Sindi Banaj and Maryem Bouatlaoui became best friends in high school, but their experience at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, helped strengthen that friendship, reports Penn Today.

Prior to becoming students there, the two women were among several other underrepresented teens from Philadelphia high schools selected to work as interns on a special project at the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance.

Their assignment was to build an app from scratch.

The app they created is a loan debt calculator designed to help college-bound students figure out the real-life costs of borrowing to pay for school and how their debt will follow them into the future. Examples include not completing the degree while still owing money, not getting a high-paying job, buying a house, and other situations.

Users can calculate their financial risk by simulating scenarios they may encounter after graduation.

The app was conceived by Wharton finance professor and center director David Musto as a project to serve the Philadelphia community.

Banaj and Bouatlaoui credit their work there for strengthening their friendship, and helping them understand each other better.

“It came naturally. I never saw it as a competition between us,” said Banaj. “We saw it as an opportunity to grow and to improve our skills.” 

Read more about how a bond between friends became stronger in Penn Today. 

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