By Dave DeFusco
At a time when students and alumni from colleges across the United States are navigating a maze of disconnected platforms to stay in touch with their peers, faculty and communities, three students in the Katz School’s M.S. in Cybersecurity are building something different—something unified.
During the Katz School’s Graduate Symposium on Science, Health and Technology, Laticbe Elijah, Joy Awoleye and Christine Macharia presented Campus Circle, a secure, inclusive online platform designed to serve as a one-stop hub for students and alumni associations from multiple universities in the New York metropolitan area. Cybersecurity Industry Professor Elad Hod advised the trio.
“Right now, most students and alumni are using scattered social media groups, email lists and third-party apps that don’t really talk to each other,” said Awoleye, the team’s lead developer. “We wanted to create something cohesive—a space where people can connect based on shared backgrounds, interests or goals.”
Campus Circle addresses a common pain point echoed by researchers who note that fragmented communication tools in higher education hinder meaningful engagement. The team’s solution? A robust platform that offers networking, collaboration, event planning, voting tools and community management—all protected by modern cybersecurity standards.
Elijah, who developed the platform’s privacy features, emphasized the importance of data protection. “Our platform isn’t just convenient—it’s secure,” he said. “We followed OWASP standards and GDPR guidelines to safeguard personally identifiable information. From broken access control to cryptographic failures, we’ve worked hard to protect users from common threats.”
To build the site, the team used a combination of tools and programming languages. The look and feel of the website were created using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and the Bootstrap framework. Behind the scenes, they used Laravel, a web development framework that helps handle the application logic and connects the application’s front end to the MySQL database, which stores user information. They also ran several tests to make sure the platform worked well and was easy to use.
“With assigned privileges, administrators have exclusive control over the users,” said Awoleye. “And if someone breaks the rules, they can be suspended. That keeps it a safe and respectful space.”
The prototype is currently live at , where it underwent beta testing by the Katz African Student Association (KASA). The platform’s in-built voting tool was used in KASA’s 2025/2026 cabinet elections, successfully replacing paper ballots and informal group polls with a streamlined, secure process.
“We see this platform growing into a digital commons,” said Macharia. “It’s not just about technology—it’s about community. This project aligns perfectly with the goals of cybersecurity: trust, access control and the responsible use of personal data.”
Still, the project’s ambitious scope faces limitations. “We’re a small team and we had a tight timeline,” said Elijah. “There are features we didn’t get to implement—yet.”
Those features are already mapped out for future development: AI-powered matchmaking based on academic or professional interests, geolocation-based meetup coordination, personalized content feeds and smart suggestions powered by machine learning.
“We envision a future where students and alumni don’t have to search multiple platforms to find each other,” said Macharia. “Campus Circle will bring the community to them.”
