Now that you know more about our interns professionally and what they will be working on this summer, let’s take a closer look at each their lives with some fun facts about each intern!
When and why did you start coding?
Apoorva Krishnamurthy:
I started coding when I was 16. We were offered a course in school and I chose it without putting in much thought. However once I delved into the course because of the logical and systematic nature of the subject I developed a passion for it and knew this was what I wanted to pursue ahead. At the end of the course we had to work on a project, where we built out a simple shopping portal in C++ and used concepts on object oriented programming. I greatly felt empowered because now I could create anything that I wanted and the more I knew, the bigger the things I could build.
Moksh Mahajan: I was introduced to coding in my freshman year. At that time I joined The CodeClub SMVDU, where the seniors put their best efforts to teach programming skills to the juniors. From there I learned about basic programming concepts like variables, conditionals, loops, functions, etc, using C language. I got very much excited by knowing the way we can make computers do something just by typing some instructions. My interest in coding boosted when I tried some problem-solving exercises on competitive programming platforms like Hackerrank. We used to compete with each other for our Hackerrank score and it was great fun.
Anshul Singh: In my 8th class we have web designing with html in curriculum, because of that i was introduced with coding but later i found my interest in many programming and scripting languages like C++, C#, Python, Swift and Objective C and made some IoT projects. And later joined open source in my college’s Freshman year.
Shivansh Tiwari: I got my first compilation error when I joined college. It all started with competitive coding, with which I initially struggled a lot, but with time things improved and then I started exploring the field of Android development and Machine Learning. I was really fascinated thinking about the fact that I will be creating my own application, or my own machine learning models to solve real life problems.
Nkep Kerlyn: I was introduced to coding in my first year at the university as a school requirement but I only became fully interested in it in my third year at the university. I found out that being a telecommunication engineering student, some level of coding was very necessary. I also realised I had some interest in data science so I realised I can’t reach my destination without having to code.
Abhay Chawla: I was introduced to computer science in early school days where we had regular classes learning to use various softwares including Microsoft Office, MicroWorlds Logo, Adobe Illustrator etc. Fascinated with everything a computer could do since then, I developed an interest in coding while learning basics of C++, HTML, CSS and Javascript in secondary school. Although having been worked in the field of software development in Javafx for over an year of my college, I decided to do something different and pursue web development two years ago.
Dylan Robson: [I started coding] Probably due to video games and a general interest in technology. I can’t pinpoint an exact age, but if I had to guess I’d say it was in my early teens. I recently had the realization that the first code I ever wrote was probably inside Blizzard’s video game World of Warcraft (WoW). In the game, you could write macros that let you use multiple of your character’s spells/abilities with a single button. My obsession grew as I downloaded countless WoW add ons Minecraft mods, and phone apps just to explore their functionalities. Around my junior/senior year of high school was when I really started to make significant progress by learning Java and Swift and delving into Android and iOS.
Massabe Lydiane: I started coding in 2017 when I came to Buea. I got introduced to coding by my elder sister who was studying computer engineering in the University of Buea. I really found it interesting and exciting to be able to code something and see that it is working. So I decided to give it a try.
Sidhant Gupta: I started coding in my 11th year of schooling as part of the computer science subject. It involved basic problem-solving in C++ and stimulated my interest. In the beginning, I coded partly out of interest and partly for the fun of implementing basic data structures on my own.
Cajetan Rodrigues: I started coding when I was 15 years old. I was passionate about programming from a very young age and have developed a love for computers which eventually made me start coding. The first language I learned was Java. I started with doing some basic problem solving. After a while I thought it was time to develop some real life applications which actually exist on the internet and therefore moved on to learn web development frameworks available out there.
Saksham Handu: I wrote my first “Hello World” program when I joined College. Initially, I struggled a lot but gradually improved and enjoyed my struggles. Making stuffs to help others, was something I always wanted to do, and hence I started my career in Development.
Of all the projects, you could have applied to for Google Summer of Code, why Mifos?
