Why I Built GabayStrand

Story time! One day, I told myself, “I should build something for students. Something that helps them as a student.” So I explored which apps or platforms I could offer them. I brainstormed with Claude, Gemini, and ChatGPT about apps for elementary, high school, and college students.

Narrowing it down

• Elementary: I said, “It’s hard to build an app for them. It would mean giving them a chance to use phones at such a young age, and that’s not advisable.” So we moved on.
• High school: The AI had plenty of ideas, but one common suggestion was a platform for students to interact with each other, like a social network for students.
• College: We talked about study guides, Pomodoro timers, and other study tools. I said, “There are already so many of these online. I don’t want to add to the pile.”

The eureka moment 😲

How about a tool that helps students figure out what course to take in college?

I still remember that after high school, I had no idea what course to take. The only thing I was sure of was that I wouldn’t study in Cebu City. I’d study in Toledo. Then I took the entrance exam at CCTC, and the only options were Education, IT, and HRM. I didn’t want to be a teacher, and I assumed HRM was for girls (which it isn’t). So I chose IT. And the rest is history.

Looking back now, I realize God made me choose IT. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be experiencing what I’m experiencing today.

Stepping back

While building, I realized that choosing a course is far too wide. There are just so many courses. So I took a step back. Instead of guidance for choosing a course, why not help students choose their Senior High School strand first?

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That’s it

The very reason I built GabayStrand is to help junior high students decide which strand to take. The assessment result is based on their answers to a set of questions.

5 topics. 15 questions. 5 minutes.