It’s hard to walk around campus without finding scattered flyers urging students to download a new app on their phones. The new student-made app is called M-A Central, and it rewards students for showing off their M-A spirit by attending school events.
“We wanted to make school events more exciting and engaging for students,” said junior Shawnak Shivakumar, a lead developer for M-A Central.
M-A Central is the brainchild of senior Jay Agrawal, Shivakumar, and junior Axel Pilette, and its conception began in May 2024 in collaboration with M-A’s Leadership program. The app’s user base is growing rapidly, and now has around 600 current users in its first week.
“We’ve worked very diligently, not only on the marketing side but also on the development side,” Shivakumar said.
M-A Central works off a point-based system where students are given a set amount of points for every school event they attend. Upon download, students will have an M-A Central ID in the app’s settings tab, prompting them to add their ID to your Apple Wallet if they have iPhones. When students present their given ID to an administrator at the event, the administrator will scan their M-A Central ID, and a student will be able to claim their points. The app advertises events like Club Rush, Bubble Day, Prom, and more for students to attend to gain points.
But, gaining digital points isn’t the only incentive that this app gives students for going to events. Students can also win a large variety of prizes through M-A Central. Funded by the Leadership program, these prizes include student store credit, Bear Wear, school dance tickets, and even catered food. The app also features a leaderboard displaying all students in order of their amount of points, amping up the competition aspect even more.
“Our ultimate goal is for the app to be second nature to students,” Pilette said.
“We need every student to have this app, not only because it’s important to be aware of all the events that are happening, but also because it is good to have students feel like they’re able to participate in the community and be rewarded for it,” Shivakumar added.
You can learn more about M-A Central and download the app here.
