Abigail Dittman's Generations Lead app, funded through an SHSU scholarship, will pair college students with mentors and map food banks, clothing drives and housing resources ahead of a planned November launch.
HUNTSVILLE, Texas. Ask around town about Abigail Dittman and you might get a blank stare. Ask about "that one local girl" and the recognition is instant.
Dittman is the Huntsville creator behind the "That One Local Girl" brand on TikTok and Instagram, where her catchphrase "you know what's up" has made her a familiar face to younger audiences. Older followers know her better as Abby Dittman on Facebook. The split identity is something she laughs about.
"A lot of people don't even know Abby Dittman. They just know that one local girl," Dittman said.
Her videos have turned into real business. Companies from Huntsville to Houston have reached out for collaborations and promotions, and Dittman said the inquiries keep coming.
But the project closest to her heart is not a brand deal. It is an app called Generations Lead, built to connect college students and young adults with mentors and with the basic resources many of them struggle to find.
From Foster Youth Advocacy to a Mentorship App
The app began as an advocacy project for foster youth. Funded through a scholarship from the Sam Houston State University Honors College and the Center for Community Engagement, Dittman's original concept was a resource tool for young people aging out of foster care, paired with advocacy for supervised independent living, a form of extended foster care that provides housing and state supervision for older youth.
The concept has since grown into something broader. Generations Lead is now a mentor and mentee app where students or young adults can connect with a mentor working in the field they want to enter.
"Now it is a mentor mentee app where students or young adults can reach out to somebody who is in their same system as a mentor," Dittman said. "So if they're wanting to be an engineer, they can communicate with them and have a mentor."
The app will also display local food banks, clothing drives and other necessities, along with advocacy hubs carrying news and updates on supervised independent living. Dittman said development should wrap up near the end of October, with a launch planned for November.
Monetary donations are not part of the plan yet. Dittman said she is still considering whether to open the app to financial contributions down the road.
Survival Mode on a College Budget
The project is personal. Dittman is a first-generation college student at Sam Houston State, and she said finding affordable housing in Huntsville was far harder than she expected.
"I was looking for housing in Huntsville and it was not easy to find housing," Dittman said. "I wanted to affordably live."
She described a reality she sees across campus. Students eating one meal a day at midnight because that is all the budget and the schedule allow. Young people trying to study while working, while wondering how they will eat.
"How can I eat today? How am I going to be able to eat, and do I have time to eat when I have to work?" Dittman said.
She also ran into the gaps in the scholarship system. As a summer transfer student, she found far fewer scholarship opportunities than students who transfer in the fall, some of whom can earn a full ride. She hopes to build scholarship support into Generations Lead down the road.
Dittman said Huntsville has resources for struggling students, but too many students never learn they exist. The app is meant to close that gap.
Awareness Is Not Action
Dittman is blunt about the difference between raising awareness and actually helping.
"I need help. I don't need a bracelet," Dittman said, describing how a student facing hunger or homelessness experiences well-meaning awareness campaigns.
"You can be aware, but when are people going to start helping people?" Dittman said. "We have so many resources. When is the local community gonna stop complaining and start getting out there and doing things?"
Her call to action is direct. If foster youth aging out of the system tugs at your heart, go to CASA and volunteer. If another cause moves you, find the local organization doing the work and show up. She said groups like the Good Shepherd Mission and local nonprofits need volunteers more than they need money.
Dittman also had a message for the social media world she works in. She said TikTok needs stronger safeguards around its content, and she predicted YouTube Shorts could be the next big platform for creators as audiences shift. She mentioned talk that YouTube may pay creators more than TikTok, though she flagged that as unconfirmed talk among creators rather than an official announcement.
Through it all, Dittman said Huntsville's community spirit is the real deal. When someone asks for help, she said, local residents and business owners show up. Her advice to anyone who wants to make a difference is simple. Just show up.
About Abigail Dittman
Abigail Dittman is a Huntsville content creator known as That One Local Girl on TikTok and Instagram and as Abby Dittman on Facebook. Her Generations Lead mentor app, connecting college students and young adults with mentors and local resources, is planned to launch in November.