An app just for Ohio State alumni

At about 18,000 miles away, Perth, Australia, is the farthest location from Ohio State. Fortunately, a new app tosses aside those miles to instantly link Aussie Buckeyes — and alumni everywhere else — to their home away from home.

The Ohio State University Alumni Association mobile app is a new conduit for deeper connection, information and nostalgia. Among other features, it shares university stories and regional events, tells you where to meet other Buckeyes and throws in a little spirit (of course). As one of the app’s developers, Chris Fish ’00 knows a thing or three about where alumni are technologically — and where they’re going. He began working for the university as a student at what would become the Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Now, as a mobile platform architect, he works on user interfaces and code so tech is intuitive and effortless. Part of that work included connecting with Apple in Cupertino, California, where he and his teammates refined the design process.

“Technology can still be overwhelming for some people, but if I do my job right, there are far fewer obstacles to overcome. And our team puts our lives into the app so it can work well for everyone,” Fish says. “There’s humanity in it.”

He comes by his affinity honestly.

“Ohio State has been a huge part of my life,” he says. “I was fortunate to meet my wife during freshman orientation, and I met many of my best friends when we were working as students. My wife and I have three children, all born at Ohio State, and she had them singing ‘Carmen Ohio’ as toddlers.”

Fish counts himself lucky and believes the connection his team creates makes a positive impact on the Buckeye community, near and far.

“It’s great we can create platforms like the alumni app that allow many people to feel connected to a place, even if they are halfway around the world.”