Dylan Robson:
Mifos goal of “3 billion Maries” reshaped how I viewed OSS. It made me realize that OSS isn’t just of benefit to a few of us who choose to utilize OSS for personal projects, but it can also be incredibly useful to people who need help the most.
Anshul Singh: I always want to contribute to some great organisation and i like Mifos mission. Contributing to The Mifos Initiative gives me this opportunity. Unlike the other GSoC ideas, this project idea also meets my personal interest.
Abhay Chawla: I was introduced to Mifos Initiative two years ago while looking for projects that involved AngularJS. The community’s mission to provide a platform for every individual so that they can have access to financial services to create a better future for themselves and their family really motivated me to become a part of the organisation. Consequently, I got selected for Google Summer of Code 2018 and contributed to the web-app’s rewrite and upgrade to Angular 6 the previous year. I have been involved within the community since then and plan to continue with the same.
Sidhant Gupta: I understand Mifos as a platform which uses technology to affect social change, which is something I am passionate about. As I believe at this point in time, the best way I can contribute to social change is by using my skills in technology, I decided to apply to Mifos. Technically also, I believe that I have a lot to learn and refine through working on a backend software component like Fineract.
Cajetan Rodrigues: I am Inspired by vision and mission Mifos is working towards, making the lives of others better by providing fin-tech services to the 3 Million unbanked. I find satisfaction when I see the apps that I contribute become so promising and noteworthy for others.
Massabe Lyndiane: I really love Mifos because of its goal and vision in reducing poverty around the world. When you are from an underdeveloped country, you really see the need to developed a system to help the poor and unbanked.
Nkep Kerlyn: Mifos is a friendly and welcoming community whose mission is to speed the elimination of poverty. It is my wish to join them in achieving the goal of eradicating poverty one line of code at a time.
Shivansh Tiwari: I believe the concept of Mifos is really doing good and can do amazingly well in the field of providing financial services to the poor and bankless community, and thus improve their day to day life. I also found the community very amazing, technically skilled and helping in nature, especially the mentors for Mifos mobile project.
Moksh Mahajan: I was actually searching for Android related projects. For GSoC’19 preparations, I started contributing to a project almost one month before this year’s organization announcement. Unfortunately, that Organization failed to make it to GSoC this year. But I think it was good in a way because then I came across The Mifos Initiative, its mission to end poverty by writing code (served as a great motivation) and the fact that Mifos is having some really good mobile projects. All these things were more than enough for me to choose Mifos.
Saksham Handu: Mifos products are directly playing a vital role in changing lives of millions (and counting) of unbanked individuals.
Apoorva Krishnamurthy: When the list of organisations were announced I was looking through and Mifos was one of the organisations whose technology stack seemed familiar. I was also drawn to how Mifos was using technology to solve global problems such as poverty and was motivated to contribute. I was also welcomed by the community and started contributing and as I went ahead I learnt many things and really liked the good coding practices followed by community. For these reasons I felt Mifos was the right organisation for me to hone my skills and also work on meaningful projects.
You’ve only been a part of the community for a few weeks now but you all have made such great contributions, what’s been most rewarding for you so far?
Anshul Singh:
Reading code base, fixing bugs, testing and improving project/structure helped me to understand code base and i learned a lot about great development practices, open source and how things works in an organization.
Saksham Handu: Apart from learning, I made some amazing friends.
Aproova Krishnamurthy: The most rewarding part has been being able to learn so much in such a short period of time owing to the fact that Mifos is backed by a diverse and tech savvy community. It has been really enriching to learn from mentors and fellow developers. Further, being an international organization the ability to connect with people from all over the world has been a one of a kind experience.
Massabe Lydiane: The feeling that the work and contributions I am doing is helping the world and making it a better place is very rewarding especially when it is something I love.
Dylan Robson: Being accepted to Google Summer of Code in the first place. It’s been my goal for over a year. I have a piece of paper taped to my wall to remind me of it.
Shivansh Tiwari: The fact that the contributions I make will directly help the poor and bankless is the most rewarding thing for me. Helping someone from the knowledge you have is the best you can wish for. Also, the people I met in the community and things I learned from them are priceless.
