After moving from Bangladesh to the United States as an international student, then-first-year Arman Khan searched for a community at Stevenson, which he found with other students who shared a common interest: soccer.
Now a fourth-year, Khan wanted to help new students connect with each other through sports, just as he had during his freshman year.
“We have a very big sense of community in my country, where I live especially. I felt that we needed more platforms where students could play the sport that they love,” Khan said.
Khan utilized the skills he learned as a computer information systems major to develop an app called RunRec.
“RunRec is a digital social platform for your recreational sports at your university. If you want to play any sport that you want, you can go on that app and see what facilities are open,” Khan said.
The idea for RunRec was put into action over the summer, after Khan received a $2,500 grant from the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research.
“I had been thinking for a long time that I wanted to build something like this, but it was the grant that allowed me to do that,” Khan said.
The app is currently aimed towards students at Stevenson, but Khan hopes to expand its domain to other Maryland universities as well.
“That’s a lot of work, a lot of research, a lot of partnerships that need to be built,” Khan said.
Khan and his team look to apply to additional grants to support their platform, such as PAVA LaPere Innovation Acceleration Grant Program, a $50,000 grant that is awarded to “nine student-led ventures from postsecondary institutions within the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson area.”
As Khan prepares for RunRec’s official launch, he attributes much of his success to his team and senior mentors.
“As a team builder, he has also developed an integrated product team that includes classmates with expertise in finance and marketing,” assistant professor of business administration and mentor Reid Nichols said.
On November 11, RunRec was launched to a testing group at Stevenson, in which over 45 students downloaded the app and gathered in the Mustang Stadium to play a pick-up game of soccer.
“I was going crazy excited with the support that I received because people showed up,” Khan said. “I got to work on two things that I love: entrepreneurship, building tools that have a meaningful impact, and number two is sports. For me, that was soccer.”
The successful outcome of the test run mirrored the hard work Khan and his team put into RunRec throughout the year.
“Arman knows what he wants. That’s one of the reasons why I’m great friends with him. He’s a guy who can make a lot of things happen,” RunRec marketing director Yuri Antoine said.
Khan will present RunRec at the Paul D. Lack Scholars Showcase in the spring of 2025.
While the application is still a work in progress, Khan and his team are optimistic about its impacts on campus.
“The app is not only about playing pick-up, it’s about creating connections,” Antoine said.
RunRec Website: www.runrec.app
