visited various schools to assemble a team of student ambassadors. He aims to establish a system where students can continuously manage each school's page.
The development of the College Connector platform stemmed from Schultz's participation in and winning the Paul Entrepreneurship Center's Morris Prize Innovation Competition. Schultz was recently named to BostInno's annual 25 Under 25 list through his work with the Center for Entrepreneurship. BostInno is a digital media outlet covering startups, technology, and innovation.
Joshua Seal, interim director of the Peter T. Paul Center for Entrepreneurship, said he is impressed with the amount of effort Schultz has put into College Connector.
“The challenge with a technical idea like this is if you don't have the technical knowledge to build it, you need to learn it or partner with an expert,” Cyr says. “Brett decided to do both. He started teaching himself how to build websites and install plugins, and continues to do research. At the same time, he has great conversations with students and… We are working on a project together.”
ECenter is where many new ideas are born and discussed, and Cyr is available to provide advice when needed. He says the evolution of College Connector has been rapid and exciting to watch.
“While the core ideas remain the same, the approach and details evolve as Brett spends more time with them. He meets with many students from multiple universities, mentors, competition judges, etc. He continues to do so while integrating those diverse, and sometimes contradictory, feedbacks into his own vision and future plans for the startup,” says Cir.
In addition to his University Connector and Business studies, Schultz double majors in sustainability and is very active at UNH. He said the ability to study entrepreneurship and double major in sustainability make UNH stand out.
“Not every school is implementing one of these programs, much less both,” he says. “I think of entrepreneurship as a problem-solving tool. When you think about sustainability-related issues, there are so many. That's why I think the Social Venture Innovation Challenge is so great. There are a lot of economic, environmental issues, but also a lot of niche issues like social isolation that I think can be solved by business acting as a mechanism and a collective force for good.”