Moksh Mahajan: Getting my proposal accepted by Mifos along with the stuff I learned while contributing to Mifos is most rewarding for me.
Cajetan Rodrigues: The most rewarding thing that I found is the experience I got while working on an Open Source project. I found it really interesting to be a part of the community. Fixing bugs was a really tricky and enjoyable part as it made me become very familiar with the codebase.
Nkep Kerlyn: The experience in belonging, talking and working with great developers all over the world, as well as working on a real life project which thousands of people will make use of is rewarding.
Sidhant Gupta: I was (and still am) new to Spring and JPA, so to me, trying to figure out how the frameworks function has been a really exciting opportunity. I will continue to improve my understanding by reading up on these frameworks and submitting PRs.
Abhay Chawla: I have been actively participating in community since the previous year. I got an opportunity to contribute to the web-app as part of my Google Summer of Code 2018 as well as a mentor for Google Code-in 2018. The most rewarding experience for me was getting recognized within the community as a star contributor, learning that open source contributions are an integral part of the community which is trying to make an impact on the world.
What is the one thing you’re hoping to learn or take away from your Google Summer of Code internship?
Shivansh Tiwari:
This internship provides an opportunity to work with actual professional developers from all around the globe. I would love to learn how actually a project is maintained when the projects are used on such global scale. Also, the professionalism and domain specific knowledge is a big takeaway from Google Summer of Code.
Anshul Singh: By participating to Google Summer of Code program, i hope i’ll learn how to work in professional environment and way for contributing to open source. And i will have a project in which i am the one of the major contributor.
Abhay Chawla: I am looking forward to enhance my technical knowledge and learn as much as I can working together with the community, making regular contributions and new connections with people at the same time.
Saksham Handu: To learn as much as I can from Mifos Community.
Dylan Robson: I want to reinforce my lifelong passion for open source contribution. I also want to have a fun, educating, and rewarding experience.
Sidhant Gupta: I intend to take away at least a rough idea of how software engineering processes work. I also intend to absorb professional advice from my mentors and all senior community members whom I get to interact with over the summer, not just technical but in the field of microfinance as well.
Massabe Lydiane: I will be able to gain communication skills and team spirit which will help me a lot in building my career. I will also acquire the experience from working with Open source.
Aproova Krishnamurthy: I wanted to definitely improve my technical knowledge but at the same time I wanted to get the hands on experience of working on a real world project under the guidance of mentors. I also believe that I will learn skills such as project planning, meeting deadlines and effective communication.
Cajetan Rodrigues: In the course of Google Summer of Code I would learn time-management and self-discipline. As the project have strict deadlines I would be pushed to work hard and Implement the given features. I hope to get the real open source experience of figuring out things and implementing it. There are many things I am hoping to learn and take away from Google Summer of Code internship, like the experience of working on a real-world project, better communication skills, time management and a positive mindset which is important for tackling any kind of problem in real-life.
Moksh Mahajan: There are many things I am hoping to learn and take away from Google Summer of Code internship, like the experience of working on a real-world project, better communication skills, time management and a positive mindset which is important for tackling any kind of problem.
Nkep Kerlyn: The skill set and experience I will gain from working on this project. Working in a team and also communication skills are some of the things I hope to learn while on this internship.
Most of us on the project have been away from college for a number of years but we all have fond memories – what’s your most memorable experience from university thus far?
Moksh Mahajan:
There are many memorable moments but I am stating the recent one. I along with my 7 friends went for rafting and camping adventure trip 2 days before our End Semester exams. That day I realized my risk appetite has increased to some extent :p
Sidhant Gupta: I have been part of the cybersecurity team at my college and the experience of playing cybersecurity marathon competitions (called CTFs) has been pretty fun and memorable.
Nkep Kerlyn: My most memorable experience in the university was during our final year project defence. I had to face a panel of jury and a large audience to defend my final year project. It was a great experience having to pitch out what I had done to a great number of strange and important people and get feedbacks and being graded for it, as well as inspiring junior students who were present.
