Although his time in high school is coming to an end, senior Brandon Liang is leaving a lasting mark on campus with his new app, Ropu. Read on to learn about how it will aid club members for many years to come.
For many clubs, there are three stages of decline following the initial hustle and bustle of club rush: the first meeting of ambitious promises, the sparse and fewer meetings as attendee numbers dwindle and finally the resignation to lunchtimes of gossip and horseplay.
Senior Brandon Liang aims to change that experience with his new free app, Ropu. Currently accessible through internet browsers on www.ropuapp.com, Ropu has several features that ease the process of joining and running clubs. From the club previewing system to the minutes exportation system, its design is intuitive and undoubtedly useful; after creating an account, board members can create pages and QR codes with information about their clubs, while prospective clubgoers can access meeting schedules and profiles of board members. Liang hopes that Ropu will help students make the most out of their time in high school and graduate with no regrets.
Like many Warriors, Liang arrived freshman year with a fervid interest in computer science and high hopes for the clubs he planned to join. Unfortunately, reality didn’t meet his expectations. Given little guidance from disorganized clubs, Liang missed his chance to participate in several groups and events that he only discovered years later, from the cyber defense team to the USA
Computing Olympiad. Spurred by these regrets, Liang created Ropu to inform others and ensure they would not fall into the same traps and miss similar opportunities.
Although he had a basic idea of what the app would do, Liang only began the process of development towards the end of his junior year. During spring break, he considered fashioning an app that could facilitate club processes. Previously, Liang lacked the initiative and courage to follow through with his ideas. His impending graduation, however, pushed him to advance his project.
With the help of Social Media Lead junior Corey Chen, Liang worked to get the word out about his new app. To Liang, Ropu is not just a tool to enhance others’ high school club experiences—it is his own passion project, something that not only furthers his skills, but also encompasses all of his desires and goals.
“I’ve always had thoughts like, ‘what if this could happen’ and ‘what if I could make it,’” Liang explained. “But until recently, I haven’t really stepped out of my shell to actually find those things.”
Already, Liang has a vivid vision for the app’s future, one in which its potential is recognized. He can see it clearly: Ropu QR codes would be posted throughout campus every year during club rush, from the tables in the quad to the walls in every classroom. Students, overwhelmed by all the bright colors and choices, would breathe sighs of relief as they whip out their phones and snap pictures of QR codes to send to friends. Board members, knowing that their clubs would be scrutinized, would extensively collaborate to improve them. In essence, Ropu would be the key for every individual to optimize their club experience.
“I did some research and found out about this word ‘Ropu,’” Liang said. “In [a] traditional New Zealand tribal language, it means ‘togetherness, organization, clubs [and] friends,’ so I thought that it really represented what my app was going to do.”