Connecting travelers with meaningful volunteer experiences with the GoodLife App - ShellHacks 2025 (Florida's Largest Hackathon)
Connecting travelers with meaningful volunteer experiences with the GoodLife App - ShellHacks 2025 (Florida's Largest Hackathon)
Timeline:
Sep 26-28 2025
Timeline:
Sep 26-28 2025
Platform:
Mobile App
Platform:
Mobile App
My Role:
Product Manager
UI/UX Designer
My Role:
Product Manager
UI/UX Designer
Introduction
GoodLife is an intuitive, modern, traveler-focused app designed to help volunteers find the most meaningful opportunities abroad by matching them with compatible host experiences. In this app design, I focused on addressing the key problems below within a 36 hour period as part of ShellHacks (Florida's Largest Hackathon)
GoodLife is an intuitive, modern, traveler-focused app designed to help volunteers find the most meaningful opportunities abroad by matching them with compatible host experiences. In this app design, I focused on addressing the key problems below within a 36 hour period as part of ShellHacks (Florida's Largest Hackathon)
GoodLife is an intuitive, modern, traveler-focused app designed to help volunteers find the most meaningful opportunities abroad by matching them with compatible host experiences. In this app design, I focused on addressing the key problems below within a 36 hour period as part of ShellHacks (Florida's Largest Hackathon)
My Role
I led the mapping, target selection, wireframing, design, and prototyping of this project from start to finish alongside my team. As the Product Manager and UI/UX designer, I collaborated closely with software developers Oscar, Gerald, and Christian, whose primary goal was building a functional prototype. I also conducted user testing sessions to gather feedback and iteratively refine the prototype for improved usability and engagement.
I led the mapping, target selection, wireframing, design, and prototyping of this project from start to finish alongside my team. As the Product Manager and UI/UX designer, I collaborated closely with software developers Oscar, Gerald, and Christian, whose primary goal was building a functional prototype. I also conducted user testing sessions to gather feedback and iteratively refine the prototype for improved usability and engagement.
I led the mapping, target selection, wireframing, design, and prototyping of this project from start to finish alongside my team. As the Product Manager and UI/UX designer, I collaborated closely with software developers Oscar, Gerald, and Christian, whose primary goal was building a functional prototype. I also conducted user testing sessions to gather feedback and iteratively refine the prototype for improved usability and engagement.
Problem
Volunteer exchange platforms struggle to efficiently connect travelers with host experiences that match their skills, interests, and availability. These mismatches reduce engagement and retention, highlighting the need for user-centered solutions.
Volunteer exchange platforms struggle to efficiently connect travelers with host experiences that match their skills, interests, and availability. These mismatches reduce engagement and retention, highlighting the need for user-centered solutions.
Volunteer exchange platforms struggle to efficiently connect travelers with host experiences that match their skills, interests, and availability. These mismatches reduce engagement and retention, highlighting the need for user-centered solutions.
Low volunteer engagement
Students can’t afford to spend on food
Low volunteer engagement
Travelers interact less when they cannot quickly discover experiences that align with their skills or interests, leading to lower initial engagement.
Travelers interact less when they cannot quickly discover experiences that align with their skills or interests, leading to lower initial engagement.
Travelers interact less when they cannot quickly discover experiences that align with their skills or interests, leading to lower initial engagement.
Low volunteer retention
Low volunteer retention
When travelers’ experiences do not meet expectations, they are less likely to return or stay involved, which limits long-term participation.
When travelers’ experiences do not meet expectations, they are less likely to return or stay involved, which limits long-term participation.
When travelers’ experiences do not meet expectations, they are less likely to return or stay involved, which limits long-term participation.
Goals
Optimize suitable volunteer opportunities
Optimize suitable volunteer opportunities
Travelers need an intuitive way to find experiences that align with their skills, interests, and availability, ensuring meaningful engagement.
Travelers need an intuitive way to find experiences that align with their skills, interests, and availability, ensuring meaningful engagement.
Travelers need an intuitive way to find experiences that align with their skills, interests, and availability, ensuring meaningful engagement.
Provide rewarding and engaging experiences
Provide rewarding and engaging experiences
The platform should create experiences that are enjoyable, fulfilling, and motivating, encouraging travelers to return and stay involved.
The platform should create experiences that are enjoyable, fulfilling, and motivating, encouraging travelers to return and stay involved.
The platform should create experiences that are enjoyable, fulfilling, and motivating, encouraging travelers to return and stay involved.
Target Users
Young volunteer travelers who seek meaningful opportunities that match their skills, interests, and availability. These users value experiences that allow them to explore new cultures and prefer modern, intuitive, and easy-to-use digital platforms. Understanding these needs helped us focus our design decisions on solutions that are practical, engaging, and rewarding.
Young volunteer travelers who seek meaningful opportunities that match their skills, interests, and availability. These users value experiences that allow them to explore new cultures and prefer modern, intuitive, and easy-to-use digital platforms. Understanding these needs helped us focus our design decisions on solutions that are practical, engaging, and rewarding.
