David's Story

In 2012, 13-year-old David was a shy, creative student at St Matthew Academy in South London, facing personal challenges and uncertainty about his future. Everything changed when he took part in an Apps for Good course, where students were empowered to solve real-world problems through technology.

Inspired by his own struggles with reading, David developed Qbook - an educational app that gamified reading to make it more engaging. His idea won an Apps for Good award, and he launched the app with fellow student developer Injoit. “The course gave me structure and confidence,” he recalls. “It helped me realise I could create something that mattered.”

The freedom to explore his ideas independently was transformative. “It didn’t feel like a lesson. It was about solving a problem your own way. That’s what made it stick,” he says. The experience opened David’s eyes to careers beyond his environment. “At that age, you don’t see jobs outside teachers or police. Suddenly I was meeting developers, designers, marketers - people I’d never imagined.”

Today, David lives in Amsterdam, working in marketing at Nike. He recently published 'Are We Allowed to Just Dream?', a book celebrating Black footballers. He credits Apps for Good as a turning point saying, “It sparked everything. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am.”

David’s journey shows how creative autonomy, exposure to role models, and real-world problem solving can shift a young person’s trajectory entirely. “There’s probably another me in school right now. Something like this could show them the world is bigger than they think.”