From 004f1caf4ba3cca948d67e803b8143cff6f193f3 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: LucyWuu <89555431+LucyWuu@users.noreply.github.com> Date: Thu, 26 Oct 2023 21:41:16 -0400 Subject: [PATCH] 10/26/2023 --- .../typescript/graphql/types/dashboardType.ts | 2 +- .../migrations/applicationlist.json | 16113 +--------------- .../implementations/appDashboardService.ts | 53 +- 3 files changed, 22 insertions(+), 16146 deletions(-) diff --git a/backend/typescript/graphql/types/dashboardType.ts b/backend/typescript/graphql/types/dashboardType.ts index c9b87aa..fc9f935 100644 --- a/backend/typescript/graphql/types/dashboardType.ts +++ b/backend/typescript/graphql/types/dashboardType.ts @@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ const dashboardType = gql` extend type Query { dashboardById(id: Int!): ApplicationDashboardDTO! applicationsByRole(firstChoice: String!): [ApplicationDTO]! - applicationsById(id: Int!): [ApplicationDTO]! + applicationsById(id: Int!): ApplicationDTO! dashboardsByApplicationId(applicationId: Int!): [ApplicationDashboardDTO]! applicationTable(role: String!): [ApplicationDashboardRowDTO]! } diff --git a/backend/typescript/migrations/applicationlist.json b/backend/typescript/migrations/applicationlist.json index 1478f78..f92f118 100644 --- a/backend/typescript/migrations/applicationlist.json +++ b/backend/typescript/migrations/applicationlist.json @@ -1,16112 +1 @@ -"[ - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "kushalgoel786@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Kushal", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Goel", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F01b3e17a-73c3-477a-a84d-cbf6ef2d7bda?alt=media&token=d90e50ca-e221-4fb6-b3a0-05dec3bf06c8", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In the face of limited data availability for mutual fund investing, I tackled the challenge by developing a project that leveraged Net Asset Values (NAVs) to calculate crucial performance metrics. Using Python and data analysis tools, I created an algorithm to process NAV data and derive metrics like historical performance, return on investment, volatility, etc. These metrics enabled me to assess fund performance, risk levels, and cost-effectiveness, aiding informed investment decisions. Additionally, I incorporated data visualization techniques to present the metrics visually, facilitating easy comparison and identification of investment opportunities. Overall, this project effectively addressed the challenge, providing valuable insights within the constraints of limited data, and empowering me to make informed investment choices.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based in Waterloo only, which means Eastern Time (ET)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am passionate about spreading financial knowledge, specifically in the area of personal finance. Financial literacy is crucial for individuals to lead secure and empowered lives. I believe that by promoting financial education, we can empower people to make informed decisions about budgeting, saving, investing, and debt management. This knowledge helps individuals build emergency funds, avoid predatory loans, and plan for their future. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the FlutterFever community, which I initiated. Through this community, I taught app development to over 200 students, providing workshops, curriculum, and ongoing support. The inclusive and supportive environment encouraged collaboration and learning. Students were able to apply their skills through coding challenges, receiving personalized feedback and mentorship. It has been incredibly rewarding to witness their progress and enthusiasm as they built their own apps." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned personal budget management and finance. My motivation was to take control of my financial well-being. I approached it by watching YouTube tutorials and talking to knowledgeable people. Applying the concepts to my own finances helped solidify my understanding. It has empowered me to make informed decisions and work towards my financial goals." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688586786267 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "Graduate student", - "email": "sharvarirane5@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Sharvari", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Rane", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Management Sciences", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F031c6f11-6a24-4ab2-9966-13e1613e3dd3?alt=media&token=f7573bcb-2c0d-41d1-a977-82e575006561", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "The research method I would mostly like to use is Test Assumptions, Experiments and Metrics. In this method, let we have my app Support Bud, we can first create an initial prototype, write your own assumptions, and other users' assumptions for it, eg. Assumption 1: there are very limited functions in the app which does not satisfy the problem statement. Then we can experiment on the users, since its is a small scale project as of now we can go ahead with a few user interviews and survey forms, in its next version for catering a wider audience we can move to survey forms and support groups. \nwe can then choose a metric and see if our assumptions are true. Most likely, what we assume is only half true. Thus the experimentation is important." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "In my day to day life, I find inspiration in the people I work with. Everybody has a different outlook of solving problems. If I find that I am not able to handle a particular task properly, eg. at one I was not able to manage my mails properly, so I discussed this with coworker who could do that well and he helped me with tips and techniques to sort my mailbox. Similarly there are numerous inspirations we can find in people or even strangers that we talk to on a daily basis." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Portfolio link: https://sharvarirane5.wixsite.com/sharfolio\nBuilding my portfolio has helped me combine my artwork, my work from undergraduate college as well as current design prototypes, which has motivated me to bring creativity in the every work that I do.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based in EDT for the next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that greatly resonates with me is that of \"Social treatment of people with any kind of illnesses or disabilities\". More often than not, people who have skin diseases, weight problems, physical disabilities etc. are treated differently, which indirectly affects their mental health. This can especially have a damaging affect on young adults. This cause resonates with me because I have been dealing with psoriasis (an autoimmune skin disorder) since the past 10 years and thus want to extend the community to help others dealing with it too." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I would like to say that am a part of \"Psoriasis Warriors\" which is what psoriatic people on social media call themselves. We help each other by motivating others through posts and lending a helping hand to people in distress. But most importantly, it is by creating awareness among people who do not know about this condition.\nEnvision being the first person on the planet to wear glasses, now imagine us wearing them in a variety \nof styles and colours at this moment. The pair of glasses remains the same, but what has \nchanged is our vision. This is what I aim to achieve with people having chronic illnesses and I feel this can be changed using design thinking. \nDealing with this illness myself, I have seen that while there is contact information, \nsupport groups, and physicians around, it could still be challenging to connect with ideal people \nwho are going through a similar experience as we are. This sparked an idea for a prototype,\nSupport Bud which deals with this issue." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learnt Indian Classical Music during my engineering. It was funny as started learning it because I wanted to be a singer. While learning singing I realized that there is no limit in learning music, or rather no limit to learning anything. In the beginning, I was trying to get into the technicalities and thought that once I learn this I will be done. Later on, I realized that this approach won't work as you cannot get good by just knowing stuff. I practiced it everyday, and day by day I could feel the difference. Today its been more than 5 years, but still I feel there is a long way to go, but now I don't mind because I enjoy singing everyday!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688143336170 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "doreenshtylla@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Doreen", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Shtylla", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Accounting & Financial Management (AFM)", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0439624a-7bcb-45d7-a93c-4c3fa31ef1e7?alt=media&token=4841f0f6-5762-4a71-847f-6c71f19a027a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "In my daily life, I look for inspiration through nature and by observing the world around me. The beauty and intricacy of nature reminds me to search for harmony in all aspects of my life and in art, and appreciating all the different shapes, colours, textures, and aesthetics, while observing the world around me helps to appreciate the way all our actions have ripple effects on each other. Together, these two areas of inspiration help me to value interconnectedness and balance." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Unfortunately I don't have a link since everything I am designing at work is confidential, however one of the projects I am currently undertaking involves creating a platform to bridge a gap between clients and consumers. I have just begun the onboarding, and will soon begin to enhance the existing Figma wireframes to create a deliverable that can be sent off to developers. Throughout this process, I will be collaborating with the technology department to work through tasks and sprints at hand, and will work with department members to explore how to ideate creative solutions as a part of our growth strategy. So far in these beginning stages, I've learned to pinpoint and understand what is required of any type of project beforehand, and to prioritize what is best for the user in order to create the ultimate experience.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I'm passionate about enhancing education accessibility, whether it is about product design or any other field or subject. I've personally benefited so much from the free training provided by my workplace, which allowed me to discover UX/UI design in the first place, and to grow a passion for it from there. If I had not found those resources from my job, they would have been quite costly and inaccessible to me otherwise. That's why joining Blueprint would allow me to work with like-minded team members, and not only further enhance what I've learned, but to create opportunities as a club to help other students discover and grow as well. As I've seen on Instagram, all of your events like Blueprint night, Tile, info sessions, and more are all awesome ways to introduce students to their potential interests. As a result of this, I'd love to join the team so I can be a part of this process and impact!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm very proud of my heritage and of my Albanian culture, and have continuously been engaged in activities and events that support and uplift people of the same or different backgrounds. I have been involved with leading and organizing my high school's Multicultural Showcase Night (a night of cultural performances, dances, and entertainment) in May 2022. My team and I wanted to ensure that proceeds from the event went to communities in need, and so we donated all the funds to Ukrainian relief efforts to help those most affected by the situation. This was such an amazing personal experience; I discovered how to combine my passions to benefit a real-world problem. This May, I was invited to perform a traditional Albanian dance, and it was so amazing to see how last year's success impacted the spirit of all the students. I was proud to see other students being proud of themselves, and it was so rewarding to know that my dedication could lead to these incredible community-building moments." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "This summer term I have been working at RBC, where my role is project-based, however it does not relate to design. During my free time, I took advantage of their training resources and began to explore designing through Figma! I've discovered that I truly have a passion for UX/UI, and even reached out to different departments to see if I could volunteer my skills for any designing projects at hand. So far, I have managed to practice creating, wireframing, and prototyping screens through my training, redesigning logos for an RBC division, and am beginning to take on an extensive platform creation project within a different department where I can leverage my Figma skills. This is all separate from my designated responsibilities, however I am so passionate about product design that I'm ready to help out in any way if it means I can spend my time using hands-on learning methods like follow-along tutorials, playing around with Figma, real-world practice, and exposure to the field. :)" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688521598200 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "happyvpatel12@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Happy", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Patel ", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science and Business Adminstration", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F04cc615a-dfc9-4f40-91e0-34b7c9e1824f?alt=media&token=ad82ca1c-a45c-4a32-9d21-db052759f772", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Recently, I developed a mental wellness web app catered to promote the concept of self-care among youth. Part of the project was to authenticate users so they can create and access their personal profiles. However, the process of sending credentials entered by the user on the frontend (React JS), to the backend (Node.js), by submitting HTTP requests using Axios was quite a challenge for me. I overcame these difficulties by explicitly understanding the relationship between these frameworks and utilizing appropriate debugging methodologies to identify arising issues. For instance, I heavily referenced official documentation to understand how the frontend can interact with the APIs through HTTP requests. This helped me configure the Axios instances and send requests to the backend for further integration with the database. I also tried to troubleshoot issues by logging backend requests and consulting browser developer tools, to seamlessly identify errors and solve them appropriately. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Quite recently, I got the chance to take a trip back home to India, where I was truly disturbed to witness such young children working general labour jobs. During my stay, I was disheartened to meet a young 12-year-old girl named Dipti who was helping her mom with cleaning services, in effort to gain extra income to support her loved ones. Personally, I believe that a family’s financial struggles shouldn’t result in children being forced to work. However, that is the reality of many people in developing countries, causing youngsters to be in environments where their physical and mental health is compromised. According to UNICEF, nearly 1 in 10 children are driven into work for a multitude of reasons, making child labour a persistent global issue. As a result, understanding the struggles of these individuals and seeing such situations first-hand, inspires to contribute towards children just like Dipti and help provide them with the basic rights to education, food, and safety." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Since I was a little girl, I watched my father hustle for everything we have today, so naturally I was inspired by the work he did and wanted to follow in his footsteps by pursuing a career in STEM. Although, after learning more about the industry, I noticed the gender inequality that vividly exists in this space. Hence, as a female who is apart of this community, I believe it is my mission to inspire young girls to proudly take on a career in STEM. Some initiatives I have been a part of include working with organizations who have similar views as me. For instance, I joined Canada Learning Code where I lead a class of young girls to pass on some of the programming knowledge I uphold, in effort to build their interest towards coding. I even enjoy hosting events with such organizations to explain to families how crucial it is to expose their children to the field of STEM. As a result, I believe that these initiatives are going to help level out the playing field within the long-term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Being a co-op student who recently started working as a software developer, I faced the challenge of adjusting myself in an environment where I had to quickly grasp new skills. Personally, this role was quite important to me because I strive to make myself an asset for any organization I work for, and this drives me to perform at the best of my ability. However, during the beginning of my co-op, I faced the challenge of not being proficient in front-end development. Hence, to acquire these skills, I familiarized myself with JavaScript and HTML/CSS by completing a crash course on Udemy. This helped me to knock down the basics, allowing me to pick up my first ticket which I conquered by breaking it down into smaller goals. I approached each goal by understanding its purpose and referring to the company’s internal documentation or my notes when needed. In the end, this enabled me to further myself as a front-end developer and learn to be an independent employee." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688442797987 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "2anika.kapal@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Anika", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Kapal", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "GBDA", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F057eba93-59e3-461e-bc9b-5b5a1997c8f1?alt=media&token=3663ecb7-6480-4109-85a9-65afcacd8750", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "\tI look for inspiration by learning about different peoples’ perspectives. I am someone who naturally seeks comfort, but I’ve made it my mission to seek unfamiliar situations and new experiences. Whether it’s striking up conversations with random people in the elevator at work or going to frisbee drop-ins for the first time, doing different things has been really rewarding - I love learning about different perspectives than my own. I am often inspired to create based on other peoples’ experiences and perspectives. \n" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://www.anikakapal.com\nI coded this website!", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern time zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is awareness surrounding mental disorders. My closest childhood friend was on the Autism spectrum and was eventually diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. When we were little, I didn’t notice anything, but in middle school, I noticed a shift in kids’ behaviour towards her. We loved to sing together, and she even took to singing on her own YouTube channel. Some kids at her school found her channel and began to bully her relentlessly in the comments. As her friend, it made me angry. I didn’t know how to stand up to them at the time, but no matter what, I always proudly stood by her side, and as I've grown, I've realized that people are afraid of what they don't understand. It is important to educate. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "\tI am proud to be a member of my student society. It’s given me a great group of friends in my program and the chance to create events for my student body. This year, I created a new event called “GBDA’s Got Talent” - A virtual talent show premiering all of my student body’s best talents. By getting in touch with my peers from each grade and spreading the news, we got 20 submissions and around 50 voters to participate from our program alone. The talent show was a contest with rounds, where the top contestants from each round could keep moving up. My program has lots of talent so I wanted to create something that allowed people to express their respective talents. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A skill I had to learn was adaptability. During my senior year of high school, my family uprooted our life and moved from California to Canada. I had built a life for myself in the states - I had a couple of very close friends, made varsity cheerleading, and was a proud member of my school’s student council. When I moved countries, I didn’t have that. It felt like everyone had their place at my new high school and I didn’t fit in there. I could have retreated, but I made it my goal to be outgoing. I shamelessly reached out to people in my classes who I didn’t know and conversed with teachers as if I’d known them for all of high school. I didn’t have anything to lose and I wanted to have a good year. By the end of it, I had a group of friends who I still spend time with when I go home for the summer, and I had met new teachers who wrote my university recommendation letters. I learned that I get out what I’m willing to put in, and the experience made me resilient. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688616042094 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "nshambal@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Saskia", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Hambali", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Global Business Digital Arts", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F07785236-6c6d-4e79-adfc-e5bc7f56466c?alt=media&token=1f9da6b5-0763-4de6-967e-8a109287389a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I look for inspiration in my daily life whenever I see people interact with something. From very little details to looking around a place when I’m at a restaurant when I see little details that enhances an experience such as distinct aromas or convertible tables that can accommodate to any number of parties. It is designs that enhance a brand or that are flexible to meet the users needs is what inspires me for product design. \n" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1e9QJcRQ5POJ6M3uWEwdzBGDK5rf3xoCQ", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "My methods of expertise are more academic as all my experience in research stems from there. I prefer to use academic sources or from reputable sources. As well to use multiple resources to make sure that the information is accurate and correct. As well as the context behind the information given is important to get a better picture of the situation and scenarios the topic can be present in. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "\nA cause that resonates with me is representation in professional industries. Growing up, I had little to no role models or figures that I could look up that had similar upbringings as I did. I believe that having a representative role model is so important because it gives others, no matter how old they are, a sense of pride and determination that working towards success is a feasible possibility. I hope that one day I will be able to become a role model for others and inspire others to break into tech as well. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Im very proud to be apart of the first generation immigrant children. As a child of immigrants that came all the way from Indonesia, I had to look for ways to educate myself on “basic knowledge” such as finances and how to grow your money, as back in Indonesia the finance system’s are completely different. This inspired me to create an app using Figma aiming to educate youth on their finances and how to be in control of their money. Through this app, it educates and helps users to keep track of their expenses and reach their purchase goals through engaging growth tactics. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Currently, I am building my personal website using HTML and CSS. I know little to nothing about code so this is a challenge for me as I am attempting to accomplish a big project with bling knowledge. However, through the past couple weeks, I am proud to say that within the next week my website will be complete! My motivation to learn is that I am in GBDA so it will be great practice ahead of time when I do have to develop and design websites for clients and class. As well, it gives me an opportunity to really challenge my skills and abilities. My approach to learning is to take it step by step and always look for help when I don’t understand. Google has been my best friend whenever I don’t understand what is happening and by asking others, I can keep continue progressing on to perfect my website!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688594833921 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "s39chen@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Shelley", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Chen", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0845a16d-41db-4d82-8c72-188367fc615a?alt=media&token=49767301-98d2-48fc-b5ee-65a31436bec7", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Referring back to the class profile project, I faced a challenge in dynamically integrating the survey data into the frontend application, so that it would update in real-time on the website as more people responded to the survey. Since the data was stored in a Google Sheet, I wasn’t sure if it was possible to access it dynamically through our web app. To tackle this challenge, I conducted extensive research and experimented with various approaches. Eventually, I landed on an effective solution by writing a Google Apps Script that stitched the data from the Google Sheet into a MongoDB database. Then, I connected the MongoDB database to our Next.js application. By implementing this solution, we enabled the website to update automatically as new survey responses were submitted. This ensured that the charts on the website would always display the most up-to-date data!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that deeply resonates with me is advocating for the rights of underprivileged children. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to witness the transformative power of education in shaping the lives of myself and my peers. Unfortunately, many children around the world are denied basic rights, like education and healthcare, due to circumstances beyond their control. I firmly believe that every child deserves an equal chance to thrive, pursue their dreams, and break free from the cycle of poverty. \n\nThe Children’s Aid Society of Algoma project at Blueprint particularly resonates with me. Their dedication to protecting children and promoting their well-being strongly aligns with my own values. Joining Blueprint would allow me to translate my commitment into action by leveraging my skills and the power of technology to make a meaningful impact on lives. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take pride in being a part of a competitive dance team throughout my youth. I actively contributed by dedicating countless hours to practice, developing my technique, and perfecting complex routines. Together with my teammates, we motivated each other, constantly challenging ourselves to deliver captivating performances that showcased our passion and hard work. Our schedules were demanding, with practices that stretched into the late hours of the night and weekends jam-packed with competitions. \n\nOur collective hard work paid off, as we brought home numerous awards, including the Best Contemporary Group Dance at a regional dance competition a few years ago. Although I am no longer an active member of the dance team, I still cherish the community deeply and occasionally visit to offer guidance and support to current team members. Being a part of this community has not only shaped my work ethic but has also taught me the value of collaboration and afforded me lasting friendships." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Before entering university, I did a lot of research on my program, Systems Design Engineering, and stumbled upon the class profiles created by previous cohorts. Inspired by their creativity, I was motivated to create the class profile for my cohort. Over the past couple of months, I learned how to develop a full stack web application. \n\nI began by immersing myself in online resources and tutorials to familiarize myself with the fundamentals of both frontend and backend technologies. I delved into React, learning fundamental concepts such as components, state, and props. After creating a few small personal projects, I was ready to start on our class profile. I started by developing the frontend using Next.js. Using the Chart.js library, I created reusable chart components to display throughout the website. I compiled the collected data into a MongoDB database, which allowed the website to display dynamic data. Here’s the final result: https://syde27classprofile.ca/ :)" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688074361414 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "j486yu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jenny", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Yu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F08dfc404-9633-48d3-8ab9-abb0da8b1634?alt=media&token=0f3a9a9a-51e2-46fe-ab10-e5923204c6b1", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my last coop term, I was given a task that involved many technologies and tools I had never worked with before, namely time-series databases and Elasticsearch, as well as using Telegraf to monitor CPU and network performance. The biggest challenge for me was getting over the learning curve, as I had never worked with these tools before. To get past this learning curve, I first did a lot of research on my own from various online resources such as articles and YouTube videos, and tutorials. When I faced other challenges, I consulted my team members, who were able to help me with their knowledge and expertise. With these resources, I was able to successfully complete my task, which helped automate processes and reduced manual effort. This experience enhanced my research and problem-solving skills, as well as my ability to adapt to new technologies and collaborate effectively.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "In my daily life, my main source of inspiration is music and theatre. In both art forms, collaboration with other artists is essential, and it is another significant source of inspiration, as it nurtures creativity and fosters a sense of community. As a kid, music really helped me come out of my shell and I have made many lifelong friends through it. Music and theatre ignite my creativity, broaden my artistic horizons, and remind me of the transformative power of storytelling and collaborative creativity. These art forms inspire me to continuously push my own boundaries, learn new skills, and strive for excellence." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "One project I've worked on was the hackathon project where I was first introduced to frontend development and design. Our task was to create a website to display our Python project, which was a careers quiz for high schoolers to help them pick a career path. During this process, I was introduced to Figma, which we used to help us come up with the design for our website, and help us organize our layout for the website and how pages connect. I learned a lot from this project but my experience with product design is still limited. Joining UW Blueprint would provide me with invaluable opportunities to further develop my design skills, learn from more experienced peers, and contribute to meaningful projects that make a positive impact on the community.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability, particularly the effects that plastic pollution can have on the environment and wildlife. Witnessing the devastating impact of plastic waste on ecosystems in Canada and around the world has fueled my passion for making a positive environmental impact. In the past, I have participated in cleanups in my community as well as awareness campaigns. I even participated in a hackathon recently where we made a project to raise awareness about the importance of recycling! By joining UW Blueprint, I hope to use my technical skills to develop innovative solutions that support environmental organizations in their conservation efforts, whether it's through creating platforms for recycling and waste management, developing educational tools, or designing systems to track and reduce carbon footprints." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In high school, I was proud to be a part of VON (Volunteer Now), a club aimed at addressing social issues, supporting marginalized groups, and promoting community engagement. I participated in many events to raise awareness for various issues, such as the Wenjack Walk, where we walked in honour of Chanie Wenjack - a young indigenous boy who lost his life walking home from a residential school - to raise money for the Chanie Wenjack Fund. I also participated in the red dress initiative, where we hung up red dresses throughout the school to educate the student body on the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I helped to organize the first virtual VON fair, an annual event held in our school to promote volunteerism and raise awareness for a variety of issues and organizations. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I attended my first hackathon in high school where I was first introduced to frontend development. My previous experiences with coding had only been from high school courses, but I had never done any frontend, so this was a new challenge that I wanted to take on. At this hackathon, I was exposed to HTML and CSS for the first time through various workshops and tutorials that my team members and I found online. When we faced problems that we didn't know how to solve, we sought out guidance from the mentors as well as resources online. The hackathon environment was the perfect place for me to learn a new skill as I was able to immediately apply what I had learned to make my own project, one that actually won us a prize in the competition. After this experience, I was inspired to continue expanding my knowledge of frontend development, leading me to start learning React and JavaScript." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687923751973 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "k29ferna@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Keegan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Fernandes", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0c03d5da-9818-4d6a-a961-6e6d18eb091f?alt=media&token=b0ba233f-81ea-49ce-a2a7-3824eb43b648", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is the online video-sharing platform YouTube. With it's diverse selection of videos, YouTube users can seek out entertainment, education, and news all on one platform. Furthermore, YouTube is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and does not add barriers to information by charging subscription fees or paywalls. Lastly, YouTube has helped me a lot as a visual learner by providing me with a new medium to digest content as opposed to traditional primary resources." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am really passionate about health and wellness by promoting physical and mental well-being along with raising awareness/financial support for specific diseases." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am a proud member of my Church community where I've helped by donating my time to organize fundraisers for local charities and events for the youth." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my first coop as a data analyst, I had the opportunity to really build upon my communication skills with the help of my mentor/manager. They emphasized to me that it is one thing to collect insights for the business but it is another to effectively communicate your recommendations and the importance of storytelling. When working in cross-functional teams, I needed to be aware that not everyone may have the same technical expertise so I need to change the way I communicate so that everyone is on the same page. My manager supported me to work on this skill by encouraging me to lead meetings and create presentations. From that experience, I gained a deeper and true understanding of what it means to be a good communicator." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688173788089 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "emmahuang.ty@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Emma", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Huang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0cbd71b7-8c06-43ce-8082-5d68908bfba3?alt=media&token=5c6b1c10-2f2b-47d7-9768-df709b9e51cd", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Frontend", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "When developing a workout tracker in 2022, my team mounted an ESP8266 wifi module onto an Arduino to communicate tracked data to the connected wifi server. However, the data would only appear at the expected port 20% of the time. \n\nWe first troubleshooted our hardware configuration by checking over each sensor’s connection and reproducing the issue on different hotspots. While performing isolation testing on each of the sensors, it came to our attention that our system would work reliably with only one sensor attached. This observation suggested system overloading—the large amount of data being sent over was breaking the wifi channel. \n\nTo resolve this issue, we reduced the data size being sent over by grouping chains of data and sending them altogether at the end of each session. We also minimized the unit’s complexity by replacing accelerometers and gyroscopes with a proximity sensor. Altogether, these fixes boosted the consistency in our system’s performance substantially.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST/EDT" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Mental health advocacy is a cause that has always deeply resonated with me. In 2020, the impact of the pandemic on my community opened my eyes to the mental struggles many individuals face. Inspired by these intimate experiences, I was committed to raising awareness about youth mental health. To better understand and support those in need, I immersed myself in books on psychology and online courses on psychological first aid. Combining the cause with my passion for computer science, I took on the role of Technical Operations Department Lead at Race to a Cure, a non-profit that empowers youth through media and research initiatives. My work in managing the organization's website and online outreach has helped the non-profit reach 80,000+ site visitors since 2020. Moreover, our initiatives like the CureTalk podcast and Stories of the Pandemic Youth program provided a supportive network, fostering open discussions and connecting young people as they navigate their mental health battles. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take pride in being a part of Hack the North's organization team, a community that combines my interests in event planning and hackathons. I attended Hack the North as my first hackathon, and I was captivated by its mission in empowering hackers to build whatever they could imagine. Since joining as an organizer and frontend developer in March, I have collaborated with my team to create an interactive static site and dynamic hacker application form using React. Working closely with the other front-end developers, designers, and the backend team, my involvement in Hack the North enriched my understanding of web development. Moreover, it was incredibly fulfilling to receive positive feedback from fellow students on the published site. Besides development work, I enjoyed brainstorming for new designs and activities, hiring volunteer leads, and contributing to the creation of an impactful hackathon experience for thousands of hackers. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Inspired by my passion for entrepreneurship and recognizing the importance of marketing in startups, I sought to develop my marketing management skills. My approach to learn this skill was to push myself out of my comfort zone—by signing myself up for DECA competitions despite having no prior business knowledge. During four months of training, I studied business textbooks, practiced case studies, and analyzed recordings of my own presentations over and over again to identify areas of improvement. As my marketing and presentational skills developed rapidly, I achieved Provincial Champion and International Top 10 Finalist in the competition—milestones I could not have previously imagined reaching. After my journey with DECA ended, I strived to further enrich my understanding of marketing and entrepreneurship by taking on the role of President at my high school’s Business Club and leading workshops that inspired 60 members to explore business innovation. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688606066607 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4B", - "email": "bill.cui.work@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Bill", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Cui", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0cf8e8fa-56ce-4adb-a201-36949f185861?alt=media&token=57a70a2f-3189-4da7-b5fe-b56a3142c4db", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Last summer my colleague and I created a real-time operating system along with a suite of user tasks completely from scratch to control multiple trains simultaneously as a part of the CS452 Real-time Programming course. \n\nTo manage the project's complexity, we organized our work into two-week sprints. With each of us working on different areas of the project, we coordinated to resolve blockers. Each sprint had a clear and hard deliverable date. We often had to pull all nighters to meet those deadlines! \n\nWhile we were working in our current sprint, we also had to anticipate the challenges of the next. We did so by having dedicated days to spike things out for our next sprint. Additionally, we also had days where we focused on tech debt, like setting up a more intuitive UI framework.\n\nIn the end, we successfully developed a real-time operating system capable of autonomously controlling multiple Märklin trains with collision avoidance. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "As backend lead at Tech+, I led my team to release the first iteration of our Portal app. This online platform was designed to pair first-year students with experienced mentors. \n\nAt the start of the term, I had 1 on 1 meetings with each member to learn about their goals. I would then check in on their goals periodically throughout the term.\n\nI also provided technical mentorship through a series of info sessions on technologies like Docker. I made sure to host at least one office hour a week for team members to ask me questions, and they were encouraged to ask me questions asynchronously as well!\n\nI wanted everyone, regardless of their skill level, to be a critical part of the team. Whenever I had an idea in mind, I would get buy in from everyone individually. I would then refine these ideas into proof of concepts for everyone to collaborate and finish together. To help everyone get up to speed, I would scope out each epic so that it had enough information for people to get started. " - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "PST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am deeply passionate about sustainability. This passion led me to create Dropshare (drop-share.netlify.app/), an app that makes recirculating used items easier than ever. Through this platform, people can donate items directly, eliminating the need for intermediary spaces like thrift stores and bypassing related costs such as property expenses.\n\nSimply drop a pin on a map and donate items immediately. It provides more flexibility than traditional donation methods, thereby encouraging people to participate in sustainable practices.\n\nIn addition to providing an easier way to donate, the app allows for user reviews to easily track the impact of donations.\n\nThe app currently enjoys around 50 active users per month in my town of Newmarket, demonstrating the community's interest and commitment to sustainability. This success motivates me to continue developing tools to better serve the community and promote sustainable practices." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Tech+ is a student organization aimed at bridging the technology career gap for underserved communities. I was a backend tech lead for the Portal project, an online platform designed to support first-year students by matching them with experienced mentors.\n\nI led various technical initiatives to ensure the reliability and security of Portal. This included integrating Auth0 for robust site security and endpoint specific authentication. To facilitate efficient development and deployment, I utilized Docker, simplifying the onboarding process for new developers and boosting team productivity. \n\nAt the same time, I provided mentorship for younger developers through 1 on 1's and learning presentations.\n\nOur initiative has made a significant impact, attracting 5,000 students annually, a testament to our work's importance. We are contributing to creating a more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming space in the tech industry, which I am genuinely proud to be a part of." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "For a long time, I relied on Heroku and Netlify to deploy my applications. I felt like I was throwing my apps over the fence to a black box that was managing my infrastructure. I wanted to fully own my applications, and the deployment process was a significant part of that. This motivated me to learn Helm, Kubernetes, and Docker.\n\nMy approach to learning was sequential and hands-on. I started with Docker, understanding the basics of containers. Then Kubernetes, learning how it orchestrates Docker containers. I practiced by containerizing some of my own applications and managing them with Kubernetes.\n\nLastly, I learned how to package my applications into Helm charts and manage releases, providing me the control I was looking for in my deployments.\n\nI loved the nuances of having granular control over deployments. It brings a different level of satisfaction to see your application running smoothly because of the choices you've made, which exactly was what motivated me to learn this skill." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688339004875 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "aungkhant.min@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "firstName": "Aung Khant", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Min", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0e1f0f1a-2cca-47f6-bf0c-2974411d8807?alt=media&token=63e3ec63-3495-41a5-b113-573319374d08", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "- look through the current and prospective projects and determine what kind of project is expected to be the most common for the next year (technology stack, static resources, etc)\n- look through previous projects to determine what could be useful in a standardized code repository: boilerplate code, static resources, metadata like README files and licenses\n- come up with ideas and ask current developers on the team whether they would change anything and if they have any ideas\n- there might be multiple standardized repositories for different technology stacks\n- write documentation detailing how the repositories are meant to be used and any best practices\n- after the standardized repositories are live, ensure that every new project is based on the appropriate repository\n" - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my internship at Verily last term, I was to architect a solution to securely transfer data records from GitHub to a specialized healthcare database. My initial idea was to write a GitHub Action that would write to the database on specific cues. The problem was that we didn't want a GitHub Actions runner to have direct write access to the database. We also wanted more granular control over the kind of GitHub resources that could be pushed to the database: type of file, the user that committed the file, and whether the file has been reviewed.\n\nMy finalized solution was to launch a Cloud Run virtual machine that would check whether the incoming GitHub-to-database-import request is sound based on a configuration file (checking the type of file, who committed the file, etc), pull from the specified repository, and then push to the database. Only the virtual machine that we fully control has write access to the database, and we can make the request checks to be as granular as possible", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Waterloo time (EDT)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The greatest threat we face today is climate change. Temperatures have reached record levels, and most experts say we have reached a point of no return. Despite the availability of greener energy sources, we still use unclean sources to produce most of the world's energy needs. Although many organizations and individuals have made great progress, every industry needs to stand behind the cause to truly resolve the threat." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm interested in intelligence and also have a hobbyist interest in biology. A combination of these two interests is neuroscience. I consider myself to be a part of the global student community learning neuroscience. \n\nI helped Simply Neuroscience, an international non-profit, educate and host opportunities for over 35,000 (at the time) community members worldwide. As the Director of Technology of the non-profit, I led a team of 15 developers to maintain and update the organizational website with over 35,000 monthly viewers. I also built a mobile app for a major online event with 1244 attendees to add interactivity to the event." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In May 2020, I co-founded DoTogether, a social-media startup, with five university students I met online. The social-media website, born amidst the pandemic's initial outbreak, aimed to connect people with similar interests to do online activities together. I solely built the production-ready website while learning the required technologies, which included JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Node.js, Socket.io, and MongoDB.\n\nI learned the technologies under the tight time pressure of frequent feature requests. My approach was to focus on building and to learn along the way. I read just enough documentation to implement the next feature and looked up further documentation only when I encountered problems. My motivation to learn stemmed from believing in our mission and wanting to create the best possible website for the team." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688183126704 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "ksadukia@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "firstName": "Khushi", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Adukia", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Honours Mathematics", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0e9a4bd2-9db9-4b24-a052-b4f4e7512f6a?alt=media&token=6ede13e6-48e4-4074-b1ef-9477db3bdd04", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "An ideal member experience encompasses feeling proud of yourself, personal growth, and building meaningful connections. As the Internal Director, my goal would be to create an environment where members not only feel satisfied with their work but also experience significant personal development. This could involve organizing skill-building workshops, mentoring programs, and providing opportunities for members to take on leadership roles. Additionally, fostering a sense of community and friendship is crucial. I would strive to create spaces for members to connect, by organizing social events, team-building activities, and networking opportunities. After experiencing the transition from remote to in-person university, I would prioritize creating an inclusive and supportive community. As the Internal Director, I would work diligently to create an environment that facilitates these experiences." - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - }, - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "I believe Blueprint should organize a technology exhibition, showcasing innovative technologies that have a positive impact on communities and promote public welfare. This event aligns perfectly with Blueprint's mission of making technology more accessible. The exhibition can feature demos and presentations from startups and current Blueprint projects leveraging technology to address social and environmental challenges. It would provide a platform for networking and collaboration, fostering a community of change-makers who utilize technology to create a positive impact. I'd use my experience as an Outreach Coordinator in the Data Science Club to attract impactful exhibitors and sponsors. As External Director, I'm committed to bringing this vision to life, working closely with the team to organize a captivating technology exhibition that embodies Blueprint's mission and values." - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "External Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am passionate about promoting inclusivity and diversity in all environments, particularly on campus. Having personally experienced the negative impact of feeling undervalued and lacking confidence in expressing my opinions during elementary school, I believe that every individual should be equally valued and allowed to contribute without bias. To address this issue, I actively work towards creating an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and appreciated, regardless of their background or position. I prioritize including all individuals in group discussions and decision-making processes, ensuring that their voices are heard and respected. By actively involving others and recognizing their contributions, I aim to empower individuals and instill confidence in them. By championing inclusivity and diversity, I aspire to create an environment where every person feels supported, valued, and capable of making meaningful contributions to any cause." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to have been a part of my high school DECA team, where I served as the Vice President. In this role, I organized and conducted one-on-one mock case competitions, evaluated members' oral presentation skills and provided feedback on their written reports. Through this initiative, I contributed to the success of our chapter, with 75% of our members qualifying for the provincial competition. \n\nBeing involved in DECA has been vital in developing my leadership and communication skills while boosting my self-confidence. As the VP, I faced challenging decisions, such as selecting an additional team to qualify for the provincial competition. These experiences taught me the importance of accountability and practical decision-making.\n\nDECA has provided me with numerous opportunities to learn and grow, and I take immense pride in being a part of it. It has not only allowed me to contribute to the success of our chapter but has also fostered personal development and accomplishment." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I take immense pride in self-learning how to ride a bike, even though I acquired the skill later than most people. My motivation stemmed from wanting to become more active and explore new outdoor activities. Initially, I felt nervous about venturing into my neighbourhood, fearing that my friends would witness me struggling. However, I was determined to overcome my fears. Breaking down the learning process into smaller steps helped me focus on mastering one aspect at a time. Once I learned how to balance on the seat and pedal down the street, I felt a surge of motivation from the progress I was making. I started joining my sister on her evening bike rides, discovering the joy and relaxation that cycling brings. This experience has taught me the value of perseverance and self-belief. By only focusing on improving my abilities, I overcame my initial fears and steadily built my skills. Riding my bike has become one of my favourite hobbies, and reassures me to step outside my comfort zone." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688616330036 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "thasin.maisha@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Maisha", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "thasin", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Math", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1111a807-6802-4bba-b6cc-fbe1bd5981a1?alt=media&token=421bb31f-ef83-495f-82e8-54e6f5d8c986", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I was given a task to build a machine learning model for topic extraction from customer support tickets to production, I faced a challenging technical problem. At that point in my career, my knowledge of machine learning was limited. To tackle this, I took a step back and prioritized important features, focusing on creating MVPs. This iterative approach allowed me to learn and adapt quickly, gradually improving the model's performance.\nTo optimize efficiency, I implemented parallel processing techniques and utilized data sampling methods to handle the large dataset effectively. Through experimentation and fine-tuning, I achieved satisfactory results in topic extraction accuracy.\nCollaborating closely with the engineering team, I ensured a smooth deployment of the model into production. Scalability and real-time inference capabilities were prioritized to meet the demands of the customer support system. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The Palestinian crisis holds a profound impact on me as a Muslim student due to its intersection with my religious identity and values. Witnessing the ongoing conflict and the challenges faced by Palestinians in accessing their religious sites and preserving their cultural heritage deeply affects me on a personal and spiritual level.\nFurthermore, the Palestinian crisis is not confined to political or humanitarian dimensions; it encompasses broader issues of social justice and human rights. The injustices faced by Palestinians, including displacement, restricted access to resources, and limited opportunities, go against the principles of fairness and equality that Islam promotes. I feel a strong sense of responsibility to advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people. By partnering with UW Blueprint and local non-profits, I aim to empower Palestinians through education, skill development, and technological innovation." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to have been a part of my high school's government as a charity coordinator. In this role, I took the initiative to organize various events, charity drives, and blood drives for fellow students, with the primary goal of raising funds for charitable causes. Our collective efforts were dedicated to making a positive impact in the community. One of our significant achievements was raising approximately 10,000 CAD to support a school in Malawi, Africa. This endeavour involved mobilizing students, coordinating fundraising activities, and raising awareness about the importance of education. Witnessing the impact of our efforts on the lives of students in need was truly rewarding and solidified my passion for making a difference. Being part of this community allowed me to cultivate leadership skills, foster a spirit of empathy and giving, and instill in me a lifelong commitment to contributing to the betterment of society." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As a first-year student in Math with limited advanced mathematical knowledge, I took on the challenge of learning machine learning My motivation stemmed from the incredible potential of machine learning to revolutionize industries and solve complex problems. With a pragmatic approach, I began by seeking beginner-friendly resources such as online courses and tutorials that focused on practical applications rather than heavy mathematics. After that I took a step back and just built projects, simple projects to advanced projects by reading online, and with each new project I gained a little bit more knowledge.\nThis allowed me to grasp fundamental concepts and gain hands-on experience through coding exercises and projects. I supplemented my learning by actively engaging with the machine learning community, participating in forums etc. Despite the initial difficulties, I maintained a growth mindset, embracing failures as learning opportunities. