Some School District of Philadelphia students can now add mobile app beta testers to their resumes. Seventeen students from Central High School and Lankenau Environmental Science Magnet High School helped to beta test the Inner Strength Mobile App, an app designed to support students’ mental and emotional wellness. The app teaches students how to relax, meditate and bring mindfulness into their life.

“I really do think that this app will help students to get to know themselves better and work on their mental health, especially with identifying and managing their stressors whether it’s school, work, or even their sleep schedules,” said Lankenau Environmental Science student Kayla McEwan.

Through an internship with the Inner Strength Foundation, ninth and eleventh graders met virtually on Friday evenings every other week in January and February to test the app’s functionality, value, accessibility and usefulness. Students also heard from technology experts in the field.

“What better way to test this process than authentically with the very students who would be using it,” said Lina Blanchet, senior instructor and mobile app director for The Inner Strength Foundation. “At the same time, we could provide a learning opportunity and job skills training for teens as mobile app beta testers.”

Through student feedback, Blanchet said that Inner Strength was able to make several changes to make the app more user-friendly, streamlined and impactful for students.

The app, which is free, is now available to any teen on Google Play and the Apple App Store.