Development Work

Started nearly 10 years ago, the @cal alumni network is still going strong as the the best way to network with alumni and students.

Built from scratch by our lead programmer and myself, we could focus on a custom experience which, despite the site now needing an update, narrowed in on the essential needs of users to connect with others. In addition to all the Front End work, I was glad to be part of some extensive on-campus user experience testing and feedback, which helped guide us both technically and in the UI.

Implied as a "mini-facebook for alumni," this site offers badges for networking, social media sharing, private/public user data sharing, friend requesting, advanced search and the unique ability to offer a customizable "Cal identity" public profile page. Alumni can set up a publicly accessible page, along with their own custom domain (eg. cal.berkeley.edu/[yournamehere]), which acts as an official "validation of degree" from Cal.  Users can upload their own background photo, post verified degree information, offer a secure means to contact them, and more. Many of these public profiles of participating alumni are featured on the homepage of the site, with the ability to dive into a personal profile without needing to log into the site.

The site also features a simple and private messaging system within the application. Alumni can communicate without needing to share personal e-mail or other sensitive information.

This site remains online: https://cal.berkeley.edu/