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688169909781 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "a33srini@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Aditya", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Srinivasan Mani", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computing and Financial Management", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F122e7f37-55d7-4e90-993b-86c427e31891?alt=media&token=a671c3be-f2f4-4168-8c4b-c54c3e8aea3a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Mobile", - "Fullstack", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Data Science", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I would like to share a technical problem that I recently encountered in my Co-op as a Data Scientist. Working in an insurance company, the power that data holds in this industry is pretty obvious. This company is a pretty new one that started in 2018. As of now, they never had a dedicated data team that could help them with their analysis and have accumulated data for the past 4 years. Since there is no existing expertise the goals were very open ended and they were looking for a starting point. I began my planning process by designing a pipeline for the data engineering aspect and I am currently working on developing it so that the data becomes easily accessible for the people working in the future. I have planned out some visualization automations such that every month the data gets pre processed and a report is published that would give insights to the users about the performance. I went about my planning by going through all the datasets, and researching extensively about the data", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "I was a very active member in the student council body in high school. I held the position of Assistant head boy where I organized the volunteering event I mentioned above. I organized this event in collaboration with another organization that I was a part of as they had the connections of the labor camps that we could approach. I prepared a detailed document of the event and presented it in front of my school board to receive approval. We organized a donation of food, fresh water and flasks to about 900 poor labourers during the holy month of Ramadan. I handled the communications part where I was coordinating with outside groups to organize the supplies. The internal organization was delegated among other council students where I had given each person a responsibility and prepared sheets for them to document their progress. This event was a very memorable one where I exercised a lot of leadership skills." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The global cause of sustainability and environmental governance deeply resonates within me as it is known to have a powerful impact that is specially required in today's fast growing world. As a young child, I had been an active member of many sustainable initiatives, educating myself and spreading the word to the masses as I believe to have realize the importance of this concept. I joined environmental clubs, participated in community clean-up campaigns, and engaged in educational programs to deepen my understanding of environmental conservation. An important message I always reflect upon is that sustainability is not just an abstract concept, but in fact a way of living that requires collective efforts. This concept brings together many disciplines that work together to mitigate global issues that can help build the right balance between nature and humans. The problem of sustainability has been well addressed but I believe that it still needs to be resonated on a more personal level." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take immense pride in being a part of volunteering groups and this is not something I am expressing just for this application. As a kid, I was always reminded to be grateful for what I have and always give back to the society in the small ways I can. I have been a part of multiple organizations such as Red Crescent, Sathya Sai International Service Organization, school initiatives etc. and have organized various events to help those in need. The beauty about the volunteering community is the like-minded people who get an opportunity to come together to make a difference. It instills a feeling of purpose among every individual and reminds them about their position in this world. One of the events I take immense pride in is an initiative I organized alongside my student council during the holy month of Ramadan. This event aimed to provide food and fresh water to those in need, particularly the poor labourers who work tirelessly during this fasting season." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "It goes back to my high school days when I first decided to step into the world of technology by making the decision to learn coding. My motivation behind learning this skill is the power the concept of automation holds in today's society. With this skill I realized that I would be able to contribute to any society I wish as technology has a different dimension when it comes to solving problems. My approach was simple as I always enjoyed learning and had/still have a strong belief that learning is a never ending process. I always used to practice my concepts by relating to some real world problems as that helped me appreciate what I learnt." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615311777 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "jaywong2004@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Jay", - "heardFrom": "Events", - "lastName": "Wong", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Global Business Digital Arts", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "As a designer, I look for inspiration for new ideas in the things that I personally use and like, and strip it down to specific things that others do that are successful and implement it to my own designs and products. Seeing things from Pinterest and Behance to draw inspiration is nice, but I also draw from the apps and interfaces that I use and like to encourage more user friendly designs. For instance, when creating digital and print graphics for Petite Workshop, I thought of what I do myself as a consumer when I see a poster. From a local lens, I would typically search for more information on the web about the information posted, so I decided to add a QR code to all the print posters to make the user experience more seamless and efficient. This was also proven since the QR code on the poster was used 50 times at a local festival we attended with the posters present. With my experience, I would like to bring more ideas to new projects for social good." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "A project that I am proud of is my recent project submission for TILE 2023. As it was one of my first designations, I was able to create an interface that had the essentials of good design. The process was hard because of the limited knowledge my partner and I had since we were both new to designing interfaces, but we persevered and gained a lot of insight and experience learning from experienced designers and attending workshops. I learned how to use Figma, and got feedback on researching, testing, and developing our idea to enhance and elevate the product. With that in mind, I hope to bring a new perspective and a fresh point of view to the blueprint team.\nhttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BD_7ujfY5kHNNLhLZcSu0WkBkk9IAg1VdiLm-Wu7Z7E/edit?usp=sharing\n", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "With the rapid growth of fast fashion and micro trends, a cause that resonates with me is sustainability, specifically within the fashion industry and consumer lens. I believe that we could reduce our consumerist mindset through empowering consumers, and influencing big business and corporations. In fact, this cause resonated with me throughout high school, which allowed me to spearhead and execute a sustainability workshop dedicated to educating students about the effects of fast fashion with Fashion Takes Action; a non-profit fashion organization committed to advancing sustainability in the fashion system through education, awareness, and collaboration. Another other organization that I’ve collaborated with was 1000 trees, devoted to promoting green areas within the GTA. I was able to leverage the school community and bring awareness to their cause through social media and marketing. I hope to continue educating myself and others about sustainable practices." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be part of my local Chinese community since there is lots of rich cultural heritage and unity within the community. The community is also very big and active, hosting multiple events around the area all year round, and is welcoming to all people. One way I contribute to our community is through volunteering at events hosted by and for our community. For instance, I volunteered at the Canadian National Exhibition’s asian heritage exhibit in which they promoted various small asian owned businesses. I have also attended a Hong Kong Market as a vendor with Petite Workshop, a small clay art studio where we were able to appreciate all Chinese-Canadian immigrants and their hard work contributing to the community in Canada. At the workshop, we celebrate our culture to the community by teaching miniature clay Chinese classic foods like dim sum and Hong Kong street food at our local studio. Finding the community you belong is crucial to motivate and drive us to do good in society." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I started my co-op at an architecture firm, there was a very steep learning curve in the workplace from architecture jargon to industry standard softwares. In order to do anything, I first had to learn how to use Revit; a modeling software, in a short period of time in order to start working on the files. Learning a new software from scratch was not easy, but thanks to the supporting and uplifting environment the firm had, I felt engaged and motivated to keep on learning. I am convinced that having a positive team environment improves the quality of the work and builds a long lasting team. Another motivator for learning was the fast paced environment the office had, since there were many parties involved like developers, head architects, and engineers, I was inspired to produce quality work to increase productivity within the team. Similarly, working with nonprofit partners and a strong project team will create a strong team environment to produce quality work efficiently." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688354679007 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "j744kim@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jonathan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kim", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F13e9d9f2-a315-4bb4-9428-523807483d55?alt=media&token=4edc66f7-f9d6-4279-a4fe-06e2be99473c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "When I was at my last coop at Manulife Financial, I was tasked with learning the company framework and creating a template website in React to display resource optimization recommendations. The problem was that many elements of the framework were not compatible with the Javascript commands for normal HTML. My solution involved finding individual workarounds for specific issues. For instance, if I realized that a button wasn’t able to be clicked because it was an imported element, I would then create an invisible button surrounding that button, which I would be able to manipulate with code. That way, even if the user would seemingly only click on the visible button, it would trigger the button with the actual code. I continued this process of surrounding elements with manipulative functions for the scroll-to-the-top button. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "\nMy favourite product is Google Maps for its utility, efficiency, and innovation. In terms of utility, the product is incredibly useful at providing directions. When taking public transit, I know exactly when to leave the house, instead of shivering in front of the bus stop for 10 minutes. Google maps is also incredibly efficient. When driving, I can trust the product to produce the most optimal route, with respect to any delays like traffic accidents or road congestion. Finally, Google Maps is incredibly innovative, constantly evolving to better integrate itself into our lives. Just yesterday, Google Maps announced a collaboration with Mercedes, forming the first branded navigation process for an automaker. It is with this forward-thinking of partnerships that solidify Google Maps as an industry leader, and one of my most used and favourably viewed products. \n" - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Pacific Time Zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the Engineering Ambassador program. I felt fear in my first year, believing I was weaker in experience and education than my peers. When I approached an upper year, I had no idea why they helped me, for nothing in exchange. It was only when I started talking to more upper years that I began to understand. Engineering scared me because it was impossible on my own. That was the harsh truth, but there was a community willing to help. I became an ambassador because I didn’t want other students to be living in fear. I wanted to be the kind of upper year that reached out first, assuring juniors they weren’t a burden and creating a space for feeling relief rather than shame when asking for help. When I mentor a younger student, I feel like I’m speaking with a younger version of myself. I’ve become kinder, forgiving myself for my past mistakes while passing on a kindness I could never repay to the upperclassmen before me. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I’m proud to be a part of is the SYDE class of 2026. While many aspects of my university life have changed, the people in my classes and social circles have remained constant. I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of a community filled with incredible people who continue to motivate me to strive for greatness. In addition to academic excellence, the students of SYDE have a wide range of personalities, interests, and skills, reflecting the program’s multidisciplinary nature. I created the Discord server for my program, which acts as the main social hub, and was the first point of contact for many in the program. I organized Q&A sessions with upper years, curated lists of resources for students, and gradually built a network with the other programs. I also was a class representative, where organizing social events including campfires and a cohort-wide game (@sydesocial). I also was a product manager of the class profile (https://syde26.life/)\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently started rock climbing, which seems to be a rite of passage at Waterloo. As a chronic sitter, I felt like I wasn’t staying active enough, and rock climbing seemed like a great way to socialize and have fun while exercising. I went with some friends with prior experience, and I started with bouldering, which involved climbing without any harness. At first, I did not have any approach, as I was too afraid of falling and hurting myself. Only after I let myself fall intentionally from the top of the rocks and onto the mat below, did I lose the sense of fear inhibiting me from climbing. When I stopped worrying about falling and failure, climbing became so much easier and more enjoyable. Through experience, I learned proper hand and foot placement, as well as the importance of pacing. I solidified my approach: removing the fear of failure and rapid learning and development through exposure.\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688614777999 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "yrynossi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Yaser", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Nossibeh", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1854f619-45fa-4535-a99f-7042f76b21b1?alt=media&token=643295ea-6f2f-4a69-81ec-7d9bd8b64b74", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I encountered a technical problem during my co-op that required me to integrate a Python script into the company’s Laravel platform. Due to Laravel's PHP foundation, Python integration posed numerous complications such as restricted file access, trouble passing parameters to the script, and various other compatibility issues. \nI first delved into the Laravel documentation, allowing me to gain a deep understanding of the framework's intricacies and identify potential solutions. Additionally, I actively engaged with my colleagues, seeking their expertise and insights. By discussing the problem with experienced developers within the company, I gained valuable insights regarding my issues. Recognizing the importance of external resources, I also explored online communities and forums. I adopted an approach that involved experimenting with different techniques and embracing an adaptive mindset, which allowed me to navigate around the limitations posed by Laravel's compatibility with Python.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is ensuring equal access to sports opportunities for all children. Growing up, sports played a significant role in shaping my character and providing valuable life lessons. I am passionate about ensuring that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has access to the transformative power of sports. To contribute to this cause, I have dedicated my time to volunteering at sports camps with an organization that provides financial support to children that need it. I also spent time providing free personal training services to teenagers in my community without the burden of high costs, and am developing a platform aimed at making fitness advice accessible to everyone through the use of computer vision. By promoting equal access to sports, I aim to inspire others to discover the joy, discipline, and valuable skills that sports can bring to their lives." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the Tech Under Twenty community, a youth-led organization dedicated to filling the gaps in the education system by providing students with industry-level opportunities. I have been actively involved in TU20 Since 2018, starting as a dedicated member and progressing through various roles as an executive. I spent most of my time leading the TU20 chapter at my high school, where I held weekly meetings, hosted events, and served as a mentor for students in the community. During the pandemic, I helped build and restructure the curriculum used by 11 high schools throughout the region. This involved adapting the curriculum to the virtual learning environment and ensuring that students continued to receive valuable educational opportunities. Being part of TU20 has been an immensely rewarding experience, as it has allowed me to witness the positive impact it has on students’ lives, and I hope to be able to accomplish the same thing at Blueprint." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my current co-op, I took on the challenge of learning web development with PHP and the Laravel framework within a tight timeframe. Motivated by the relevance and demand of these skills in my workplace, I approached this challenge as a learning opportunity. Drawing upon my previous computer science experience, albeit in different languages, I used the transferable skills gained from my prior knowledge to accelerate my understanding of PHP. I supplemented my learning by tapping into the expertise of those around me, seeking guidance from colleagues, and utilizing online resources such as tutorials and documentation. By leveraging my existing understanding of web development, I was able to grasp the core concepts of the Laravel framework very effectively. This multifaceted approach allowed me to swiftly acquire the necessary skills and make meaningful contributions in the workplace." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688610690677 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "a34sun@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Annie", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Sun", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "CS", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F189a19e7-d479-4881-a8b9-7dc1ca809663?alt=media&token=b19bf7b9-52b1-42e1-9b8e-27f2da7ac3f6", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging and intriguing problem, I recently encountered was making an animated border in NextJS. First, I searched for ‘CSS border animations”. I found that the most popular technique required an opaque background, while I had to make mine translucent. I then asked my team, and they sent me resources. One of which talked about CSS masks, so I combined the original technique with masks, and it worked on my local server, but not in production. I did more research and discovered that since NextJS uses PostCSS to make stylesheets backward-compatible, it messes up the animation. I couldn’t remove PostCSS since compatibility is important, and I didn't want to use JS since JS animations are usually slower. I then tried a different approach entirely. I wrote a script that read the CSS file and generated a new modified CSS file which fixed the issue. When I analyzed the bundle size, this method didn’t significantly increase it so I added the script to the build process and it worked!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "7", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://www.behance.net/gallery/135521423/Enzuzo-Graphics\n\nFor this project, I was working as a developer, but I knew the company was doing a rebrand, so on the side, I created some graphics. The team loved it so I made more. The first step in my process was research. I thought of how to make these graphics unique to the company while also matching the quality of competitors. I drew inspiration from the company name, and what keywords the company wanted to convey. I also heavily researched competitors & created a mood board of their branding. I then used Illustrator and PS to create the graphics. The company loved the result, and now they're used all over from the web app to marketing. This project taught me about maintaining consistency & keeping everything centered. If I were to do this project again, though, I would experiment more, keeping the brand intact but also incorporating more eye-catching elements like uneven shapes, and pops of colors to make the brand more personable." - } - ], - "role": "Graphic Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Graphic Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "This is cliche, but a cause that resonates with me is poverty. It’s especially jarring knowing what goes on in the “tech bubble”, where so much conversation is surrounding \"TC\"s, and exiting that & seeing how little some people have. I know poverty is a very broad issue of many different magnitudes, but my involvement in this cause mostly involves helping out on a local level. Last year, I volunteered at a food-bank in Toronto through Yonge Street Mission, sorting donations & loading carts, and I thought it was a pretty meaningful experience. In addition, I'm also politically active, which may be a bit of a grey area, but I’m mentioning it since I think it’s a way I can support structural change, even if it’s small. I’ve phone-banked multiple times for my local MP candidate who advocates for more equitable policies, and I also make sure to vote in every election. I try my best to be involved locally, and would love a chance to do more." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "One community I’m proud to be a part of is UW Visual Arts Club. I joined the club last semester to get back into drawing regularly, and I loved it. There are people from all different programs who come and it’s great to have a dedicated space to just draw. I've gotten a lot of great tips, and I always see a piece that inspires me each meeting. This semester, I'm in charge of online events for the club since I'm away from campus, and with the flexibility of online events, I've met people beyond the usual crowd, who have busy lives, but also want to get back into drawing. With my role, I'm trying to create both casual events for people to meet each other, and also more improvement-oriented events to help people along in their journey. I've also dipped my toes into making marketing posts to help out, since officially, only one person is making them. Even though, on paper, UW isn't a very \"art\" focused school, there's still a strong community here, and I've loved contributing to it." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Early last year, I got super into art improvement. I loved drawing when I was younger but I’ve stopped as I’ve gotten older. Deep down though, I've always loved drawing and wanted to be better. One day, I was just thinking, there’s no better time to start than now. My approach was to learn from people I admire and consistently practice. The main thing artists I admired recommended was figure drawing. I had never done figure drawing before, as I used to solely draw portraits so this was very intimidating, but I still hit the ground running. I followed a free online course, to get the basics, and every day, I would pull up my little iPad, and draw figures. I continually did more research and started putting together a little “curriculum” for myself too. I also signed up for a figure painting class, and got to draw from real life. Since then, I've noticed I've gotten a lot better, but still, this is a lifelong journey, and I continue to practice (almost) every day." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688603816360 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "priswoode10@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Priscilla", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Woode", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Honours Arts Legal Studies", - "pronouns": "", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1c8d4d58-6e2a-4ea4-8e49-705f66dab543?alt=media&token=5857185d-9531-4d44-b5c3-82c63d8a1754", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "Depending on the type of project being worked on I like to do user interviews (in depth or more structured) as well as surveys " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "Uw blueprint likes to focus on nonprofits that promote public welfare. It is very community focused and although there are many nonprofits out there, ones that are actively supporting the community and making a direct difference in peoples lives that may not be getting much assistance are ones to focus on. Especially smaller ones.\n" - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I've worked within various capacities that are related to senior independent living and I really enjoy learning about community services and how to better support these communities. Attending intergenerational events also allows me to learn more about them and resonate with the needs that individuals face\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Im apart of this organization called cyberseniors that aims to support seniors in technological learning and one-on-one support. I make calls weekly to seniors to assist them with their tech needs and provide help to them as much as I can\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned how to make candles! I was buying candles from a store at the mall and I remember the three wick candles being very expensive. I told my friend that I could make this and thats how I picked it up as my hobby\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688071166993 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "mramamon@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Matthew", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Ramamonjisoa", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Pure Mathematics", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1e96af03-2ae4-4c99-8892-a62067e8f81f?alt=media&token=0d8a5322-db2c-4242-9039-5287a70713bf", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem I worked on in the past was during the development of a path tracer as a side project. The specific problem I encountered was related to reducing noise in the rendered images. Path tracing inherently introduces noise due to the stochastic nature of the algorithm. This noise manifests as grainy or speckled patterns in the final image, especially in areas with low light or high variance.\nTo tackle this issue, I implemented a technique called Monte Carlo integration with importance sampling. Traditional path tracing samples rays uniformly across the entire scene, which can result in inefficient sampling of important light sources or other significant regions. Importance sampling involves directing more rays toward areas that contribute the most to the final image, improving the quality of the image. The method was taken from Eric Veach's PHD thesis, but I had to put a lot of work understanding it and adapting it for the project.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "As someone who genuinely enjoys Math, I quite often talk to a lot of people who most definitely do not share those feelings, and I think that can be very unfortunate. I feel very strongly about Math education as a cause because not only do I think of it as a beautiful and intellectually satisfying subject, but also because I realize that I was very lucky to grow up in an environment where my mathematical abilities were allowed to mature, while rarely being forced. I find it really sad when people say \"I liked math until ...\" because it shows that they had potential until the education system forced them to learn things they didn't really understand, without giving them the proper intuition. While this is not a problem with an easy solution, figures like 3blue1brown on YT are a great inspiration for me because they really present math from such a different perspective, and I hope to contribute in a similar way one day." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am proud to be a part of is the Malagasy Sports Association in Ottawa. Every year, Malagasy people from numerous major cities in North America come together for a multi-sport tournament, and Ottawa was chosen to host in 2018. My main role for that year was actually fundraising for the event, and the main source of funds that year was a New Year's party. I was responsible for most of the advertising on Facebook, as well as reaching out to Malagasy performers and influencers to get more attraction for the event. This helped the event become a very successful night, and we were able to raise almost $4000 for the tournament later in the year. I was also part of the Ottawa basketball team, though unfortunately, we did not win that year :(" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I was about to enroll in Waterloo, I wanted to take the advanced courses, however, the requirement was that I complete a pre-assessment where I had to complete proofs in a proof checker. This proved to be very difficult because I had never written proofs before and the software was unforgiving. However, I was very motivated because I had heard many great things from the advanced courses and Professor Jao, so I worked on it day and night, trying to understand the problems. What really helped me is taking time away from the problems, and I realized that my best moments are when I am passively thinking about something. My favorite part of this was connecting with others, and learning how they approached it. Developing the skill to write proofs helped me tremendously in University, and is the main reason I am a Pure Math Major." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615943988 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "iivyleii@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Ivy", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Lei", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F22acb5c7-aff6-4545-b2eb-dc0b4f4eb26c?alt=media&token=611aaaf7-838f-4741-b6d8-29d8be2145f5", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is Discord, the app that I use most frequently. I use Discord primarily for messaging friends, but now my usage of it has diversified, whether it be using it to coordinate internal logistics for clubs, play games and music collaboratively, or host bootcamp events. In contrast to other platforms, Discord provides a unique balance between community-building and private messaging. By introducing servers, its text/voice channels, and threads, groups can easily juggle various topics of discussion with differing levels of importance, which allows for more organized and focused conversations. For an individual, it allows the separation of communities and direct messaging with a double sidebar that is visually simple and easy to navigate, rather than being text-heavy. I also love its emphasis on allowing user activity to be seen through externally connected apps. By avoiding cluttering the interface with advertisements, Discord stays true to enhancing user experience!" - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "Firstly, one of the most important factors would be to assess how impactful the NPO currently is or will be, and how much our team would make a positive social difference if we were able to work with them. Consulting with the “craft team” would be essential to ensure that Blueprint stays on course to fulfilling its mission to serve the community and empower disadvantaged groups of people. Secondly, I believe that it’s also important to assess the projects we would work on with the NPO, like its technological feasibility and how interesting it would be for our developers to work on them. Thirdly, and most critically, I would reach out personally to the heads of the NPO and talk with them through a call or in-person about their vision and goals for the organization. I think it would be a good way to see if the NPO is growing in a positive way and if those leading the cause are passionate about the subject and would be enjoyable to collaborate with." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Local issues have always resonated with me because I feel particularly empowered to do something about it and take action. Although small-scale, something that has struck a personal chord with me is urban pollution. As someone who has lived in KW their entire life, I’m proud of how easy it is for anyone in the city to visit natural areas. However, the consequence of this close relationship is that these areas accumulate litter, often just one throw away from the sidewalk. Not only is it visually unappealing, but it kills suburban wildlife, which I’ve unfortunately seen in my neighbourhood. The most upsetting part is that it all directly connects with actions of single individuals. To combat this, every time I’m on a long walk, I’ll bring a grabber tool, a pair of latex gloves, and garbage bags and pick up any litter I see. If I see litter that is beyond my reach (eg. in a lake), then I make sure to report it online." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I’m proud to be in is the Computer Science Club community. As someone with minimal programming experience prior to university, I felt inadequate compared to my peers. I first joined as a Community Representative to contribute to initiatives such as the CS class profile and swag. Through hanging out at socials and many late nights in the office, I met countless people in all years within the club who made me feel more confident in my abilities and helped me get through tough academic terms and mental burnout. Since my 1B term, I became a team lead and elected as Vice President, where I actively had a hand in facilitating communication between all of the teams and helping the club reach its visions. I spearheaded the 2023 Class Profile project to receive more responses by personally seeing to its marketing, as well as organizing team socials to make every member feel welcomed. I also oversaw critical organizational changes through the introduction of the office team." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One of the sports I love playing is tennis, however my noticeable weakness while playing are my overhead serves. As a competitive person, I wanted to improve my accuracy and speed, since serves are critical to winning games as they put you at an advantage right from the start. Firstly, I practiced consistently by setting up a schedule to play at the Waterloo Tennis Club 1-2 times a week. Next, I knew that mistakes in my serves were not always obvious from the first-person. I asked my friend to film myself from the back and at the sides to get a better perspective on the angle of my serves and I reviewed them after my practice session. My friends, who are better at tennis, also allowed me to record them so I could compare the footage and gauge what needed to be fixed. Over two months, I began to see a noticeable difference in the power of my serves, so I will continue to implement this strategy and get closer to beating my friends in tennis, as well as maintain an active lifestyle!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615896022 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "simritmangat@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Simrit", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Mangat", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F23cbca29-fd5f-4e41-aa07-521fe573894b?alt=media&token=65a129f8-812a-4133-97bf-7ab2e33e1ace", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I faced was when I was a beginner in web development and was attempting to address the lack of mobile responsiveness in a website I developed. Initially, I built the website exclusively for my laptop without considering the need for it to function properly on mobile devices. Realizing this oversight, I conducted research on responsive web development and began by restructuring the layout and content to ensure optimal viewing and usability on smaller screens. I used CSS media queries to apply specific styles and adjust the design based on different screen sizes. I also adjusted font sizes, image dimensions, and navigation menus to ensure a seamless user experience. Through these modifications, I successfully transformed the website to be fully mobile-responsive which deepened my understanding of responsive design principles and highlighted the importance of user-centered design at the onset of projects.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I prefer to utilize a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of a user's needs, behaviors, and preferences. Qualitative methods, such as interviews and ethnographic research, allow me to gather in-depth insights to uncover underlying experiences and the \"why\" behind user behavior. I also use quantitative research techniques to gather data. Surveys and user analysis enable me to quantify user preferences and identify patterns across a larger user base. These methods provide valuable statistical data that can support decisions and validate findings from qualitative research. My main areas of expertise lie in conducting user interviews and synthesizing research findings into actionable recommendations. By combining both qualitative and quantitative methods, I can provide a holistic understanding of users' experiences and contribute to the design and development of user-centered products." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Next term, I will be based out of the eastern time zone. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Equitable access to education is a cause that deeply resonates with me because of its ability to serve as a powerful tool for social and economic empowerment. However, there are many barriers that impede access to quality education like poverty, gender inequality and limited resources in marginalized communities among many other reasons. As a result, ensuring equitable access to education means addressing these disparities and providing every individual, regardless of their background, with equal opportunities to learn. This involves dismantling systemic barriers, bridging the digital divide and investing in underserved communities. One such project I worked on in this realm was Here to Hear, an AI based platform allowing deaf and hard of hearing children to learn English. Ultimately though, by prioritizing equitable access to education, we can unlock the potential of countless individuals and foster social mobility. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "The hacker community is a vibrant and dynamic community that I am proud to be a part of. As an advocate for technological innovation and collaboration, I have actively contributed to this community by organizing four hackathons while serving as Co-Executive Director of XdHacks Mini Vancouver. These events provided a platform for aspiring developers and enthusiastic hackers to come together and create innovative solutions to real-world problems. By organizing hackathons, I aimed to foster a spirit of creativity, collaboration, and learning within the community. I ensured that the events were inclusive by welcoming participants from diverse backgrounds and skill levels. By contributing to the hacker community in this way, I hope to empower others to pursue their passion for technology while making a positive impact on the world." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I learned a new skill was when I taught myself HTML and CSS. My motivation to learn these programming languages stemmed from my interest in web development and the ability to create what I desired and see my ideas come to life. To begin, I turned to online resources and decided to follow videos on Youtube. I adopted a hands-on approach through a project based learning method. By immersing myself in this project-based learning method, I was able to apply the concepts I learned immediately, reinforcing my understanding and building practical skills. Through trial and error, I gained proficiency in writing HTML and CSS code and crafting visually appealing websites. This experience not only gave me the ability to explore other fields of STEM but also instilled an enduring enthusiasm for online educational resources and furthered my passion for equitable access to education. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688508100422 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "parth.desai@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Parth", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Desai", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F23ed4a0d-874e-48b5-b9e9-2ca3158e3190?alt=media&token=547faf64-9f44-4cbf-adab-b6bde14d3717", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is TikTok. I believe that TikTok has quickly emerged as a leader in the social media industry, surpassing its competitors in providing highly personalized content to its users. The standout feature of TikTok is its algorithmic recommendation system, which continuously analyzes user behavior, such as their video-watching, engagement, and sharing patterns. This analysis enables TikTok to refine and curate the content that appears on users' feeds, ensuring they discover new and captivating videos that align perfectly with their preferences. Consequently, the TikTok experience becomes immensely enjoyable and relevant.\n\nIn the realm of product management, satisfying users is a fundamental guiding principle. TikTok has successfully embraced this principle by implementing an algorithm that caters to users' individual interests and preferences. And I believe this approach has transformed TikTok into a platform that excels at keeping users engaged and captivated.\n" - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time/Mountain Standard Time, but I can make sure to make all meetings regardless of time!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that truly resonates with me is helping and supporting non-profit organizations. In fact, this is a big reason for my application towards Blueprint. In my opinion, NPO’s are essentially the backbone of societal good. They are able to put the importance of helping others over their own needs and wants. These organizations are dedicated to addressing critical societal issues and making a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and communities. That said, any contribution to these organizations is small in comparison to the work that the NPO’s do, however, being able to help, even in the smallest way, is an incredible opportunity to be part of something greater than ourselves. Supporting non-profit organizations enables us to join hands with like-minded individuals and collectively make a meaningful impact in the world. Every little effort counts and has the potential to create a ripple effect, improving the lives of those in need and fostering a better future for all. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am incredibly proud to be a part of the Indian community in my hometown of Fort McMurray, and my contribution to it through the non-profit organization, \"The Sanatan Mandir Cultural Society,\" has been a meaningful journey. During the 12th grade, I dedicated my weekends to actively volunteering for the construction of the mandir, where I took on tasks like laying tiles, painting, and other physical work.\n\nBy actively participating in the construction process, I played a hands-on role in shaping the physical manifestation of our community's cultural center. It was an opportunity for me to not only contribute my time and effort but also to learn valuable skills and gain a deeper appreciation for the dedication and hard work required to bring such a project to life. Through a strong collective effort and a shared sense of purpose, we were able to create a space that serves as a spiritual hub and cultural beacon for the Indian community in Fort McMurray.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently learned SQL over my last internship. My motivation to learn this skill stemmed from a work-related task that required data analysis and manipulation. \n\nMy approach to learning SQL was characterized by resilience, curiosity, and resourcefulness. Initially, I sought out online resources such as tutorials, video courses, and documentation to grasp the fundamentals and syntax of the language.\n\nAs I delved further into the learning process, I quickly realized that beyond theoretical syntax and documentation, practical application was key to cementing my understanding. I actively sought out opportunities at work to apply my newly acquired SQL skills to real-world tasks. This enabled me to collaborate with people at many levels of the organization and people of different departments. Both the collaboration and the practical experience yielded new learning for me. And as a result of this hands-on experience, I was able to gain confidence and solidify my knowledge in SQL.\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688175845611 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "mairahhashmi@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Mairah", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Hashmi", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F240c6e91-6f3b-40f7-8f71-7ca584d4601c?alt=media&token=20362b69-895a-4b24-896f-6f99d1322acd", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Mobile", - "Frontend", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "As part of the STEMing Up program at hErVOLUTION, my team and I leveraged the Shopify platform and worked extensively with Shopify's Liquid templating language, along with other Shopify frameworks, to enhance the customer buying experience on Love&Nudes' website. We successfully implemented an interactive modal for size selection, an engaging quiz for color picking, a user-friendly size chart, dropdown tabs for product information, and streamlined product navigation. These additions significantly improved the website's functionality and garnered positive feedback from customers (Project Demo: https://youtu.be/bqTZNBEEzTw). This experience not only honed my problem-solving skills and collaborative abilities as a developer but also deepened my familiarity with Shopify frameworks and other processes commonly used in website development.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "An ideal member experience encompasses a welcoming and inclusive environment where members feel valued and respected, along with opportunities for continuous growth through mentorship, and access to resources. I believe that collaboration is key in such an experience and it can be fostered through cross-functional team projects, transparent communication channels, and active participation in decision-making processes. This experience would involve the initiation of engaging tasks, such as organizing tech-focused events, to enable members to make meaningful connections with the people that they are working alongside. Additionally, regular feedback and recognition reinforce the value of members and their contribution to the organization, creating an empowering atmosphere where members thrive, learn, and drive impactful projects aligned with the broader mission at Blueprint." - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "As a first-generation immigrant, I've personally navigated the challenges of language barriers and cultural adaptation. This journey ignited a deep sense of empathy within me. Volunteering at the Centre for Immigrant & Community, I had the privilege of mentoring numerous immigrant families and witnessing their struggles and aspirations firsthand. It was during this time that I co-created Phrase.ly (https://linktr.ee/phrasely), an app specifically designed to empower immigrants by bridging language gaps in Canada. Joining UW Blueprint as a software developer would be an incredible opportunity to further my mission and collaborate with like-minded individuals in creating innovative solutions that address the unique challenges faced by immigrants, and many other marginalized communities. Overall, I hope to make a tangible and lasting impact on the lives of those striving to overcome barriers and create a brighter future, with what skills I can offer." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In the depths of a male-dominated STEM program, I experienced gender-based microaggressions, stereotypes, and imposter syndrome. Motivated by these challenges, I became a passionate advocate for women in STEM. As a previous senior executive of HeforShe, I led initiatives promoting gender equality, such as distributing free hygiene products, providing a platform for victims of harassment, and organizing fundraisers for organizations like HeForShe. Joining UW Blueprint as a software developer would allow me to unite my technical skills with my advocacy, driving innovation to break barriers and create an inclusive future." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with remote learning in place, I took it upon myself to learn more about the React Native framework. Motivated by my passion for technology and driven to make a positive impact, I embarked on a personal project. Collaborating with a friend, we developed EcoScan (https://youtu.be/U10Paa_e3s8), an app aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by enabling users to track their carbon footprint. This hands-on experience not only allowed me to complete a React Native certification course but also solidified my foundational knowledge of the framework. This experience has empowered me to further contribute my technical skills for social good, as a software developer at UW Blueprint." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687400720161 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "nmenon@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Nihal", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Menon", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F2543791d-b601-4894-89fb-1508ac192be5?alt=media&token=2d2bed8c-7589-425f-9d12-dc76c9add8fb", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I faced a technical challenge when my ultrasonic sensors were damaged just ten days before the deadline for our group project. We aimed to create a website displaying the number of people in the SE lounge, requiring a reliable algorithm with new sensors to accurately track entries and exits.\nTo overcome this, I implemented multiple sensors and devised a Python algorithm that only updated the data when both sensors were triggered, considering scenarios like people pausing or turning around at the doorway. The count data was sent to AWS for integration into our website.\nIntegrating the data posed another hurdle as I had to navigate DynamoDB interactions using NodeJS and seamlessly displaying the data using the Handlebars module.\nTo address these challenges, I meticulously studied documentation, debugged connection issues, and persevered until successful integration. Our team completed the project on time, showcasing my problem-solving, adaptability, and dedication to meeting objectives.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Only as I caught my breath from a fierce game of ping pong with Mr. McGrath did I register what was taking place. Across the room, my buddy Mario was in a passionate conversation with the generally reticent 83 year old Mr. Gonzalez about the Beatles’ genius throughout the 1960s while cheers erupted for Mrs. Garcia as she bowled a spare. I was ecstatic to see that my efforts to set up this event at the Alzheimer’s care center resulted in meaningful experiences for the elderly patients and my peers. While I didn’t quite understand it as a child, Alzheimer’s has impacted my life since I was 6 when I visited my great grandmother who didn’t remember me. What I once found as a mildly confusing circumstance was the result of a debilitating disease. It didn’t seem fair to me that so many people had to part with their identity. This inspired me to establish my own chapter of the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer's, organizing events and fundraisers to improve the lives of those with dementia." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "My identity is shaped by the lessons I learned from my different homes. While I only lived in India for a month after I was born, I have been immersed in Indian culture through the communities of the Indian diaspora that have since adopted me. The people I met helped me grow as a person by influencing me to serve others. Whether it be packing food for those in need or pushing me out of my comfort zone to sing at fundraisers, these communities shaped my identity as an advocate for underserved communities. \nDuring Hurricane Harvey, Houston showcased an inspiring collaborative community as neighbors formed rescue teams and volunteers provided shelter and supplies. It inspired me to help by volunteering at the Houston food bank or fundraising for local Red Cross initiatives. While I don’t always perfectly fit in with my Canadian, Indian, or American communities, I have grown into the conscientious individual I am because of how these cultures empowered me." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Growing up, I was always interested in medicine and gradually, my passion for computer science began to overlap with my interest in learning about pathologies. One summer, I was determined to learn the basics of machine learning in my free time with the goal of eventually creating a diagnostic model. I first went about doing this by reading about types of machine learning models to see which would be applicable to my goal. I then settled on the K-nearest neighbors model before reading and watching videos on creating such a model. When I finally felt prepared, I created a model that deduced whether tumors were malignant or benign based on factors such as cell size. Knowing the difficulty in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, my next model predicted whether patients had shown signs of dementia based on data such as intracranial volume. While I wasn’t quite proficient enough to do much more yet, diving into this topic was incredibly rewarding for me and is something I continue to read about today. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688434245862 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "a69chand@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Aathithan", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Chandrabalan", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F25de46f2-97cd-4124-b47c-16d6a9ff374a?alt=media&token=f5509454-9fe7-4dfc-83eb-b28be3b9d7f2", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "\nIn my previous role as a Software Developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem while working on the FANUC robotic arm software interface. The goal was to establish real-time motion control communication between the robotic arm and a GUI using Python's FANUC.py library.\n\nFirst, I thoroughly studied the FANUC.py library's documentation and explored its capabilities. I gained a deep understanding of its functions and how it could be integrated into our project.\n\nTo solve the problem, I used custom gRPC calls within processes that would send positions and coordinates to the arm and trigger movement. This suite automated the existing manual testing process, saving significant time and effort. Each test cycle, which previously took 30 minutes to complete, was now executed automatically, freeing up 5 developer hours every week. The suite ensured consistent and reliable testing while reducing human error.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Time / Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the Canadian Red Cross. The Red Cross focuses on helping communities during emergencies and natural disasters. Due to the unpredictable nature of these events, local aid may not be prepared for these events. Thus, an organization like the Red Cross has a monumental impact on remote and cities and villages.\nThe organization's commitment to international humanitarian efforts is noteworthy. Regardless of culture or nationality, the Red Cross travels borders to support people in need. Moreover, they are also committed to community development projects. Such as building hospitals and schools. Not only addressing emergencies but also planting the seeds for a brighter future for many communities around the world.\nThe Red Cross embodies values that align with my own, including compassion, resilience and commitment to helping others." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am proud to be a part of is Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE). It is an organization committed to encouraging young students to pursue careers in the automotive sector and developing their skills and enthusiasm for vehicles. They provide teams with a creative outlet to build and compete cars whilst providing them with knowledge and mentorship along the way. Over the last two years, I have been a member of the University of Waterloo FSAE team. I have had the opportunity to mentor first-year students who have joined the team. Sharing my experiences and knowledge with them has been rewarding as I see them grow and because I am able to contribute back to this community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "\n A time I learned a new skill was when I learned how to solve the Rubik's cube. I had never been able to complete one when I was younger and was eager to solve it. At first, I watched instructional videos to learn various techniques, following step-by-step instructions to reach a solution. However, my interest shifted from simply solving it to learning quicker and more efficient techniques, focusing on understanding the underlying system rather than memorizing patterns.\n\nTo enhance my learning, I spoke with some of my friends that had mastered the Rubik's cube. I shared my current thought process and approach to finding a solution. They provided valuable insights and perspectives, helping me refine my skill and learning new concepts and tricks.\n\nMy motivation to learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube stemmed from an ambition to solve it but my motivation to continue was a combination of personal challenge, curiosity, and a desire to improve my problem-solving abilities.\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688595605068 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "diasnathana@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Finance & Operations", - "firstName": "Nathan", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Dias", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Accounting and Financial Management", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F26095d1a-885e-41a8-b747-6b2a2d84d6a2?alt=media&token=91cd2c3a-1104-431e-b569-11629cfe5295", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "13", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?", - "response": "The way I would pitch to external organizations for sponsorships would be to create a well thought and organized presentation with a timetable and contents section so that our potential sponsors will know what to expect. But before that I would start with doing research about the potential sponsor and take in key information that is good to know to keep a conversation with them outside of just requesting a sponsorship, this way we build some connection. Then using the information I would work to create a presentation that will be customized to meet the organizations goals and mission statement while also meeting our desired outcome, and coordinate with the design team to make it stand out. Also, I would coordinate with scoping team to get insight on the organization and if they will resonate with Blueprint. Lastly, practicing the pitch will be top of mind once all of the presentation set up is done, I will try to practice with others to get feedback and will perfect the presentation. " - } - ], - "role": "VP Finance & Operations" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "The way I would find that out would be to do some strategic planning. I would start by recognizing the non-profit's objectives and goals they wish to accomplish in their lifetime, and I would either reach out to them or find out from their online website. To me a success of a non-profit is not a deciding factor when it comes to a goal they wish to accomplish, but rather the time and effort spent trying to achieve that goal. If we are able to understand what they have learnt and can relate to their findings and challenges I think it will be a good match, as we will be able to help each other out and grow together to surpass any obstacles. Overall, to me it is about the research, effort and communication the non-profit has, because any goal is meaningful and important but a non-profit that has a goal and has all of the 3 aspects above will be able to resonate with Blueprint because we are all students who are learning and these aspects demonstrate learning and growth for all involved." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Time for the Fall term. However, for the interview I will be on vacation from July 14-24, I will be in Quebec, but I will be able to do a phone interview if that is fine." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "For me a cause I believe in is everyone deserves equal rights and opportunities, because not everyone is gifted with a happy and loving life, and I know from personal experience that society is not always on your side which causes us to falter and fall short from our goals. In the country I was born there was hierarchy and special privilege's to those of a certain religion/faith. That is why my family and I moved to Canada, my parents believed that moving to Canada would be best as it allowed us to grow in a free environment that had no boundaries or hierarchies on how one should behave to the other. While at the time I believed it would be a crazy decision to leave all my friends behind turned in to me appreciating what my parents did and the things they went through to get my siblings and I another opportunity to grow without having to worry about our future. This was all because of the equal opportunity and right we were given when we moved to Canada. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the Accounting & Finance Student Association community because of all the support and activities/events the club does for all students. They are always looking out for the students as they prepare study packages for exams, and social events to take a break and get our minds refreshed, also creating events for charities such as throwing whipped cream at professors, which makes it fun and engaging for all students and faculty involved. I did have the opportunity to contribute to the community as they held a tax clinic for all students and citizens who needed to file their personal income tax return for 2022 year-end. There I was able to meet many different students and couples who had unique interests and situations, and I was able to help them with their taxes and get money back with the help of the professional tax managers and upper year mentors who reviewed my work. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A skill I learnt was playing the drums. I started playing when I was around 12 or 13, I had been interested in instruments and never got the chance to really play any, so I did research and found out about the drums. I told my parents about it and they signed me up for classes at a music centre. There they taught me all the ways to hold a pair of drum sticks, the different beats and rhythms, but I was not able to practice at home because I did not have a drum set. So I would instead take my sticks and practice playing the drums in the air, pretending that I was actually hitting a drum and making noise. My motivation to keep practicing was because of my teacher, he was a nice guy who would always show me new songs he listened to and would try to teach me how to play along to them, and I wanted to catch up to him, to play something that I like. Overtime my parents saw the progress I was making and bought me a drum set, there I was able to hone my skill and find the passion I wanted." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688601821478 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "svalencia@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Finance & Operations", - "firstName": "Sebastian", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Valencia", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Mathematics ", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F26d4d042-84bc-46ed-8846-062fe4f93ca3?alt=media&token=2a496e01-9e96-4601-9e0e-232787358755", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "13", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?", - "response": "When pitching to external organizations for sponsorships I would start with introductions, then I would get into what blueprint is and what they stand for. Following that I would show some metrics for example X projects done, helped out X amount of people. Another metric that I think would be good would be the average time to MVP or time to complete projects. Then if the sponsorship is for a specific event/project/reason, I would go more into depth as to what it is. After that, I would talk about how other sponsorships have helped and the results they yielded so long as they were for the same reason. Then I'd go into depth about the amount I am requesting, breaking it down as much as possible. After that, I'd list some benefits that the external organization would receive. Then wrap it up with some sort of chart of the requested amount and also summarizing everything I just talked about." - } - ], - "role": "VP Finance & Operations" - }, - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "I think a cool event would be to host some sort of sports-themed fundraiser and have it be annually or by term. For example, in the Fall it could be a 5k run, where teams are encouraged to raise a certain amount of money. With all proceeds going to a charity that's been chosen beforehand by the blueprint team. In the winter it could be an indoor sport like dodgeball. These could be accompanied by smaller carnival-styled games like bobbing for apples, and bean bag toss. Again all the proceeds for these would go directly to the charity." - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "External Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is helping lower-income families be able to get all the support they need. I know first-hand the lack of resources but also how hard it is to know of present ones. Most of all I want both parents and children to feel supported in every way possible. Throughout elementary and high school, I kept every aspect of my parent's lower income to myself. Making excuses as to why I had to drop my club sports, why I didn't live in my house anymore and other things. Looking back at it I still find it hard and uncomfortable to speak on. I still don't know exactly how. But I definitely know I want to help lower-income families in one way or another whether it be through volunteering or through the work I do." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I'm proud to be a part of is the Lighthouse Charity in Toronto. Me and my dad started volunteering there in 2019, and I love going back when I'm in Toronto to help out. There we help prepare hot food as well as make food baskets for those in need. My dad usually helps out with cooking, whereas I make food baskets. They've also done a lot for me, someone who volunteers there actually convinced me to apply to Waterloo back in grade 12" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "It's not really a skill, but this term I wanted to improve the organization of my notes and overall note taking workflow. I found during work meetings I would just write a whole lot down, then almost never end up reading it. I came across this video that talked about how to use Notion as your 'second brain'. From that video, I was inspired to make a Notion page that would be able to capture everything and organize it so that everything was documented neatly. If I ever needed to be reminded of something I would know exactly where to look. What I did wasn't complicated whatsoever, I had categories for every person that gave me work and then a document for each task. Each document followed the same format where I had sections like the ask, context, and good links, then jotted down anything else relevant. All in all and after writing this and thinking about it seems simple and it is, but it has helped me tons for staying on top of things." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688615773013 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "nivritibajwa04@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Nivriti", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Bajwa", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F27091fa1-da07-4349-a302-8bee4532ca60?alt=media&token=451ff247-5161-41a8-9700-371045230581", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "As my first coop as a software engineer at PointClickCare, there have been several challenges thus far. I knew nothing about security or code smells when I was first assigned to work with two completely new platforms for me, SonaType and Sonarqube to complete these tasks. I conducted extensive research, collaborated with the development team, and upgraded vulnerable dependencies to ensure security fixes. I sought out information through Confluence Pages and online websites like StackOverflow to assist me in the task. Using Sonarqube, I conducted a thorough analysis of the codebase, examining various metrics such as code duplication, complexity, and maintainability while working closely with the team to refactor and optimize it. I approached each challenge with a problem-solving mindset, continuously learning and refining our processes. This experience honed my skills in security management and code optimization, emphasizing the significance of clean and maintainable code.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "As a co-op myself at PointClickCare, I had the opportunity to take on a leadership role and organize a barbecue and picnic event for all the other co-ops in our organization. The intention was to establish a comfortable atmosphere where everyone could socialize and promote teamwork. I started planning by finding a nice park as the venue and making sure we had all the required equipment, such as grills, and picnic tables. I reached out to the other co-ops in advance and encouraged their active participation. To foster a sense of ownership, I also asked them to suggest activities, games, or food items they would like to see at the event. I also made sure that dietary restrictions and preferences were considered. Throughout the event, I made introductions, encouraged conversations, and ensured that everyone felt included and comfortable. The event also provided an opportunity to learn from one another and it felt great seeing everyone appreciate the hard work put into organizing it. " - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Bridging the digital divide and enabling universal access to technology is a cause that I strongly identify with. Technology has a big impact on many parts of our life in today's world of expanding connectivity, from communication and education to access to vital services and information. But not everyone has access to technology equally, and this difference can worsen social and economic disparities. People still use outdated flip phones in the slums of my home country, India, demonstrating the gap in technology between Western and other countries around the globe. The idea that ensuring everyone has access to necessities, particularly technology, originates from the idea that technology can empower people and communities and enhance their quality of life in a variety of ways. I have always believed that technology can be a vehicle for education, creativity, economic opportunity, and social inclusion when it is widely available and reasonably priced. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As a passionate ambassador for women's empowerment, I am really proud to be a member of the Girls Empowerment Movement (GEMS) as the Programmes & Initiatives Coordinator. Through GEMS, I have helped develop girls' leadership skills and promote gender equality by empowering them through planning workshops, mentorship programmes, and cooperative collaborations with women who are making a difference in our community. I have also increased awareness about menstrual equity, helped lead a campaign where we donated $10000 worth of menstrual supplies, and sparked positive change as a former Regional Ambassador for Girl Up Brampton. Contributing to these communities, where girls thrive, tear down obstacles, and develop into self-assured leaders, is an honour for me. Not only am I proud of my contributions in the past but also hope to be an active participant in the future. I firmly believe that together, we help to create a world that is more diverse and equitable." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I started making my Twitter Bot, I realized Python was the way to go. Although Python was not extensively taught at my school, I recognized its significance for this particular project and was motivated to become proficient in it. I started by setting clear goals as to where I wanted to be in a few weeks. This provided me with a sense of direction and purpose, which motivated me to dive into the learning process. I relied on various online sources like PluralSight, CodeAcademy, and YouTube channels dedicated to teaching Python's fundamentals. Since practical experience is equally important, I started developing my bot on the side having acquired as much knowledge as possible. I committed to consistent practice to reinforce my Python skills on platforms like Leetcode. This experience not only demonstrated my ability to proactively learn new technologies outside of formal education but also showcased my adaptability and determination. I was proud of myself. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687907113317 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "g88lee@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Grace", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Lee", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Global Business and Digital Arts", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F28157750-8578-4199-9a99-1e6acf9ad7ee?alt=media&token=c97c33fb-25cd-47dc-a163-93409db87c72", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "The research method I utilize the most while conducting UX case studies is the A/B testing. The A/B testing is often used in UX research to compare and evaluate two or more variations of a design to determine which one performs better in terms of user engagement, flow, and other functionalities. My main method of expertise as a User Experience Researcher would be utilizing the A/B testing to compare the user engagement between the original/outdated design with a new potential wireframe. I like to take advantage of the direct comparison between the two designs as it helps identify usability issues and validates the design hypothesis." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "As a designer, I notice that inspiration sparks in the most random places, unexpectedly. I don’t often search for inspiration for personal purposes such as clothing, makeup, room decor etc, because I like to change my style gradually. I would say I’m similar when it comes to design work. However, I believe my interest in music influences my art style. I love to watch music videos from the past, and present, reminding myself of the different styles, fonts, colours that have been popular in the past. I also find inspiration while thrifting at stores such as Value Village and Salvation Army. I choose one staple clothing item as the “character piece” and find the rest of the outfit, trying to match the designated item. I find that I incorporate this technique of constructing a “bigger picture” when designing interfaces. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://gracexleex.myportfolio.com/\n", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the role of the United Nations Children’s Fund in addressing climate change by focusing on the impact it has on children, particularly those in vulnerable situations. I spent my early years in South Korea where air pollution has been a growing issue. The impact of living in contaminated air only worsens the quality of children’s lives. I remember having to wear masks to school when I was in kindergarten and not being able to go outside on some days. Air pollution that is correspondent to climate change can leave permanent damages to the human body such as asthma, reducing lung function, respiratory infections and allergies. Growing children are more likely to be affected, and they have to live with these conditions for the remainder of their lives. I believe that we can make changes to adjust to a more eco-friendly life including more child-sensitive climate policies that can ultimately reduct children’s climate risks." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I currently work for the WUSA Used Bookstore on the bottom floor of the Student Life Centre. The Bookstore consigns used textbooks for UW students to help them get 85% of the book’s retail price. Textbooks can get pricey and most students only utilize the textbooks for a semester. I am proud to work for an organization that provides services costumed to University students, especially with the purpose of providing financial support. Ever since COVID-19, the bookstore’s sales have been decreasing. The bookstore was struggling to make a profit as most of it was already going to the student's account. To help increase the profit to maintain the store, I pitched in the idea of selling the used textbooks using Amazon Seller Central. We now send 5-9 boxes to Amazon per week to help sell the books consigned to students’ accounts." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned how to crochet during my first year of University. I had never thought I was a crafty person, but my friend Kevin taught me the basics as I was determined to make a checkered-pattern bag. I had first seen a picture of a pretty green and beige checkered crochet bag on Instagram. Then, I went onto Etsy to see if I could purchase a bag that was similar to the one I saw on Instagram. After finding out that I would have to spend around 60 dollars, I was motivated to dedicate my time into learning how to crochet. I know that it may seem like I now know how to crochet because I wanted to save 60 dollars, but I learned to be patient and to stay keen on details. I spent almost an hour every day for approximately two weeks perfecting the checkered crochet bag I desired. I was lucky to have Youtube and Kevin to guide me along the way, but my dedication contributed to my consistent effort and a cute bag I carry around everywhere." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688364488370 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "saa2baks@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sahl", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Bakshi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F2b36de2f-b374-49fc-bffc-3d305b37f054?alt=media&token=2665f3e1-4b36-425a-9833-75c8c1089b61", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my previous internship, I encountered the challenge of refactoring some parts of the testing code base. This proved difficult due to its complexity and inadequate documentation. I was able to solved this by analyzing each part and writing down what it was responsible for. By doing so I was not only able to make the necessary changes but also decrease the overall running time.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "Nature with its its organic shapes, and efficient functionality. Minimalism with is concept of simplicity and decluttering guides me towards creating clean, streamlined, and intuitive user experiences. Finally I draw inspiration from everyday object that seamlessly integrate functionality and design. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://sahlbakshi.github.io/portfolio/", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT - Eastern Daylight Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Providing orphans and children without parental figures in their lives with an access to education, healthcare, and a positive environment. While we can't replace the role of a parent, we can always make a difference by helping out." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Although I may not be formally involved in a specific community, I had personally dedicated myself to caring for stray kittens and cats until they are ready for adoption, or if they prefer to live independently outdoors." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned some full stack development because I wanted to be able to build web apps that real people use. I adopted a self-directed approach, utilizing a combination of YouTube videos, online forums, and articles to expand my understanding and skills in the field." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687596054506 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "m375chen@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Mark", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Chen", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F2ce8e126-f4a5-47ac-bde2-58a39266281c?alt=media&token=ba7443bd-f614-4a48-8bdf-780315c1a470", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product at the moment is GPT's LLMs such as ChatGPT. At heart, the product is just a text based communication platform with someone who seemingly knows everything. It is a faster search engine for learning something new, it is a competent coder to jumpstart annoying tasks (eg. how do I reverse a linked list in C++?), it can embed itself into search engines or APIs, and lastly, it can be an artificial friend when you are lonely. ChatGPT is changing the entire world of technology, and many other industries too. \nIn terms of improvements, as an end user, I would appreciate if ChatGPT could become open source for personal learning. I'm sure within their organization, they are reluctant to do so while many competitors in the same space are trying to catch up. I'm curious to see what improvements will be made over time, and hope they can figure out a way to search the internet using GPT, but without Bing." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Machine Learning / Data Science", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In one of my coop internships, I had to create a matching algorithm that pairs together objects in a manner that maximizes the number of matchings possible. What made this very challenging was that the algorithm had to have a polynomial time complexity, deterministically return the best matching of many possible matchings (numerous matchings with the same number of pairs is possible), and be intuitive. \nIn general, objects have preferences for their match, and when two objects prefer the same third object, there's another set of rules for those tie breakers.\nI created 4 different solutions to the same problem, each less intuitive than the previous, but each becoming more computationally efficient: a brute force solution, tree searching based solutions, and the final solution was a convoluted augmented bipartite matching algorithm. In the end, the faster tree searching solution was used because of a balance of speed and explainability. Fun problem, fun solution!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST, Waterloo time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Once or twice in grade school, my school would collectively fundraise for various charities, and one of them was WWF. Younger me fell in love with the panda logo, and I'd donate out of my small allowance. Older me now still loves the logo, for different reasons - occasionally donating, keeping up to date with documentaries, etc. Did you know WWF works on initiatives beyond just the animal kingdom? I suppose the greater cause that I highly esteem is taking care of the world for the future generations." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Ever since first year, I joined UW's Computer Science Club. I was there when it grew from 50 members to 500 members, and was part of growing CSC to be what it is today. I was an office manager, executive, team lead, developer, moderator, and a normal member (each one during a different term).\nIn terms of relevance to Blueprint, being a team lead taught me leadership. True leadership doesn't mean to just motivate, delegate, and take a larger piece of the pie. It also carries a responsibility to manage relationships within the team and across teams.\nIn coming terms, I'll essentially go back to being a general member because I think I've contributed enough to CSC. A good leader knows when to step down and pass on the baton. It is time to try something new!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "This is probably a weird skill: skimming research papers. Just last week, I wanted to condense a list of almost 3000 research papers down to 30 for personal learning. These papers come from CVPR (Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition) 2023 - likely the most prestigious conference in the machine learning world. Learning this skill was a byproduct of my desire to figure out what to spend my time on reading because there's no way I'm going to read all 3000 abstracts.\nMy approach was using an embedding space to visualize groups of papers, so similar papers would be grouped together. Instead of a simple query or search based on key words, I can now see papers with all their cousins/twins in a 2D space. With this view, finding interesting papers became much easier because the search space could be reduced to any size I want. In the end, I made a list of 40 or so papers I'll eventually read. I'm about 6 papers in so far :)" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687317319680 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "gloria.pan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Gloria", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Pan", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F32dee548-14f3-4c69-a28d-2328eadc4d21?alt=media&token=2a0d706b-8429-4637-8791-a27bfe6bffaf", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "Interviews are my preferred method of UX research as they allow for open-ended questions, detailed answers, and on-the-spot follow-up. When tasked with designing a promotional digital flipbook for a local physiotherapy business, I interviewed the owner to understand their objectives, target audience, accessibility considerations, and design preferences. Additionally, I interviewed community members who fit the target demographic to gather insights into their decision-making process and identify potential barriers they face in accessing physiotherapy services. Throughout the process, I conducted multiple follow-up interviews with the owner, incorporating his feedback promptly to ensure the flipbook met their specific requirements. In the end, he was pleased with my work and proudly featured it on his website. Going forward, I am eager to explore other UX research methods such as focus groups and field studies, as different methods are best suited for different situations." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time - Waterloo, ON" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I'm a firm believer in making education fun and accessible for all kids. While schools strive to create an equitable curriculum, some kids face challenges in accessing the tailored support they need to thrive. While paid tutoring services are an option, the financial barrier makes it inaccessible for many families, widening the gap in income inequality. This is why I strongly support resources that provide free educational support to supplement children's learning.\n\nWhen the pandemic hit and schools transitioned to e-learning, I took it upon myself to host virtual tutoring sessions twice a week for a local homework club, as I noticed that many children were struggling without sufficient academic support. Working with students from diverse backgrounds has been incredibly rewarding, and witnessing their progress and success brings me immeasurable pride. I’m grateful for the opportunity to make a positive impact, and I will continue to help others by spreading knowledge. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Becoming a Waterloo Engineering Ambassador was one of my best decisions; my team is so genuine about their desire to help students. The conversations I had with my ambassador in high school shaped my decision to join this community. I valued his transparency in sharing both the good and bad of his experiences; it went beyond what the university advertised and helped me make a more informed decision. We still keep in touch to this day!\n\nNow, I host EngChats where I share my insights and candidly answer all my students’ questions, happily going beyond the scheduled time if needed, just as my ambassador did for me. I organize Shadow Days, taking students to my classes, introducing them to professors and classmates, and showing them our clubs and design teams to paint a full picture of life here. I encourage my students to reach out beyond their visit if there’s anything I can help with, and I’m so happy to be able to guide high schoolers toward a fulfilling post-secondary education." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A few months ago, I started my UX/UI design journey. I’ve always had a keen eye for digital details and instinctively think of ways to improve interfaces. I want to leverage my empathy, attention to detail, and love for collaboration to bridge the gap between what organizations think users want and what users actually want. \n\nI am currently completing the Google UX Design Certificate and building my portfolio website. I engage with designers on Instagram, join communities like UW UX, and seek advice from upper years. I strive to explore as many resources as I can—even when I’m cycling at the gym, I listen to the UX Narrative podcast for insights from UX designers in different niches. I actively look for opportunities to apply my skills to solve real-world problems, so for my WE Accelerate project, I am redesigning the homepage of a startup’s website to enhance usability. Now, my goal is to apply my skills and passion to optimize the user experience of social good projects at Blueprint." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688613282259 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "rniu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Finance & Operations", - "firstName": "Rex", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Niu", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Actuarial Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F34b636e8-4303-4f36-9d3a-5ca4f7431970?alt=media&token=b67d723e-e05a-4745-9fb2-fc63871409be", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "13", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?", - "response": "Dear [External Organization],\n\nI hope this message finds you well. I am writing to introduce [Your Organization] and explore the potential for a meaningful sponsorship partnership with [External Organization].\n\n[Your Organization] is a dynamic and impactful organization committed to [your organization's purpose and activities]. Our mission is to [the core objectives of your organization].\n\nWe firmly believe that partnering with [Organization] can create a mutually beneficial relationship. We have carefully evaluated your organization's goals and objectives and find them closely aligned with our mission. By joining forces, we can work towards [shared goal or initiative], making a significant impact on [target audience or community]. \n\nAttached to this email is our sponsorship package detailing what we offer as an organization, please let us know if this is something that interests you. We would be happy to arrange a meeting to discuss further details.\n\nBest Regards,\n[Insert Name]" - } - ], - "role": "VP Finance & Operations" - }, - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "The ideal member experience to me would be: \n\n1. Inclusive and Supportive Environment: It is essential to create an inclusive and supportive environment where every member feels welcomed, respected, and valued. This would include regular check-ins, team-building activities, and creating opportunities for members to connect on both professional and personal levels.\n\n2. Meaningful Learning and Development: Providing avenues for continuous learning and personal development is crucial. It is important to offer a range of resources, workshops, and training sessions that cater to different skill sets and interests.\n\n3. Impactful Projects: Members should have the chance to work on meaningful projects that have a real-world impact. The organization should strive to provide a diverse range of projects, allowing members to apply their skills and make a difference in the community. " - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Savings Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Access to education for all is a cause that deeply resonates with me. Having worked as a math instructor, I witnessed firsthand the transformative power education can have on individuals and their communities. The ability to provide education to everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, is essential for fostering a more equitable and prosperous society. Education is not merely about imparting knowledge; it is a catalyst for personal growth, empowerment, and social progress. By ensuring universal access to education, we enable individuals to acquire essential skills, broaden their horizons, and pursue their aspirations. Education equips individuals with the tools to navigate the complexities of the modern world, make informed decisions, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am a replica fashion enthusiast active in subreddits such as r/FashionReps, r/KobeReps and r/DesignerReps. My love for replica fashion comes from my belief that clothing should not be gatekept and that an artist's designs should be enjoyed without the outside influence of scalpers and resellers. I believe that entering the world of replica fashion has a high barrier of entry which keeps many from accessing it. This is due to the complexity of navigating shipping lines, TaoBao/Weidian agents, and middlemen. I have taken it upon myself to assist and educate others about various aspects of replica fashion and helping others discover their passion for clothing just as I did. I have shared insights on how to discover trusted agents who facilitate the purchase and shipping of replica items. This includes sharing information about reliable agents, their reputation within the community, and the services they offer." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As first year was approaching, I embarked on a journey to learn how to cook for living alone. Being assigned a suite-style residence, I opted out of a meal plan, meaning that I had to rely on myself to be fed. My motivation stemmed from the desire to become more self-sufficient and to enjoy healthy and delicious meals without relying on takeout or pre-packaged food. I saw it as an opportunity to develop a new skill that would benefit both my health and my budget. To approach this new skill, I adopted a systematic and gradual approach. I started by researching and gathering information about basic cooking techniques and meal planning. Using Salt, Fat, Heat, Acid as a guideline, I learned the fundamentals. To further enhance my skills, I sought guidance from experienced cooks and home chefs. I reached out to friends or family members who were proficient in cooking and asked for their advice and tips, which I then implemented by cooking one meal per day." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615602034 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "businessmangordon@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Gordon", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Huynh", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Math Economics ", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F35a65048-6a55-4b57-9459-e965f28088b6?alt=media&token=3a7b9d55-53a7-4cbf-a798-40eb2a307f7d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "The project I’m most proud about is my unfinished pokemon group project from gr12 CS.\nThough it doesn’t seem that impressive, I learned A LOT of collaborative experience from it.\nFirstly, none of us knew what we were doing. I knew more things at the time so I started us\noff with Miro and divided who did what, before forming a github. This went well until the 3rd\nmember got sick and didn’t respond to our texts, so we had to change our plans. Next, our\n2nd member had problems committing files, so a lot of troubleshooting. Throughout the\nACTUAL coding, we also ran into issues with the project’s layout, so I then had to both plan\nour next steps and modularize it so we can work without downtime. Near the end, the 3rd\nmember returned and we had to quickly update him. Though we didn’t finish our project, we\nlearnt A LOT, I can tell with the frequent rebuttals. As for me, I learned to make plans\nflexible, account for technical issues, adapt to sudden problems, and to easily explain steps.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "7", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "An example would be from the “Tell us about a new skill you learned” section above.\nThere I learned how design the goofy outfit, add flexible elements so they are more durable,\ncrafting with limited resources, applying paint (mixing colours and design), and dealing with\nfailures before overcoming them." - } - ], - "role": "Graphic Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Graphic Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause I believe in is the minimization of wealth inequality and poverty. I believe we fully\nhave the resources to end these problems, however logistical and political barriers prevent\nus from doing this.\nBut they are just that, barriers, which can be overcome by working towards a solution rather\nthan closing your eyes and saying “not my problem”. Any way that contributes to bettering it\nshould be welcomed and praised, especially with how dismissive people are getting of it\nnowadays thinking “that’s just how the world works”.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I’m proud to be a part of is the Pháp Van temple, with whom I’ve contributed to\nin the past in volunteering. I typically helped clean the temple, sometimes listening in on the\nteachings of Buddha. It was a great place as they had fun activities for youth, one which I\nremembered was when we played a sort of duck duck goose but with prizes! They also hold\nfestivals to celebrate holidays like the moon festival.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A skill I learned would be how to design and craft a costume. My main motivation? It was\npretty funny. The goal was to become the sword by creating a makeshift cardboard outfit that\nwould act as the “blade”, whereas the hat + crafts would resemble the handle area. But, I\nhad 2.5 summer courses and a job, so it would be hell. But in the name of funny, I\npreserved.\nI would begin by measuring and designing the cardboard sword. After, I began stabilizing the\nhandle, guard, and ornaments by gluing construction paper on the cap, but it was too rigid\nand easily breakable. That’s when I decided to approach from a point of flexibility, cutting\ncorners of paper and designing so the craft bent but didn’t break. I would incorporate this\nidea throughout the rest of my design, before working on the paint job (who knew mixing\npaint was so hard), and finally finishing it (at 5am :D).\nIt was a challenging yet fun experience designing, and it was worth it, cuz the end result was\nvery goofy." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688507535305 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "h2sharma@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Hiten", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sharma", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F362f9f2d-594c-476b-922f-0de647b6e61f?alt=media&token=b29ddaf2-362a-4b11-b6e5-828ab17b23a7", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Fine with anything, but prefer backend", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During a critical project, I encountered a daunting technical problem while optimizing a complex code segment. Despite my efforts in refactoring and utilizing efficient data structures, performance bottlenecks persisted. Realizing the need for external guidance, I proactively sought advice from experienced developers and actively engaged in technical forums. Embracing a growth mindset, I absorbed invaluable insights and diverse strategies. This collaborative approach proved instrumental in overcoming the challenge and optimizing the code effectively. This experience enhanced the project's performance, honed my coding skills, and reinforced the importance of seeking advice and learning from the expertise of others, leading to continuous improvement in my professional journey.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "As a User Experience Researcher, I prefer to employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather comprehensive insights. Qualitative methods such as interviews, observations, and usability testing allow me to understand users' attitudes, behaviors, and pain points. This helps uncover rich, contextual information and provides a deep understanding of user needs. This combination of methods allows for a holistic understanding of the user experience. My main areas of expertise lie in conducting user interviews, facilitating usability testing sessions, and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. By employing a multi-method approach, I ensure a robust and well-rounded research process that enables evidence-based design decisions and ultimately leads to creating exceptional user experiences." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Timezone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Harnessing the power of technology for global improvement resonates deeply. There is a profound passion for utilizing technological advancements to address pressing world challenges and uplift human society. This passion revolves around the belief that technology, when thoughtfully and ethically applied, can create transformative solutions for various issues like climate change, health disparities, education inequality, and much more. From developing sustainable energy sources through AI-driven innovations to democratizing education via digital platforms, technology holds immense potential to redefine our future. It’s about bridging the gap between possibility and reality, between what is and what could be. This passion transcends beyond mere fascination; it is a mission, an unyielding commitment to using technology as a tool to create a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world for everyone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "\nBelonging to a minority community as a person of colour is a source of deep pride. This pride stems from shared experiences, resilience, and unity. The journey, marked by triumphs and struggles, enriches the community fabric, making it more than just an identity - it's a strong bond that binds us together.\n\nMy contributions to the community focus on mentorship and advocacy. By mentoring younger members, I aim to nurture their potential, guided by the understanding and support I received. Advocacy helps combat systemic inequalities and fosters inclusivity. Participation in local organizations, initiatives, and leveraging professional networks enables me to make tangible impacts.\n\nThe aim is not just to ensure equal opportunities for all, but to empower individuals, which strengthens our community. This commitment is a testament to our resilience and vision for a future where diversity is celebrated and every voice counts." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Recognizing communication's importance, I embarked on enhancing this skill. The motivation was dual-faceted: personally, to articulate thoughts clearly and foster stronger relationships; professionally, to lead, inspire, and create more impact.\n\nMy learning approach was a mix of theory, practice, and feedback. Resources like books, workshops, and online content helped grasp theoretical aspects. However, understanding communication as a practical skill, I used daily interactions as practice platforms. This included work meetings, casual conversations, and public speaking engagements.\n\nI also actively sought feedback from peers and mentors to gauge improvement areas. This iterative learn-practice-feedback journey enriched me and has led to personal and professional growth. Understanding communication as an evolving skill, I continue this learning journey." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687321865559 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "asangle@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Advait", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sangle", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F36344971-935b-4df8-8027-9a9f51c93f2e?alt=media&token=7f783e4d-2787-48ca-b39a-3350214cc39a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Cyber-security", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In my high school research project on the impact of altering resolution in Virtual Reality (VR) headsets on cyber-sickness, I faced several challenges:\n1) How do you objectively measure cyber-sickness? Without access to physiological monitoring devices, I initially thought I would have to rely on first-hand accounts. However, I was able to find a way to convert these \"subjective reports\" into objective numbers by using the Virtual Reality Simulator Questionnaire, which is an adaptation of an old sickness questionnaire for VR.\n2) How do I analyze my data? As a first-time researcher, I had to learn statistical concepts such as statistical significance and p-value tests. I eventually used a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test to analyze my data.\n3) What should the independent variable be? I knew that I wanted to work on Virtual Reality and cyber-sickness, but I chose resolution as the independent variable due to a lack of previous research in the area and its significance in everyday VR usage.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "In Waterloo, so EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Months after getting access to the Internet, I discovered a tool called “Google TakeOut”. It promised to download all the data associated with my Google account. I pressed the download button, expecting to derive nothing more than a minute’s novelty.\n\nInstead, the website downloaded gigabytes of personal information - searches, photos, and mails. I was shaken. The following two hours featured me frantically trying to shut off every mode of data collection on my Google account. YouTube search history? Chrome bookmark syncing? No thanks.\n\nToo often, influential platforms are designed with profit the primary concern, humanity and privacy second. As a teenager who grew up on the Internet, my personal mission is to reclaim Computer Science - to add heartfulness, intentionality, and ethics to technology.\n\nExcited by the potential of social entrepreneurship and public advocacy to solve these problems, I look forward to exploring these interests at UW Blueprint." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Set in colonial India, the movie \"Lagaan\" features an Indian village struggling under an agricultural tax that wagers their future on a high-stakes cricket match against their British rulers. We see the villagers struggling to learn a new game, create their own bats, and figure out how to spin a ball.\n\nThis collective spirit of exploration defines the heartbeat of the film and my experience on my high school robotics team. Endless prototypes, failed business pitches, and unanswered cold emails defined the majority of our time, but the hunt for the elusive opportunity kept us going. Thanks to this, we were even able to provide an opportunity: creating a team consisting of underprivileged students from Dharavi.\n\nBut what kept me coming back here wasn't the awards or self-development opportunities; it was the extended family I had formed there—my teammates, the Dharavi team, our coaches. It felt more like a festive family reunion than preparation for a robotics competition." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When New Year's came around, I set myself a target: improving my typing speed, hoping to cross 100 WPM. Let's be honest, part of my motivation was fuelled by a touch of envy. After seeing too many hacker movies with hooded protagonists furiously bashing away on their keyboards, I wanted to experience that same high. Initially, my speeds plummeted as I recalibrated to the whole new system of touch-typing.\n\nBy the year's end, helped along by my part-time obsession with mechanical keyboards, I was able to persevere and can now consistently hit speeds of around 100 WPM (proof: https://data.typeracer.com/pit/profile?user=vitalagendas).\nSomewhere along the way, this challenge became about more than just typing. I found myself celebrating every personal best race and updating the keycaps on my mechanical keyboard. This impromptu challenge became a source of daily joy, and while it's one of the smallest changes I've made over the last year, it's oddly one of the most impactful." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688609376880 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "byhwu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Brian", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Wu", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3752a32a-469b-4ca0-bf56-2c804680e2a1?alt=media&token=2c977ad6-72e1-484a-b6cd-62e58b16ada3", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I encountered a challenging technical problem while working on a feature for Electrium Mobility. The task was to implement a functionality that remembers the user's chosen theme for the website. Initially, this posed a challenge for me since my familiarity with front-end development was limited. I believed that the JavaScript file gets reloaded every time the user refreshes the website, which complicated the implementation. To overcome this challenge, I reached out to my teammates for assistance. They suggested exploring the use of cookies as a potential solution. Intrigued by their suggestion, I delved into researching cookies and their capabilities. Upon understanding how cookies work, I realized that they provided a perfect solution for achieving the desired functionality, and by utilizing cookies, I could store and retrieve the user's preferred theme information, ensuring that it remains consistent across website visits.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Firstly, being part of this non-profit organization allows me to contribute my skills and efforts towards helping others, creating a positive impact on the community and making a difference in people's lives. Moreover, it’s an ideal environment to connect with remarkable individuals who share a common passion for the project's objectives, fostering a collaborative and inspiring atmosphere that encourages growth and personal development. Additionally, being part of a project team provides an opportunity to learn and explore new technologies, expanding my knowledge base and gaining exposure to various roles beyond my current expertise, such as product management. This exposure would enable me to acquire a well-rounded skill set and enhance my understanding of the project lifecycle. Finally, joining a project team allows me to gain invaluable experience through hands-on involvement in projects, further honing my skills, problem-solving abilities, and decision-making capabilities. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in being a member of Electrium Mobility, the design team I am joining this semester. This team was founded by a group of friends from high school who share a common goal: to create sustainable and affordable transportation through Personal Electric Vehicles. Within this team, I specifically contribute to the web development aspect, where my responsibilities involve website maintenance and the migration of the website to TypeScript and Next.js. Joining this design team was motivated by my recognition of my limited skill set and experience in front-end development. I saw this as an opportunity to expand my knowledge and gain exposure to popular front-end technologies. The collaborative nature of our community is something I greatly value, as it allows us to work together seamlessly. Additionally, being part of the web development team has provided me with a valuable learning experience, as we continually learn from one another and enhance our skills collectively." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my previous work term, I had the role of a backend developer. The primary technologies utilized by our team included Spring Boot and PostgreSQL. While I didn't have prior experience with Spring Boot, I approached the opportunity with great enthusiasm for learning. In addition to watching YouTube videos to familiarize myself with the framework, I proactively enrolled in a comprehensive Udemy course on Spring Boot. To further solidify my understanding, I embarked on a personal project where I built an application utilizing Spring Boot, thus gaining practical, hands-on experience. By embracing various learning resources and undertaking practical projects, I endeavoured to make a valuable impact within the team and enhance my proficiency with Spring Boot." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687317368341 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "lvgratch@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Leon", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Gratch", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3757323a-0d49-430a-b978-b5fd321b763f?alt=media&token=23e766e2-8586-4952-8d36-914e6f097d13", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "One of my favourite products that immediately comes to mind has got to be the chip powering the computer next to me as I type this - the Apple M1 was an absolute game changer that to me made Macs incredibly compelling even though I formerly wouldn't be caught dead with one. The engineering that went behind it is incredibly impressive with how its been able to increase performance, efficiency, and be seamlessly integrated with the hardware. I also believe that such an innovation will pave the way for the industry and possibly influence more computer manufacturers to use ARM based technologies in their computers. Overall, the M1 is the reason I switched to Mac and I must say it is an incredibly impressive product that has made for a very smooth computing experience allowing me to get my work done with little distractions caused by hardware or performance issues." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "While developing my Hangman game, I faced two challenging technical issues. Firstly, the word API returned the word with additional characters like [\"WORD\"]. To resolve this, I used regular expressions to remove unwanted characters. Debugging with console.log helped identify the issue.\n\nSecondly, there was a discrepancy in capitalization between the word container and user input. I used console.log for debugging and applied the .toUpperCase() function to both elements to ensure consistent capitalization. This allowed for accurate comparison and gameplay.\n\nUsing debugging techniques and regular expressions, I successfully resolved these challenges, ensuring the smooth functionality and user experience of the Hangman game.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that's always resonated with me is the prevention of using technology to exploit others. This interest was prompted by a discussion in my ARTS 190 class, almost 1 year ago when I first started Computer Engineering in my 1A term. We talked about how algorithms control so many aspects of peoples lives, especially on social media. The reason this resonated with me, is because growing up in highschool and in my own family, I've observed many absorbed by their phone wasting hours per day, and realized these algorithms are meant to get the most value out of their product - people. This is even worse when it comes to things like online gambling, which uses technology to try to make it as addictive as possible, keeping people throwing money away and destroying lives. As such, I feel \"tech for good\" is incredibly important, it should be a common occurence that someone will develop technology not to exploit others, but to help them, which is why blueprint is so important." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Since coming to Waterloo, I have been welcomed by open arms. My engineering orientation gave me the opportunity to make many friends at Waterloo and \"find myself\", so to speak. Throughout the year, I have also been very active in EngSoc going to many of theirs. Due to this, I decided I want to contribute. I applied to a few engsoc directorships, and am going to be both in charge of facilitating the programming competition for WEC next term as well as running the EngSoc website. I believe this will give me a good opportunity to give back to EngSoc, as well as get more involved in my campus community. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently learned web development properly. At first, I had always struggled with understanding code used in this field. My coop term allowed me to get some foundation in React and Express, and I decided to make a hangman project to get the hang of it. I split the project into several React components (main, hanger, previous guess container, and word) to handle various elements of displaying the stage of the game (incorrect or correct guesses, dynamically updated hangman stick figure, and progress made on the word). I struggled alot with visualizing the look and feel of the site, so I drew a mockup on my iPad, and then put it into words. From then, I looked at the relevant CSS properties to style my code. When I came across errors, I used console.log to identify what was going wrong, and through this have become more comfortable with javascript and react. Now, that I am done this project, I will be revamping a website for a startup - Cyberworks Robotics, working with the CEO." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688614145151 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "climtung@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Cynthia", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Lim", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F37e1c521-0061-4f40-9613-053950baa6e0?alt=media&token=5ee9d47f-9ca2-43f9-8d5e-f711ca068a01", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "While working on my personal website, I wanted to add a hamburger menu for navigation on smaller screen sizes. I first turned to YouTube for a quick-fix tutorial, but after completing a few steps, I realized that I’d have to take the custom route to have control over my design and ensure that the integration was flush with what I had already coded. I later stumbled across an example of JavaScript’s event listeners. Upon seeing how they worked, I applied this solution and broke down my problem into simple steps to code: listen for when the menu button is clicked, then open/close it by showing/hiding a section of my website. Interestingly, the YouTube video had taught me something crucial, which was how to display content on top of the rest of my website. By taking what I learned from my initial “failed” solution and simplifying the problem, I managed to implement onClick JavaScript events that would change the classes of my HTML sections to show or hide the menu and its buttons.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "7", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1reUfARjYegHdOmMDWMIAEwswv0Az1H3X/view?usp=sharing\n\nAs a self-taught graphic designer, I've found myself in multiple unique experiences where I've had the opportunity to grow and challenge my designing skills. I created captivating social media posts as the Communications Director for the BlackBerry Student Social Committee (BSSC) during my previous co-op, I designed the logo for Scholar-ship, a hackathon project that helps students apply for the numerous scholarships that are often unclaimed, and assisted with the mockup of Quarantine Quarters, an app inspired by \"Text for Humanity\" that would incentivize users to provide an activity and receive one in return to help combat loneliness during the pandemic.\n\nI have experience with Figma and AdobeXD, and recently, while designing my personal website, have come to learn much more about responsive design, user experience, and the importance of design concepts like colour, spacing, balance, and contrast. \n" - } - ], - "role": "Graphic Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Graphic Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time Zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the lack of access to education for those in developing countries, mainly due to poverty. With immigrant parents myself and having many friends in various countries, I have come to recognize how fortunate and privileged I am to have an upbringing in a safe environment. It’s unfortunate that many individuals my age and younger are stuck having to focus on their survival rather than having the opportunity and space to thrive and flourish. Of course, this stems from a large cycle of deeply rooted issues that are passed from one generation to the next, but after recently discovering how much I enjoy teaching others, I hope to contribute to a solution where everyone will have a chance to experience the joys of learning. I wish to see a world where we all have equal access to career and education opportunities and I will continue to help others to the best of my abilities until we can all reach our potentials." