This year Southern Adventist University’s Center for Innovation and Research in Computing (CIRC) developed a mobile giving app for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists (NAD). The goal was to increase the ease of making tithe and offering donations.

The app, called Adventist Giving, is currently available for download from the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. Church members from any participating NAD church can utilize this tool.

Thomas Manu, senior computer science major, works for CIRC and helped develop the app, gaining invaluable experience in the process.

“CIRC allows me to write code every day, outside of my regular programming homework,” Manu said. “Creating the app seemed like a big hurdle to pass through, but I’m happy that it’s out there, and it’s going to help a lot of people.”

Run by the university’s School of Computing, CIRC is a learning opportunity for students to gain internship-level computing skills while still on campus. According to Michael Babienco, lead programmer for CIRC during this app’s development, the program is a great way for students to reinforce what they are being taught in class.

“Students go through the whole process, from starting with an idea to watching it being used by others outside of our organization,” Babienco said. “This helps provide context for things that they learn in class, while making them better programmers, ready for the workforce.”

The CIRC program has produced many projects for various organizations, such as a devotional app for the Pacific Press Publishing Company and a website for Southern’s School of Physical Education, Health, and Wellness.