Aproova Krishnamurthy: The most memorable experience in college is definitely living in a hostel, away from home with wonderful roommates. After the initial homesickness wears off, it’s such an independent and exciting life. Staying up late, celebrating birthdays, night walks, trips with friends, classmates, roommates are moments I’ll never forget.
Shivansh Tiwari: My most memorable experience from university is the first time me and my team performed a theatre drama on stage. People loved it and the way the appreciated us was very overwhelming. Also the first time we won a Hackathon is a very precious memory.
Abhay Chawla: The most memorable experience from the university for me is to be fortunate enough to have so supportive and helpful friends and seniors that always believe in me and encourage me to push my potential. I hope to keep these friendships throughout my life.
Anshul Singh: There is an event called Revengg (Capture The Flag) in which we have to find some hidden flags by exploiting vulnerabilities, etc and in that event they freeze scoreboard after halftime. My team is iOSDev with my brother. We had a great start but in between many teams surpass us but at the end we secured third rank. It was very exciting and memorable experience from my university.
Massabe Lydiane: I will never forget the first continuous assessment I wrote in the university where I barely managed an average mark. This sounded in my head over and over reminding me to be conscious and hardworking.
Cajetan Rodrigues: After my university exams were over, me and my friends planned for a trip to a hill station at Lonavala. Over there was a monkey , a mysterious monkey, trying to imitate our actions so perfectly that we could never imagine off. We asked the residents about the monkey, they told it existed there for years, no one knows how many. And that again becomes a mystery. The world so full of mysteries. 😉
Saksham Handu: Guiding my Juniors on how to get started with Open Source projects.
Dylan Robson: Meeting like-minded nerdy friends, Football games in the student section, and taking classes that genuinely interest me.
Share one fun fact about yourself!
Abhay Chawla:
I like to watch a variety of shows including Silicon Valley, Sherlock, Westworld and The Big Bang Theory for their outstanding stories.
Aproova Krishnamurthy: I can draw and sing. It’s been amazing to be able to express myself through these means and exercise my creativity. I’m also great with directions and love a good puzzle.
Anshul Singh: I am a twin. We are in same college, same year, same room and same area of interest.
Massabe Lydiane: A girl that loves football so much.
Moksh Mahajan: I am an Anime-freak.
Cajetan Rodrigues: My mind tries to think [of] so many things at once that I could hardly jot down some of them. It’s like doctor strange counting all possible ways to win the war against Thanos in “Avengers Infinity War”.
Sidhant Gupta: I like and try to write poetry.
Shivansh Tiwari: I am very inclined towards cultural activities. I love to sing, act and write poetry. I have participated and won a lot of such cultural events. Also, I love Cricket and Football !!!! PS : Huge F.R.I.E.N.D.S fan !
Dylan Robson: I love collegiate American Football, even more than the professional level (NFL). I started going to University of Utah Football games with my family at around the age of 3.
Nkep Kerlyn: I laugh at the slightest thing or joke even when others don’t find it funny.
Saksham Handu: My love for music, especially EDM can be hidden, even planning to try my hands in making electronic music after some time.
Share something about your local culture that the community and other interns might like to know!
Cajetan Rodrigues:
Love, Understanding and Positivity.
Shivansh Tiwari: The best aspect of my culture is our FOOD. Indian cuisine is so diverse and amazing that it can easily satisfy all of your taste buds.
Dylan Robson: My university is known for its video game development program and has competitive E-sports teams for League of Legends, Rocket League, Overwatch and Hearthstone. See: https://unews.utah.edu/pac-12-students-launch-esports-organization/ While I am not emphasizing in video games for my CS major, I still love video games and think that college E-sports teams are a rather new and exciting concept.
Sidhant Gupta: I come from Delhi, India. The food is amazing (if you plan on visiting).
Massabe Lydiane: Men are generally given the gizzards of a chicken in a household as a sign of respect.
Moksh Mahajan: Cow dung and urine are considered pure. They are used for Godly purpose according to Indian culture.