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m proud to be a part of the gaming community. As a female, I find pride in entering male-dominated spaces and proving that women are just as deserving of a spot. After I was unsatisfied with how current teams were run, I took the initiative to lead my own competitive team. I built a supportive team in an optimal environment where players could foster their skills. After many victories, I moved on to joining a female-only team where we quickly grew to dominate the North American region. Throughout our hours of practice and hanging out, I realized that it was our close-knit bond that allowed us to communicate and grow so successfully. This is what I love most about the gaming community - the support that we have for each other, and the continuous learning involved. Daily, I get to analyze, teach, and grow with the help of others. I hope to continue inspiring girls to find confidence and friendship in gaming and help them realize that they are just as capable of achieving great things." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As I’m interested in full stack development, I decided that building a personal website would serve as a good portfolio while also learning about frontend and backend. I began by referring to a Dummies book that covered the best approach to a web development project. After also consulting YouTube videos about design principles, I sketched the wireframe in my notebook and then created multiple iterations in Figma to experiment with colours, structuring, and various screen sizes. I then dived right into coding, starting with an initial structure, and then adding styling. Throughout this project, I also turned to a series of websites for inspiration and often inspected them to analyze their code and see how I could add similar features to my website. Once I hosted my website with GitHub Pages, I looked for feedback from both a user’s and developer’s perspective to ensure that my website met my goal of being simple and easy to use, while ensuring that it was coded in the most optimal way." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688577612446 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B ( going to 3A in Fall 2023) ", - "email": "s2kaisth@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Shriya", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kaistha", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38aa825a-ef9c-452a-a733-2573767ce670?alt=media&token=2d64adf3-e9f1-476d-b095-d0dc89ac5bf5", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Cloud, DevOps", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my coop, I was given the challenging task of setting up a bastion server on AWS, which was daunting as I don’t have a lot of experience with cloud. However, I took this as an opportunity to learn and started exploring the core of this problem: what is a bastion server and why do we need it? I also dove deep into researching and familiarising myself with related concepts like VPCs and EC2. Once I felt more ready, I adopted agile principles and created a roadmap. This involved breaking down the project into manageable chunks and seeking regular feedback from my mentor. This roadmap proved invaluable when I was testing my code, which worked for all cases except one. Although it was saddening to face defeat, I started from scratch, which allowed me to look at things from a new perspective. \nEventually, on my 2nd try I was able to get the task done! Overall, this experience provided me an opportunity to grow and highlighted the importance of embracing challenges with a zeal to learn!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "A hackathon related to a social cause could be a good event to run. This idea is inspired by the TILE designation organized last fall. This would be a chance for people to creatively express themselves for the causes that matter to them - maybe through Figma designs or coded apps! This would also be a learning opportunity for us as we would get the chance to spot creative new ways to help our society with tech.\n\nAnother event that would be cool to have is organizing an in-person volunteering day with the NPO’s that Blueprint is partnered with. For example, helping ‘Feeding Canadian Kids’ with day-to-day activities of delivering food, or even organizing a super fun Math Workshop for children with ‘Jump Math’! This way we will not only be contributing to the community but will also be connecting and building bonds with the people that Blueprint has worked for. It would be a way for people to truly experience and understand what we do and why we build projects in the first place" - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "External Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Something significant to me is helping others and contributing to people’s lives. It might sound vague, but it holds so much beauty in it, as ‘help’ can come in all shapes and sizes. It could range from toasting bread for your roommate to make their morning easier or taking time out one weekend to volunteer at an animal shelter. \n\nHonestly, the best part is the satisfaction you feel, knowing you made a difference. I’ve had my own small and big moments, from teaching long division to underprivileged children in rural schools to trying to build a mental health service for my first hackathon – all are wonderful experiences that I hope to cherish for life. \n\nI am excited to apply to blueprint as I know I’ll meet like-minded individuals and genuinely make an impact. \nI am truly passionate about learning and applying my skills to support others in any way I can. After all, it’s the working for a cause bigger than yourself, that means everything. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Over the last two terms, I have been on WiCS and everyday I’m grateful to be a part of this team. Being the only female developer in my team during my first coop was what drove me to apply to WiCS. While my mentors were supportive, I would still feel out of place there. \nIf I felt that way, there must be other women who feel the same. \nAs an executive for the committee, I help run and lead events and ensuring we reach out to a wider audience about our cause. While the events are great, personally, I’ve also seen a big impact by just talking to people. During office hours, I was able to create a safe space for students to talk about their rankings/grades and I could let them know they were not alone in their feelings. While volunteering for an event, I talked to a high school professor about making his CS class more inclusive. \nThrough WiCS I feel like I have successfully made a small impact on the community and now I still work towards fostering a more inclusive environment in STEM." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "The piano has been one of my greatest obsessions since childhood. The melody that comes from the tapping of the keys, feels almost surreal to me. Nonetheless, I never had an opportunity to really quench this thirst due to personal reasons.\nI had mentioned this story to my boyfriend, who then got a keyboard for my birthday, thus kickstarting my journey into learning how to play the piano. \nI started off by scouring the internet for resources, eventually landing on an app called “Simply Piano”. Onwards I went, scheduling a 30 minute block every day to begin producing off-tune music with the hopes to be Beethoven someday. Often times I would get stuck, generally while trying to read the notes. However, my motivation would ensure that my next go at it was supplemented by better techniques I learnt through various resources. Eventually, I was glad that I showed up every day as by Christmas, the first 10 seconds of jingle bells was a euphonious melody played from my keyboard" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688611590942 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "t.tang.janessa@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Janessa ", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Tang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Honours Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38be6996-b320-4f5a-9e77-ac5224716a38?alt=media&token=18e2f4de-df03-489f-b958-f34771e31bd1", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I have experience conducting literature reviews, summarizing and synthesizing research papers, and writing research protocols to outline the goal and process of the study. I believe it is important to conduct secondary research because it places primary research in its context and helps one better understand the problem space and current solutions. This allows me to see how the solution I am developing addresses shortcomings and gaps in the user experience. However, I also thoroughly enjoy conducting primary research and collecting qualitative data through interviews and surveys because I can truly get to know the users and stakeholders along with the motivation and thinking process behind their actions. These rewarding conversations provide new perspectives on how existing touchpoints can be improved." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "With the smoky, hazardous air conditions that pose a health risk, we are told to stay at home. But where do people go if they have no home? Homelessness is highlighted in Toronto with its stark contrast between the privileged and the marginalized. The poor air quality only exacerbates current issues for those unhoused. These individuals are left with no options: homeless shelters have no space and long waitlists, public spaces eventually close, and tent encampments are cleared without much notice. Furthermore, homelessness is often perceived as a visibility issue. Unhoused individuals are not welcomed in public spaces to seek respite because it makes people “uncomfortable.” But why should the comfort of specific groups be placed over others? The glaring clusters of tent encampments are a reminder of the city’s failing bandaid solutions to homelessness, and its unrealistic solutions to the poor air quality that ignore the existing conditions for those without homes." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Fashion for Change (FC) is a community I am proud to contribute to. Every member brings their unique background and experiences to the table and works diligently to put together our annual fashion show in March. The proceeds of this fashion show are donated to a selected charity of the year. FC prides itself on providing a space for artists to make an impact globally by starting locally. As the PR Director of FC, I have the privilege of promoting the FC brand by establishing relationships with charity partners, sponsors, vendors, internal partners such as other school clubs and campus news outlets, and external media partners like radio stations and newspapers. In addition, I help manage FC’s social media platforms and lead content creation and branding strategy in collaboration with our marketing team while emphasizing transparency and empathy. I also help foster a sense of community at FC, where everyone feels safe and supported." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One summer, I decided to try and learn Mandarin to accommodate the population of Chinese patients at the pharmacy I worked at. Many of these patients were unable to communicate in English and understand their medications. I learned common phrases and names for medications, chronic diseases, and pharmacy processes through online videos, learning platforms, and reference books. Each week, I added new vocabulary based on the patient interactions, and I consistently practiced what I had learned. I also immersed myself in Chinese media to improve my pronunciation. This was extremely beneficial as I was able to break down language barriers and improve the patient experience. I am a firm believer in learning languages because it allows one to understand the world from a different lens and develop cultural awareness. Moreover, I can create a safer space and build rapport with patients by using familiar words while ensuring crucial information is communicated." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688525473640 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "tyhan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "firstName": "Tong Yin", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Han", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38e8e1ea-9d7c-4464-9e7f-81e0203aca4b?alt=media&token=e7887d97-6c47-4874-bf3c-8ae350fd5585", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "I’d start off by researching the respective NPO. I’m mainly looking to understand their mission, values and the work they do. It’s important to gauge whether their values align with our own. \n\nNext, we can analyze their core values and identify commonalities. We can layer in research centered around their approach to social good and causes they support to see if their methods align with Blueprint’s values. This research will come in the form of examining their previous projects and partnerships as well as interviewing with members of the NPO.\n\nThe final step is focused on assessing potential impact. Understanding whether they have the capacity to create meaningful change is crucial to ensure a positive partnership. Things to keep in mind for this step are the scale of their operations, communities they serve and the impact they’ve already achieved.\n\nUltimately, the alignment in mission, values and impact potential of the NPO are necessary to ensure a successful collaboration." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I encountered a technical problem while working on the user authentication for Missions: Cure. When users exited the app and rejoined a few seconds later, they had to log in again. As a user I found this frustrating so I wanted to solve this problem. I first started by looking at a high level overview of the system and architecture. I looked at the current user flow, how authentication and authorization worked, and researched potential solutions to this as well as discussing with mentors and peers. I determined that we could implement sessions to keep users logged in. Learning about how authentication systems worked allowed me to break down big tasks into smaller ones and analyze smaller issues. I started by implementing a sessions library, ensuring that session was active and had the correct information and then implementing this into the authentication system.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is fast fashion. Fast fashion refers to a marketing and manufacturing process in the fashion industry honed in on quickly churning out large volumes of clothes. It leverages low quality materials and, often times, child labour. This movement is extremely detrimental to the environment in large due to its production and disposal methods. Often, people who partake in fast fashion will regularly discard their clothes. Upon discarding greenhouse gas emissions are produced and toxic chemicals and dyes are released into the soil. I am personally scared for the next generations and how fast fashion can lead to plummets in quality of life in the future. My philosophy about buying clothes is that I have to love it before I buy it and continue to wear it in the long run. I strive to educate those around me who might be unaware of the long term downsides, which are temporarily circumvented by short term gratification. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I’m proud to be a part of is the Develop for Good and specifically helping Mission: Cure, a non-profit organization. Their goal is to develop therapeutic strategies and care pathways to improve the outcomes for individuals suffering with pancreatitis. We helped this non-profit organization by building a mobile app that acted as a pancreatitis patient care notebook. As a lead, I contributed in four big ways. First, I collaborated with the devs to streamline internal processes. Second, I led meetings with members of Mission: Cure to ideate and continuously align on project work. These meeting topics were taken internally and I discussed with the designers and PM regarding future steps for the application. From there, we were able to refine the user profile page and implement a user authentication system." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As a developer at Thomson Reuters, I had to quickly learn about the application that my team was building. This is because I heard about the refactoring process in the app and I wanted to be a part of the discussion. My first challenge was learning the code base as I have never worked with Node.js or Express.js. I reviewed the documentation and learned about the high level architecture. I absorbed the content quickly by asking my mentors and coworkers questions. In addition, I took on more tasks such as developing a feature in the frontend and backend of the app. At that point, I was confident and understood how to use it, I then tried implementing it in my own projects. For my Spotify project, I used React, and Node.js to understand the language better. After successfully doing so, I was confident to participate and contribute in the meetings. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688613827885 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B ", - "email": "r29zhang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Richard", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Zhang", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38eac667-1363-4272-8c21-809c042e1a37?alt=media&token=fb744586-f453-43b3-bd12-dc3c624788a4", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "For my Mentor/mentee matching app, a problem I faced was trying to improve upon the algorithm which would generate matched from 2 groups (A,B). In order to run this algorithm, each person in group A needs to have a 'preference list', which is their preference of all the people in group B, and vice versa. The current method to create this list was to answer alot of MC questions, and based on those results, assign every person a score. Then all the people with similar scores would be in that preference list. How I solved this was using artificial intelligence text embeddings to create a smoother UX. Rather than answering MC questions, users could just type out their answer. A Large language model would embed their text, and store it in a vector database. After storing every persons response, I used vector search to group similar people together and intelligently create the preference list. This results in increased accuracy, as the list is based on understanding, not multiple choice.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST (Toronto time)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Growing up, I was an outdoorsy, nature loving kid who loved activities like hiking through trails, scaling mountains, or even just running through the forest outside my house. Living near a rural area, I was fortunate enough to have access to trails, lakes and ponds near me. Growing up, I was a volunteer in an outdoors summer camp that provided activities such as canoeing, archery, and swimming to children still in elementary school. Despite always ending the day hot and sweaty, being immersed within nature and sharing it with other kids was an incomparable feeling. Unfortunately it appears that there is a prevailing trend of youth becoming increasingly focused on a digitized world, and neglecting the value of nature. Ironically, I've become more immersed in the digital world ever since arriving at Waterloo, however I strive to live a life connected with Nature. I'm passionate about using my technical skills to advocate for the importance of nature to the development of youth." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm extremely proud to be part of the Systems Design Engineering community here at Waterloo. The anxiousness and fear that I wasn't going to fit in was very quickly replaced with excitement and an eagerness to be part of the SYDE community. The inclusive and friendly nature of the community is what made me fall in love with SYDE. There was an ongoing mentor / mentee matching initiative that the upper years were facilitating. Upon hearing that the process was being performed manually, me and a team of friends decided to create a proper platform to facilitate this initiative. We called it Athena, named after the waterloo Aphrodite program. I'm collaboratively building this project to give back to the SYDE community that welcomed me so warmly in first year. We are utilizing AI-powered language models to analyze and match mentees with their best suited mentors. I'm building this tech in hopes that it will continue the welcoming and inclusive tradition that the SYDE community is known for." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I was motivated to learn about blockchain and cryptocurrency because I saw the potential for it to revolutionize the way we do digital banking. I used to play a character called 'Jett' in a game called Valorant, only for the company to release updates that significantly worsened her abilities. This experience made me realise first hand the dangers of giving power to a centralized figure (the game company in this case) which made me interested in forms of decentralized computing. After my first co-op, I felt that I had a strong enough grasp of web-2 knowledge to move on to learning about blockchain and cryptocurrency, namely the Ethereum ecosystem. My approach involved taking an online course to gain the basics down, and then mercilessly working on developing my own decentralized applications and writing my own smart contracts to apply my knowledge. I greatly utilized the Alchemy University community's discord server to seek out help when needed." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688001115346 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "eokooboh@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Nehita", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Oko-Oboh", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Chemical Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3d6a8423-6586-45c0-be1d-fe17ee406554?alt=media&token=fdbe29fc-7a38-426c-bf10-3fc9eb9e13ad", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Being a self-taught coder, I have had to learn multiple languages such as Python, Javascript, CSS, React, PHP, and so on from scratch. The most recent skill I am learning is machine learning. With the rise of AI (mostly ChatGPT), I have taken an interest in how these algorithms work, and one of the techniques utilized in AI is machine learning. The idea that machines could learn from mistakes or data much faster than we can and use that data to adapt for future scenarios was very intriguing. Doing this can have a lot of benefits, such as improving processing times and just overall efficiency depending on the situation it is applied to. Obviously, being in school and balancing learning a new complex skill is hard, but I try to make time to review and learn at least one new thing a day on the topic, even if it's for an hour, because time adds up.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Access to high-quality education, especially in the technology field, and hands-on practice and development in third-world countries is an issue that resonates with me. Growing up in Nigeria and coming to Canada for education purposes at 13, I could witness firsthand the stark difference in access to quality education, especially in the development field. Simple things such as a computer or wifi, which we take for granted here, are sparse in Nigeria. People growing up in less privileged conditions barely even have access to electricity, and most times, their parents cannot even afford for them to go to school. Most of the time, women especially end up getting neglected, being told that their place is not found in technology spaces but instead in making a family. This idealogy causes them to never try for anything else. The inability to access and motivate women to pursue technology jobs and school, in general, is a subsidiary of the issue of lack of access to education." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and in previous years I held the position of events lead. This position was very integral, as during covid, there was an abundance of people entering universities at home, leaving them with minimal ability to connect with people. At NSBE, there is importance to developing connections with black engineers in the program since there is a small population of us at the university. As an events lead, I created multiple events such as financial literacy; to develop an understanding of investing and saving as a college student and games nights over Zoom that saw over 50 people in attendance. These events allowed students to gain not only transferable knowledge and skills that would be useful in their everyday activities but also make meaningful connections and friendships that could carry them through university." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Being a self-taught coder, I have had to learn multiple languages such as Python, Javascript, CSS, React, PHP, and so on from scratch. The most recent skill I am learning is machine learning. With the rise of AI (mostly ChatGPT), I have taken an interest in how these algorithms work, and one of the techniques utilized in AI is machine learning. The idea that machines could learn from mistakes or data much faster than we can and use that data to adapt for future scenarios was very intriguing. Doing this can have a lot of benefits, such as improving processing times and just overall efficiency depending on the situation it is applied to. Obviously, being in school and balancing learning a new complex skill is hard, but I try to make time to review and learn at least one new thing a day on the topic, even if it's for an hour, because time adds up." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688572001502 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A (Fall '23)", - "email": "aaotakyi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Alexis", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Takyi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Biology", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3dbe16b5-29e3-45a0-b064-5abb1daec976?alt=media&token=ecb8c675-a3cc-492a-b5e5-ac7adf892edc", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "Based on my experiences, I would be most skilled at experimental and literature review based research but would be willing to use other methods to collect and organize data. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "When working with a team, it is important that each person feels respected, valued, supported, and unrestricted. To me, this looks like having your ideas heard and considered, being showed respect no matter what, being appreciated for your work and given credit where due, given understanding should problems arise in your life, and overall being shown that you matter to the group. A leader should insure that all members feel that way but also the entire team should work to make sure everyone is included." - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (Toronto/Waterloo timezone - the two cities I will be frequenting)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that truly resonates with me is the mission and efforts behind jack.org. The origin story of the organization and the chapters they use in schools to spread awareness amongst young people is commendable to say the least.\nOften, sometimes surprisingly, educating people about mental health can be an unnecessarily tough battle. The stigma held against those impacted by mental illness or struggling with their mental health can be deadly, leaving those who are in pain to feel as if they are alone in this world with no one support them. Any organization willing to put in the work to combat this will garner my support and jack.org has. I was an active member in my high school's chapter called WAVE, and I will never forget how deeply that experience sat with me as I went through school. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I'm proud to be a part of is, of course, women in STEM, especially racialized women in STEM. In a space like this it is hard not to feel inadequate when compared to your peers. Comparing myself was common practice to me from a young age and I always felt like there was someone to beat or competition to win even if no one explicitly challenged me. It took me a while to realize that I felt this way because I was an outlier in a room of people that didn't relate to me on many different levels (racial, cultural, socioeconomical, etc.) Finally understanding this, I aimed to make sure that I knew my worth and that everyone in a similar position to me knew theirs too. I am a woman in STEM and no one can rob me of that so I will always be proud to claim it. Through my work as a marketing lead with an organization called Girls System and as a marketing coordinator with UW WiSTEM, I spend a lot of time promoting STEM to girls who might shy away from it. No one should feel excluded." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Though I am still a beginner, a new skill I have been working on is coding, specifically in Python, HTML, and CSS. While these are great skills to have in our ever evolving technological world, that is not the only reason I chose to learn. Once introduced to proper coding in high school, I was instantly hooked. I loved the idea that I could recreate some of the applications I use on a daily basis using simple languages. I didn't fully understand it but I was beyond curious and eager to learn by any means necessary. Since then, I have putting my free time to good use and conjuring up mini projects using tutorials from sites like W3 schools. I'm basically homeschooling my self in a way (with a lot of help from the internet). Something that also pulls me towards coding, which is also why I'm so drawn to the sciences, is the fact that the learning never stops. There will always be a different project I could develop and that is what makes it so exciting. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687336725760 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "j636yang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Judy ", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Yang", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "CS ", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3e28728e-36ba-4d8f-b65c-713571345395?alt=media&token=86be66d2-0a04-445c-bef2-6822fd1d10f6", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favorite product is the grocery sorting robot I got to work on in my last coop. The collaboration and engineering behind the scenes of making the robot meet requirements is truly remarkable and I got to work on a team directly responsible for ensuring the quality and functionality of the product.\nEach detail is functionally tweaked, tested and continuously improved upon and I got to analyze both hardware and software iterations/changes before releases into production. \n" - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "10", - "role": "VP Product" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Product", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Children's literacy. \nMy elementary years were spent at family housing for students as my parents completed additional schooling in Canada. Books were my babysitters, fictional characters, my friends and the library - a place of comfort.\nI have been volunteering at the Calgary Public Library since the 7th grade, tutoring kids in language arts and leading summer camps. I have also been involved with Calgary Reads, helping them distribute books in lower income neighborhoods and helped organize the Big Book Sale each year collecting ~150 000 books and fundraising ~$475 000 back into the community. Had it not been for all of the resources/support available to my family, I would not be the person I am today. Helping more children experience the life-changing joy of reading is something that I will be involved in for a lifetime. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "The women in the computer science community is something I am incredibly proud to be a part of. Having attended numerous events in my first year, volunteering in workshops for WiCS Con this January and receiving a scholarship for the 2023 Grace Hopper Celebration for this September. \nI’ve contributed to this community beyond UW through a YouTube channel, initially started as a creative outlet. Recently it has grown slightly with 41.9k more views than usual and a 73.5% female audience interested in my journey as a student in computer science. I will continue being genuine and show an authentic behind-the-scenes of university, balance between school, life and internships and all the possibilities and space there is for women, men - humans in technology. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Photoshop was a skill I wanted to learn but always put off. After relying on a combination of Canva, Procreate and iPhone photo tools they release with each update, I wanted to take my digital imaging skills to the next level and produce more professional looking photographs. Tutorials were not the most helpful as I found project based learning significantly more engaging. It took me a couple of weeks to get use to the interface and tools which was the initial friction or “valley of disappointment”. I didn’t have an artistic background so learning about the concepts of design, color theory and power of composition, has led to greater appreciation for the people who achieve pixel perfection in visual imaging. \nI have been allocating time each week to creating my own images, my most recent one being a visual paradox of a volcano eruption with giant hands popping it like a pimple. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688345171530 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "Nicole.qian.qjr@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Jirui", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Qian", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3e2bc7ae-582b-4a02-a52a-cdaf1cd2fe9f?alt=media&token=7ff82322-104e-4f50-bb98-84a08efda530", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I use Pinterest, Behance, and Colorhunt. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://nicoleqian2001.github.io/My-website/\nClick on “UX Design” and then one of the image covers on the left side to enter one project. \n", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I prefer to use unmoderated interviews. I chose the unmoderated interview method since it is less prone to bias, and the observer effect--individuals acting differently when they are aware that they are being watched--does not apply. My main methods of expertise are interviews and surveys. I have experience conducting unmoderated interviews with users from various backgrounds and creating surveys. \n" - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT (Toronto)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is designing software/products that promote sustainability. I care deeply about recycling and I always classify waste before disposal. As our world faces increasing environmental challenges, it is crucial to recycle and reduce waste. I would like to create products that raise waste classification and recycling awareness, improve recycling efficiency, or educate companies to create more sustainable products. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I was on Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at the University of Waterloo for 8 months. I volunteered as a Frontend Developer to redevelop Uganda's Center for Media Literacy and Community Development (CEMCOD)’s website using React.js from May-August 2022. I volunteered as a Lead Web Developer to implement some features (a map, some texts) using Wix.com. I'm proud to be part of EWB because it is a non-profit humanitarian organization. I got to help people from developing countries by improving their living standards and making education more accessible for them.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I discovered that my passion lay in the field of design after I took CS449-Human-Computer Interaction. From then on, I proceeded to complete Coursera's \"Google UX Design Certificate\" to learn systematically about UX design and research. This certificate contains 7 courses and it usually takes 6 months, 10 hours each week, to complete. I had determined that I was to complete it in 3 months, so I studied 20 hours each week. I made a study plan listing which chapters to finish each week. For each week of study, I watched lecture videos and took notes on the important concepts. At the end of each chapter, I took a quiz and passed it with a high ninety. I completed 3 projects to practice the concepts learned. \n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688182591226 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "amanda.yu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Amanda", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Yu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3eb274ff-8dc5-4e35-a9d8-f4bd78a3a783?alt=media&token=768291e8-6d4e-4148-8b7f-490741119354", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "Cultural and social context greatly inspire product designers in their design process. By understanding the cultural values, social behaviors, and aspirations of the target users, designers can create products that are more relevant and meaningful. Cultural identity plays a significant role in shaping design decisions, as different cultures have unique aesthetics, symbolism, and preferences. Designers take into account the cultural nuances and adapt their designs to resonate with specific cultural backgrounds. Additionally, cultural and social context inspire designers to prioritize diversity and inclusivity in their designs. They consider factors such as age, gender, disabilities, and cultural backgrounds to create products that cater to a broader range of users. Moreover, cultural and social context encourage designers to consider sustainability and ethical considerations. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "A notable project I worked on was a side project called SplitPeas, which is a mobile app designed to keep track of grocery trips and bill splitting within a group. The process I took for Split Peas was first to conduct market research in order to find a niche, define the primary/ secondary market and user personas. Then, conduct user research to figure out user pain points. After the first iteration of the design. Another set of user research interviews would be conducted so that feedback can be given in an iterative design process. I considered brand image, pain points, and user persona when selecting colour palette, typography, consistent style, and easy user flows. I contributed to the design and user research portion of this project. Other people researched the market, wrote the business plan, and helped develop the app.\n\nPlease view the Presentation Deck and Project Proposal.\nLinks in the github: https://github.com/traopand/split-peas\nWebsite: http://amandayu.tech/ ", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "PST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Social justice, equity, and social change are topics that resonate with me. In particular, gender inequality. Having privileged upbringing in Canada, I hope other girls worldwide can also have the same privileges and rights as me. It saddens me that this isn’t the case, as most people living in extreme poverty are girls. Too many communities have to face massive gender inequality, discrimination, and unequal access to resources. This is why I led Oxfam, a charity tackling global poverty. I proposed a new initiative there, a hygiene drive. I led the logistics with 3 others and tallied a total of over 500+ hygiene items in the end. I drove down to Covenant House Toronto to donate everything. The next week, I was surprised that they gifted us a letter of gratitude. They were in need of hygiene items this past winter. They awarded us a certificate of appreciation for supporting the homeless. I’d love to help women in need, like Blueprint’s Shoe Project helping immigrant and refugee women." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m proud to be in the Music community. The people I’ve met while part of Music Council, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, String Orchestra, and University Jazz Band have been such an integral part of my life since gr 5. These are the people I grew up with, I’m still friends with them today. As we started to choose career paths, I noticed that students pursuing the arts were dissuaded from doing so. Growing up where this stigma was so strictly prevalent in my Asian-dominant school, I felt the need to join together people with multi-field interests. This is why I was inspired to lead a youth non-profit of my own, STREAM Syndicate. It provides a platform of career related events and leadership opportunities in arts and STEM. When I was Co-director, I led nation-wide projects including: an art gala, in light of art education cuts, having 100+ attendees and was recognized in local Markham news; a bi-monthly magazine featuring writers, poets, artists, and a 10.4k member FB community group.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "This summer I wanted to learn about Machine learning. I had no idea anything about it before. It seemed like a mystery to me and I was curious. My general process was that after work, I’d learn about the topic from broad to narrow. What even is machine learning, what scope does it entail, and where can it be used? After I gained context on that, I’d answer more specific questions like what tools are commonly used and what should I learn? I used resources like a Linkedin Learning course, medium articles, and Youtube videos. I also completed an NLP side project at a Hackathon which converted bullet points into a email. I completed an MIT Intro to Machine Learning course, finished all their labs, and final project. After this, I felt like I had a good understanding of the theory of basic models and methods used, but not application. So, I joined Waterloo’s Aerial Robotics Group as a ML dev on their Computer Vision Team." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688615997085 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "t2nigam@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "firstName": "Tanisha", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Nigam", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3f37b321-df5d-4e71-8e6c-e641ce8b38ec?alt=media&token=22628cd1-b232-4927-943f-69ed5495f361", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "When determining if a nonprofit's goals align with Blueprint, several factors should be considered. It starts with mission alignment, ensuring that both organizations share a focus on technology for social good, as such, assessing the potential impact of the nonprofit's work and its feasibility for technological solutions is important. In addition, collaboration is essential to drive meaningful change, thus evaluating the nonprofit's openness and willingness to work with Blueprint is crucial. Moreover, the local community impact and long-term sustainability plans are also factors to consider. Furthermore, factors like capacity for change, stakeholder alignment, organizational readiness, measurable outcomes, and potential for a long-term relationship play a role. Considering these factors ensures a strong resonance between Blueprint and the nonprofit's goals, values, and capacity to make a meaningful social impact." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I'll be based out of the EST timezone next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is promoting the conservation and protection of pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and other insects. Pollinators play a crucial role in ecosystems by facilitating the reproduction of plants and ensuring biodiversity, however, they are facing numerous threats to their long-term survival, including habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. As a result, I believe in supporting initiatives that create pollinator-friendly habitats, advocating for responsible pesticide practices, and raising awareness about the importance of pollinators in food systems. These initiatives include promoting the planting of native flowering plants, supporting local beekeeping efforts, and encouraging sustainable agriculture practices that prioritize pollinator health. By protecting pollinators, society can preserve the delicate balance of ecosystems, enhance crop yields, and also ensure the long-term sustainability of the natural environment." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m a part of the Vaughan Community Gardens group, a community dedicated to sustainable food production and urban farming. We transform unused spaces into gardens, grow organic produce, and educate others about sustainable agriculture. As a member, I actively participate in community gardening projects, volunteering my time to plant seeds, tend to plants, and harvest produce. Additionally, I engage in advocacy efforts to promote urban farming and sustainable food practices within the community. I also encourage community members to buy locally grown produce by raising awareness about the benefits of urban agriculture. By fostering self-sufficiency, reducing our ecological footprint, and promoting a resilient local food system, we are working towards a greener, healthier, and more sustainable community. Through hands-on involvement, education, and advocacy, we strive to empower individuals to connect with nature, make conscious food choices, and contribute to a more sustainable future." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As someone who struggles with anxiety, I was seeking an outlet for my racing thoughts and overwhelming emotions, and as a result, I turned to writing poetry as a means of self-expression and catharsis. My motivation to learn the skill of writing poetry stemmed from a deep desire to find solace and understanding while also being able to transform my anxious thoughts and emotions into artful language. My approach to learning to write poetry was centered around vulnerability and introspection—I would dedicate regular time to writing, to create a safe space where I could confront my fears and uncertainties. My approach also involved immersing myself in poetry books and experimenting with different poetic forms to help hone my skills using imagery, metaphors, and rhythm to convey the depth of my experiences. Writing poetry soon became my sanctuary, offering a sense of release and empowerment and helped me find comfort in crafting verses that encapsulates my struggles." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615866580 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "n22sivak@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Nishan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Sivakumar", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering ", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3f86a881-ba9f-4873-af0c-3d3ae7227d20?alt=media&token=c67460b6-25dd-4a0f-bf6a-a01c7fdf24f2", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Frontend", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In a previous role, an application I was working on faced slow load times. Using performance profiling tools, I identified database queries as the bottleneck. I optimized these queries, rewrote some for efficiency, and eliminated others through denormalization. Additionally, I implemented a caching strategy for frequently accessed data. These measures significantly improved application performance, enhancing user experience and engagement. Despite the complex codebase, systematic analysis and problem-solving helped overcome the challenge.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is promoting sustainability in engineering. I believe it's crucial for engineers to consider environmental impacts in their design and implementation processes, not only to protect our planet but also to create efficient and durable solutions." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am incredibly proud to be part of the vibrant and diverse community of Brampton. My contributions to this city go beyond being an active resident; I have volunteered in various community events, worked on local environmental initiatives, and advocated for tech education in our local schools. As an engineering student, I've also applied my skills in local projects, contributing to the city's technological growth and sustainability." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently learned Python as part of a Machine Learning course. I was motivated to learn it because of its versatility in different fields, especially in data analysis and AI. I began with online tutorials for basics, then moved onto more complex tasks. I supplemented this by working on mini-projects to apply what I learned, facilitating practical understanding of the language." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688182804758 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "maithily.kadam@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "firstName": "Maithily", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kadam", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4027b32d-b425-4f5b-aaa1-27625dcca149?alt=media&token=c0e1a5eb-ab04-4f09-8081-8080aec9584c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "In my vision of an ideal member experience, strong camaraderie among team members is a cornerstone. This camaraderie is fostered through team-bonding events that create opportunities for deeper connections and understanding. When team members genuinely get along, it becomes easier to seek help and guidance from one another, which is another crucial aspect of my ideal member experience. I firmly believe that asking questions and acquiring knowledge is the best way to learn and grow. When everyone feels comfortable reaching out for assistance, any problem can be overcome, leading to a thriving and successful environment!" - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "My inspiration flows from various sources, with one significant outlet being the dynamic app and website known as Pinterest. I perceive Pinterest as an infinite canvas perfectly tailored to my needs at any given moment. It has proven exceptionally valuable when seeking inspiration for personal projects and exploring captivating color schemes. Whenever I require ideas or visualizations, Pinterest serves as my trusted companion, consistently delivering productive and inspiring content." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "My portfolio is on my website: maithilykadam.com", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in Eastern Standard Time (EST) as I will be in my first academic term!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am passionate about promoting sports as a tool for youth development. Growing up playing sports, I learned valuable life skills, especially resilience. Through challenges in competitive volleyball, I learned to look forward, use past mistakes as motivation, and strive for the best. I want future generations to experience the transformative benefits of sports, empowering them to become well-rounded individuals." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Being part of the coaching community in volleyball and gymnastics fills me with pride. My coaches not only shaped my athletic abilities but also taught me resilience and self-improvement. Inspired by their impact, I chose to coach and provide young girls with positive role models. Guiding their growth and witnessing their achievements brings me immense joy. Together, we create a legacy of mentorship, fostering confident and well-rounded athletes and leaders who will make a positive impact in sports and beyond." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my high school years, I had a transformative experience when I discovered the Adobe Creative Suite, igniting my passion for Design. While my teacher introduced the class to the basics of a few software tools within the Suite, I was determined to explore and master additional tools to enhance my school and personal projects. Recognizing the long-term benefits of acquiring these extra skills in line with my future aspirations, I was motivated to excel by starting early. I embraced the understanding that achieving proficiency would require time, dedication, and practice. Thus, I committed myself to working on my projects daily, investing the necessary effort until I became adept and eventually an expert in utilizing the suite's diverse tools." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687907105887 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "s23mahmu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Shezan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Mahmud", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F42683822-18d8-4549-83aa-b3c5676e8836?alt=media&token=0725e946-7e3b-43f6-9679-0f373f9e165f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One technical problem I faced was when I was developing an app that required data from Uber Eats, DoorDash, and SkipTheDishes. However, a significant roadblock was their lack of a public API, which made accessing their data directly impossible.\n\nTo tackle this, I taught myself web scraping using Selenium and Scrapy in Python. I wrote scripts to navigate these platforms' websites and programmatically collect the necessary data. It was a complex task that required understanding the DOM, XPath structure of these websites and handling dynamically loaded content.\n\nThen I set up a pipeline to push this data into MongoDB. This involved cleansing and structuring the data before storage. I also automated the scraping process to keep the data in our app up-to-date, using cron jobs to run the scripts at regular intervals.\n\nThis has taught me the value of resourcefulness when faced with obstacles. I look forward to bringing these learnings to my work as a Project Developer at UW Blueprint.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am deeply passionate about environmental sustainability, driven by my experiences living in areas of natural beauty. I firmly believe in the potential of technology to promote sustainability and mitigate climate change. However, I am also aware of the environmental challenges posed by the tech industry itself. As a developer, I strive to ensure that our innovations are both groundbreaking and sustainable. The project with Plastics for Change, which streamlined operations while promoting transparency and accountability in the recycling process, is a prime example of the kind of impactful and environmentally conscious tech solutions I am drawn to. I am excited about the opportunity to work on projects that push technological boundaries while considering the environment. Joining UW Blueprint will allow me to contribute my skills, learn from my peers, and develop tech solutions for social good with a strong emphasis on environmental sustainability." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As a member of the Ontario Science Centre, I take pride in my contributions over the years. Starting as a student, I volunteered at various workshops, aiding in the planning and execution of educational programs that sparked curiosity and fostered a love for science among visitors of all ages.\nMy most impactful contribution is my work with the Youth for Youth Innovation program this summer. As a volunteer, I collaborate closely with young innovators, providing mentorship and guidance as they turn their brilliant ideas into tangible projects. I assist in brainstorming sessions, give feedback on their proposals, and help facilitate workshops on various topics, such as design and prototyping.\nBy engaging directly with these bright youths, I aim to cultivate an environment that encourages creativity, critical thinking, and a spirit of curiosity. Being a part of this community has allowed me to give back while further enhancing my skills in communication, leadership, and team collaboration." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently learned React Native because I like making apps that are accessible. My previous developer experience was on the web which has the limitation of always needing to be online. To overcome this, I decided to create an offline-first app that simplifies practicing LeetCode problems on-the-go.\nMy approach to learning React Native was learning by doing. I started by creating simple applications, heavily relying on official documentation for understanding the basics. Recognizing that my desired app required features such as local storage, gestures, database handling, and authentication, I devoted time to practice these on simpler applications before moving on to the actual app.\nThis approach of breaking down the learning process into digestible parts and building up skills progressively proved effective. It not only helped me build a comprehensive understanding of React Native but also equipped me with the confidence to tackle new technological challenges." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1687481231810 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "hargun.bhalla1@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Hargun", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Bhalla", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4375b5ad-beab-4124-be8d-44d59cf40625?alt=media&token=227595d3-ff2d-4809-ae37-cf8b7c2c7762", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I am most proud of a software program I developed at SpaceApps 2018, an international competition organized by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Developed a biomedical software program for astronauts aboard the International Space Station to monitor their health vitals. These features included the following: SPO2 levels, heart rate, blood pressure, fatigue, and exercise activity. In addition, our tech stack included Python, machine learning libraries, Java, Typescript, SQL, and frontend frameworks, where I worked with a group of developers, product managers, and designers. It was rewarding to develop this project over the course of a weekend and have it be a learning opportunity, but we were able to solve problems through consulting mentors, referencing documentation, pair programming, and countless cups of coffee! Our team won this competition by presenting the solution to Canadian Space Agency engineers and was awarded an interview with Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "In between the years 2016 and 2022, I was actively involved with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets program through various activities focused on aviation, citizenship, and leadership. At the squadron level, I have been appointed to the Warrant Officer position, and was responsible for co-leading a squadron of 150 cadets and delivering frequent lectures on aviation, technology, and aerospace. I was also continuously engaged in community-centred activities through parades and fundraising events (e.g. tagging shifts and squadron fly-ins). At the national level, I was selected for the competitive Advanced Aerospace Course and earned the Glider and Power Pilot Scholarships. Through this program, I gained a wide range of life-long skills including leadership, effective speaking, communication, adaptability to change, and teamwork, which I believe would be effective if given the chance to carry them forward while being a member on the UW Blueprint team. " - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "In order to find technological and social solutions to pressing international problems, it is imperative for fellow youth leaders to solve these problems through effective collaborations by sharing one another's skills, experiences, and knowledge. In addition, if selected to be a member part of UWBlueprint, I would have the opportunity to work towards this mission, through building features for impactful projects. Through my previous experiences within hackathons and internships/co-ops, I connected with fellow women in technology and learned about their experiences while working in the field of technology. I also learned how they overcame adversity and challenges by having a strong support system, which caused in me being inspired by their journeys for my future endeavours and being a resonating cause. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I had the opportunity to attend a wide range of summer enrichment programs, which were focused on technology and entrepreneurship, that helped me discover my passions outside of the classroom. I attended SHAD in the summer of 2019, which is a highly competitive entrepreneurship program intended for high school students. At the SHAD design challenge, I won the Best Application of Scientific Principles Award, where I developed a solution that regulated Canadian textile waste, which was accompanied with a project website, business report, and presentation in front of a panel of judges. Through this community, I was able to give back through attending alumni and community events, encouraging potential SHAD's to apply, and spreading the word about the program. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I was a scholar at Google's Computer Science Summer Institute, where I learned an intensive project-based JavaScript curriculum taught by Google engineers through code-alongs, technical interview sessions, and developmental workshops. I developed a multiplayer human gesture recognition game using p5 machine learning libraries and image recognition. I was also a panellist at the Google Student Technology and Entrepreneurship Talk, where I discussed my experience with creating my SHAD Design Challenge business. Through this program, I learned a wide range of skills, including communication, demo, networking and presentation skills, as I had to present my final project to an audience of 500+ people at the showcase, which included practice sessions, being receptive to feedback, and completing testing, with communication being the most important skill as it resulted in numerous learning opportunities along the way." