"We prepare students to engage in the world that is and to help bring about a world that ought to be."
Juniors Create Textbook Exchange App
The class is over, final exam passed, now what to do with that expensive textbook you’ll never need to use again? Wrestling firsthand with this problem, Theodora ’19 came up with a solution that would not only provide the ability to buy and sell used textbooks for Friends Seminary students, but would also be an important move toward environmental sustainability.
The notion of buying back and re-selling textbooks is not new — college bookstores have been doing it forever. Tailoring the idea to Friends Seminary’s unique needs would require an enormous amount of creativity and innovation. Theodora enlisted the help of classmates Cosmo ’19 for his business acumen and Daniel ’19 for his technical prowess; Together they have created the Friends Seminary Textbook Exchange.
Available here in the Apple App Store, the Exchange operates as a facilitator for book transactions between students. Students can use the app to list their books for sale or to purchase used books from another student. Sellers set the price, but transactions happen outside of the app. Once connected, the buying and selling students can arrange for a personal exchange of book and payment. As an added convenience, the group will operate a “bookstore.” Sellers can drop off books at a table in the Main Lobby, and buyers can pick them up later for cash. The money will then be given to the seller — transaction complete!
The group has collaborated for several months as a team to work out the logistics of the exchange process, meeting with faculty and administration to ensure a successful launch. The task of coding the app was undertaken by Daniel, a self-taught iOS programmer who has been coding since he was in fifth grade. (Check out Daniel’s other iOS apps by visiting the App Store here.)
In taking on this project, Theodora, Cosmo and Daniel have put the Friends Seminary mission into action. The Friends Seminary Textbook Exchange provides greater equality by addressing the high cost of textbooks; it fosters community by connecting students in a mutually beneficial arrangement; and it supports the School’s focus on environmental sustainability by reducing the number of new textbooks used by Friends students.
From left: Theodora '19, Cosmo '19 and Daniel '19
Friends Seminary actively promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism in all its programs and operations, including admissions, financial aid, hiring, and all facets of the educational experience. To form a community which strives to reflect the world’s diversity, we do not discriminate on the basis of race or color, religion, nationality, ethnicity, economic background, physical ability, sex, gender identity or expression, or sexual orientation. Friends Seminary is an equal opportunity employer.
Friends Seminary — the oldest continuously operated, coeducational school in NYC — serves college-bound day students in Kindergarten-Grade 12.
