At a school where balancing academics, clubs, sports, Greek life, and other commitments is part of the status quo, rallying to go out can sometimes seem like a chore. What can be even more difficult is guaranteeing that going out will be worthwhile. Lucas Gregory ’18 and Will Szamosszegi ’18, founders of the new app TurnUh, strive to make the search for worthwhile social events as efficient as possible.

TurnUh is a user-friendly app that allows registered users within a certain distance of the University to post and view events being held on any given day of the week. The interface allows for real-time interaction with events: users can “start the hype” by posting comments and pictures as the event happens live.

Part of the co-founders’ goal is to get the University community involved in social events beyond the Greek-dominated social scene and to broaden students’ perspectives of what the University has to offer. This goal is evident in the app’s interface: there are three separate tabs at the bottom for “Greek,” “local,” and “club” events.

The app celebrated its launch on Oct. 1 and posted about a variety of campus events.

“While there were two Greek events on the app for Saturday afternoon, we also displayed a comedy show and a Bucknell event, Center Stage 2016, on the app, in addition to the Solidarity March happening on Tuesday,” Gregory and Szamosszegi said.

On a campus which can at times feel isolated due to class year or involvement with different activities, both founders expressed the desire for all students “to have the opportunity to test out everything that goes on here … this can help to build up the sense of community on our campus.”

The app is unique in that it was borne out of Szamosszegi’s own college experience. Since it has only launched at the University thus far, TurnUh offers many opportunities for the brand of campus inclusivity that the co-founders advocate. The company plans to expand to other schools, but they are first utilizing the unique opportunity to test and perfect the app on this campus.

Though they initially received input from programming teams, the app is a completely independent, co-conceived design by Gregory and Szamosszegi. Between Szamosszegi’s initial design ideas and Gregory’s background in computer science, changes and improvements upon the original design were accelerated from Spring 2016 to the launch of the app on Oct. 1–a hugely successful effort given the time frame.

TurnUh increases the exposure that events on campus can receive, which in turn allows students of all groups to access a multitude of activities they may not have known about otherwise.

Emily Barrett ’18, a member of TurnUh’s marketing team, has already experienced the potential value of the app for all college students.

“Within my month of marketing for TurnUh I have learned about so many clubs and organizations on Bucknell’s campus that I didn’t even know existed before joining the team. I believe the app is an incredibly easy and great way to find events on campus that you wouldn’t have found otherwise,” Barrett said.