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615749376 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "harshils2340@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Harshil", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Shah", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4376f1bc-2802-4333-8165-886bd9d9de42?alt=media&token=8621e099-8f34-49fe-8142-37b01326c604", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "AI/ML", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During the Toyota competition, my team and I were tasked to develop an automated machine learning sticker inspection system. One of the major challenges we encountered was ensuring accurate hole detection and classification.\n\nFirst, we faced the issue of limited annotated data for training the model. To address this, we implemented data augmentation techniques such as rotation, scaling, and flipping to artificially increase the size and diversity of the training dataset. \n\nSecondly, we encountered difficulties in optimizing the model's performance and reducing false positives. We tackled this challenge by fine-tuning the model's hyperparameters and adjusting the decision threshold. Through iterative experimentation and analysis of the model's performance metrics, we were able to achieve a 90% accuracy rate.\n\nOverall, despite the challenges we faced, our team's effective teamwork and problem-solving skills enabled us to overcome these obstacles and achieve our end goal.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is promoting first aid education and equipping individuals with life-saving skills.\n\nTo further this cause, my friends and I initiated the Heal-A-Kit project, which served as both a mobile application and a Discord bot. Through an interactive platform inspired by Akinator, users could input symptoms, and the system would provide personalized first aid recommendations. It also featured a database of common injuries and health issues, enabling anyone with zero first aid experience to assist a victim before medical help arrives.\n\nGoing forward, my plan is twofold: to continue creating innovative projects for first aid education and collaborate with nonprofit organizations in the healthcare sector. Joining UW Blueprint presents a perfect pathway to pursue this passion, as I will be surrounded by a community of like-minded individuals who are committed to leveraging technology for social impact." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I founded SmartSteps Tutoring - a non-profit organization with the goal of making a positive impact on students' education. With a dedicated team of three tutors, we have successfully provided tutoring services to over 20 students in grades 4 to 12, focusing primarily on Math, English, and Science. \n\nThe inspiration for SmartSteps Tutoring arose from the recognition that many students were facing academic challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, our tutoring community has grown significantly, encompassing additional subjects, tutors, and students. As a result, we have been able to expand our reach and provide support to more individuals in need.\n\nCurrently, my role has shifted from teaching to organizing engaging monthly games and activities for our students in an online setting. These activities aim to foster a friendly and stimulating environment that extends beyond traditional academics." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Motivated by cutting my dad's hair, I developed a strong interest in haircutting. I used YouTube tutorials to learn fundamental techniques and discover the right equipment to invest in.\n\nTo gain practical experience, I offered complimentary haircuts to friends, refining my skills and boosting my confidence. Recognizing the value of professional guidance, I sought free training opportunities at local barber shops, honing my abilities in a real-world environment.\n\nLearning this valuable skill not only helps me save money by cutting my own hair but also brings me great satisfaction in providing free haircuts to friends and family. Above all, witnessing the joy and increased confidence after giving a haircut serves as a constant source of motivation.\n\nNow that I have gained some experience cutting hair, I plan on teaching my friend who also wants to learn this valuable skill." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687931654092 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "pmbhulla@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Puneet", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Bhullar", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F43fbb0d3-1662-4286-a1e0-a733f32b5beb?alt=media&token=dadc859b-9047-4fb3-9eea-4cc22237ddb7", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "The iPad is my favorite product for product managers due to its versatility, innovation, user-centric design, robust ecosystem, and impact on various industries. Its adaptability caters to diverse customer segments, while its innovative features and user-friendly design embody forward-thinking product development. The iPad's ecosystem, including the App Store and seamless integration with other Apple devices, enhances the user experience. Its transformative influence in education, healthcare, and retail demonstrates its value in different industries. Furthermore, the iPad's enduring popularity and brand loyalty make it an attractive choice for students seeking to build upon a strong foundation." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my time at Interac, we faced the challenge of implementing a news feed that required an expensive monthly fee from the API provider. As a team, we spent considerable time deliberating and contemplating the best approach to deliver a high standard of quality to our client within budget constraints. We conducted brainstorming sessions to generate creative ideas and devised a comprehensive plan to implement the updates, effectively communicating our approach and progress to the client throughout the process. Eventually, we decided to develop a web scraper to overcome this hurdle. This innovative solution allowed us to gather the necessary data without relying on the costly API. As a result, we successfully implemented the news feed in the alpha release, meeting our client's expectations and demonstrating our resourcefulness as a team.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "As the President of the ECE Society, I demonstrated leadership by fostering a collaborative environment and empowering team members to contribute their best. I facilitated regular meetings, set clear goals, and delegated tasks based on individuals' strengths. Through effective communication and active involvement, we organized successful events, promoted professional development, and enhanced the sense of community within our society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to think creatively and adapt our activities to the virtual realm, organizing an engaging online scavenger hunt and hosting virtual resume reviews to ensure our members continued to benefit from valuable experiences and networking opportunities." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time – EST Time Zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The cause that resonates deeply is supporting individuals and families affected by leukemia. Having experienced firsthand the impact of this disease on my sister and our family, I understand the emotional, physical, and financial challenges it brings. Witnessing the tireless efforts of organizations like CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario), Ronald McDonald Houses, Candlelighters, and Campfire Circle in providing crucial support and resources has inspired me to help those facing leukemia. Since then I have volunteered at two hospitals, Bruyere and Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa. I initiated and organized a food drive for Ronald Mcdonald House Ottawa which collected over 300 items to donate. Whether it is volunteering at hospitals, participating in fundraisers, or sharing my personal journey, I am dedicated to making a difference and ensuring that no one facing any illness feels alone in their battle." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As the president of the ECE society and a proud member of the ECE community at the University of Waterloo, I have the privilege of witnessing the incredible impact we have on our students and the broader field of electrical and computer engineering. I, along with the team, conceived and initiated helpful events such as resume workshops, resume critics, social gatherings, and technology discussions. The benefit is we empower our fellow students to develop essential skills, connect with fellow students and industry professionals, and expand their knowledge in their chosen fields. Together, we create an inclusive and vibrant environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, and a shared passion for engineering." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During the pandemic when the world was on a stay-at-home order, I wanted to do something that could keep me active while enjoying the outdoors. I decided to try my hand at growing a garden. My first step was to search Google and YouTube which helped with general requirements. I asked my family, I received a few practical tips and a wag of the finger to not destroy the backyard. I called garden centers, which were helpful in letting me know what grows well in the Ottawa climate. I mentioned my green thumb ambitions to friends who had no idea where to start but would ask their families who had gardens. I had the network growing and from one of those it was suggested I join the Facebook “Edible Ottawa Garden Group.” Local gardeners whose knowledge is unsurpassed and had answers for all my unresolved questions. I made a list of things to do. Purchased what was required. I, with help from my family, built garden beds, added soil, fertilized, planted, watered, and watched the garden grow." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688179114533 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4B", - "email": "z952zhan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "George", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Zhang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "CS BBA", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F45c1aa50-ad81-4c02-affd-9a5017b402f9?alt=media&token=e8a033bd-6d2f-4819-9e4d-29fe8ff6f420", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I've worked on in the past was in my most recent coop term at Verkada. I worked as a computer vision engineer given the challenge to train and demo a person re-identification model for use in security footage. The goal was very simple: train an ML model that can re-identify individuals with high precision. The data collection, model training, and parameter tuning were all very complicated. While Verkada had proprietary datasets, they were used for object tracking models and had no information about individuals appearing in multiple videos. Since the purpose of the model was to identify people across different backgrounds, this was the most crucial information. However, labelling this data is very time intensive due to the need to check every person that comes across a video. As such, we ran an off the shelf model first to gather some results before sending suggestions to labellers to annotate. We also iteratively did this for testing data. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "My current project at Roblox is very self-coordinated and requires a high degree of leadership. As the sole developer on a customer facing feature, I work with a product designer and manager to deliver the feature. While all three parties in this feature have fair say, I am most heavily involved in this project as the sole developer. \nThis situation is unique because as an intern, I have the opportunity to take ownership over the project. I've demonstrated strong leadership in the time that I've been here by being the one to present problems, organize meetings, and establish business needs for the future of the project. l also coordinate responsibilities and areas of ownership for each party, for example deciding whether problems should fall under engineering, product, or design's jurisdiction when it belongs under a gray area. I've become a much better communicator during my time here and really enjoy the responsibility!" - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "There are so many products I really enjoy, but if I had to pick one to write about for a thousand characters it would be the Android weather app. There are so many choices involved in making a good weather app and I think that the Android one gets a lot of these choices right. First, there's the problem of choosing what information to display. You can't simply put everything on the screen, because the abundance of information would overwhelm the user and create an unintuitive UI. The Android app solves this by putting hiding detailed information behind dropdowns and icons. At a glance, the app has a pleasant design and answers all the pressing questions, which for me is the current temperature, hourly forecast, and a weekly forecast that splits up the day by morning, day, and night (this may be different for each user). \nThis seems so mundane but I've seen so many apps that get this wrong! While it's already great, it could definitely add a fully customizable experience." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is urban planning! I feel like this isn't the most glorious or perhaps even pressing cause, but I strongly support urban planning that caters towards all forms of transportation and not just cars :) \nThis is important to me because I believe that the design of the places we live has such a big impact on the way that we live. You see car-centric infrastructure everywhere: from the excitement surrounding one's \"first car\" to the quiet playgrounds and empty streets of suburban neighborhoods. I believe that city planning should promote human interaction and a sense of community, which is unfortunately failing in many North American cities. This includes the one I grew up in (Toronto), and is why I am so passionate about it!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be a part of the UW Computer Science club community! The club (and it's affiliates) have been an important part of my undergraduate experience and I'm proud of my contributions to date. I began as a mentee gathering knowledge from upper years, but slowly transitioned to a mentor and a regular resume / mock interview critiquer. I've been doing the bootcamp for the last three terms as a mentor and I really enjoy helping others just like the community has helped me. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I listened to a lot of music over the pandemic and felt inspired to sing. At that time I had already played guitar for a few years and felt that I could make some really cool sounds if I was a competent singer. It ended up being a really fun way to pass the time outside of the typically Waterloo school/co-op cycle!\nI bring up singing as an example because the skills required for singing are really different than typical skills that can be mastered through repetition. I believe that singing is more like a series of \"Aha!\" moments rather than a gradual slope of improvement. I adjusted my approach to this skill by keeping this in mind, preventing frustration and understanding the nature of the problem. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688021891435 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "kkabdi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Khali", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Abdi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Chemical Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F460de780-658b-444b-838a-c09e22e61450?alt=media&token=40ef8ce2-e29d-40e8-bd9e-dbc12d8d12c2", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I prefer to use research methods such as user interviews, surveys and questionnaires, card sorting, diary studies, and user persona creation. I would say my main methods of expertise are user persona creation, surveys, and user interviews. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "Right now I would say my favorite product is Miro. During my last coop, I worked as an internal consultant focused on a Voice of the Customer project. I conducted UX research and interviews through that tool and during meetings it increased productivity by a vast amount. The tool made it easy to identify potential trigger points and apply solutions. It was also a great tool for customer and user journey mapping. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I think with the pandemic and the current recession going on, lack of equal employment and educational opportunities for marginalized groups. Students in low-income areas have a very low chance of getting into top schools that provide great opportunities. It's not that their they don't have the skills, the playing field isn't leveled from the start. Coming into the school the lack of representation of various ethnic groups is evident every day. Today, especially with the recent decision of affirmative action made by the U.S supreme court, it's important to find ways to combat this issue. Representation matters, as serve as a beacon of hope and encouragement for individuals who aspire to follow in the same footsteps. I currently assist in expanding the school's outreach and I stumbled on BP's Project READ Literacy Network, which aims to streamline outreach and operations for the project. I want to work to strengthen this function on a larger scale because of the multiple applications.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am the President of our school's National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter. I joined during my first term on campus, my 2A term and I enjoyed that from the start I knew and felt I had a place there. Our vision statement promotes the academic, professional, and wellness of aspiring young black engineers. Currently, I am working on expanding our reach to young black STEM-based students as they could benefit from what's provided to our members. A few initiatives I've worked on during my tenure include sponsorship events (collaboration with Toyota, Google, and Bloomberg), mentorship opportunities, and first-year wellness events. I am proud to be a part of NSBE because I truly believe representation matters at all levels of academia. The percentage of graduating black students in the faculty is approximately 2% and the work done in the society hopes to change that. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my third coop term, I worked as a Software Engineering Research Assistant working to develop a web application used by high-emitting oil and gas to track their carbon emissions. Since the company was a startup, we were tasked with picking up on any skill sets needed to facilitate a successful project kickoff. Here, I was exposed to UX/UI tasks that I completed and had the chance to explore. When learning UX/UI principles I tried to understand the theory without a specific industry in mind to strengthen my understanding and application. I practiced creating mockups and user interviews for side projects I was interested in and pursued coop placements in this field after that. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688145311687 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "a26su@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Adeline", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Su", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science Business Administration Double Degree", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F486af2ac-117e-4426-920e-6c61ca79efe1?alt=media&token=966015d8-1371-4039-baf4-910c680c8138", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "response-specified": "", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my job as a Data Engineer and BI intern, I was tasked with creating a Pipeline Forecasting report which involved the field Renewal AcceptedDate from the business stakeholders. This proved to be difficult since I needed to draw data from the Audit Trail, which was a huge historical database and was largely unorganized. I first approached this issue by meeting with the business analyst and senior data engineer on my team who were more experience working with the vSQL09 database on a CTC business level. After gathering the specific technical requirements such as documentation on metadata, I started investigating the existing code to modify. I ended up learning more about advanced SQL functions like pivoting, partitioning, and the row_number() function by exploring existing code written by principal data engineer and implementing it. I created test cases individually, then with team members to validate my data. Finally the production report was shared and approved by stakeholders.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "I have co-founded a youth organization, Project Terra, to battle fast fashion consumption and textile waste by educating youth and adolescents in middle to highschool on the impact of fast fashion on the environment, and innovative ways to stay stylish. This two year long endeavour involved four major events held at local schools. At first, I endeavoured to organize the executive team of 10 other students to gather research, resources, and a social media presence (@project__terra). For the first event, we emphasized reaching out to sponsors, and got a $200 sponsorship from Plato’s Closet, as well as discounts from local bubble tea stores. I reached out to the principal at St. Justin Martyr CES to coordinate a time, location, and duration of the assembly with photographers. In the end, we reached out to 450 students and reduced short term textile waste by 34%. In the long term, we started a clothing donation event tradition at Bayview Secondary School, where each class donates clothing." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Toronto EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Mental Health support is a cause that resonated with me. Being in a strict academic environment, mental health is an element of everyday life that often gets overlooked with heavy stigma and a general lack of understanding. I believe providing awareness is the first step towards addressing these deeply rooted issues. From 2019 to 2022, I was a member of my highschool's Mental Health Club executive team, and was the President in my graduating year. Together with the team, we put on fun yet informative events to provide support while working with school administration (for example, Mystery of the Mummy, Break the Stigma, Bell Let's Talk Day, Therapy Dogs). These events got positive turnout, which made me proud to support a cause that resonated with me so much." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am part of is Women in STEM. My friends and I had noticed that, as we began searching for summer internships, our weekends have been spent exploring the workforce and scouring for the faintest information on a company’s culture. Despiting seeing plenty about work hours and the overall atmosphere, there is little shared about the unique experiences and challenges women face while being a minority within STEM-based industries. Our team recognized the lack of female-oriented resources for women entering STEM-based industries which is why we created WiSdom, a platform allowing Women in STEM to gain wisdom and confidence in their career choices. Our frontend was developed using React.js, HTML and CSS, with the backend in Python, using webscraped data (using Beautiful Soup and Requests) connecting to Google Firebase.\nI believe this supported female students as they made the transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into a new chapter in the workforce." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "After the pandemic, I was inspired by the widespread travel trends to create a web application that my fellow students could use. “That-Vacay” is a side project done in ReactJS and Python, with Bootstrap and Flask which tracks expenses and optimizes money transfer routes between a group of users while keeping track of transactions and user balances. My team also built a RESTful API to handle transactions, transfers, and spendings to a SQL database.\nThe project had a steep learning curve – I taught myself how to code in React and Python, how to build APIs and how to work with frameworks and libraries like Flask, Bootstrap, and Postman. I found working as a team member to be deeply satisfying; I enjoyed the process of bouncing ideas off of each other, and seeing our joint ideas come to life together! Most of all, I am proud of the project, I surprised myself in that I wanted to keep working on it, extending and improving it beyond its completion!\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688616155268 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "ah4ahmed@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Ahmed", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ahmed", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F494d0e98-c1dc-4629-a8fc-ae0a4a304151?alt=media&token=2ebf8ab9-c1ef-4c70-b6c9-a5ef3664ffa5", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "To be honest, my favorite product is not just a single product, it is the Apple ecosystem, all of Apple's products. The way Apple designs all its products and gives users the ability to fully integrate their whole life within this system is amazing. The ability to access all or most of your data from any Apple device that you own makes their products that much better. Furthermore, apple has very minimalistic designs that grab the user's attention, ranging from the UI of their apps to the hardware design for all their products it is just an overall great user experience. If I had to choose one product it would also have to be the MacOS. the Mac operating system in my opinion is miles ahead of Windows. Ranging from user experience to security and privacy, to developer-friendly environment, and integration with the ecosystem. It's an amazing product as a whole, that from my experience has its users yearning for more products like MacOS and not willing to switch from the ecosystem." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Optimization is key when developing industry-level software. throughout my current co-op, a colleague and I had to develop a page to showcase many photos in an organized manner, with many links that route to the task pages that the photos were part of. We first ran into an issue where the data being fetched from the database was very slow as too many calls were made every time the page was loaded. So to first approach this problem we talked amongst each other while researching and using resources such as reading documentation, StackOverflow, etc. When we reached a dead end we reached out to the developer who developed all the code for querying through the data, to help us better understand his thought process when he wrote the code. This talk gave us a better understanding of the code base and a better idea of where to start. After having the talk we were able to optimize the code to better grab data from the database through information from online resources and the senior developers.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Imagine growing old and finding yourself in a poorly kept long-term care home with horrible living conditions. That is the reality of many older adults in Ontario. I have volunteered at Schlegel villages, a long-term care home in waterloo. I've had the great opportunity of spending a lot of time with the residents there and they have been blessed with great living conditions and many staff and volunteers. Since working there I've heard many stories from the staff there about other long-term care homes in the province and how they are not well run. Many older adults specifically ones with dementia struggle a lot in such places. This really intrigued me and I really wanted to pinpoint the cause of this as it was a great learning opportunity. I was able to attend the \"Living the dementia journey\" event as this would help me dig deeper within this realm and maybe even be more helpful to the adults I interact with that do have dementia.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "\"Every journey begins with a single step. One act of service, one encouraging word, one gift of generosity is often all it takes to bring hope where it’s needed most. (Lions Club)\" Being part of Kitchener Leo's club in high school and the Lions Club for my first year of University really taught me what being part of a community is. The leo's gave me the ability to volunteer and serve my community in many different events such as setting up and running Kitchener's annual Santa parade, where I was able to see many families come out after being locked inside for covid and enjoy time with their families. It really showed me the power of community. We also volunteered for the Nutrition for Learning program, serving 23,000 lunches daily throughout schools in the WRDSB region. So being part of Leo's community redefined what community is to me and that if we all work together we can make a difference." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently really got into bouldering during my past two co-ops. It was a completely different sport than the ones I've been part of throughout my life and required much more problem-solving than expected. It really combined my love for sports and exercise with problem-solving, as every time I attempt a route (also known as a problem) I have to think about my approach before giving it a go. My approach to properly learning how to boulder and understanding the different techniques was exactly how I approach a lot of problems or new things in my life. Firstly, I went and learned from my friends who have been climbing for years. I also did research online and watched many professionals on youtube. Finally, I went to a beginner's lesson when I first started so that I can have the basics down and build more on the fundamentals as I became more experienced. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688615455627 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "otychan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "External Director", - "firstName": "Olivia", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Chan", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science(UW) and Business (WLU)", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4a15c806-0bf1-4df8-aba9-f14950456e93?alt=media&token=47a617bf-33bc-4bcf-b214-df0a1dbad9bf", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "I think Blueprint should create a 2-week bootcamp for students before they enter their first year of university to help them understand their potential in technology and how achievable their goals can be. It’s frustrating to have the vision for change without the means to do so but with this event, Blueprint could help navigate future leaders and accelerate their journey towards success. When Blueprint helps more people become capable of creating solutions, more solutions are created with an even wider impact. The first year of university can be demoralizing for many students leading them to lose their initial interest but with this bootcamp you can help students have a stronger start to their term. This event aligns with Blueprint’s other goals of encouraging learning and promoting a team culture as students would receive support before they even set foot on campus. As it easily aligns with Blueprint’s goals I believe this is a promising event.\n" - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "At the beginning of the term I would have a discussion with the VP Trifecta to gain a solid understanding of what the group is currently capable of and what individuals are looking to grow upon from past experiences. Through this discussion I would be able to gauge how realistically a non-profit's goal may be fulfilled and if it is beneficial for the group to pursue. Next, I would speak with the co-Presidents to ensure I understand Blueprint's overarching goals for the term and from these discussions I would have gained the most important information needed to inform my decisions and any gaps left behind should be small enough to be filled with my judgement. I would chose NPO’s that reflect needs that are most urgent at the time. Projects chosen by Blueprint reflect the organisation’s values to the public eye and if the organisation is to maintain its reputation as being reliable at times of need we can not turn a blind eye to the largest issues which stand directly in front of us. " - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based out of EST." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "hEr VOLUTION is a Toronto-Based organisation that strives to create opportunities in STEM-related fields for young women and gender non-conforming youth in underserved communities. As a woman of colour pursuing a career in STEM I understand the struggles that accompany my background. In just my first year of university I distinctly remember being the only girl in group projects for male-dominated classes several times and constantly having to work harder to be taken seriously. These experiences among many others lead me to support groups like hEr VOLUTION as they effortlessly resonate with my personal story. Doina Oncel, the founder of this cause, comes from a family of immigrants and grew up in a low-income household; despite all of this she leads a successful career and has opened pathways for millions like herself. She represents who I would want to be in the future keeping in mind that irrespective of personal success I must strive to be the change I wish to see in the world. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the City of Markham community. Markham is a vibrant city with a diverse population, constantly striving to be a more inclusive environment for its ever-growing population. When I was 12 I joined my first youth council and discovered community leaders who created noticeable impact against issues concerning youth which sparked my passion for social change. The following year I joined the Markham Mayor’s Youth Council (MMYC), an official advisory committee of Markham’s municipal government. I dedicated every free hour of my time for the next 5 years of my life to this committee, actively planning events that tackled community issues, speaking at conferences, and meeting with city officials in an advocacy role. Later I became co-chair and was able to steer MMYC and its divisions toward my vision of change throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope that with Blueprint I will be able to generate even more social good for an even larger community. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I was 5 I was interested in piano and started taking classes. They taught me technique and discipline but when coupled with curiosity, ignited a passion in music. Wanting to direct my ambitions I regularly participated in competitions from which I gained confidence in public settings, the ability to work under pressure, and deep creativity all of which positively impacted other aspects of my life. When I am passionate about a topic I focus all my energy on the cause. As such, every summer I spent at least 5 hours a day preparing for exams but eventually, I started burning out. I connected with other musicians and gained new perspectives allowing me to quickly overcome my struggles. My spark reignited and I can now play piano at the highest level (ARCT) along with other instruments, even gaining experience in conducting. I dedicate myself to a wide range of interests with accompanying skills but with anything I pick up, I make sure to achieve its fullest potential. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688613962359 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "a3hadi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Abdullah", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Hadi", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4b2227a6-5a9a-4405-b92c-17aa25de0f6a?alt=media&token=89189385-678b-4ed1-ade4-511505682013", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "An interesting technical problem I have worked on was during one of my past co-op placements. The platform I was working on is for secure file sharing, and so all generated files are encrypted. However, upon monitoring the celery logs while exporting a pdf I recognized that the compute_hash function on the file was being called twice instead of just once. Originally, my approach involved adding a new field to the files model and manipulating it in the relevant functions. However since it’s a huge table it requires about 20 minutes to copy over which was inefficient. After some deliberation I decided instead to use the python client for redis. This was my first time using it and my approach was to store the slug as a key and the hashed id as the associated value, and to delete it once the task was finished running. Overall, it was very interesting to see how much faster an in-memory data structure was then traditional SQL for updating real-time data. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Causes and organizations that truly resonate with me are ones that aim to give opportunities to individuals who come from less fortunate circumstances. Whether this be scholarships or tutoring sessions, I think that providing these opportunities is crucial in helping people develop skills and learn new things that they may otherwise never have had the chance to. Personally, coming from a low income background, I know first hand that if it were not for the mentorship and chances provided to me through these types of organizations, I wouldn’t be where I am today. As a result, ever since high school I have always tried to volunteer for organizations with goals that are in line with these principles of giving back. These would range from food drives to programming workshops. I recently became aware of UW Blueprint, and its goal of using technology to promote public welfare is something that I really believe in, and hope to continue to do long after I have graduated. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am proud to be a part of is the muslim community. Growing up in a muslim household, it is a community that I have learned a lot from and formed some of my closest friendships in. Over the years, volunteering at the local mosque, fundraising for the humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria, and playing soccer and attending BBQs with the muslim youth group, have all contributed to some of my fondest memories. The recent surge in islamophobia, only serves to strengthen the sense of community I feel as I know that one way we can combat these types of systemic issues is through solidarity, much like many of the others we face to this day such as racism, homophobia, and transphobia. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time where I learned a new skill was in my first year of university, two weeks before my first co-op placement would begin. Although I had received the job offer, there were some parts of the tech stack of which I was unfamiliar with. Thus, before my internship began, I asked for some review material from my supervisor. My motivation to learn was to be more prepared for when I started and to just overall feel somewhat comfortable with the technologies I would be using for the next several months. My approach was to review a bit of information pertaining to the technology I was unfamiliar with everyday for the first week, and then to do a mini project with the technology for the second week. Overall, this process resulted in me being a little more confident on my first day. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1687801274906 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "a735sing@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Amya", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Singhal", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4be2467d-2757-47a1-92cc-d3cf5e5b40a8?alt=media&token=e6edc897-02e1-400d-a27b-f78ae7ed5822", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "One of my leadership experiences have been working at Wat AI, one of the design teams in the University of Waterloo as the Technical Product Manager and Machine Learning Developer. I led a team of 6 people to build the project Reinforcement Learning Chess Engine. I was responsible for the following tasks there:\n1. Creating a detailed plan for the project\n2. Organising weekly meetings\n3. Assigning tasks and reviewing their work/code before merging into main codebase\n4. Dealing with conflicts within the team\n5. Helping with concepts they felt stuck on and providing useful resources to learn\nHere, I was able to combine my technical and leadership skills to complete the task with a hardworking team. If given the opportunity, I want to do the same at Blueprint." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "While working at Geotab, I had one technical challenge where my ticket was giving error on the integration tests when all the unit tests were passing. The method I implemented(C) was using 2 other methods(A, B) which had database calls, and C was using the data and manipulating it to give the expected result. \nMy approach:\n1. Go on tack overflow and other online resources to figure out what the error was, but that didn’t help much\n2. Then I tried to backtrack my git commits to see if I could catch where exactly the issue was happening. \n3. Then I tried to use the debugging tool in the rider IDE which one of the senior developers explained me how to use in one of our pair programming sessions. This helped me realise that the order I was trying to make the database calls was incorrect which was then an easy fix.\nIf I still didn't find the solution, I would have texted the team group chat to ask if anyone else knew that error and could help.\nThis is how I deal with a technical problem.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "As a girl born and brought up in India, I have gone through the emotions of feeling unsafe while walking alone in public spaces, with people staring at me. \nJoining the Girl-Up Faridabad NGO as the Head of Initiatives team, I got an opportunity to be around other people who had a will to stand against gender discrimination. We as a team used to organise sanitary pad distribution drives, menstrual health awareness talks, and many more. After that, I co-founded the Women in Tech club in my high school where my team and I organised tech events including Ideation Hackathons, Networking events with school alumni working in big tech companies, and providing constant support for girls wanting to choose Tech-based fields as their career path.\nAll these experiences are valuable for me because I could stand for the cause of having equal opportunities for women. And, this is the cause I resonate with. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "One community that I have been a part of for the past one year in the gym community. I decided to do this when I was in the bad vicious cycle of eating unhealthy, no physical exercise, body dysmorphia, and feeling sad. But once, I got out of my house and took that step to be consistent no matter what, it turned from a pain to the fun part of my day. This was possible because of the friends I found in the gym who motivated me just by being present. This also pushed me to start other physical activities like rock climbing, going on runs, playing badminton. The way I try to contribute to the gym community is just by being a positive person not making anyone feel uncomfortable, and motivating my friends to get in the habit of gym or any form of exercise. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "The skill I learned in Machine Learning and Computer Vision. I started out by extensively studying relevant online resources and watching youtube videos.\nAfter that, I started learning the programming perspective of the concept. I did the courses Python, Intro to Machine Learning, and Pandas from Kaggle ands Neural Networks and Deep Learning Specialisation by Deep Learning.ai. After having a proper understanding of the concepts, I worked on a few side projects like ice-skating predictive model and a human emotion object detection model. I also worked at Watonomous and Wat A.I on different Machine Learning and Computer Vision projects.\nMy learning approach can be summarised in three steps: 1) Familiarise myself with the skill by reading articles and watching youtube videos 2) Completing courses on Coursera, Linkedin, Udemy, Kaggle 3) Working on a real-life project to apply the skill I learned/ find other people with same passion for that skill and work and learn with them" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688087282148 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "patrick.huynh@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Patrick", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Huynh", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4c94be41-e1e2-4535-886f-958048ae0519?alt=media&token=58163cba-6bd4-4bb5-8d8a-af067c36a4fd", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In my most recent work term, I was tasked with completing a computer vision problem that involved a self driving robot. The goal was to make the robot remember where objects were, even when something blocks it. This was an incredibly hard task that required an in-house solution considering the hardware and capabilities of the robot. To solve the problem, I needed a fundamental understanding of how depth cameras interpret a 3D environment. After a lot of research, a solution was carefully crafted by breaking the initial problem into a series of subproblems. Solving each one individually allowed me to conquer the task more effectively as it allowed me to focus on one thing at a time. Collectively combining the solutions of the subproblems and integrating it with the robot took some time but it eventually worked out and allowed me to successfully complete the task. Solving the problem and seeing its immediate impact is so rewarding and that is what drives me to become a better developer.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is my pair of AirPods. I cannot go anywhere without them because they completely change the experience of my day-to-day life. The convenience they offer allows me to disconnect from the outside world and listen to music that completely changes my mood. Although it is the music that is the most impactful, it is AirPods that enable me to bridge the connection to my music which goes a long way in influencing the outcome of my day. In the absence of this product, it would be tremendously hard to go about my day because they offer so much value in what they do." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "This non-profit organization utilizes the power of technology to create products and services purely for the benefit of social good. This might sound familiar because that organization is actually Blueprint. This cause has put in tremendous efforts to develop creative tech solutions in order to promote social welfare. What captivates me most is that Blueprint offers benefits for all the parties involved. They enable students to learn, connect, and grow and the projects being worked on go a long way in benefitting the clients. Learning about this recently is a big reason why I’m applying to Blueprint now, had I known it existed earlier, I would have applied. It’s truly amazing to see a platform where both parties can benefit in this symbiosis relationship to create exceptional products and services. I feel that Blueprint’s goals and values align perfectly with mine and I hope that I’m able to join and make a meaningful and everlasting impact." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I was an executive of the Senior Programming Club (SPC) that aimed to teach and mentor individuals that wanted to learn more about programming principles and concepts. The club consisted of weekly meetings that introduced fun and exciting programming concepts that featured explanations, real-life examples, sample code, and practice exercises that would challenge all levels of difficulty. My role as a part of SPC was to facilitate the weekly events by coming up with new ideas for programming topics and finalizing content prior to the meetings. Being a part of this club was really nice because it allowed for a lot of flexibility of what content was being presented and it allowed me to deliver to an audience that may not be well versed in programming. It's truly amazing to see individuals come in with minimal knowledge and leave with an improved or new understanding of programming concepts that they didn't have before." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In my most previous work term, my supervisor was having a very tedious time going through all the resumes that were submitted as a part of their recruitment process. The problem was that there were too many junk resumes in the sense that they did not have any relevant experience for the position. As such, I set out to find an automated solution that would essentially reduce the number of resumes that my supervisor would have to review. As a part of this endeavor, I learned Python through a series of online courses and external resources to create a script that would parse resumes and filter them out if they did not meet a certain criteria. I presented the final program to my supervisor and we both worked together to get it setup and ran it through the first batch of resumes. It successfully filtered out the junk resumes and left only the ones that were relevant for the position. It was incredible to see how such a simple program can make someone's life tremendously easier." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688523928160 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "souryapenneru@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sourya", - "heardFrom": "Events", - "lastName": "Penneru", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4ccba80e-0542-48a6-86b4-9432fc683c5f?alt=media&token=000ef5c1-3395-4128-8d36-88ee1398e9a6", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my co-op which I am currently on here at Manulife, I was immediately introduced to the concept of policies which are company-defined notions that are in place whenever cyberattacks or violations occur. During a power outage at the Toronto office, there was a communication mishap with the Cloud Engineering and Cloud Security (my team) teams as the Cloud Source platform we share, Prisma Palo Alto Networks was not registered for offline mobile data usage and we did not have a policy set in place. Being largely unfamiliar with the new environment, the ticketing process, and company communication guidelines, I found myself looking for help, with minimal sources. With not many choices left, I was able to quickly learn KQL and familiarize with Terraform to deploy a mobile network connection policy that would see past a given GCZ firewall to accept mobile connections for our Prisma subscription. Although my solution was not immediate, it impressed my colleagues and definitely myself!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "In addition to my leadership initiatives as mentioned above, I interned as a Project Coordinator for a private pharmaceutical company in Mississauga known as Pharmaline Inc. With many of the hires being international Indian students on a study VISA permit, there were many communication challenges and cultural shifts in the workplace. Although me, being an intern, not having the authority to directly lead them, I consistently was on the floor of the plant and shipment operations vocally encouraging and leading them in their daily packing work. I was able to bridge the gap between these new student workers and the current colleagues to motivate and gauge a strong and uplifting work environment, in addition the reporting, business, and technical work I was already doing within the position. This experience really benefitted me as it helped me realize how to be adaptable and step up in unchartered settings, especially corporate ones." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I have most recently had a lot of connection with Parkinson's disease and other medical complications throughout my family that resulted in my grandfather and several other family members passing away over the last several years. Coming from a family in India, with not much knowledge and experience with advancing technical aid and medical expertise, it is becoming increasingly harder to communicate with my extended family especially when it comes to trying to inform them on guidance to stay healthy and safe. Whether it be a language barrier, poor connection, or the divide in medical understanding, there are many unwarranted issues that are present that damage the simple and loving process of taking care of your loved ones, and I can only imagine the situation for those at UW with me with their families across the world. As such, medically communicative initiatives are those I really resonate with and am strongly passionate about creating a change for. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I really cherish the time I spend with the Hindu Heritage Disability community back home in Mississauga. Being a religious Hindu myself, it pains me to see people with anything from physical disabilities and chronic illness to mental health and depression scale issues, not being able to pray, attend the temple, or question their faith. My motivation to contribute to this community was to enable everyone to feel the blessing that is religion, especially the Hindu religion, and so have contributed with my advocacy and luckily technical expertise to raise more awareness for these people. From simply developing the extension of the Temple's site to follow-through instructions for disabilities, engage in online and real-time marketing with district wards, and being active in aiding physically incapable devotees at the temple site, I am truly proud to be giving back to the Hindu community at home!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "While I could mention my journey in learning the technical skills I faced challenges with, one that has taught me more than what I could ever learn from coding is the adaptability of conflict resolution, something I have done fairly recently. As an intern on my first co-op term, I was always seen to be quiet and a head-down-do-work type of employee. I of course am not as respected in the regards of my seniors and thus am not leading meetings and such as much. However, I always wanted to be more outgoing in the workplace to see if I can learn more from speaking and communicating with others. Thus, after reaching out to my manager, I was given a co-lead access to hold \"conflict resolution\" meetings with my cloud team. Even though I most definitely did not have the technical expertise as much as they did to understand the depths of the meetings, I served as a leader and intermediary for my team to express their thoughts and concerns in the workplace, really expanding my collaboration. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687901410410 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "a4haque@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Mohammad Ahrazul", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Haque", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Mathematics", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4f303b7a-72d1-4dd9-9b63-12473ffaad25?alt=media&token=284b063e-0f2e-445b-8b34-4995926a2893", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Recently I worked on a collaborative project using Swift, Solidity, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS in a blockchain hackathon. The project was to create an application where the user would be able to mine cryptocurrency through exercising (walking, jogging, or cycling) on a specific route determined by the ad-spend of the retail presences on that path. This was challenging to us as we had never worked on blockchain and web3 and solidity were completely new to us. We learned the concepts of web3 development by talking to the sponsors and ended up implementing a solution for our idea which did not lead us to a win but took us through an amazing learning experience. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "The form of research that I find myself using the most is experimental research. I prefer delving deep into the topic that I am researching and making sure that I have a very deep understanding of it. The method I find most effective in achieving this is experimental research as it enables me to get hands-on experience with the topic of research which helps in building up an intuition about it. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Time (Time in Waterloo Regional Municipality)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Being brought up in Bangladesh, a current world problem that bothers me is overpopulation, and with it comes a cause that I strive to solve. While it may not seem like much of a problem in Canada, it is a significant issue in third-world countries and this was one of the first problems that my best friend from high school and I promised each other to solve together when we grew up. While our paths have deviated quite a lot (residing on different continents currently), my affinity toward solving this problem still persists. Although ambitious, the way my friend and I dreamed of tackling this issue was to make interplanetary explorations a feasible reality. It might be a solution far away in the future or not but I promised someone very important to be part of that journey and that will always power me through whatever hurdles I face on my way to achieve that goal. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As an event manager for the Green World Earth Club (GWEC), I was able to facilitate campaigns to promote the cleanliness of our environment and surroundings in general. As a club, we held cleaning campaigns for the roads of Bangladesh and educated the young minds and general population to be more aware of our duties to the environment as human beings. This is definitely a movement I am proud to be a part of and it shows in the fact that I remain active as an alumni advisor although my high school days are well past. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "The earliest skill I learned completely on my own was solving the Rubik's cube. It may not be a groundbreaking skill but was definitely helpful in teaching me how to learn something by myself. My motivation to learn to solve the Rubik's cube was to participate in a fast-cubing competition in my high school as I was trying to join the mathematics club there. Although the cause might not seem disruptive, it did motivate me quite a bit and powered me through hours of content on youtube until I was finally able to get my time consistently under 30 seconds. To put the cherry on top, I did become an executive at the mathematics club in the later years of high school." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687150201540 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "s46hasan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Shaheer", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Hasan", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F50390329-c497-4e86-b523-0520f0fecffa?alt=media&token=a26c721f-832f-4776-85e6-a51bbe9e317b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Other:", - "Mobile" - ], - "response-specified": "Cloud/Infrastructure (falls under backend)", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem I faced was optimizing a slow mobile application with high message load during usage. I analyzed performance, identified the bugs (or potential problems), and then brainstormed potential solutions (while comparing their pros and cons). Eventually, I reduced network requests through creating a new message routing scheme in the backend. I also refactored code to improve the readability from previous iteration, as well as implemented efficient algorithms to perform message handling. I also made sure to extensively test my solution with many edge cases to ensure I did indeed solve the original technical problem. This experience highlighted the importance of a systematic approach, collaboration, and continuous monitoring for sustainable performance improvements. Through my experiences, I have learned a lot on how to debug a problem and backtrace it to find the root cause of the issue. From there, I am able to assess the problem further & create a solution!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be working in EST (local) timezone. Thus, there should be no issue when it comes to that :)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates deeply with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. As our world faces pressing challenges such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity, it is crucial for us to take action to protect and restore our environment. Growing up in this society, I have been able to witness the fast deterioration of the climate (ex. the mass wildfires polluting the air). I want to find a way to use my technical skillset to help combat this, so that future generations can live in a stable environment they can strive in. A project that caught my eye is Plastic for Change, I truly admired how we were able to combine data engineering and development to help solve pollution. This relates with the cause I mentioned, and further inspires me to join Blueprint where we have already achieved solutions similar to what I would like to do. It is astonishing to see how we've used software to innovate solutions to social causes and I'd love to help!