Abhay Chawla: India offers a wide variety of mouth watering cuisines including paranthas, chole bhature and many more which are definitely worth giving a try and relish for a lifetime if one gets a chance to visit here.
Aproova Krishnamurthy: My mother tongue is a very rare language called Sourashtra. We are a small community of only 2 lakh native speakers. We have quite a bit of interesting history and I’m proud to be a part of this unique community. The language originated in Gujarat but now most of our native speakers are currently residing in South India after many generations of migration.
Saksham Handu: I guess everyone should try Indian Cuisine, be it Veg or Non-Veg.
Anshul Singh: I live in Delhi NCR region. We have culture of all Indian regions mixed together. From old traditional life style to modern lifestyle you can find anything here.
Nkep Kerlyn: Older men have the tendency of pouring a small quantity of drink on the floor before taking in the rest with the intention of sharing with their ancestors.
If you could travel to one place in the world where would it be?
Massabe Lydiane:
England.
Aproova Krishnamurthy: I have always dreamt of travelling to Egypt. I have always wanted to experience the glorious history and wonders of Egypt like the Pyramids, the Sphinx, the treasure filled tombs and vast deserts. The rich and unique culture of Egypt is a must-see.
Nkep Kerlyn: I’d love to travel and visit the beautiful New York City.
Abhay Chawla: I’d like to travel and explore the beautiful city of Paris.
Cajetan Rodrigues: If I had a chance to go abroad, I would definitely choose Silicon Valley as I would be so interesting looking a tech giants work culture and amazing people out there.
Saksham Handu: I would love to go on a trip across Europe as I love to explore different cultures, traditions, languages, places, and peoples.
Moksh Mahajan: Well, Japan obviously! Actually, I am a Weeb and very much obsessed with Japanese Culture.
Sidhant Gupta: Oswiecim, Poland, to see the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial.
Anshul Singh: I want to visit Nevada, Las Vegas because i would like to attend DEF CON convention. It’s world wide hacker’s convention. And i love to learn about how to exploit things so to further improve it’s architecture/structure for better security.
Shivansh Tiwari: Corsica.
Dylan Robson: New Zealand or Australia. New Zealand for the scenery, Australia for the desert adventure and exploration.
If you could have lunch with anybody (living or deceased) in the world, who would it be? What would you have for lunch?
Saksham Handu:
Being Sherlock fan, obviously Benedict Cumberbatch, and would let him make deductions on what I want to have for lunch.
Cajetan Rodrigues: Elon Musk, who is known as the real life iron man, is my inspiration for years. He thoughts and views are so appealing that it has the potential to accelerate the growth of modern tech in a fabulous way. As far as I am concerned, I would more interested in speaking to him as it would be once in a lifetime opportunity.
Dylan Robson: Neil deGrasse Tyson. Sushi.
Moksh Mahajan: I am a great fan of Mr. Elon Musk and I can eat almost anything edible. So, I will let Musk decide what to order and would love to try that thing. (I read in his biography that he takes suggestions from the waiter that would work with his low-carb diet)
Anshul Singh: Linus Torvalds, i am linux lover (specifically Arch). I would have Shahi Paneer with Naan. My favorite combination.
Abhay Chawla: I would like to have lunch with my mother, anything that she’d like.
Sidhant Gupta: I would like to meet Bhagat Singh, an Indian independence revolutionary. I’d have whatever he’s having.
Aproova Krishnamurthy: I have always looked up to Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo. She comes from a similar background as I do and I look up to her for overcoming her hardships and making it to the top. Apart from being starstruck the entire time I would love to chat about her accomplishments and bond over our shared culture. I would like to enjoy a nice Italian meal maybe a nice filling portion of pasta would be perfect.
Nkep Kerlyn: I would love to share pizza with Cassie Kozyrkov.
Shivansh Tiwari: Without any doubt, former captain of Indian Cricket Team, M.S Dhoni. I would love to have Butter Chicken and Naan with him. Also, I hope we play a game of FIFA after the lunch 😛