Young volunteer travelers who seek meaningful opportunities that match their skills, interests, and availability. These users value experiences that allow them to explore new cultures and prefer modern, intuitive, and easy-to-use digital platforms. Understanding these needs helped us focus our design decisions on solutions that are practical, engaging, and rewarding.
User Research
Our team conducted interviews with 10 college students across FIU to understand their experiences and challenges with finding and participating in volunteer opportunities. After collecting insights, we organized the data using affinity mapping to group similar themes. This process helped us identify key pain points, low volunteer engagement and low volunteer retention, and uncover core user needs, providing a solid foundation for early ideation.
Our team conducted interviews with 10 college students across FIU to understand their experiences and challenges with finding and participating in volunteer opportunities. After collecting insights, we organized the data using affinity mapping to group similar themes. This process helped us identify key pain points, low volunteer engagement and low volunteer retention, and uncover core user needs, providing a solid foundation for early ideation.
Our team conducted interviews with 10 college students across FIU to understand their experiences and challenges with finding and participating in volunteer opportunities. After collecting insights, we organized the data using affinity mapping to group similar themes. This process helped us identify key pain points, low volunteer engagement and low volunteer retention, and uncover core user needs, providing a solid foundation for early ideation.
Early Ideation
Using Miro as a remote collaboration tool, I gathered inspiration on how other volunteer and travel platforms designed their UI/UX and saw the elements I found most effective and appealing.
Using Miro as a remote collaboration tool, I gathered inspiration on how other volunteer and travel platforms designed their UI/UX and saw the elements I found most effective and appealing.
In a separate session, I applied Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics to guide the design of the mobile app, ensuring that my decisions were centered around the user experience and how users perceive the app.
In a separate session, I applied Jakob Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics to guide the design of the mobile app, ensuring that my decisions were centered around the user experience and how users perceive the app.
This is how our wireframes looked like. The primary goal is to convince users our app structure is simple and efficient to use
This is how my wireframes looked like. The primary goal is to convince users our app structure is simple and efficient to use
In Figma, I then turned these early ideas into high-fidelity designs, experimenting with different colors, shapes, and layouts to ensure a cohesive, user-centered, and polished final result.
In Figma, I then turned these early ideas into high-fidelity designs, experimenting with different colors, shapes, and layouts to ensure a cohesive, user-centered, and polished final result.
We then created a high-fidelity prototype in Figma and refined it based on feedback from Amazon UX designers to ensure a cohesive, user-centered result. This final prototype was presented to the AmazonNext community and leadership at the Design Challenge Final Showcase.
I then created a high-fidelity prototype in Figma and iterated it based on feedback during user testing to ensure a cohesive, user-centered result. This final prototype was submitted to Devpost for ShellHacks (Florida's Largest Hackathon).
Solution
Elevator Pitch
Elevator Pitch
An intuitive, modern, traveler-focused app that helps volunteers find the most meaningful opportunities abroad by matching them with the most compatible host experiences.
An intuitive, modern, traveler-focused app that helps volunteers find the most meaningful opportunities abroad by matching them with the most compatible host experiences.
How does our solution solve the problem?
How does our solution solve the problem?
AI travel agent proactively and reactively analyzes to find the best opportunities.
Features a modern, dynamic interface with swipe-based discovery and interactive layouts for easy exploration
Displays multiple AI-recommended roles simultaneously in an updated, organized grid.
Key Features
Future Steps
Here are the future steps for the GoodLife App:
Here are the future steps for the GoodLife App:
Optimize working prototype based on validated needs
Optimize working prototype based on validated needs
Translate the validated design prototype into a working prototype, refining it to ensure it effectively matches volunteers with opportunities and provides a rewarding user experience.
Translate the validated design prototype into a working prototype, refining it to ensure it effectively matches volunteers with opportunities and provides a rewarding user experience.
Enhance AI matching using climate, availability, and proximity to landmarks
Enhance AI matching using climate, availability, and proximity to landmarks
Improve the matching algorithm to consider environmental factors, volunteer schedules, and location preferences for more suitable placements.
Improve the matching algorithm to consider environmental factors, volunteer schedules, and location preferences for more suitable placements.
Implement a unique monetization strategy
Implement a unique monetization strategy
Develop sustainable ways to support the platform while maintaining engaging and meaningful experiences for volunteers.
Develop sustainable ways to support the platform while maintaining engaging and meaningful experiences for volunteers.
I really enjoyed the process from user research and ideation to design, prototyping, and user testing for my first hackathon. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing team from FIU!
I really enjoyed the process from user research and ideation to design, prototyping, and user testing for my first hackathon. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing team from FIU!
If you’d like to learn more about this event, check out ShellHacks.
If you’d like to dive into our Devpost submission, check it out here.
If you’d like to learn more about this event, check out ShellHacks.
If you’d like to dive into our Devpost submission, check it out here.
@ 2025 Sean Valencia