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Being a second-generation Canadian, I grew up immersed in a multi-cultural environment. I am proud of my Pakistani heritage and have grown up going to local markets owned by fellow immigrants. However, during the pandemic I could not along with many others and as a result, these small businesses suffered heavily. I was indirectly affected by this as I care for the owners of these businesses and wanted to help somehow. To help alleviate the pressure placed upon them, I co-founded a startup which bought product off of them then revamped it into mystery boxes which we would sell and distribute to our own customer-base. It was a win-win situation as we helped these businesses make profit in a rough time while making some profit ourselves. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and how to run a business from end-to-end while feeling good about being able to help my community. Blueprint will enable me to be in a similar win-win situation where we grow while contributing to a good cause." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Although technical skills are always great to learn, soft-skills are equally important (IMO). A time I learned a new skill is back in high school when I played competitive soccer. I used to play up top and would love to just what I was comfortable with. However, there were times my coaches would need me to drop back and play different positions for the team to succeed. I really disliked doing it at the start but by the end I gained a lot of invaluable perspective. I learned how to be adaptable and be able to sacrifice your own needs in order for the team to succeed. Since then, I have carried this mentality into other ventures such as my co-ops, clubs, and other team settings in general. It has enabled a growth mindset within me which in turn has helped me become a great leader, and an overall asset in any team that I have been a part of. I hope to carry this leadership trait with me at Blueprint as we are continuously working with others. Hence, I know it will be beneficial for us!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688099251695 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "jvekariy@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Janavi", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Vekariya", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5225b076-a964-45bb-a89a-542f5682c04a?alt=media&token=a33a7d81-815b-4caa-aba0-c45063a6d36b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During the development of the Bookpedia app, I faced the challenge of working with rate-limited APIs. I reached out to my mentors and discussed to get a solution for the challenge I was facing. So, to overcome this, I implemented throttling to control the request rate, caching for faster responses, background updates to keep data fresh, error handling with retry logic, and performance optimizations for efficient search functionality. This ensured compliance with API limits and a smooth user experience.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that deeply resonates with me is assisting individuals in need. I have had the privilege of being part of an organization dedicated to supporting underprivileged individuals by providing them with essential resources such as food, clothing, and education. The experience has been incredibly rewarding, and I hold the moments spent helping others close to my heart. I cherish the opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives, and I am committed to continuing my involvement in similar initiatives in the future." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "\nI'm proud to be a part of the Donate4Needy community, an organization that I initiated during a hackathon. I took the opportunity to build the website for Donate4Needy during the event and continued refining it afterward. Within the community, we have organized numerous donation drives to provide essential items such as food and clothing to those in need. Additionally, we conducted a basic Python coding workshop for children, empowering them with foundational coding skills. Being able to contribute to Donate4Needy has been a fulfilling experience, as it allows me to make a tangible difference in the lives of individuals who require support and also provides opportunities for personal growth and skill development." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I wanted to build a entire web app myself. Java Script was the building block for achieving that goal because it can be used for both frontend and backend. Motivated by its widespread use and ability to run on multiple platforms, I embarked on learning JavaScript to bring interactivity and functionality to web pages. With a hands-on approach, I immersed myself in understanding JavaScript's syntax, data types, and control flow. Through practice and experimentation, I gained proficiency in manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM), handling events, and making asynchronous requests with AJAX and Fetch API. JavaScript's versatility extends beyond web development, allowing me to build cross-platform mobile applications using frameworks like React Native or create server-side applications with Node.js. Its flexibility and extensive library ecosystem continue to inspire me as I explore new horizons in the world of coding." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688582969086 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "e5kwon@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Ethan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kwon", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F52631954-abbf-4c74-947c-2d1141fdbe6d?alt=media&token=df8fdfd1-9cf9-43d9-bb52-0f962423d682", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During a hackathon, my team and I developed a web application that takes Spotify song links and places the user in a chat room based off of the link. During this project, I was having difficulty connecting our Google Firestore database with our chat box. After researching the problem online and looking at other examples, I was still unable to figure out the error. I decided to ask a mentor within the hackathon to help me with this and clearly defined the problem to him. With his assistance, I was able to solve the issue, however, it was not efficiently solved. When many messages were sent to the database, the chat feature would slow down and eventually break. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints, we were forced to use the inefficient solution in our project submission. After the hackathon, I reviewed my code and searched the internet to try to see a more efficient version of the chat feature and eventually found a better solution.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based out of the Central European timezone " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Many years ago, my grandmother experienced a life-altering car accident that inflicted lasting mental and physical trauma upon her. I have observed firsthand the immense anxiety she experiences when travelling in vehicles, as well as the persistent pain and injuries that continue to hinder her quality of life. This personal experience has deeply resonated with me and motivated my passion for researching artificial intelligence. My goal is to contribute to the development of a dependable automated driving system that can effectively prevent car accidents and provide assistance to individuals who face challenges in commuting. By leveraging the power of AI, I aspire to make a meaningful difference in enhancing road safety and improving accessibility for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in being a part of the University of Waterloo's Computer Science Club. As a remote student, I initially felt disconnected, but the club warmly embraced me. Transitioning from a member to a Community Representative, I actively fostered a positive atmosphere. My involvement in projects like the Internship Repository and club merchandise boosted engagement and fostered unity. Through active participation, I formed strong bonds and experienced a genuine sense of belonging. The club's unwavering support and inclusivity significantly enriched my university experience, igniting a passion within me to make meaningful contributions to communities. I am immensely grateful for the vibrant and supportive community I am fortunate to be a part of, and it continues to inspire me to create a positive impact wherever I find myself." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In high school, communication gaps plagued our student body due to missed morning announcements. To tackle this, my classmates and I aimed to develop an app that would display announcements and offer additional features. Recognizing our lack of app design expertise, I took it upon myself to learn graphic design software. Using online resources like YouTube tutorials, I acquired the necessary skills to contribute effectively. After months of dedicated work, I designed an app that was well-received by students, greatly improving communication. Learning a new skill enabled me to play a crucial role in our project, bridging the design gap and enhancing our high school community's connectivity." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688598550815 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "yy8wu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Roni", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Wu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F53068c17-8c4d-4031-bd9d-4c3372b0b7ab?alt=media&token=87196514-b432-49b8-a323-7cc3c15f252b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I get a lot of my inspiration from design websites like Dribbble, Pinterest, and Behance. Dribbble is particularly resourceful since I work on a variety of page types from blog posts to website front pages to class profile pages and there are a ton of modern designs on the platform for any design or page type to reference and take inspiration from. I also take feedback from other designers as useful sources of information to improve on my designs, as we all think differently and they may have useful advice from their perspectives that I haven't thought of. In addition, well-designed websites on the Internet are also great inspiration sources. For instance, I referenced 'azuki.com' (for the landing page) and 'deepmind.com' (for the blog page) as inspo when leading WATonomous' website redesign as we wanted a design that resonated with tech and an innovative design, one with an image of the WATO car as the front page and a transparent navigation bar." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Portfolio Link: https://snowy-juice-6d3.notion.site/Roni-s-portfolio-4827cccf39404cd0a1a65ffddcd09f40\n\nI recommend checking out my StudyBase and DrinkUp projects as I go through the whole UX design process for both of them. StudyBase is my most recent personal project and it was a rewarding, enriching learning experience. It's an app that allows students at the University of Waterloo to find study partners that suit their personal study habits/preferences. It was my second UX project and I learned a lot about the design process and relating pain points to features - designing an actual solution. I describe the process in detail in my portfolio.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Timezone: EDT" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the cause to increase arts integration in schools (especially elementary/middle school). I think art can play a positive part in everyone's life, since there's so many art topics - music, visual arts, dance, drama. Art also exercises creativity, which is essential. I find art to be a refreshing concept in this world, since we're moving towards a tech-dominated era that promotes more logical, analytical topics like math and software engineering. So it seems that art is getting forgotten along the way in newer generations. My brother, who's 8 years younger than me and in middle school right now, doesn't have a music class at school and receives fewer art assignments in art class. Thus, I strongly resonate with increasing the presence of art courses at schools, so children have the opportunity to explore these creative areas and potentially unlock new interests and hobbies." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I'm proud to be a part of is WATonomous. I've been the lead designer on the team since 2021 and have made pivotal contributions in the form of design, such as redesigning their color scheme, leading the redesign of the website, and creating multiple graphic design assets such as a banner, brochure, and sponsorship package. I'm really proud of being there since WATonomous prospered in the past due to constantly participating in competitions. However, there aren't that many competitions nowadays to participate in, but we're still going strong in new directions, like research projects and finding new, innovative ways to improve autonomous vehicle capabilities. I'm glad I can contribute to this exceptional cause and work alongside perseverant and intelligent peers, as they inspire me to grow as an individual. Being a part of a team that revolves around a car that's continuously improving is also like raising a child, which I'm proud of." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I learned a new skill was learning how to use Adobe Illustrator to create a vector art design for a T-Shirt contest. My approach was to first sketch out my design using pencil and paper and assign colors to different parts. Then, I watched an intro Illustrator tutorial to learn the basics and started using the app. When I got to a part of the design that was difficult to create using my current Illustrator knowledge, I swapped over to googling and watching videos. Examples of such challenges would be cutting shapes and connecting pen tool lines. Then, I tried to create those parts myself, and further research if necessary. My general approach is to use the knowledge I have from previous foundations. If I get stuck, do research and repeat applying new knowledge until the desired result is achieved." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688146936658 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "pexie@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Eric", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Xie", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5488af2b-d32e-42fc-9544-91e5372b138f?alt=media&token=9b7c85df-ea21-46ac-9ae4-cf3dc079f7a0", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my previous co-op experiences, I encountered a significant technical problem related to dependency issues in our Python programs. The program was not running consistently on different machines due to variations in the versions of the packages and libraries it relied upon. \n\nTo address this problem, I realized that a standardized approach to managing dependencies was crucial. Everyone on the team needed to work in the same development environment to ensure consistency across machines. \n\nAfter conducting thorough research, I determined that implementing Anaconda would be the most effective solution to address the issues. Anaconda offers a comprehensive package and environment management system that allows developers to create isolated and reproducible environments. I was able to create a standardized development environment that included all the required dependencies and their versions. As a result, we're able to ensure that every machine is able to successfully run the program.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is promoting financial education for all individuals, regardless of their background, gender, or income level. I firmly believe that financial literacy is a fundamental life skill that empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their money, build a secure future, and break the cycle of financial vulnerability.\n\nAccess to financial education has long been a gatekept knowledge, often favouring those who are already privileged or have access to resources. This inequality perpetuates existing socio-economic disparities and hinders the financial well-being of marginalized communities.\n\nAs an inspiring software engineer, I believe that the intersection of technology and social impact is a powerful force for positive change. Through innovative platforms, mobile applications, and online resources, we can make financial literacy more engaging, accessible, and tailored to different audiences. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the ECE engineering community at the University of Waterloo. Being surrounded by like-minded individuals who share a passion for engineering and technology has had a profound impact on my personal and academic growth.\n\nOne way I have contributed to the ECE engineering community is by organizing study sessions before exams. Recognizing the challenges and pressures that come with rigorous coursework, I took the initiative to bring students together to support one another. These study sessions provided a collaborative and supportive environment for students to review challenging topics, clarify doubts, and share study resources.\n\nAdditionally, I organized social gatherings like movie nights in lecture halls that provided opportunities for students to connect, unwind, and build meaningful relationships. Through these social gatherings, I aimed to foster a supportive and inclusive environment where students could forge friendships and find a sense of belonging." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A skill that I recently picked up is web development. Websites play a crucial role in shaping user perceptions, and I wanted to develop the skills to help organizations enhance their online presence. Additionally, I was drawn to the design aspect and the ability to bring my imaginative ideas to life through digital products.\n\nMy approach involves a hands-on, project-based approach. Instead of relying solely on textbooks or tutorials, I sought out real-world problems and turned them into project ideas. This approach provided me with tangible goals, which fueled my eagerness to learn. I identified the specific technologies needed and then utilized online resources, documentation, and developer communities to learn the necessary concepts and techniques.\n\nThrough trial and error, I accumulated a wide range of web development skills and knowledge. This project-based learning approach not only enhanced my proficiency in the desired technologies but also provided me with hands-on experience." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687985485323 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "1yanjac@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jacob", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Yan", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F56a0f6fc-6c46-4c9f-82d5-7c935984f029?alt=media&token=b6c7b796-c881-422a-9aa4-0b27bb7439fa", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging problem that I have worked on involved modelling and predicting the behaviour of a stock using time series analysis. This was our project for a hackathon, developed in a team of 4. I was responsible for creating the algorithmic portion of the backend that would predict the future behaviour of the stock. The problem was difficult because it involved a lot of self-learning in math and statistics because of the unfamiliar methods used. I solved the problem using machine learning and the Fast Fourier Transform to model the stock and predict its behaviour. Our success in creating the project has inspired me to continue pursuing machine learning and artificial intelligence. \n\nOn a side note, I know Python, Java, C++, HTML, CSS, and am currently learning JavaScript and React.js.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT (GMT-4)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "In my senior year of high school, I was a Partnerships Executive for the Tech Under Twenty organization. We provided opportunities in technology for underrepresented communities, including hosting tech conferences, competitions, and creating a tech scholarship for BIPOC students historically underrepresented in the technological industry. This cause resonated with me because I had experienced cases where I witnessed my friends being discriminated by teachers in STEM classes based on their race. I joined Tech Under Twenty because I wanted to help students in similar situations break racial barriers and have access to more opportunities. I was primarily involved with contacting and maintaining relations with corporate sponsors, and coordinating guest speakers and judges for competitions and conferences. I believe that I have not only contributed to the community, but I have also helped myself in developing critical communication and leadership skills." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Throughout high school, I was a part of my school's mathematics club. In grade 10, I became an executive, and in grade 12, I became a co-president of the club. I am proud to be a part of the math club because of the community it brought me. Every Monday I would be looking forward to school ending so that I could be solving math problems together with the community. I contributed to the math club as an executive by creating weekly lessons, mock contests, and lesson outlines to help younger students develop problem solving skills. I also cofounded an in-school and a province-wide math contest, the latter of which had around 200 participants this year. Through my math club, I was able to meet many senior students whom I now look up to for inspiration and advice. I hope that UW Blueprint will bring me a similar community of peers and mentors as I begin my university education." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A new skill that I recently learned was cooking. Although there is not a very definitive ending for \"knowing\" cooking, I learned and practiced a plethora of dishes that would allow me to make my own food next year in university. My motivation for learning cooking is a bit comical- my (hopefully) roommate and I put suites with kitchens for our top 3 residence choices, but I don't like any of the dishes he knows how to cook :)\n\nMy approach for learning how to cook was to first observe how my parents cooked various dishes. I remembered a couple of dishes that I liked and asked my dad to teach me how to cook those dishes. Then, after guiding me through how to cook it once, I would practice cooking the dishes. I believe that my approach for learning how to cook could be applicable to learning computer science, and I believe that UW Blueprint would provide me with the perfect environment to do so. While learning from mentors, I could practice and develop my skills by working on a project." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688181850268 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "balnavsingh@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Navraj", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Bal", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F57ec0c2f-0b3b-4947-97ed-548159221408?alt=media&token=488230b2-a5a5-4cd8-aa57-2dbe5bd9cbe3", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In Hack The North 2021, my team and I built LINK UP, a 3D multiplayer office simulation with integrated voice and video chat. Built using Unity, Express.JS, Socket.io, and WebRTC, the project was an intricate blend of 3D gaming and real-time communication.\n\nThe primary challenge was ensuring real-time game state synchronization and chat functionality across multiple users. To solve this, we developed an Express.JS backend using Socket.io, ensuring all users experienced the same real-time game state. Additionally, we implemented peer-to-peer communication channels using WebRTC for the chat features.\n\nUltimately, we successfully delivered a real-time multiplayer experience, overcoming the challenge with effective problem-solving and teamwork. This project was a complex but rewarding journey into the convergence of gaming and real-time communication technologies.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I've always been a big fan of movies, and they're actually a massive source of daily inspiration for me. It's not just about the plot or the characters, but all those tiny details that most people might not notice. You know, things like camera angles, lighting, transitions, and even the background music - they all come together to tell a story in a way words alone can't. It's sort of like piecing together a puzzle, and that's what I find really inspiring. Every time I watch a film, I find something new that helps inspire my desings." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://navrajbal.netlify.app/", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time in the Waterloo Region." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I’m passionate about Mental Health - both raising awareness and creating tools to help others cope with their struggles better. Throughout highschool, I was a part of WAYVE which is an initiative to raise awareness about Mental Health to youth in the KW region. I helped out by doing research and giving presentations/talks at schools and conferences in the region. This was important to me as it helped me learn about how mental health affects everyone and I got to teach others. I think especially in recent times, we’ve all realized how important it is to take care of our mental health but sometimes even if someone knows this, it can be difficult to take action when we are in a rough time. That's why this cause thoroughly resonates with me- it's so important to not only raise awareness but also create spaces where people feel safe being vulnerable so they can grow from their situation." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm really proud to of my time as part of the SVP Teens community, a youth-led organization that fundraises for local charities. As a Web Developer, I contributed significantly by transforming our online presence. I collaborated with a team to design a user-friendly and visually appealing website, streamlining our fundraising efforts and enhancing our outreach. Beyond coding, I played a pivotal role in organizing events, bringing in more than 100 participants each time, and raising over $6,500 in donations. My time at SVP Teens combined tech skills with community service, making it a truly rewarding experience and fostering a deep sense of shared purpose." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I started learning web development at the start of quarantine in 2020. I wanted to learn a skill in technology to build applications that could be used by others and a website can be used by many people regardless of their operating system. This meant that learning web development could have a large impact which really excited me and I got started by going through a web development crash course on youtube. This taught me the basics and I ended up making a full stack project by the end of the course. Then I decided to apply what I learned by building something on my own. I made a habit tracking website using a similar tech stack and since this was different from the project if I got stuck I would just find the answers along the way. This helped me not only develop my skills but also made me better at finding available answers to common questions." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688175721240 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A (Fall 2023)", - "email": "lirosati@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Lorena", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Rosati", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5826a2b5-a6fa-4d9c-a64c-66c8d179712b?alt=media&token=a8ffd8bc-0471-49ea-b2bf-3aa20de21d32", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In May, I worked on automating the validation process for ensuring the completeness of math question translations, a challenging task due to the need to independently comprehend the codebase and the website’s functions (my boss is non-technical) and the inconsistencies present in the intern-maintained codebase. I first decided to eliminate the database table containing translation completeness information, as it was unnecessary considering the amount of data and involved extra steps. I overcame the challenge of irregular file naming/structures by employing a regex pattern in PHP to identify the question type based on its text contents. Then, I created a JSON file to map translation files to contest question types, as they were not previously linked in any way. The function retrieves this information and analyzes the corresponding translation file for completeness. This approach proved to be successful despite the inconsistent file structures, eliminating all manual translation checks.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is the app Notion, a virtual workspace which has transformed my approach to organizing and collaborating on projects. What sets Notion apart is its customizability, allowing me to structure tasks, notes, and documents to match my workflow and aesthetic seamlessly. Similarly, the user-friendly interface makes it an attractive product for users of our generation, who greatly value aesthetic appeal and ease-of-use. In my experience, its integration of various functionalities into one platform makes it an extremely attractive product and has made it my go-to app; I have used it for every function imaginable, from creating trip packing lists and creating daily to-do lists to keeping track of homework and noting down code snippets, all of which is accessible from my customized “personal homepage.” Its versatility, user-friendly design, and ability to adapt to individual needs make it an excellent product in the realm of productivity and organization.\n" - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone, as I will be completing an academic term in Waterloo.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Period poverty is a worldwide health problem, significant enough that even in Canada, 1 in 5 menstruators struggle to afford period products. This issue is exacerbated in low-income and Indigenous communities, where a box of tampons can cost upwards of $45. It is unjustifiable when roughly half of the population are menstruators that they cannot afford basic necessities in order to maintain their health and comfort. This cause resonates with me greatly because, while I don’t think twice about buying period products, the joy conveyed to me when donating to shelters was utterly moving and a reminder that this access is a right for all menstruators. I focused on solving this disparity as a leader with PERIOD Ontario by spearheading the execution of three initiatives, allowing me to donate 3500+ menstrual products to various shelters, raise $1900+ for Indigenous youth (and then buy and send them products), and aid YRDSB trustees in implementing free menstrual products in schools.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Many women in STEM relate to feeling like they don’t belong upon entering tech spaces. It is the resilience and passion that they portray in breaking the societal barriers causing these feelings that makes me feel proud to be part of the community of women pursuing a career in STEM. Empowered by these experiences, I volunteered as an organizer for hErVOLUTION’s program focused on educating girls in STEM (for which I was a past participant) and quickly rose to a leadership role. Working with the CEO, I created program challenges for the students to solve and worked with program partners, such as Shopify. I was later hired to run the program and created program materials, ran all speaker sessions with students and dealt directly with them, and managed the 25+ coaches/trainers involved in the program. My participation in the program was inspiring and a catalyst for my pursuit of engineering, which is why it was so important for me to extend this impact to other girls.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "While I’ve worked with React in the past, seeking a deeper understanding of it has been central to my learning goals as a developer, as it’s a dynamic and popular front-end library. I’ve worked extensively with JS, HTML & CSS, but wanted to further explore front-end development as a career path. To achieve this, I created a comprehensive plan which began with acquiring the fundamentals through tutorials and external resources. The most important step of my learning process was acquiring the understanding required to apply my knowledge, which I tested by completing exercises and quizzes. I practiced verbalizing my learning to assess if I demonstrated fluency enough to explain topics. Once I attained a level of mastery, I applied my learning and created a website without assistance, and am now planning a full-stack application involving React. When learning this skill, it was crucial to focus on outlining actionable steps and to seek out resources when needed in order to achieve my goal." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688591233896 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "a7yin@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Allan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Yin", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science ", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F587ed2b4-f08c-4491-87ca-0db6f5d40614?alt=media&token=85418c43-d6c2-4b8b-9c7b-abf641ae412d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my first co-op, I worked as a full-stack developer at RBC. For one of my tasks, I was writing component and End-to-End test scripts with Cypress (a frontend testing tool for web applications). Essentially, Cypress is able to mock \"clicks\" on a screen. My team was working with Microsoft Azure for OAuth, in which the user would be redirected to an RBC Azure page to login. Cypress states that it is ill-advised to use click on buttons that would redirect the page in testing. Unfortunately, past scripts didn’t adhere to this and there was very little documentation on this topic. As my co-workers also had no experience, I reached out to certain members within Microsoft who provided me with a list of resources. \n\nIn the end, after hours of scarping through documentation, I learned that I could bypass the login redirection by directly authenticating with Microsoft Online API. After this discovery, I swiftly developed my code, and once it was checked, eventually pushed to production. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A particular cause that resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. To be completely honest, this is a social cause that has only recently deeply resonated with me. While in the past, I have always known and recognized the importance of protecting the environment, I don't think this issue has really stuck my heart. \n\nA couple months ago, I was messaging my cousin who lives in China. During our conversation, we reminisced about some of the places we would play at when we were kids. I asked her if one of small parks was still around, and how it was holding up. As a child, it was a lively place, a hotspot for exercising. With a sad look, she lamented that the park had degraded into a gloomy thing of the past, with plastic litter and no visitors. Seeing the pictures was shocking, especially compared to my memories. \n\nExperiencing the impacts of poor environment protection has changed my view of this particular cause, especially due to its personal relationship." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I am proud to be apart of is my local hockey community. Every time I walk through those arenas, a wave of nostalgia hits me, as I remember my hockey career. Throughout my life, I have interacted in a multitude of ways with every local hockey community I have been apart of. In grade 12, I volunteered as an assistant coach at a summer camp for new kids learning to play hockey. In the beginning, I was eager to interact with enthusiastic kids who wanted to play hockey. However, to my dismay, when I walked into the dressing room on the first day, all I heard were kids complaining to their parents about how they would rather stay at home playing Fortnite. \n\nThat summer, I made it my goal to ignite a passion for the game of hockey in those kids. After suggesting creative drills and exercises, I finally began to see smiles. At the end of camp, I felt proud to high five each kid, and see them tell their parents all the fun they had, and how eager they were play more." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "This past year, I have been learning to play tennis. After seeing some friends play, I was inspired to start playing. To learn, there were 2 steps to my learning journey.\n\nFirst, I looked up online YouTube tutorials that taught how to hit. During my co-op term in Fall 2022, I resolved to wake up everyday at 7, and practice hitting the ball 200 times before I left for work. By repeating this process, I was able to establish a foundation to build upon. I took the same approach to learning how to serve. \n\nNext, I reached out to friends and family who played, and booked time with them to practice. I would always ask questions to understand where I was making mistakes. While in the begging, I was somewhat of an eyesore, as I improved, these sessions became more and more interactive. \n\nThrough a combination of continuous repetition as well raising questions, I learned how to play tennis. Now, I play with others I've met at the club, and am continuing to improve myself as a player. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688611098253 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "gsvaraic@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "firstName": "Gurshabd", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Varaich", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F593b75d1-68a3-4692-a029-68335d84d188?alt=media&token=a6853091-b60b-4bb9-a66c-807bfac9b0f0", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "1) Start off by communicating the reason and benefits of establishing the code repository in a clear manner\n3) Engaging in constructive discussions with all members about the introduction of the repository. Create platform where members can share their opinions and potential issues. \n4) Involved all projects leads and developers in decision-making process while encouraging active participation and seeking consensus among things whenever possible. \n5) Highlight success stories from other organizations/teams who have done this and what positive outcomes were achieved. \n6) Be clear that training and support would be provided to address the concern of a learning curve. Also be clear that the implementation would be gradual so that necessary adjustments could be made. \n7) Establish that this initiative would be run with continuous improvement meaning members could continuously offer suggestions\n8) Recognize the achievements and positive outcomes resulting from the creation of the repository" - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my last year of high school and first two terms of University, I was working part-time with a start-up company that specialized in autonomous vehicle cybersecurity. A challenging technical problem I faced was developing software for a vehicle's infotainment system. In particular, I was having trouble ensuring compatibility and optimal performance across various vehicle models and hardware configurations. To solve this problem I started off by thoroughly researching the intricacies of developing applications for vehicle infotainment systems (ie. specifications, guidelines from manufacturers, best practices, etc.). I also worked very closely with colleagues on the hardware team to gain a better understanding of the applications' possibilities and limitations. I developed an exhaustive testing process that involved extensive device-specific testing, different hardware setups, etc. Throughout this process, I continuously sought feedback and incorporated improvements into the app. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will based out of the Eastern Time Zone (ET)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is leveraging technology for social impact. I strongly believe technology has the power to create a positive change in the world by addressing pressing global issues. One recent example where technology played a significant role is the farmers' protest in India. This movement was very close to my heart as both of my immigrant parents grew up in farming families in India, and I had witnessed and heard stories about the challenges faced by farmers. The farmers' protest witnessed the widespread use of technology to mobilize, organize, and raise awareness about these issues. This was done by sharing information and updates through social media platforms, citizen journalism in the form of live streaming, online fundraising, data visualizations, etc. creating a global impact. This made me realize how technology can play a transformative role in social justice by facilitating communication, organizing resources, and raising awareness on a massive scale." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As an alumni part of my high school community, and recognizing the power of technology and the opportunities it presents, I wanted to contribute to the growth and interest of current students in the field of computer science, especially since my high school did not offer very many opportunities for students to explore the realm of technology. In order to do this, some of my friends and I decided to organize a hackathon at my old high school to spark an interest among current high school students. We planned events, mentorship programs, and workshops where students could collaborate and showcase their skills while being guided and supported by experienced university students and industry professionals. Through our event, I hoped that it would ignite students' curiosity, create a community, and foster their passion for technology. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my senior year of high school, the pandemic made moving around my high school with little contact with other individuals difficult due to the large population. To solve this issue I decided to create \"Class-To-Class\", an app to help new staff and students navigate through my high school by showing the shortest paths from one class to another. To do this I had to learn React Native, a framework that enabled the creation of cross-platform mobile apps. I started by researching React Native to gain an understanding of its purpose, benefits, and how it differed from other frameworks. As I was already familiar with JavaScript, I did not need to spend too much time learning the basics. While learning, I did as much hands-on practice as I could and made sure to seek guidance from more experienced developers by participating in online discussions and forums. Throughout this process, I also documented my progress, challenges faced, and solutions discovered to reinforce my understanding. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688600564976 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "jalshiha@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Jane", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Al-Shihabi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F594dc854-358f-462c-983e-ed12479a128e?alt=media&token=68370079-4889-4d39-9fc1-2033bd9d80de", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I am interested in how design decisions affect peoples’ lives. I listen to podcasts such as 99% Invisible, and I follow its projects and interviewees. I also keep a sketchbook where I draw interesting people and urban scenes. I enjoy talking to people of all ages, especially my grandmother, to hear about their struggles and aspirations. My ultimate goal personally and career-wise is to use my skills to make a positive impact on the lives of people in my community. In this, my older brother is my role model. He also studied SYDE, and used his design and development background to start a project called PalOpenMaps.org, which is a collection of archival maps that he and his team compiled and turned into a huge slippy map. He also ran “mapathons” to extract data out of the maps in collaborative ways. He combined technical and social knowledge to advance the documentation of Palestinian history, making me appreciate the power of multi-disciplinary work for community projects." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "bit.ly/blueprint-jane This project was my submission for a 2021 hackathon facilitated by Kurius. My partner and I designed an app that allows a user to explore their region’s indigenous history using a map. We used user personas to determine the app’s goal. We looked at similar applications for inspiration on UI/UX and sketched interface concepts using Procreate. We then refined the concept sketches and prototyped a UI in Figma based on mentor feedback. We worked together closely, giving each other suggestions on improvements. Initially, I was worried about potential team conflict, but by being open to suggestions and constructive criticism, teamwork can produce more interesting results than solo work since different people contribute unique perspectives and ideas. I also learned the importance of deep research; for example, I researched not only UI/UX, but also indigenous communities to appropriately incorporate them into the app’s content.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I’ll be based in Waterloo, so EDT/EST." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am interested in questions around mental health, specifically in immigrant/refugee communities. Last year, I was tasked with writing a 4000-word research paper about any subject of my choice, and I settled on intergenerational trauma in immigrant/refugee families. Part of the reason why I chose this subject was because I personally experience its effects within my family and community, and I noticed many people were not aware of its impact. I compiled a large set of academic journals, news articles, and expert interviews and filtered it into a 20-page paper. This only increased my interest in the cause. I know Blueprint has a new project relating to this called Haven where newcomers are matched with Canadians who help them adapt to their new society. There are also other projects that focus on the refugee/immigrant side such as The Shoe Project, which makes me appreciate Blueprint’s selection of partner organizations." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m proud to be part of the Middle-Eastern/Syrian community as a second-generation immigrant. Following the surge of Syrian refugees from the war starting in 2011, both my brother and mother’s work has centred around refugee support. My mother is an employment counsellor, and my brother specializes in mental health counselling. Hearing their experiences in this field has made me especially aware of the hard work of these Syrian refugees despite the difficulties they face. In 2021, I was asked to work on a project by the The Working Centre in Kitchener to help assess hidden homelessness in Waterloo region. I agreed to take on the project despite my heavy load in grade 12 IB because I was uniquely positioned as a trilingual speaker to help my community of Arabic-speaking newcomers. In this role I conducted semi-structured phone interviews with members of the Syrian community. The research provided the Region with information to improve housing support programs." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Towards the end of my last co-op term, I realized I wanted to position myself better for future work terms by building a personal website to present myself, my skills, and a portfolio. I recognized it was going to be a steep learning curve despite having a background in programming. I also knew, however, that it would not only result in a useful end product but, equally importantly, it would help me learn how to design a UI and implement it in CSS, HTML, and Markdown, as well as how to structure a project for deployment. I researched how personal websites design patterns and settled on customizable open-source templates. I then researched the right framework, experimenting with Wordpress and Hugo, and started development, getting occasional support from my brother when needed. I was not used to front-end coding, but I knew that my brother is very knowledgeable, so he gave me valuable tips; getting feedback from someone more experienced was very important." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615840839 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "m7sivaku@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Mayuri", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sivakumaran", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Urban Planning", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F59df9f2b-35aa-42e0-ac73-710b7e8fd785?alt=media&token=6fbc0465-65a3-48f4-880c-14c20d6fed7e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I look for inspiration on Pinterest or any social media that includes anything relevant to the product and its topic. I also get inspired by other people, their work, and what they want to communicate to the world." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://maygirl1555.wixsite.com/mayuri/task-butler\n\nI worked on an app prototype called Task Butler. If you scroll down, you can see the process and details of the project.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "7", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://maygirl1555.wixsite.com/mayuri/logo-designs\n\nThese logos were made for my spiritual community centre. If you scroll down, you can see the process and details of the project. I learned how to make transparent backgrounds for logos and how to save colour libraries in Adobe Illustrator which was quite interesting. It was challenging to choose colours that would work well together while being easy to read/identify by people who are colourblind." - } - ], - "role": "Graphic Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Graphic Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Representation is a cause that truly resonates with me because I'm a Tamil Canadian with immigrant parents and our community, our culture, and our history isn't represented well in current media and products compared to other highly-represented communities. I share this cause with many others from other communities and it truly shows the issue of low representation of diverse communities." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be a part of the Sai community which is a spiritual community led by various spiritual leaders. The community focuses on serving others in various ways, such as through donation projects to charities, spirituality, Hindu celebrations and rituals, as well as various other community initiatives. I contributed to the community by teaching spiritual classes to elementary school kids, being the coordinator of the ladies wing of my spiritual community centre, and participating in weekly spiritual group singing events." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned how to prototype in my 3A term for my BET 350 course and I was very motivated to learn it from my classmate so that I could use the skill in my future work related to UX design and graphic design. I also knew it was a very basic skill for me to learn to become a UX designer. My approach was to ask my friend to explain the process to me through Figma and then I wrote a list of questions to ask based on how I understood the prototyping process. After asking the questions and clearing my doubts, I helped create a prototype for a group assignment which helped me understand prototyping on a higher and clearer level." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687296843861 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "a7kapur@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Aarushi", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kapur", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Financial Analysis and Risk Management ", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5b44e6ae-d9b4-45b4-a66f-9eb8780faa33?alt=media&token=9e3e84dd-47a5-40ac-a398-86a6b2920542", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "Although it may appear that observation is a straightforward talent, everyone has unconscious biases that might skew their judgment.\n\n\nTo conduct research, we must first develop our observational skills.\n\nDesign researchers must comprehend the mental models of the subjects they test or interview.\n\nEven though research on its own can be useful, it must be processed and ultimately given to a wider team in order to apply the insights to guide design." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "As I am on an academic term during Fall '23, I will be based out of Waterloo itself. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Nearly 500,000 working Canadians cannot go to work each week due to mental illness, which is a major contributor to disability in this nation. All in all, it is estimated that the financial impact of mental illness in Canada totals $51 billion annually, including medical expenses, missed productivity, and declines in quality of life associated with one's physical condition.\nPersonally for me, I realized the importance of mental well being during lockdown back in India. It was a cause of hindrance back then and to some extent, after moving to a new country; still is. The mind-body connection is well documented, which is why it is so important to be mindful of mental health issues." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I joined The Women's Network somewhat during this time last year. It happens to be the largest collegiate network for Women Identifying individuals in all of the United States. As they launched their chapter here at our university, I was intrigued. \nBack in India, women were married off at a young age back in the 1900's. My grandmother too got married off when she was merely 18 and got widowed at the age of 27. She had to start her life from scratch with minimum educational background. She is now leading the most comfortable life and I too have been raised with this ideology of being financially independent and making the best of each situation no matter what. Hence this network was something that greatly resonated with me. There is nothing more I want than to be a part of a platform for women, to whom networking might or might not come as easily, where starting out within a strong female support group at work can help!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During the start of university I had to take mandatory Computer Science courses. This led to me developing an interest in programming languages and how they work. Since I am currently pursuing a degree in FARM, I found it more interesting to look into languages that allowed me to visualize and analyze data. So, I decided to learn R. Apart from the content provided by my university, I also took up online courses to do the same. When I was on co-op, I was allowed access to multiple libraries through which I expanded my knowledge. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688615959021 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "sunnyzhang904@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Sunny", - "heardFrom": "Events", - "lastName": "Zhang", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5bc592ca-2742-4a6c-92ea-f59f5d4624e6?alt=media&token=fed96e91-14bb-4b7f-aff5-e0e41adcc5a7", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "For me, seeking inspiration is paramount. I find immense value in connecting with people and drawing inspiration from their boundless ideas. Listening to their stories, and engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds allow me to empathize and gain insights into their lives. This fuels my passion for creativity, driving me to design products that truly make a meaningful impact on users. In addition, I thrive on free exploration. Whether it's participating in BrainStation design events + showcases in Toronto, I constantly aim to expand my horizons and embrace new ideas to not only improve as a designer, but also as an individual. Moreover, personal reflection holds significant importance as a source of inspiration. Taking moments of solitude, I tap into my inner creativity, allowing ideas to flow and finding clarity with solutions. It is during moments like these where new ideas emerge and find the anticipation to share with a team, ultimately making an impact. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://sunnyzhang.webflow.io/", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is Headspace, the meditation app. In today's digital age, where the importance of digital detox often gets overlooked, I have personally experienced the transformative power of mindfulness. Headspace has played a significant role in my journey. I vividly remember the instant sense of familiarity and connection upon first exploration. Now, the app has been an integral part in my engineering life: the guided meditation sessions and personalized recommendations have made it a truly invaluable tool in my well-being. It hand in hand guides me through the journey, making me feel supported in every step of the way. This is what a successful and valuable product should look like: consistent and undivided purpose to enhance our experience. The app goes beyond being a meditation app. As a PM, I’m inspired by how it has harnessed the power of technology to address demanding needs in today's society. I, too, aspire to create impactful products that address real human needs. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am passionate about providing support to health organizations dedicated to Alzheimer's care. My ultimate goal is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for individuals facing this disease and to advocate for greater awareness and understanding of brain health. This stems from the profound influence of my role model, my grandmother. Her unwavering belief in the power of helping others left an indelible mark on me. Witnessing her resilience in the face of Alzheimer's changed my perspective on life. She continues to bring smiles to people's faces. Inspired by her, I actively volunteer at local nursing homes, hoping to provide comfort and companionship to individuals. The fulfillment from striving to make the world a better place fuels my desire to continually grow as an individual. Knowing that students at UW Blueprint share the same drive for social good is extremely inspiring, and I want to be a part of it. Together, we can make a difference and bring positive change." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in being a member of the Asian ballet community, as it has played a significant role in shaping my character and growth. Initially introduced to ballet for pure enjoyment, little did I know that it would shape me into the person I am today, equipping me with invaluable skills. From devoting 8 hours/week to classes to leading a mentorship program for young dancers, these opportunities instilled in me a strong sense of dedication and commitment. I’ve made enduring friendships, teaching me the importance of teamwork and compromise. The pinnacle of our journey came when we were given the privilege to perform on national television at the Sony Center for Chinese New Year. This experience bolstered my confidence in ways I had never experienced before ballet. Ballet became more than just a form of self-expression. The lessons and skills I have acquired from ballet have empowered me to confidently embrace adversities beyond the stage with a growth mindset and resilience." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my time on the yearbook committee in high school, I had the opportunity to learn a new skill that deeply resonated with me: UX/UI Design. Motivated by my desire to be “resourceful” and find ways to achieve my creative vision, I delved into this field. I allowed my creativity to flow freely while adhering to the constraints within our project. To me, being resourceful means being able to envision multiple paths to achieve a desired outcome, optimizing efficiency along the way. I believe that every problem has a solution, even if it requires a change in direction. As the Senior Designer, I know we had limitations in terms of the platform we used, namely Josten's. However, we maximized our resources, such as utilizing creating our own layouts and graphics on Figma, Adobe Sketch. Through our teamwork, we successfully brought our envisioned yearbook to life. I know that Blueprint advocates the same, and I'm beyond excited to let off my creative steam with the team!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688415458432 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "jsahu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Jagan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sahu", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5da23e43-6a7b-4381-abe4-89fa02b68ba3?alt=media&token=f1356250-3b4c-47c6-9f7e-6f8128837957", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "The specific methods would be guided by the nature & timeframe of the project & the stage of the product development process. At the early stages of a project, where exploration is key, I would lean towards detailed interviews & surveys. These strategies allow me to delve into the user's habits, requirements, usage context & challenges. They offer a qualitative, in-depth insight into the user experience, forming an essential base for the design decisions to follow. As the design of the product progresses, I would shift my focus towards methodologies like usability & A/B testing. These techniques are crucial in revealing insights about how users interact with the product & assist in identifying any potential usability barriers. I would say my strengths lie in conducting thorough interviews, performing research related to the goal at hand & carrying out usability testing. When these methods are used correctly, they provide comprehensive data & insights to design an amazing product." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I get inspired by the most random things whether it ranges from a complicated European name from a math theorem or a wave rippling down the ocean. More specifically, I also find designs from other designers and developers on Medium and social media platforms inspiring for my own innovative designs and solutions. Sometimes, even a post for a piece of clothing related to fashion or an ad from a thrift store strikes me in different ways which gets me thinking about different ways to create designs myself." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "For my CS492 class I took last term, I was tasked with creating a design(using Figma) for a website aimed at providing easy accessibility to restaurants catering to disabled people. Given the niche target group, the project posed some unique challenges. I started by conducting detailed user research to understand the needs of disabled individuals when they navigate websites and when they seek information about restaurants. My research included interviews, and observations of people using existing platforms. This initial research helped us to identify several key needs. These included a simple, uncluttered interface, easy-to-read fonts, high contrast colors for those with visual impairments, and the need for detailed information about restaurant accessibility features. This project taught me the importance of user-centric design in UX. It underlined the significance of designing for accessibility, and creating an easy to use and beautiful design that anyone can use.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Something I’m deeply passionate about is providing access to good quality education and educational opportunities to students in under served communities. Coming from an under served community myself, I had no idea of the vast amount of opportunities that are accessible and can be created through good quality education in the field of STEM. I’m very committed to addressing this issue by advocating for more educational opportunities and facilitating STEM-based workshops and programs in these communities." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be apart of the volunteers for the Macaulay Child Development Center in Toronto. We provide resources and workshops by teaching young girls how to code. I was the first person to lead the first ever workshop when I was in high school. As the leader of the inaugural workshop, I had the privilege of creating a curriculum that was not only educational, but also engaging and fun for the girls. This role not only honed my leadership skills but also made me appreciate the power of user experience research. I understood that to create an effective learning environment, it's essential to understand the students' needs, interests, and the challenges they face." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I’ve been working as a software engineer for all my coops but have always been passionate about art and music so I thought I’d give product design a shot as it was something that always caught my eye but never committed to because I was already so deep into software engineering. I’m also an iOS engineer so I often use Figma at work as a guide to build features and user interfaces and I’ve always wanted to learn how to use Figma myself.\nBecause of this, I recently learned how to use Figma. I started with online tutorials and courses that explained the tool's functionalities and features. This gave me a solid foundation on how to use different elements within Figma to create mock designs/wireframes for apps I’m actually planning on creating! This experience has taught me very important product design skills which I’m planning to continue doing." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688111798002 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "jesshuang5733@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jesse", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Huang", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5e20e093-9990-403c-aa24-500ea09fb24f?alt=media&token=ea6c5793-6445-4b5b-bff5-a6bc27188612", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In the stressful buildup to a deadline, I found the best solutions come through collaborative efforts. This occurred during ETHGlobal Waterloo, where our inexperience in Web3 proved to be our greatest challenge.\n\nI was tasked with building the front-end, but still had to implement NFTs and authenticator APIs, of which I had zero experience. It was similar to my cluelessness when I started web development, but I have grown as both a developer and an individual taking on challenges.\n\nI knew how to connect wallets and REST APIs prior to the hackathon, which laid the foundation together with ETHGlobal mentors and teammates. There is a surreal feeling of staying up at 3 AM in E7, working tirelessly towards fixing a seemingly unfixable error. Our perspectives ranged from \"This is impossible\" to \"I can feel the prize”, which could only end with a four-line change to fix it all. Although ironic, these painful, yet satisfying solutions work as the best motivator to continue working for more.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "My dog is the source of my ideas. In particular, it is when we go for walks where I find the most inspiration for UI/UX design.\n\nOn our walks, my dog sometimes goes completely off road to chase squirrels or admire plants. As exhausting it may be, it allows me to follow along and admire the outside. Just as nature is observed in aerodynamics, UI/UX shares a similar reliance on nature, where I like to observe different patterns and implement them to create different emotions.\n\nIn addition, he serves as a reminder to approach UI/UX with a sense of enthusiasm. Just as my dog explores the world with joy and curiosity, I strive to infuse my designs with elements of excitement and provide an interactive experience.\n\nBy the end, my best friend is still ready for the next walk, expressing the importance of resilience in the field of UI/UX design. Despite any challenges or setbacks encountered during the design process, it is fundamental to remain eager to learn and adapt from each experience." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "jeessh.site\nethglobal.com/showcase/art-io-w71ef\n\nMy dream was to be an architect. To construct the anatomy of buildings in which families will reside for decades. However, it was already a new story once I began to explore UI/UX.\n\nArt.io was an art and NFT investment platform created at ETHGlobal Waterloo. As the front-end developer, my role involved crafting an engaging UI for artists and investors. The platform itself was the main challenge as the two distinct endeavours needed to be mixed. As a solution, I gathered samples of artistic and investment websites before combining the standout elements into our final project.\n\nThis experience taught me that my passion for design extends beyond traditional architecture, overlapping with adaptability and embracing new opportunities. In some ways, I am still pursuing my dream of being an architect as I blend my architectural mindset with UI/UX design, reminding me that the journey towards our dreams can take unexpected, yet fulfilling paths.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The difficulty of combatting poverty stems from its multifaceted nature, where households experience a wide range of setbacks. Despite genuine community initiatives, areas such as healthcare, education, and financial literacy are handled by inefficient, passive governments. \n\nI understand the hardships that disadvantaged households face, which is what inspired me to organize fundraising events to provide resources during the winter. I am privileged and grateful to have had opportunities to contribute back, and I hope to reach further outwards with UW Blueprint in alleviating poverty. \n\nBy building public web apps, it can provide direct access to resources, job/financial literacy hotspots, and donation platforms. As much as this is done through the technical aspect, it is the perseverance and commitment I strive to bring that will aid those in need. The war to combat poverty needs resilience, but just as it is like a war, it must be conquered one battle at a time." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am grateful to have been at the high school I attended, where I met the most spectacular group of classmates. Although we are now all off to explore our individual paths, we are still connected by the values that group us together as a community.\n\nWe all share a passion for making an impact within and outside of our community. Act4Impact was founded in 2019, where throughout high school we hosted fundraising events to support various causes. In particular, I led \"Frost Fest\": a winter carnival event dedicated to supplying homeless women across Canada with care packages together with sponsors. \n\nEven in a personal sense, my community brought me to where I am today. My first publicly-used project was to provide an eco-friendly solution to wasting raffle tickets, where I developed scripts to move the fun event to phones, which inspired me to continue pursuing CS. As such, given the opportunity with UW Blueprint, I hope to inspire more communities as my community has kickstarted me. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Jump roping was my most difficult endeavour that ironically began out of wanting simplicity. When I began fitness during COVID, I wanted a simple, yet efficient way to burn calories. 7 Google searches later and I had a rope from Amazon sent for delivery.\n\nMy mindset prior to physical trials was pure confidence, as I thought previous experience on the playground could prepare me. Unfortunately, a decade long hiatus proved to be a little too much. Nevertheless, I knew with dedication, any attempt could lead to a breakthrough, so I broke down routines into sections. Once the rope was separated from the jumps, I analyzed every movement, recording myself to view my faults to find a solution.\n\nAfter 3 years of jump roping, I learned that every trip up that whipped my back, shins, or face were not steps to success, but rather just failures. However, with every stumble came the test of my perseverance, where my motivation to learn, adapt, and try again would determine my path to success." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688182097444 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "emily.nieu@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Emily", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Nie", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5ee24eed-7fbe-4331-bafe-bbff7b6191a6?alt=media&token=80b7eb61-6da3-466a-a610-0b64e37627c1", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A recent project I worked on was called SusFashion, which lets you upload an image of clothing you like and find sustainable alternatives online. I worked on this with a team of 4 for a hackathon, so needless to say it was a time crunch. One technical problem we ran into was transferring image files from the frontend to the backend for analysis, since it would involve setting up a database and transferring large files. At that point, we only had a bit of time left. We settled with simplifying the frontend by requesting an image URL from the user rather than an entire file. This saved us a lot of time and let us get the basic functionality of the program to work. I’ve come to realize that one of the biggest decisions you have to make in programming is looking at the cost and return of a feature you want to implement. In this case, the cost would have been the little time we had left to refine our project for submission, and the return would be minimal from a presentation’s perspective.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based out of EST next term, though my sleep schedule sometimes makes me feel like I'm on the other side of the world." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I have never been a healthy child. I would somehow always end up in a walk-in clinic or emergency waiting room, wondering what I did to be a returning customer at a healthcare facility. However, no matter what problem I had and how long I had to wait, I always got treatment. There was always a doctor available to see me, and I always got the most patient people working with me to make sure I left with the right treatment. There is a startling amount of people that don’t get this. Life already throws hundreds of obstacles at each individual, and if you’re not in good health you’re stuck at obstacles that others can easily jump over. It’s nice to see charities raising money and traveling to less privileged areas to help residents with basic medical needs. I hope to be able to contribute to that once I have the money, or even use my technical skills to directly help. Healthcare should be free and accessible for everyone, and the cause to provide it resonates deeply with me." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Entering university was one of the worst moments of my life. I still remember crying my eyes out on a random bench next to CMH simply because I felt so alone - I had no sense of belonging. In my second term, I decided to join a performance team at uwhiphop. Initially, I still felt no sense of belonging and quietly left practices as soon as they were done. However, over time I found myself socializing more, and by the end of the term, I was friends with everyone. It makes me really proud to be a part of a community where everyone is so welcoming and down to make new friends regardless if they’re in first or fifth year. For that reason, I decided to join as an executive member for the current term. I am a videographer, and I help film and edit all the sessions they hold over the term. I’m proud that I can use my own skillset to contribute back to this community, and want to continue putting effort into this community for the rest of my undergrad years." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I was never particularly extraordinary at anything. I always envied those people who were sent to classes at an early age for one particular skill. I envied those that practiced until they were so well-versed in their trade that everyone knew them for it. When I was 17, I watched a couple of Youtube videos and somehow fell in love with dance. At the back of my mind, I knew that I couldn’t compare to those that started dancing when they were 5 years old, but that was also part of my motivation. I knew that if I didn’t start practicing when I was 17, I would be crying about those people that did start at 17 when I was 27. I didn’t expect to get good right away. I watched a lot of different tutorials and I practiced a lot in my living room. It was a slow process, but one thing that motivated me was taking videos of my progress. I cannot stress enough how important it is to only compare to yourself. When I need a motivation boost, I will look at my past videos to see how far I’ve come. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615925415 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "ajtbilon@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Aidan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Bilon", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Mechanical Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F615045ed-2213-4865-953f-0026d15c954f?alt=media&token=404e7efd-cef6-4cd3-ae9c-ef3441b5e96c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "When I first encounter a challenging technical problem, I tend to stop for a second and think about what is causing the error and if I know how to fix it with my prior knowledge. One challenging problem I tackled before when building my website portfolio was an issue with deploying and hosting the site. I used Next.Js so Vercel was my friend in the deploy implementation, but when I initially made my website I wasn't as well versed as I am today in hosting sites. The errors that the hosting service was providing me were foreign to my previous minor knowledge of hosting which made me go back to my original methodology of thinking rather than going straight to Stack Overflow or ChatGPT since I wanted to learn what was causing the problem for future issues that could have the same problem. Reading the prompts and error messages, I was able to find that I had errors in porting some of my webpage links. These pages on my site worked in developer mode, but not running the site.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based in eastern standard time (EST), residing in Waterloo during the Fall term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Sustainable practices and the environment have deeply resonated with me during the latter half of the decade. During high school, I was the sitting chair for the City of Niagara Falls MYAC Green Sub-committee. Having firsthand experience with the political side of a sustainable future for our planet and the grave importance it has on our society. I was also appointed a spot on the Recreation Committee at City Council where other government employees discussed pressing issues at hand and ways to encourage the general population to do their part in making the Niagara Region and more defined member in the green space. Witnessing the importance of creating a healthier and more sustainable future for our planet has continued to deeply impact my outlook on the world while trying to make it a better place." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I have always found interest in envigorating those around me, which typically came in the form of volunteering. With everything from my high school with student council, my school board being a student senator, or my city and region being a city employee, I've been proud to say I was a part of and made an impact on every team.\nDuring my time in student council, I was an executive for 3/4 years, ending as prime minister and head of social media promotion in the previous 3 years.\nAs a student senator, I attended board meetings and voted on behalf of the whole secondary student body for the District School Board of Niagara on pressing issues that affect the daily academic environment of all secondary students within the board.\nSome of my other contributions to the City of Niagara Falls were also highlighted in the previous response." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "The most recent time I learned a new skill, which happens to be what I'm currently working on, is social media app dev. After finishing some projects using Swift I was interested in working on an app that could be published and even used widely by actual daily users. My motivation for creating this kind of project was to learn about algorithmic recommendation, the use of APIs, and to learn yet another app dev framework of Flutter this time.\nI typically like to keep myself busy throughout co-op terms which was an ulterior motive for creating this app. I also find creating hands-on, real-life applications with everything integrated into it helps me not just create a project, but hardens my knowledge in a framework or language." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688130128455 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "chrisss.pannn@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Chris", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Pan", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Global Business and Digital Arts", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F62d9cfd2-31c3-4f3d-aae8-84b6894ef83f?alt=media&token=9d663c5c-385f-45b1-b3c1-8a0164dd8e69", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "As a product designer, I look for inspiration from other designers and their experiences. From exploring and discovering designers on Behance, Dribble, and LinkedIn, I’m constantly exposed to a diverse and innovative range of styles, techniques and approaches. I’m able to learn things I never knew were possible and wonder how I could incorporate it into my own work. This way I've been able to learn new techniques, ideas, and even softwares that can help me in my future work. By pulling from so many designers and their perspectives, I’m able to better solidify my own design strategies, push the boundaries of my creativity and enhance the overall quality of my work. \n" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "I am currently working on a new portfolio, so some projects may redirect you! Sorry for the inconvenience! https://www.behance.net/chris_pan", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in Waterloo and based in Eastern Time zone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is combating climate change and pollution. As a global crisis, it threatens the well-being of future generations and our ecosystem and it’s so important for us to break the cycle of “leaving it for the next generation”. I like to advocate for sustainable practices, renewable energy adoption, and raise awareness by using the design and digital media skills I learn from my projects and other experiences. As an example I recently experimented with animation motion graphics for the first time and created a short graphic video for vertical scroll social media platforms. The goal was to hopefully initiate real-world action and provide societal value to a real problem. The video’s topic surrounds the impacts of human pollution in our oceans. Feel free to take a look --> https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mfho8CBlXpc \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m really proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community and live as my authentic self. I strive to promote inclusivity and diversity anywhere I can, especially in design where multiple perspectives are vital to a successful and accessible product. Similar to the previous question, the safety and rights of LGBTQ+ individuals is also a cause that resonates with me, especially now, and one of the best ways I can contribute is through my designs and digital media skills. Many queer youth face the challenge of living in an unaccepting and dangerous household, and being close with some who have experienced this first-hand, I wanted to explore a potential solution. For a designathon, I was able to lead the UX for a team of 4, and design a homestay app for LGBTQ+ youth and land a first place title. In the future I would love for this project to be developed and potentially launched to give those in need somewhere to turn to and even save lives.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I remember a new skill that I really enjoyed learning was interface animation using Figma, because I really wanted to give my designs more life. By creating moving designs, it helped me convey them better to other people and helped to get them excited. It also brought my designs closer to the real product and got more buy in. I started from simply wanting more from my designs. I discovered YouTube videos that showed me how to create small micro-interactions and from there I was able to teach myself more complex movements and timing through trial and error. I was able to hone my skills enough to the point of being able to create full app trailers using purely Figma animation!\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688181174659 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "t49zhang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "firstName": "Teresa", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Zhang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science & Business Administration", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F634f7a85-b73c-4b12-b887-4a6d91bdc58f?alt=media&token=2c707888-4408-44ef-851b-c78d45e25290", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "In general, an ideal experience is one where the members feel as though they have made meaningful contributions, and have also received something meaningful from the experience-whether that is technical experience, or networking, or a sense of fulfillment from working for a non-profit. For myself specifically, I would hope to meet interesting and knowledgeable people and learn from them, as well as get valuable transferable skills. " - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Frankly, I haven't had much technical experience, which is why I want to apply to Blueprint. In terms of technical challenges, I can't think of any that couldn't be solved by consulting someone more knowledgeable (a professor or a friend, usually) or searching online for similar problems and solutions. So I suppose that would be my answer; don't re-invent the wheel, just find someone who knows the solution. If there was really nothing that mapped one-to-one to my problem, then I would usually take the problem apart into smaller problems that answers did exist for and hopefully, the whole would be at least equal to the sum of the parts.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the underrepresentation of women in data. For instance, phones, keyboards, and cars are all sized for a standard male body. And on the technological side, male bias can be perpetuated invisibly: biased training sets for AI algorithms can lead to biased outputs, like associating women with kitchens to the point of labeling a bald man in a kitchen as a woman. This can have real consequences: in medical contexts, lack of data on heart attacks in women means they are deadlier in women, and more likely to be misdiagnosed, and if this biased data is used for medical diagnostic algorithms, the problem compounds. (Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Perez). As such, I think it’s important for projects, even those that are seemingly gender-neutral, to integrate as many possible points of view-including female perspectives-in order to recognise these biases and remove them from the product." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m proud to be part of the LGBT+ community. In terms of contributing, I mostly focus on the individual level, providing a safe space for people I know to come out and be supported-more or less, giving them a space to be gay. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Recently, I have been learning how to make vector graphics. This was for a side project, to add icons into a mobile app. I did some preliminary research on what vector graphics are and how to use them, but mostly, I just messed around until I learned by doing. For other, more complex graphics, I supplement with looking up tutorials, but mostly I use trial and error, which has had serviceable results thus far. \n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688604837367 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "sharujan.sreekaran@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sharujan ", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sreekaran", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F63c83be9-8866-47da-82c4-030cdcf3f879?alt=media&token=6bafedf3-7a89-49bb-92a3-2ddda10186e9", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my previous internship at Penfield.AI, a small cyber security startup, I was in charge of creating a framework that tested the core services of our company software. When working on the framework, I ran into a number of issues regarding data going missing within our system. This really puzzled me, as the issues that were coming up in many different ways, so it was hard to pinpoint the issue. To solve this problem I simplified a test that caused issues into its smallest failing component, and looked at the services that this data point ran through. I found the first instance in which the data went missing, and noticed in it that a lot of error handling wasn’t considered in our code base. I repeated this process of looking at individual data loss errors and updated the code base to properly handle them. This cycle was long and arduous but I believe that solving these technical problems may save many of our team's engineers a lot of pain in the future.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates strongly with me is the refugee crisis, specifically the Ukraine refugee crisis. War devastates billions of lives, and my family is no stranger to the pain it brings. My parents grew up in Sri Lanka during their civil war, and were forced to immigrate to Canada to save themselves from the brutality they faced. My father in particular was a refugee, and came here with almost nothing, relying mainly on the aid the Canadian government gave him as well as the kindness he found from the Canadian people to start a life. This simple act of support allowed my father to build a starting place for the rest of my family to come to Canada and is the reason I was born here to begin with. When I see the millions of Ukrainians seeking asylum from this terrible war, I see people just like my father trying to create a space where their families can live in peace, and I can’t help but wanting nothing more than to support them, just like how my father was all those years ago." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I’m proud to be a part of is my local youth coding community. I am a part of a program called coding buddies where once a week, I mentor local middle school students, teaching them about the fundamentals of programming as well as the wonders of what computer science can do. During this time I learned about how complicated even simple topics of computer science can be to those who haven’t worked with code before, as programming can require a very unique way of thinking. At first during these meetings, I struggled to get my ideas across, but I gradually learned that I needed to slow down and connect the concepts I taught to real ideas that the students can relate to. Throughout these experiences, both my students and I grew in various ways, and even though I was the one who mentored them, they will be the ones who pave the way for the next generation of technological advances, and I am very proud to have played my part." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One and a half years ago I started learning how to do long distance running. When I started learning I did it because I wanted to improve my overall health, and I had an unused treadmill at home, but now I do it because I enjoy running and want to improve myself. I started running rather spontaneously, and so I didn’t have much of an approach at first, and instead just simply ran every couple of days. However, once I started getting into the groove of things, I decided to take a much more formulaic approach to running, as I wanted to spend my time efficiently and didn’t want to injure myself. I watched a lot of videos discussing the proper running form as well as the various different exercises you can train to get better at running, beyond just turning on the treadmill. From this I built a flexible training schedule that accommodated the various exercises needed to improve your base long distance running ability, and have been using it ever since. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688067677680 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "eric.yam02@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Eric", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Yam", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Global Business and Digital Art", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6413c269-2779-4353-8c32-7b30ec2c3cfc?alt=media&token=f8c904ba-4997-4d34-9fb3-d52ec2d0c50a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "In my daily life as a product designer, I find inspiration by immersing myself in the digital spaces that showcase design excellence and innovation. Platforms like Dribbble and Mobbin provide a wealth of curated designs, allowing me to analyze and appreciate the thoughtfulness and creativity behind them. I actively seek out conferences and industry events like Config 2023 to stay updated with the latest trends, emerging technologies, and design methodologies. The opportunity to learn from industry leaders and engage in discussions with fellow designers is a constant source of inspiration and motivation. I consider it a privilege to have access to these tools and resources in today's world, as they enable me to continuously learn, evolve, and contribute to the ever-changing landscape of digital design." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "My portfolio is outdated from 3 months and within that timespan, I have started my co-op and won a designation competition category with 300+ participants. If you want to learn more about these, here are the links provided below, and ask away if you are curious about the designation win.\n\ntablz (co-op) project:\nhttps://www.figma.com/file/GTE65v8owoCltYxuaALtSG/event-component---Tablz?type=design&node-id=0%3A1&mode=design&t=5YZT4P4NGiICg8ep-1 \n\n(outdated) website:\nhttps://www.ericyam.ca/\n", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "As a product designer, I have come to understand the transformative power of well-crafted and user-friendly interactions. I firmly believe that technology should be inclusive, regardless of one's level of expertise. By translating complex concepts into intuitive interfaces, I aim to provide novices with the tools and confidence to fully embrace the digital world. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in my contribution to the community through the development of impactful products and ideas. One significant project I have undertaken is a self-inspired product aimed at addressing the challenges faced by Chinese students transitioning from China to Canada, particularly concerning language barriers and social integration. This product is designed to improve their overall experience by creating a community where they can connect, share their goals, and celebrate their achievements. Through features that facilitate language learning, cultural exchange, and mentorship, this platform offers valuable resources and support, empowering students to navigate their educational journey and social interactions with greater ease and confidence. I am thrilled to have created a solution that helps bridge the gap and enhances the experiences of individuals within this community, fostering a sense of belonging and personal growth." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I have a strong passion for participating in designathons, as they provide an invaluable opportunity to improve my skills in presentation, communication, and teamwork within a dynamic and collaborative environment. Engaging in these intense design challenges fuels my desire to become a well-rounded and versatile designer, pushing me to think creatively, adapt quickly, and learn from diverse perspectives so I can be a strong designer for my future." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688613991453 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A ", - "email": "v8nguyen@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Finance & Operations", - "firstName": "Victoria ", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Nguyen ", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Accounting and Financial Management ", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6413cf3e-e0de-4129-8eac-d1ff4eb87145?alt=media&token=89cdef9c-7f33-41df-9216-cb53e9c867a0", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "13", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?", - "response": "Pitching to external organizations for sponsorship requires careful planning and a persuasive approach to convince the organizations. Firstly, I would comprehend the organization by looking into its beliefs, purposes, and goals to identify its interests and determine a sponsorship that is advantageous to both parties. Next, I will outline the reason for this sponsorship: money or materials for a particular project. Then, we use the value proposition, the target audience, past success, and potential future success to construct the sponsorship application. We can see the advantages of sponsorship, such as brand visibility throughout all our postings and the placement of logos. Then, I provide different levels of sponsorship so that sponsors can select a level that fits their needs in terms of spending and amount of involvement. To establish a relationship for future sponsorship, we will follow up after the event. I propose that we maintain a list of sponsors for various project types." - } - ], - "role": "VP Finance & Operations" - }, - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I care a lot about environmental sustainability, and it's a cause that resonates with me. Growing up in a country with 90% of the population using motors, I witnessed the impact of air pollution on the environment and people' health. This experience instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility to protect and preserve our planet from not only air pollution, also climate change. I have actively participated in some volunteering activities from local organizations including collecting garbage on the beach, planting trees for a greener future, and raising recycling awareness in my community. From my personal experience, the cause of environmental sustainability is important because of its wide-ranging global repercussions. In addition to endangering ecosystems and species, climate change, deforestation, and pollution have an effect on vulnerable communities all over the world. We can provide everyone with a better and more sustainable future by solving these problems. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be a part of Fridge Rage - integrated with generative AI helping people create healthy recipes by using leftover food. The app’s mission is to reduce global food waste and its environmental impacts. My role in the team is content creator, and I am responsible for creating weekly posts about the environment and introducing our app to followers. Even though my team and I just started the progress in a month, we have put all our efforts to promote our app to more people. Being part of Fridge Rage has not only allowed me to make a positive impact on the environment, but it has also enriched my own life. Through this experience, I have developed my communication skills and learned how to apply technology to make the work easier. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Last month, I made the decision to take image design classes in order to expand my knowledge and be more creative. I was motivated by the growing need for aesthetically appealing content, and I thought that it is time for me to develop my skills and reach more people with more powerful information. I made the decision to learn these new talents by investigating online programs and enlisting in a self-paced course that specialized in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. For real-world tasks, I also enlisted the aid of my friends who were taking graphic design courses so I could benefit from their expertise. I gained a strong foundation in graphic design through the combination of organized online classes and independent study. Even though I'm not an expert in picture design, I can now create a straightforward internet image for my project and any upcoming presentations to increase the visualization for my work. \n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688094669160 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "h27javed@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Humdaan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Javed", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Biomedical Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F65a2d0bf-2563-46fd-a061-f44a96000193?alt=media&token=26ff2618-7c47-42fc-8614-365d555e772a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I faced came up during my current co-op term as a full-stack developer. For this problem, I was tasked with optimizing the runtime performance of a financial web application which was used internally by over 10,000 employees globally. The problem dealt with a refactor of one of the most complex aspects of the application, tracking vendor costs. This problem was extremely challenging given the complexity of business rules associated with the feature. The solution to the problem involved refactoring a Java Spring Boot service to remove legacy logic and update the rules of the feature to reflect the current requirements of the business. The result of this refactor was a 10% increase in on-boarding of vendor contracts by technical product managers of the company. In solving this problem, I got the opportunity to work with a new programming language, have my code reviewed by senior engineers, and unit test the feature to ensure its robustness. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Inaccessible healthcare in various regions of Pakistan, especially rural villages, has deeply affected me ever since I was in middle school. Each summer growing up, I would visit the remote village in the Punjab province where my dad spent the first 20+ years of his life. During every single trip, I noticed how the availability of crucial medical equipment such as heart rate monitors, ventilators, and oxygen masks was severely limited, if not completely absent. I personally witnessed how this lack of essential healthcare resources resulted in the tragic loss of children and teenagers. Realizing that such deaths were avoidable with just better access to medical supplies influenced my perspective on global healthcare. Enhancing medical device accessibility is a big reason why I chose to study Biomedical Engineering at UW. Living in Canada and visiting these villages, I realized my goal of wanting to play a part in ensuring healthcare is a right for all and not a privilege for some. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Over the past 5 years, I have proudly been an integral part of the Muslim community at my local mosque in Mississauga. This involvement has strengthened my faith as a practicing Muslim while fostering a strong sense of social responsibility and community welfare. My contributions to this mosque include youth programs and fundraising for underprivileged communities. The youth programs entail leading weekly sessions aimed at teaching kids crucial life lessons from the holy book, connecting these teachings to personal experiences. Moreover, I take great pride in my role of fundraising for oppressed Uighur Muslims globally. Through initiatives like bake sales, organizing community sports competitions, and sponsor outreach, my team and I have raised over $2500 this past year. The highlight is our monthly visit to Islamic Relief’s office (a well-renowned non-profit charity) in Burlington, where we personally deliver the check and discuss the potential impact of this contribution." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Last summer, I took on a fascinating challenge of learning to speak French. Despite having studied French in high school for a year, I found myself struggling to engage in basic conversations. As someone aspiring to work in the federal government after graduation, French proficiency offers the opportunity for better job placements and further career advancements. Moreover, my twin sister already being fluent in French added an element of pride and extra motivation to succeed. For the first two weeks of summer, I focused on learning the fundamentals of the language, which included vocabulary and grammar rules. Following this, I leveraged Duolingo and immersed myself in the language through French music and TV shows. I realized that consistency with study routine and persevering were crucial. Towards the end of the summer when I felt more confident, I practiced actively by communicating with my sister in only French which overtime improved pronunciation and facilitated faster learning." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688615252481 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "dtodi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Debanshi", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Todi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computational Mathematics", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F66399ac0-61da-4b63-8fa8-9c25147d9d42?alt=media&token=4ee94b06-53f5-422d-a8ed-8dfb57da1ff8", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I encountered a challenge while integrating a complex third-party API for secure payment processing in a web development project. The API documentation lacked clarity, making it difficult to understand the implementation steps.\n\nTo overcome this, I conducted extensive research, reaching out to the API provider for clarification and gathering insights from developer communities. This helped me gain a clearer understanding of the API.\n\nI then designed a robust architecture, carefully planning endpoints, data flows, and error handling mechanisms to ensure seamless communication between our system and the API. During implementation, I faced compatibility issues with my existing technology stack, requiring debugging and troubleshooting. I sought advice from experienced developers to address these challenges effectively.\n\nTo ensure stability and security, I tested the payment processing feature in various scenarios. Ultimately, perseverance and collaborative problem-solving did the trick.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Promoting access to quality education for underprivileged communities is a cause that deeply resonates with me. I believe education is transformative in empowering individuals and breaking the cycle of poverty.\n\nWitnessing the disparities in educational opportunities based on socioeconomic backgrounds early-on in life, motivated me to bridge this gap. I strongly advocate for equal access to education, regardless of one's background.\n\nThrough volunteer work and mentorship programs at AASRA trust in India, I've seen firsthand how education can positively impact individuals and communities. Guiding students from disadvantaged backgrounds has shown me their incredible growth and achievements.\n\nJoining Blueprint Waterloo presents a remarkable opportunity to contribute meaningfully to this cause, and the like." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of AASRA Trust, a non-profit organization in India where I taught underprivileged students subjects like math, science, and English.\n\nAs a volunteer teacher, my aim was to empower these students by providing knowledge and skills that could positively impact their lives. I conducted regular classes, developed interactive lesson plans, and witnessed their progress and growing confidence.\n\nI also mentored and guided the students, encouraging them to pursue higher education and explore career opportunities. Additionally, I organized extracurricular activities (like theater, painting, etc) to foster a sense of community and showcase their talents.\n\nBeing part of AASRA taught me the importance of empathy, compassion, and the transformative power of education. Witnessing the students' resilience inspired me to continue making a positive impact in creating a more inclusive and equitable society\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning classical music was a significant milestone in my personal and musical growth. Motivated by a deep love for its emotional depth and connection to Indian culture, I embarked on a journey to explore this rich art form.\n\nMy approach to learning classical music involved soughting out a knowledgeable and experienced teacher who could guide me through the intricacies of this genre. Under their guidance, I focused on building a strong foundation by studying music theory, and exploring various classical compositions. \n\nI devoted consistent time each day to practice scales, technical exercises, and specific pieces. Moreover, I embraced the iterative process of learning, embracing the notion that mistakes and challenges were opportunities for for growth.\n\nMy motivation to learn classical music was driven by a desire to connect with its rich cultural heritage, express myself through its profound emotional language, and develop a deep appreciation for the complexities of this art form. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688613132690 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "j88fu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jefferson", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Fu", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F66bd41f3-106f-445d-aebd-97c347c97599?alt=media&token=b65ab046-f60f-4660-a7fc-4b2d0939272c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I've faced in the past was trying to implement a poorly documented third party application into our product back in my second co-op at TradeRev. The instructions weren't exactly clear how I was supposed to go at the task but in order to solve it, I first tried to use everything that I was given. However little documentation was provided, I made sure to make good use of the information and attempt to piece whatever I could together. As the problem was not solved, I did what I could to reference other resources, I looked to other similar applications who may have had better documentation and surely, this was just enough to allow me to complete the task at hand. Similar to other challenging problems, my approach was to first ensure that I understood what I had to do, utilize all the resources around me until I am done, and then make sure I can solve the same problem quicker in the future.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in EST next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is fighting racism. Growing up as an asian kid, I've faced a few times of racial discrimination here and there and while it always made me feel bad, I understood that there were always many more kids who saw and experienced much worse. Over time I began to learn more about the history of my background and I always have been more appreciative and proud of where I come from and I believe that this feeling should be something that everyone in the world should feel." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "While I'm not in too many communities as of the moment, a community I used to be a part of was my school's student run philantrophic council. Within this council, we would reach outside organizations and find ways to raise awareness for social issues as well as encourage getting involved within the community. My main contributions were creating numerous volunteering opportunities that would help others with a wide range of activites." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Playing guitar was always something that I thought was really cool and I thought it would be even better if I could play along to the rock songs that I was really getting into at the time. When I got my first guitar, I really just had fun with the guitar and let my curiousity run loose, it didn't really matter if it sounded bad but on the slight chance it sounded good I would be more excited to continue playing. I leveraged resources online to try and learn more and more and when I decided I wanted to continue learning even quicker, I chose to start taking lessons. Taking formal teachings and taught me fine details that I skipped over and may have never knew otherwise. Overall, improving my abilities at the guitar, like any other skill, was a matter of how much time and effort I put in as well as how many resources around me I could leverage." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688609304641 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "etin@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Finance & Operations", - "firstName": "Enoch", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Tin", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Bachelor of Accounting and Finance, Honours, Co-op", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F690b66e9-971b-4916-8cf2-4f6ff354b499?alt=media&token=57cebf49-7441-45f5-be60-425a2fa9543e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "13", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?", - "response": "For external organizations, I assume it implies firms, unaffiliated with UW.\n\n1. I would develop a sponsorship package that communicates who we are as a student-led initiative, our ongoing projects, future roadmap, and the benefits we can offer to them. This would include a clear table outlining different sponsorship tiers and a compelling call to action with contact information.\n\n2. I would conduct thorough research to identify potential sponsors who align with our goals and values. This research would identify organizations that may be interested in providing in-kind sponsorships, such as materials or licenses, or direct funding. Hence, I would tailor personalized emails to each potential sponsor, highlighting how their support can create a mutually beneficial partnership and emphasizing the marketing impact we can generate.\n\n3. I would explore alternatives such as cold calling or arranging meetings to discuss sponsorship details in further depth and potentially signing a contract." - } - ], - "role": "VP Finance & Operations" - }, - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Food scarcity.\n\nDuring my time in high school, I participated in a two-week service trip aimed at distributing food supplies and constructing toilets in a developing country. This experience instilled in me a profound understanding of the detrimental effects of food scarcity on ones' physical health and its hindrance to personal growth. \nHence, I took up the position of Research and Donations Executive for the W23 term at WUSA Food Support Service.\n\nAs part of my role, I coordinated food donations with external parties such as food banks and United College. I also managed the scheduling of donation box pick-ups for volunteers and collaborated with various WUSA clubs to enhance the donation volume for the creation of food and hygiene hampers. \n\nThese hampers were made available for anyone in need to conveniently pick up at the Turnkey desk.\n\nI aim to create a meaningful impact by utilizing my expertise in finance to support Blueprint in your diverse range of causes." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Electrium Mobility, Finance Lead.\n\nIt is a recently established student design team comprising 90 members and 3 parallel projects, each with 3 sub-teams. It develops a wide variety of electric vehicles, including electric bikes, Onewheels, skateboards, go-karts...\n\nIn my role as Finance Lead, I have made the following contributions:\n\n1. Effectively set and managed the term budget for all 9 tech-teams and 3 business teams using Google Sheets. I ensure every purchase is eligible for reimbursement or can be covered through SDC work orders.\n\n2. Designed an Internal Reimbursement System and led a team of developers to automate the reimbursement process for all endowment funds' reimbursement forms.\n\n3. Drafted sponsorship package and emails, used in outreaches to firm sponsors;\nDrafted endowment fund proposals, slides, scripts for ENGSOC, WEEF and more.\n\n4. Held meetings with SDC Finance administrator to clarify SDC finance logistics and legistrations\n\n5. Recruited and trained a team of 6" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Utilization of Figma for Marketing Design\n\nMotivation:\nWhen I was accepted as the first Director of Marketing for the Poker Studies Club, I was informed that our design tool is Figma, replacing my previously used Canvas. \n\nGiven the absence of established design standards, templates, and cross-promotion, in order to boost Poker Club's presence within the UW community, I needed to surpass expectations. To achieve this, I committed myself to leveraging my network with other clubs, diligently studying and refining my design skills.\n\nApproach:\nTo ensure success, I watched YouTube tutorials, thoroughly studied Figma's guides, reviewed award-winning posters and IG posts, and sought guidance from marketing experts within my other club affiliations. \n\nEventually, I successfully set design standards, created design assets and IG post templates, and produced 7 impactful posters. \n\nThese efforts yielded remarkable results, with a membership increase of 400 within a span of 1.5 terms." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687926058449 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "pmmansha@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Pravesh", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Mansharamani", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Honours Mathematics ", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6941ee7d-bd0f-407b-a5ed-532e1dd5de29?alt=media&token=19a65367-334c-45ba-be03-a595a21c32fa", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Frontend", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem I tackled was creating an AI chatbot for my company's website to handle HR and payroll inquiries. To solve this, I embarked on thorough research to determine the best approach. I started by designing the system, considering the chatbot's functionality and integration with our existing systems.\n\nAfter careful planning, I implemented the solution using OpenAI's Language Model (LLM) and utilized embeddings to enhance its understanding and response generation capabilities. I trained the chatbot on relevant HR and payroll data to ensure accurate and informative responses. Through iterative testing and refinement, I fine-tuned the chatbot's performance, addressing potential bottlenecks and improving its ability to handle a wide range of user inquiries effectively. Ultimately, the chatbot became a valuable resource for our website visitors, providing prompt and accurate HR and payroll assistance.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": " My preference lies in employing a variety of research methods that allow me to gather comprehensive and reliable data. I prioritize using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a deep understanding of user needs, behaviors, and preferences. Qualitative methods such as interviews, usability testing, and field studies help me gather rich insights and capture the subjective experiences of users. On the other hand, quantitative methods such as surveys, analytics data, and A/B testing provide me with measurable and statistically significant data to validate findings and make data-driven decisions. These methods enable me to gather both qualitative and quantitative insights, ensuring a holistic understanding of user experiences.\n\n" - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern time (ET)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. The state of our planet and the urgent need to address issues such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity have become increasingly evident.\n\nI believe that we have a collective responsibility to protect and preserve our natural environment for future generations. The Earth provides us with invaluable resources, sustains all forms of life, and offers breathtaking beauty. It is crucial that we take proactive measures to ensure its longevity." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be part of the blockchain community for the past two years. I contribute by participating in events, being one of the Exec at Waterloo Blockchain's marketing team, and sharing my knowledge. I aim to foster a thriving and inclusive community that promotes innovation and adoption of blockchain technology." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently learned React, a JavaScript library, for my job. My motivation was its popularity and relevance to my role. I took a hands-on approach, focusing on practical application and real-world projects. I sought solutions from online resources and communities, continuously practiced, and built projects to strengthen my skills. This approach allowed me to quickly acquire React proficiency and apply it effectively in my job." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687387315186 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "nrpatel@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Nivid Rakeshbhai ", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Patel", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6a631a40-b428-4a00-9b3b-9567459f10f5?alt=media&token=602e045d-fc3e-4dd8-8b66-0e842aeb4021", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Mobile", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Data Science", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One of the challenging technical problems I encountered was during the development of the UW Chat app. The issue arose when I faced difficulties in deploying the site online through Firebase. Despite initial setbacks, I approached the problem with a determined mindset and a willingness to learn. I began by thoroughly reading the Firebase documentation and exploring various online resources, including tutorials and forums. Through this process, I identified a crucial mistake in the configuration and deployment settings. By rectifying the error and following the correct procedures, I was able to successfully deploy the UW Chat app online. This experience taught me the importance of thorough research, resourcefulness, and the value of learning from mistakes. It reinforced my understanding that technical challenges are opportunities for growth, and with perseverance and a proactive approach to problem-solving, I can overcome any obstacles that come my way.