Students design app to help you find your way around campus

When Tomas Galvan-Huerta transferred to Chico State, he had some trouble finding his way around, which gave him an idea.

Galvan-Huerta, "I didn't know where anything was here at Chico State, and I said, 'Let's make an app that'll make it easy.'"

After writing the code, he would bring on one of his former lab partners, Janette Calvillo Solis, to really flesh things out.

Calvillo Solis, "I actually thought it was pretty cool and I actually met him when it was his first semester here, so I kinda knew how lost he was. He didn't really know where any of the buildings were and I had to be telling him, so I was like, 'That'd actually be very helpful.'"

Together, they've created FaceNorth, a free app that helps you find different locations on campus.

Galvan-Huerta, "Once you open the app you want to search for an abbreviation of the building, or the building itself. Once you do, it searches from the cafes that are here, the atm, the library, any of the buildings that you have classrooms in, and we also have University Village."

On top of that, they've added the soccer fields, the rec center, really anywhere a student would need to go. And once you open the app and select what you're looking for, it's pretty easy to find your way.

Galvan-Huerta, "Once the app is open, you start looking around and you see arrows, those arrows are gonna be pointing you towards a direction. The difference between this app and let's say a google app, is you don't know if you're facing the right direction, or you're walking towards the right direction. This app will help you face it, and you can just walk towards it."

They say they've gotten a lot of help with development from different professors, and programs on campus. And while the app works great, they still have a lot of plans to update it, from multi-language descriptions about the buildings, to what you see on your screen.

Calvillo Solis, "I think the visuals of the app could be a lot better, so I'm still trying to work myself up, so I could make it be as visually appealing as it could be, but so far we're pretty happy and proud of what we have accomplished."

And really, who could blame them.