George Mason University

Graduate students often struggle to build meaningful professional connections throughout their academic journey. Many face challenges finding research opportunities, connecting with faculty and peers, and maintaining valuable relationships after graduation. These gaps can limit access to mentorship, collaboration, and career growth opportunities when they are needed most. To address these challenges, I partnered with a cross-functional team to design a networking platform tailored specifically for graduate students and alumni. Through user research and stakeholder collaboration, we identified key pain points across the student lifecycle and created a solution focused on fostering meaningful connections, facilitating research opportunities, and supporting long-term professional relationships beyond graduation. The result was a platform designed to strengthen academic and professional communities while helping users build networks that continue to provide value throughout their careers.