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "I absolutely love the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones. The audio quality is exceptional, delivering rich and detailed sound across a wide range of genres. The noise cancellation is simply outstanding, effortlessly blocking out external noise and creating a serene listening environment. The Adaptive Sound Control feature is a game-changer, automatically adjusting the noise cancellation settings to match my surroundings, whether I'm in a busy café or on a crowded train. The comfort level is excellent too, with plush earpads that provide a snug fit for long listening sessions. The battery life is impressive, lasting for hours on end, and the touch controls on the earcups make it easy to adjust volume, skip tracks, and answer calls. Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones have exceeded my expectations, delivering an unparalleled listening experience that truly elevates my music enjoyment." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be present in the EDT (US & Canada) = GMT - 4 for the next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Tech for Good: Bridging the digital divide, empowering communities. Technology has the power to transform lives, uplift communities, and address pressing challenges. I advocate for initiatives that provide equal access to technology and the internet, reducing disparities in education, employment, and opportunities. By leveraging the potential of technology, we can create a more inclusive and equitable future for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I feel a sense of pride for the community of international students since I am a part of it. It brings together people from various cultural origins who are all motivated by the desire to further their studies in a foreign country. I have given back to this community by taking part in cultural exchange activities, planning seminars to share ideas about my own culture, and providing help and direction to other international students. I aim to create a friendly, accepting environment through my participation that encourages interpersonal development." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning to swim was a transformative experience for me, driven by my eagerness to acquire a vital life skill and conquer my fear of water. Motivated by the desire to become more confident in aquatic environments, I approached the learning process with enthusiasm and a growth mindset. Recognizing that mistakes were an essential part of the learning journey, I embraced each challenge as an opportunity for growth. With the guidance of a patient and experienced swim instructor, I started with basic techniques, gradually progressing to more advanced skills. I remained open to feedback, constantly seeking areas for improvement and refining my strokes. Despite initial setbacks and moments of frustration, my determination and willingness to learn from my mistakes propelled me forward. Through perseverance and a positive mindset, I eventually overcame my fear and developed a strong foundation in swimming. This experience taught me the value of embracing challenges and being resilient. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688156228135 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "y372kim@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Iris", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kim", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Statistics", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6a6d0253-280d-47e9-afe1-a67e9f780a25?alt=media&token=27762230-5a21-4c62-a7bf-293744b14862", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is Tesla's electric vehicles. Tesla has revolutionized the automotive industry by combining cutting-edge technology with sustainability. I admire how Tesla's products have transformed the perception of electric vehicles, making them sleek, powerful, and desirable. The company's commitment to innovation, user experience, and environmental consciousness is truly inspiring. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I prefer using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to gain comprehensive insights into user experiences. Qualitative methods like surveys and interviews allow me to understand user perspectives and pain points. These methods provide valuable insights that inform product improvements and feature prioritization.\n\nIn addition, I have expertise in quantitative research methods, particularly in data analysis and visualization. I leverage quantitative methods such as surveys and data analytics to validate and complement qualitative findings. By collecting and analyzing large-scale user data, I can identify patterns, trends, and user behaviours that provide a broader understanding of the user base." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that deeply resonates with me is improving access to education for underprivileged communities. I believe that everyone deserves equal access to quality education, regardless of their financial circumstances. By leveraging technology, we can create innovative solutions that enhance educational opportunities for marginalized communities. By partnering with organizations like Blueprint, I aim to contribute my technical skills to develop user-friendly learning platforms, tools for remote education, and data-driven strategies to identify educational gaps. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I founded a student multicultural club in high school to support international students facing language and cultural barriers. As an international student myself, I empathized with their experiences. Drawing from my volunteer work at organizations like YMCA Immigrant Service, Frontier College, and New Canadian Centre, I realized the need for a support system tailored specifically to the students at my school. \n\nThrough weekly meetings, we created a safe and inclusive space for international students to come together, share their experiences, and support one another. As the club's leader, I facilitated meetings, organized events, and ensured a welcoming environment. Witnessing the positive impact on students' confidence, language skills, and friendships was fulfilling. This experience taught me empathy, inclusivity, and the power of collective support in breaking down cultural barriers." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I was drawn to coding because of its ability to create practical tools from scratch. I began by taking computer science classes and joining the coding club in high school. During my free time, I learned more advanced skills like web development and building automation tools by watching YouTube tutorials. As my knowledge grew, I participated in hackathons to gain real-life experience and build interesting projects. The collaborative nature of hackathons, working with like-minded individuals, was inspiring and motivating. It fueled my passion for coding and showed me the impact technology can have. I'm excited to continue learning and contributing to the club's projects. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688431416889 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "jasmine.sun@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jasmine", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sun", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6ab1041b-eac7-428e-95a9-90e26d27a8a8?alt=media&token=6a9004cd-b647-41a6-ad29-c9b9cc1bf16d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my internship at Xero, I encountered a significant technical challenge involving one of our bank statement extractors. The extractor had a low success rate, often failing to extract PDFs correctly or failing to extract them at all. This posed a critical issue as the product's beta launch was scheduled in just two days, and we needed a success rate of over 80% to proceed with its development. To address this challenge, I devised a systematic approach. I handpicked a set of 25 e-statements and meticulously validated the extracted data against the original documents. Next, I tackled the most critical issues first to ensure a significant improvement in the success rate within the limited timeframe. Through these efforts, in just two days, I managed to increase the extraction success rate from 15% to 85%. Not only did we meet the required success rate for the product's beta launch, but we also gained invaluable insights and improvements for future iterations.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is supporting and helping community/stray cats. I firmly believe in creating a nurturing and safe environment where these cats can thrive and receive the essential medical attention they deserve. It's disheartening to learn that the statistics paint a grim picture, with a staggering 75% of feral kittens not surviving beyond six months, and adult cats having an average life expectancy of just two years. These cats face numerous challenges, including contagious diseases and abuse, which I am determined to shed light on and address. It's also unfair that cats often don't receive the same legal rights as many other animals, which contributes to the prevailing attitude that they are somehow less important. Did you know that in the UK, under the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is obligated to stop and provide their details if they injure a dog, sheep, pig, or goat, but not if they injure a cat? It is crucial to raise awareness about these disparities." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the vibrant gardening community, where I contribute by supporting local community gardens, planting bee-friendly flowers, and sharing my knowledge with others. Through volunteering, I help maintain and nurture green spaces for everyone to enjoy. Additionally, I actively seek out and plant bee-friendly flowers, recognizing the vital role these pollinators play in our ecosystem. Through this conscious choice, I hope to help preserve biodiversity and foster a healthier environment. I also actively engage with beginner gardeners, providing guidance, tips, and assistance to help them start their own gardening journeys. My involvement in the gardening community aims to create a positive impact, fostering a deeper appreciation for nature and empowering others to cultivate their own green spaces." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning to crochet was an exciting journey for me, driven by my desire to surprise my piano teacher, who was expecting a baby girl, with homemade crochet toys. To approach this new skill, I began by searching for crochet patterns that aligned with my vision. Once I had a pattern in mind, I promptly gathered the necessary materials and dove right in. Whenever I encountered unfamiliar stitches, I turned to instructional videos or sought guidance from my talented grandmother, a true crochet wizard. I also learned the importance of perseverance and iteration. For example, in my initial attempts, the spacing of the stitches appeared uneven and untidy. However, I embraced the challenge and remade the toys, ensuring tighter and more consistent stitches. Through practice and dedication, I gradually improved my crocheting technique, ultimately gaining confidence in my newfound skill." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687284359662 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "c9peng@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Chen", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Peng", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6be7cb95-f4de-45e6-aea9-08c840ddbb39?alt=media&token=1fc3c3b8-e387-4399-a50b-01f71c48bd3a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem I encountered in a ReactJS environment was optimizing the rendering performance of a complex web application. The application had a large number of components and extensive data manipulation, resulting in slow rendering and decreased user responsiveness.\n\nTo solve this, I employed various strategies and techniques. First, I conducted a detailed performance analysis using React DevTools and browser profiling tools to identify performance bottlenecks. I discovered that unnecessary re-renders and inefficient component updates were major contributors to the performance issues.\n\nTo address this, I implemented React's memoization techniques, utilizing React.memo and useMemo hooks to memoize and optimize component rendering. By memoizing components and selectively updating only when necessary, I reduced unnecessary re-renders and improved overall rendering performance.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Cause: Teaching and Guiding Others' Passions\n\nDescription: I am passionate about empowering individuals to discover and pursue their passions. As a mentor, I strive to provide guidance and support to help others explore their interests and unlock their full potential.\n\nApproach:\n1. Founding a Chess Team: Established and led a chess team, organizing meetings, preparing lessons, and fostering a love for the game.\n2. Coaching and Achievements: Mentored team members to excel, leading to qualifying for city finals and winning accolades.\n3. Volunteering: Devoted time to help aspiring chess players, organizing intra-school tournaments, and securing funding.\n4. Individualized Guidance: Tailored my teaching approach to each person's learning style, encouraging growth and self-expression.\n5. Inspiring Others: Motivated individuals to pursue their passions by sharing success stories and providing mentorship.\n\nImpact: Empowering others to develop skills, build confidence, and pursue their passions" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Community: High School Program (TOPS)\n\nContribution:\n\nWebsite Management: Oversaw development and maintenance of the program's website, ensuring seamless functionality.\nContent Optimization: Updated and optimized website content, enhancing user experience and engagement.\nTechnical Problem Solving: Resolved website issues promptly, ensuring uninterrupted access for students and parents.\nMentorship: Guided fellow students in web development, fostering a culture of learning and growth.\nCollaborative Teamwork: Collaborated with team members to create innovative solutions and improve the program's online presence.\nImpact:\n\nEnhanced User Experience: Improved website layout and functionality, providing a user-friendly interface.\nIncreased Program Visibility: A well-maintained website contributed to greater awareness and enrollment in TOPS.\nEmpowered Students: Enabled fellow students to develop web development skills and pursue their passions.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Motivation: Embracing the demand for cloud computing skills and expanding my technical expertise.\n\nApproach:\n\nResearch and Planning: Understanding AWS services and setting clear learning objectives.\nOnline Learning Resources: Leveraging platforms like AWS Training, A Cloud Guru, and free resources.\nHands-on Projects: Creating virtual environments and utilizing services like EC2, S3, Lambda, and DynamoDB.\nCommunity Engagement: Active participation in online forums and AWS user groups for knowledge sharing.\nCertification Preparation: Studying exam guides, taking practice tests, and achieving AWS certification.\nOutcome: Comprehensive understanding of AWS, proficiency in deploying scalable applications, and contribution to cloud-based projects.\n\nImpact: Expanding career opportunities and demonstrating versatility as a technical professional." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688063643515 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "jessica2003mail@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jessica", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ding", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6d17112e-9f2b-4c7a-b5b1-df191d61298c?alt=media&token=38984cc8-0fa1-497b-b40c-276312d19e4d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "While creating my first ever React project, a CV builder, I encountered a challenging issue. I wanted users to be able to personalize their CV by adding, editing, and deleting sections of experiences. However, adding a new experience would reset all the other experiences in the same section. Being new to React, I had no clue what the problem might be. First I printed all the intermediary steps to the console. Next I tried to Google my problem, but I didn’t know what exactly I was looking for, so no solutions appeared. Finally, I turned to my last resource: a discord server meant for programmers to help each other. Someone told me to try moving my data to a separate file - an idea I had never heard of before. With some research, I finally made it work. After spending countless hours on this issue, solving it felt like a huge success. I learned the important lesson that it’s okay to ask others for help when feeling overwhelmed, and I hope to help someone else similarly in the future!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "My preferred method of research is gathering both quantitative and qualitative data through surveys. I believe this is a simple and cost effective way of obtaining primary data from large samples. Since most surveys can be completed online, it is also easily controlled. For example, with properly written questions, it could reduce biases that humans present when asking questions in-person. Responses could also remain completely anonymous. Thus it provides the most accurate results compared to other research methods. Since I have created surveys for class projects and for friends before, I am also personally most confident in using this method of research." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in Waterloo next term, so EST!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Growing up, my parents always taught me to help others whenever possible. Over the years, I have internalized this, and it is now one of my life goals. Ever since high school, I have been volunteering with various non-profit organizations in an effort to contribute to the community I live in. Upon graduating, I had accumulated over 400 hours volunteering at summer camps, the senior home, food bank, hospital, just to name a few. Through visiting seniors who don’t often see their loved ones, giving directions to anxious visitors of the hospital, and preparing food for those in need, I have personally seen the impact kindness can have on others. Seeing a smile on someone else’s face, knowing I was able to do something small for them, provides me with personal fulfillment. I truly believe that if everyone helped each other out, the world could be a much better place. Since Blueprint also strives to help communities in need, I would love to join and continue supporting a cause I believe in!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "FIRST Robotics is a community I am proud to be in. When I first joined in grade 10, I was a curious, albeit clueless, student enthralled by the shiny robot at the club fair. Over the next 4 months, the seniors transformed us into engineers from the ground up. We had a lot of fun, working late into the night together to complete a competitive robot within a tight deadline. Unfortunately, the day before our competition, the lockdown ensued and our team came to a halt. When meetings finally resumed a full year later, I realized I had become the experienced senior I had once looked up to. I wanted to provide the new students with the same guidance I had received when I first joined. As the programming lead, I mentored those interested in learning code and made them feel welcome. We learned a lot together and battled our way through a tough competition. Although we didn’t win, I contributed to our team as a leader, and I hope to have encouraged another generation of students to do the same." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A couple summers ago, Instagram mysteriously started showing me skateboarding videos. I was immediately captivated. Skating a bowl had never looked more exciting, and I really wanted to learn it myself. Thus began my journey of learning to skateboard. To become a good skateboarder, I knew I needed to develop a strong foundational understanding first. I slowly learned the proper footing, balance, and method of moving forwards. I spent a few weeks simply skating in my neighborhood. Once I felt ready, I went to the skatepark for the first time. Again, I started with the smallest ramps possible. I made sure to be confident in one skill before moving on to the next. It wasn’t easy, but after consistent training on incrementally harder paths, I eventually made it to the bowl! Retrospectively, my strategy was simple: solidify one skill before learning another. I also utilize this strategy in my academics, and it has proven to be a beneficial long-term approach to learning new concepts." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688079365822 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "jasmine.sun@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jasmine", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sun", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6d180119-7835-4d5b-9479-39343922d0d9?alt=media&token=61221e21-eab8-4ab8-b6b4-f77c23b7ea64", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my internship at Xero, I encountered a significant technical challenge involving one of our bank statement extractors. The extractor had a low success rate, often failing to extract PDFs correctly or failing to extract them at all. This posed a critical issue as the product's beta launch was scheduled in just two days, and we needed a success rate of over 80% to proceed with its development. To address this challenge, I devised a systematic approach. I handpicked a set of 25 e-statements and meticulously validated the extracted data against the original documents. Next, I tackled the most critical issues first to ensure a significant improvement in the success rate within the limited timeframe. Through these efforts, in just two days, I managed to increase the extraction success rate from 15% to 85%. Not only did we meet the required success rate for the product's beta launch, but we also gained invaluable insights and improvements for future iterations.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is supporting and helping community/stray cats. I firmly believe in creating a nurturing and safe environment where these cats can thrive and receive the essential medical attention they deserve. It's disheartening to learn that the statistics paint a grim picture, with a staggering 75% of feral kittens not surviving beyond six months, and adult cats having an average life expectancy of just two years. These cats face numerous challenges, including contagious diseases and abuse, which I am determined to shed light on and address. It's also unfair that cats often don't receive the same legal rights as many other animals, which contributes to the prevailing attitude that they are somehow less important. Did you know that in the UK, under the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is obligated to stop and provide their details if they injure a dog, sheep, pig, or goat, but not if they injure a cat? It is crucial to raise awareness about these disparities." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the vibrant gardening community, where I contribute by supporting local community gardens, planting bee-friendly flowers, and sharing my knowledge with others. Through volunteering, I help maintain and nurture green spaces for everyone to enjoy. Additionally, I actively seek out and plant bee-friendly flowers, recognizing the vital role these pollinators play in our ecosystem. Through this conscious choice, I hope to help preserve biodiversity and foster a healthier environment. I also actively engage with beginner gardeners, providing guidance, tips, and assistance to help them start their own gardening journeys. My involvement in the gardening community aims to create a positive impact, fostering a deeper appreciation for nature and empowering others to cultivate their own green spaces." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning to crochet was an exciting journey for me, driven by my desire to surprise my piano teacher, who was expecting a baby girl, with homemade crochet toys. To approach this new skill, I began by searching for crochet patterns that aligned with my vision. Once I had a pattern in mind, I promptly gathered the necessary materials and dove right in. Whenever I encountered unfamiliar stitches, I turned to quick instructional videos or sought guidance from my talented grandmother, a true crochet wizard. I also learned the importance of perseverance and iteration. For example, in my initial attempts, the spacing of the stitches appeared uneven and untidy. However, I embraced the challenge and remade the toys, ensuring tighter and more consistent stitches. Through practice and dedication, I gradually improved my crocheting technique, ultimately gaining confidence in my newfound skill." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688350200333 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "n247shar@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Nandini", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sharma", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Global Business and Digital Arts", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6d8fba58-d250-42bc-89d5-5bb8e264cc9e?alt=media&token=467fa545-a096-47ec-aebc-0f84fed74791", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "As a product designer, I am constantly on the lookout for how I can make life easier for myself and others. I pay attention to how people interact with products and services in their daily lives. Observe their frustrations, needs, and desires. By empathizing with users, I identify opportunities for improvement and innovative solutions. I look for challenges that I see in my daily life and identify pain points and patterns of inefficiency. Then, by closely examining and empathizing with these problems, I create solutions." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://nsharma31g.wixsite.com/website/general-8", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "As a User Experience Researcher, I use a variety of research methods to conduct data including both qualitative and quantitative methods. However, if I were to choose one method that I was to consider my main method of expertise, I would have to say I do enjoy conducting qualitative research such as interviews and field studies. I think these forms of research methods are quite fascinating as it allows us to discover and understand the route of the problem and what causes one's motivations and behaviours. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that genuinely resonates and aligns with my values and interests is mental health awareness and support." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am a proud member of HER campus community, an online magazine website targeting at female college student demographic. As a part of the community, I wrote engaging and informative articles on a variety of topics related to campus life, including student wellness, career advice, fashion, and lifestyle in hopes to inspire young women around the world. I researched trending topics and pitched fresh article ideas to the editorial team, demonstrating creativity and ensuring adherence to brand guidelines and maintaining a consistent tone throughout the publication.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Motivated by my commitment to combat bullying, I learned Adobe After Effects for a school project. Immersed in tutorials on YouTube, I mastered the software to create a powerful animation that I can call my own. The result was a captivating animation that sparked conversations and raised awareness among my peers. This experience made me believe even more strongly in the ability of creativity to make a difference in society and fueled my passion to use my skills to tackle important problems in the future." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687325501043 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A ", - "email": "g28chen@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Guo", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Chen", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "CS/BBA", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7307b365-f506-46c9-8783-32af6262fe00?alt=media&token=26f0445d-90bc-4505-b8b9-fc8702717c5d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "Speechtopia.club - A website designed and used at debate education ecosystem that I found myself working with a few years ago. Even though \"gamification\" has become an overused buzzword, this is a case where I saw an effective implementation of gamified learning. The website mimics a lot of online learning tools like D2L, but it fully tailors to debate education with built-in timers, feedback and ranking systems, which are all -unfortunately- a huge quality of life revolution in the sphere. More importantly, it built in an entire competition system that is integrated into the user's identity and account. This allowed it to overcome the pitfalls of gamification becoming a negligible chore in learning, and instead fit cohesively into the way student users interacted with their learning progress, teachers, and peers." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "To me, in an ideal team experience, the members should feel the way you may feel around your annoying sibling. This is because these people will simultaneously be your most straightforward critics, but you also never doubt they have your back. I think that proactive team-building experiences paired with encouraging authentic and casual connections between team members lead to a good team. Through these experiences, I hope members get to know their teammates and trust each other that they are on the same front, which is the foundation of a functional and efficient team. Furthermore, along with that comes being comfortable with feedback and an openness to learn from others who you work with. For members to be able to not hold back and instead appreciate all the knowledge they can share and learn from each other means that communication and efficiency undoubtedly won't be a barrier in their work." - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Quality education in rural regions. Having led the volunteer English teaching initiative at a rural Chinese elementary and middle school, I saw firsthand the impact that education and knowledge can have on students. I was deeply influenced by the spark and excitement that I saw in each student when they mastered a sentence structure, discovered a new word, and saw that they could do a lot more than they imagined. I made it a mission to learn about them, their goals, and how I could help them with not only English education but also discovering what they want out of their lives. I saw the lack of opportunities available to them, which was striking against privileged students from Beijing whom I also taught. But with emerging technological tools and online learning materials, we saw that gap slowly being bridged. To this day, I continue to look for ways in which education can become democratized through technological avenues. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "The university debate circuit is a bit of a niche now, but it has become one of my core identities. Despite a reputation for being gatekept and pretentious, I found myself welcomed into UW's debate community and the larger Canadian circuit last year with open arms. Within a short couple tournaments, I found that even the most revered top debaters were just another political science nerd like me. I am proud of the fact that debate is one of the only activities in which any area of niche knowledge is accepted and cherished. In addition, seeing the passion for a sport that is dying down motivated me to channel that energy into my teaching, learning tabluation the night before a tournament, skipping class to run tournament logistics, reaching out to and encouraging past debaters to rejoin a space that has become more and more friendly. I am certain that this is a safe space for all interests, and I want to ensure that it thrives." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Starting last summer, I learned how to crochet. Like any skill I've learned on my own, it was motivated by wanting to create something, and picking up the necessary skills along the way until I become an expert from experience. \nThis time, it started with seeing pictures of completed projects that I loved and wanted to recreate myself. If I wanted a Harry Styles cardigan, no use trying to search for the perfect one- I can make one myself with my favourite colours. There seemed like no better way to learn than to pick up a hook and yarn and just start. I was searching around for tutorials that I didn't understand at first, and then scouring YouTube for super specific guides on some specific skill so that I can actually understand the tutorial, and falling down that rabbit hole and eventually being able to finish that cardigan with sheer intuition and conviction. My next project is more than likely to be an animal plush - courtesy of expert crocheter friends who make giant bumble bees." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615751607 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "sophian3105@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sophia", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Nguyen", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F730ba892-17c3-4ef1-b5e1-0d82e76284a0?alt=media&token=d583332b-1e8f-4d12-b24a-7ca07d844274", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A technical problem that I’ve encountered was working with Java Swing for my culminating cs project. We were tasked with creating tools that would be beneficial for students studying for final exams so my group decided to create flashcards that would auto generate after you pass in a text file. For the backend side, it was just the simple task of getting the program to read the file, place the questions and answers in an array, and store it into a CSV for retrieval of information. However the front end was a struggle as we have never worked with GUIs so we had a lot to learn in a short amount of time . Our teacher was also the type to throw us into the problem and let us figure it out by ourselves. To solve this, we did what every coder has done: watch tutorials and go on stack overflow. Initially, it was overwhelming, however, this gave us firsthand experience of being a programmer where we had to work out a difficult task in a short time while working with a group. \n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "The inspiration to my life are my parents (cliché, I know). My parents were Vietnamese immigrant boat people and growing up, they always used the Vietnamese phrase “giúp đỡ mọi người và có ích cho xã hội”. This means to be useful to society and to help people, similarly to how people helped them when they first arrived. My parents are my foundation and inspiration for everything I do. I am grateful for them because they adopted me from Vietnam and took me to another country so that I could receive a better education and overall, a better quality of life. \nHowever, I perceive “helping the community” as making a lasting impact and not just volunteering for the sake of it. To me, long-term impact must be meaningful and transformational, simply put, something that can bring about a positive change for generations to come. In addition to volunteering, my jobs also reflect my desire for change. For example, at ExplorerHop, I work to improve the school curriculum for students. \n" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "One of the projects that I worked on was when I volunteered for a youth organization where the task was to solve problems that youth face. My team decided to create a website that would be able to reverse search recipes using ingredients. The idea was that youth have unhealthy eating habits and this is due to their inexperience in recipes. I had stepped up to help code the website because most of my team members have never coded before. I also pitched our business at the final competition to business owners and members of Parliament and our team ended up winning first place. Through this, I learned how to persevere when discouraged and conflict management. The resources that I took advantage of were my team. I strongly believe that we won because we were able to organize ourselves well from day one and worked to our strengths to overcome adversities. \nhttp://inmykitchn.com/ or https://replit.com/@kimchiloof/InMyKitchn \n", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I volunteer for the Asian Passion Program and their cause of closing the gap between Asian students and English by connecting them with English-speaking tutors. As someone who came from a developing country, I know firsthand the aspirations of going to a different country to pursue a better education and a better life. Many Vietnamese struggle to make ends meet so sending their children to extra English classes is out of the question as these tutoring sessions can get really expensive. I am so lucky that I am able to speak English and receive a good education so by volunteering for programs like the Asian Passion Program, I will be able to give back and provide opportunities for other individuals who are struggling. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am proud to be a part of is the international baccalaureate community that I am in at my high school. Being a new school to IB, the community only consists of 60 or so students in my year which has fostered strong connections and support systems in the cohort as well, IB has provided support on an international scale. Because of this, I try to encourage younger students to join the program. That is why I started the IB club. Students would come in with any questions they have about the program and also to get any help on math. Through this, I was able to help future IB students to understand the program better especially with limited communications from admin. The first few meetings were admittedly intimidating as not many students showed up but as more people started to learn about our club, that number is steadily increasing as students refer their friends as well to come and study so we really hope to make a big impact with this club.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A new skill that I have recently picked up is the skill of self-discipline. Self-discipline is what pushes people forward and is a much more useful skill than motivation when one needs to get tasks done. One of my greatest weaknesses is procrastination and I have been wanting to overcome it for a while, especially since it is summer and I do not want to lie around doing nothing. My motivation to learn this skill has come in the form of Instagram reels that illustrate the lifestyle that I want of working hard to achieve goals. My approach to learning this goal was to fix my mindset and prepare better schedules that I could follow. Before this, I always had the mindset that I would always have tomorrow to do something and that kept going on and on which led to me doing things late. I have also built a good morning routine which consists of praying and reflection which has helped me hone in on what I need to accomplish that day and helps me stay on top of things. \n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688184031939 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "d27kim@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Donghwui", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Kim", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F734cab5f-7c73-48de-8492-dfb0d0960f1f?alt=media&token=f8557439-5c53-4b73-bce4-ce799b112f8d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I had the opportunity to work on an environmental challenge during a program called SHAD last summer. I have worked with a team of five and identified a problem of water illiteracy. 56% of young Canadians aged 18-34 were unaware of how they acquire their drinking water, which stemmed from a lack of education about Canada’s freshwater resources and their sustainable usage. I tackled this issue by collaborating with others and utilizing the strengths of each member. As a result, my team successfully created a rough app prototype called “Hydrolife” that features short podcast episodes, habit trackers, water bill trackers and community comparisons to educate new homeowners. HydroLife would not only effectively reduce the frequency of making destructive habits but would also lead to a whole new generation of environmentally conscious homeowners through an intergenerational aspect of users’ new habits.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "As a class representative for software engineering in Math Soc, Engineering Soc, and SE Soc, I fully embraced my leadership role, recognizing that leadership is not a position of power but a position of empowerment. Attending biweekly meetings allowed me to stay updated on the concerns, ideas, and suggestions of my classmates. By being present and actively engaged, I became a bridge between their voices and the school administration. This role enabled me to effectively communicate student perspectives, ensuring that their needs were met. In addition to my involvement in meetings, I took on the responsibility of leading social events like mentor coffee chats, resume critique and the end-of-term social event. These events provided opportunities for students to connect, network, and learn from experienced professionals and workshop speakers. By organizing and facilitating these events, I aimed to inspire and motivate students, showing them they have the potential to make a difference." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "My timezone will be based in Waterloo, Ontario (EST)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me the most is promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion as it has always been an essential topic of my life. It is something that profoundly expresses my spirit and genuine passion. I firmly believe that building stronger connections within society is extremely crucial to the growth of us all. Having been deeply involved in my community, I saw systemic barriers that immigrant students faced daily in the Canadian school system. These barriers, both linguistic and cultural, spawned a variety of mental health problems, feelings of alienation, and social disconnection. Therefore, I want to interweave social ethics and my technical skills to create innovative solutions that dismantle structures of social oppression and global problems. At Blueprint, I aspire to become a collaborative and enthusiastic thinker, surrounded by brilliant people that I share core passions with. Bringing my collective-minded spirit, I am thrilled to take creative approaches." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be part of my Korean culture and ethnic community. I strongly believe in the power of sharing one’s culture with others and the fact that multiculturalism can lead to new innovations in terms of prosperous cultural vitality. The first step of my contribution was to build a diverse, spiritual and international network. I have been involved in numerous clubs that support diversity such as culture club at my high school and the EDI youth initiative at Leadership Niagara. I was responsible for planning and managing social events with activities like playing board games from other countries, teaching languages and presenting ways to eliminate systemic barriers through the lens of the student perspective. Being part of my community, I have set a goal to create new forms of inclusion, connection and joy, which help reshape cultural identity. The impact that they had on me has been immense, shaping the path of my life toward the joy of the collective." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I first attended high school, I struggled to socialize with other people due to lack of confidence and public speaking experiences. I was motivated to learn public speaking skills when I watched inspirational speeches from Barack Obama and Martin Luther King. I realized that they shared common characteristics: they exuded confidence and were passionate about what they were talking about. After watching these videos, I wanted to turn my weakness into strengths and become like these role models. After a fair amount of practicing public speaking in front of my friends and some teachers, I started to manufacture the mysterious and miraculous power known as confidence. With this newly cultivated confidence, I started to get involved in leadership organizations such as student council, city youth advisory council, and Waterloo engineering society. These valuable experiences taught me that I could be a leader who influences the audience with meaning and vitality." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688444987252 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B (incoming)", - "email": "sophiecliu@pm.me", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Sophie", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Liu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7373e227-1663-456c-bc94-295bcb77761c?alt=media&token=5e954921-38bd-411c-93f3-90cd5a44be5f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "Lately I've been obsessed with the idea of a softer, more independent internet inspired by its early days — I've been curating lists of personal sites that include funky community concepts (like a \"secret theatre\"), gloriously maximalist Neocities archives, and tender, uniquely detailed experiences (like a skeumorphic display of public letters, an endlessly looping 3d dive, etc...) I look for moments of grace and ease in my physical, non-internet life, trying to replicate that and to be inspired by the niche wacky creativity on the web that isn't easily found in corporate design styles.\n\nOf course, I'm inspired by sensible products too — I often take note of careful design affordances in everyday products I love (the Arc browser, my desk lamp) as well as products that are both creative and endlessly practical (like the website same.energy)." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "sofei.notion.site\n\nThough I've done a fair bit of product design work in my internships, I would love the chance to be part of the process with an experienced mentor as so far I've always been the only designer :)", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I would love to do more user interviews and data analysis! I'm a skilled writer and communicator, and I'm able to effectively parse and condense a lot of information into insights or organize data into an accessible format. I have experience with writing complex queries in Metabase to understand user behaviour, and I've learned a bit about the UX process from mentors at work (and am interested in learning more!)" - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Greenwich Mean Time as I'm aiming to go on exchange to Liverpool in the UK, though if I end up staying in Waterloo I'll be in Eastern Time." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I'm super passionate about freely accessible educational resources and have been working in related tech roles for the past year! I grew up using Khan Academy for learning and test prep, and as a tutor myself I've experienced firsthand the joy and empowerment that I can impart through understanding.\n\nI'm currently working on product design and engineering for schoolhouse.world, a free peer-to-peer tutoring platform by Sal Khan. Engaging with the dedicated volunteer tutors and amazing learner community has been incredibly rewarding, and I'm loving the feeling of genuine intrinsic motivation to build new tools to help them reach more people. In the future I'm looking to work for more orgs/companies in the field, such as Khan Academy or Duolingo :)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "All my life I've found myself planning events for the communities I'm in, and right now I'm proud to be a part of the Software Engineering Society at UW. There's a lot of freedom in my role as president to put on creative events (speed-friending, talent shows) and respond to student needs with ad-hoc programs (mentorship, advice sessions, and resume reviews), which is great because I get to provide a space where my peers can always feel like they belong. This is my favourite iteration so far of being a vibe-curator, and I love watching people make genuine connections and destress for some magical moments at the events we create from scratch." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Some time ago I was applying to become a media designer for a local mental health nonprofit, and had no experience or portfolio to speak of — and so I was determined to \"learn graphic design\"! Up until that point, I had mostly been creating art and illustrations by hand or with raster tools like Photoshop. \n\nI started small, learning tips and tricks for creating basic vector art in Illustrator from Youtube videos. I continued to challenge myself by finding reference posters I vibed with online, then attempting to recreate them and looking up tutorials for any techniques I didn't know. I continued to learn by doing, by contributing to several orgs as a graphic designer and asking \"why/what's the best way to do this\" questions of my mentors! In this way I developed a solid workflow and style, and passed on my knowledge in workshops while building on it by reading related literature." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688118908641 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "j44zhu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Julia", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Zhu", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F77820ec3-8b87-4e3e-8a96-d9427a956c43?alt=media&token=b5583cd2-3c8b-4cc9-992c-9d17bd28f03b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A project that I worked on involves implementing custom tasks into the CBC Alexa skill, which allows users to add specific actions to their Alexa routines. I began by reading through the documentation but quickly ran into problems. Despite trying all the provided methods, my task wasn’t getting deployed to the skill that I had in development. Given the niche field of VP products and the recency of the feature (released last year and was still in public beta testing), I exhausted all of the resources that I could scavenge online and nothing seemed to be working. My technical mentor was also inexperienced in this feature, so I connected with the CBC Amazon representative to inquire about the issue. After a lot of back and forth, a consensus was established that there was unclarity in the documentation and my skill had to be published for the task to deploy. We figured it was best to test the task on the production skill’s development version, which successfully solved the issue.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Two years ago, after witnessing countless comments on the COVID-19 vaccine when browsing social media, I learned what “misinformation spreads like wildfire” meant – derogatory comments stemming from mere ignorance, and personal attacks to the posters. Agitated by the increasingly widespread misinformation, I knew I had to do something about it, and simply arguing in comment sections was not enough. I reached out to NGOs across Canada and secured partnerships with shelters and food banks, delivered information packages to the partners, and conducted workshops to better equip my community, especially the underprivileged, with accurate, digestible information. As the pandemic died down, I shifted my gears to general health advocacy, initiating and directing a Student Ambassador program to involve students at a grassroots level. These experiences didn’t simply teach me about health literacy but made me an advocate who contributes to my community and fights against pressing issues of today." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Music is a realm where my creativity runs wild. A community that I am involved in is the classical music community. Over the past three years, I served as the Program Director of the BAMA International Piano Festival. With a smoothly executed music festival comes hours of meticulous planning, night after night of emails, phone calls, and typing into spreadsheets. I quickly learned that individually emailing 60 participants and manually updating classes with nine different teachers was about as exciting as watching wheat grow. In response, I proposed the idea of automating the scheduling system. Hours of JavaScript crash courses and loads of error messages later, I became the proud mother of a website that provided students access to all they needed – their own personalized schedule, which auto-updated when a change was made on a master schedule from the organizer's end - which despite being met with skepticism at first, increased satisfaction of over 75% of students.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As a child, I embraced dance, but recently I had to get comfortable calling myself a dancer again – a title that I let get stripped away from me. \n\nAs I was roaming the club fair last year, I stood in front of the stands for Jianyi, Waterloo’s Chinese dance club, reminded of the person my twelve-year-old self aspired to me. \n\nI was a little terrified and intimidated by the people around me who were national champions, but slowly I realized that everyone was there to learn and I had nothing to be embarrassed about. My friends and I established a routine where every night we would go to the PAC studios and learn a new dance cover, and psychoanalyzing every detail of dance practice videos became part of my daily life.I experienced dance styles that ranged from classical Chinese dance focused on elegance, to hip-hop. \n\nI’m grateful to have rekindled the dancer that I was and to be able to experience the liberation and overwhelming joy of music flowing in my veins and moving my body to it." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688616803169 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "jjmenon@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "firstName": "Janaki", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Menon", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Mathematics (Possibly Computational Mathematics Major)", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F78fea009-9b3c-4753-b4cc-92816573267d?alt=media&token=cd471846-53e1-466c-9a00-f891d379ce58", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "To determine if a non-profit organization's goals resonate with those of Blueprint, I would start by conducting thorough research on its website. Examining their mission statement and exploring their previous projects would offer valuable insights into their areas of focus and supported causes.\n\nI would take the initiative to have a conversation with a member from the non-profit to discuss our objectives and the necessity of implementing technological advancements within the organization. I would also inquire about the ongoing or upcoming projects that resonate with our mission of making technology accessible. By highlighting our intention to work together as a team, we can ensure a relationship based on equal partnership, rather than imposing our goals on the organization." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be working in Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EST)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is making education accessible for all. Having grown up in India and getting to see the lack of proper education in many rural areas, I am passionate about bringing about a change. Establishing an accessible education platform for underprivileged children, utilising the power of technology, holds immense potential to make a positive impact on countless lives. I strongly believe that every child deserves equal opportunities to receive good quality education. By addressing this cause, we can empower many students to create a more equitable society." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in being a part of the Rotary Club of Cochin Technopolis community. Since 2014, I have been actively volunteering with the club, contributing to various initiatives aimed at making a positive impact. I have played a key role in organizing events such as blood donation camps and arranging flood relief camps throughout Kerala, India. These experiences have not only enhanced my humanitarian values but have also sharpened my communication skills.\n\nI have also had the privilege of working together with some local children's homes and non-profit organizations to address their and the community’s needs. Being part of this community has provided me with a platform to serve others, fostering a sense of fulfillment. I am proud to have made meaningful contributions within the club and look forward to continuing the same to create a positive impact." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In my current co-op role as a Digital Analyst at Maple Leaf Foods, I learned the skill of recruitment. Transitioning from being an interviewee to an interviewer was a new experience for me. I was motivated to learn this skill to make valuable contributions to the hiring process and identify top candidates for the company.\n\nTo develop this skill, I conducted thorough research and critiqued resumes to create a set of excellent, role-specific interview questions. This process not only enhanced my ability to evaluate candidates but also provided insights into what the corporate world seeks in potential interns. Consequently, I improved my own interview skills by understanding the desired qualities and competencies employers look for." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688612298978 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4B", - "email": "janie.ong@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Janie", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Ong", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Science and Business, Co-op", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7901089b-5572-469a-a82d-74d0f7b06cab?alt=media&token=4c7a78c2-2644-4977-ad11-18dbf9f13a03", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I seek my daily inspiration from design exhibitions and communities. Recently, I virtually attended Figma's Annual Conference, Config, which further fueled my passion for pursuing a career in product design. The conference introduced me to Figma's latest features and creative concepts, expanding my perspective on visual storytelling. Engaging with inspirational speakers motivated me to adopt a design-oriented mindset. Additionally, the design community present at the event was also extremely inspiring. Witnessing how design brings everyone together and hearing the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd when new functionalities were introduced, reminded me of the excitement of product design. Moreover, my friends who are involved in product design serve as a constant source of inspiration, reinforcing my belief that I can also succeed. The social interactions and connections I establish with fellow designers drive me to continuously challenge myself and grow as a product designer." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1drlF_sNLRcq8hKw7g12mDvLNDSFj978G/view?usp=sharing", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern time in Waterloo." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is guiding younger students throughout their career journeys, as I’ve personally faced challenges and uncertainty when switching universities and programs. The pressure to find a dream career weighs heavily on many of us, especially for those without a clear plan. I empathize with the pressure to find a dream career and the feeling of defeat when options seem exhausted. I want to help students navigate these struggles and assure them that ups and downs are part of the process. Only recently have I realized that I want to become more involved in product design and UI/UX with guidance from one of my mentors. It was a truly transformative moment for me because it was the first time I felt like I had found something truly fulfilling for me. I want to offer this same reassurance to students, letting them know it's okay not to have everything figured out. With proper guidance, they can achieve success and find a fulfilling career (or careers!) that suits them" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am part of a community of unconventional tech students who have successfully entered the tech industry. I initially thought I wanted to pursue a traditional role in the healthcare industry. However, during my university journey, I discovered a growing interest in tech and a desire to explore it further. Over the past two years, I have actively participated in Tech+ in 3 roles: Co-Director, Lead Video Editor, and Internal Culture Manager. Within this organization, I have organized events, created digestible video content, and most importantly, motivated students in and outside of tech programs to engage with the tech industry. A significant experience for me was serving as the Lead Video Editor for the 16 Weeks of Internships YouTube channel. I contributed to the creation of 16 videos that aimed to educate students about tech industry internships. Achieving over 100,000 views, our team successfully impacted several students to feel motivated to break into the tech industry." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned a new skill during my current co-op term as a UX Researcher at Hoffmann-La Roche. The flexibility of my job has enabled me to choose projects aligned to my interests. The opportunity that aligned most with my interests was a project that involved learning about usability testing. My motivation to learn more about UI/UX was when I realized that to break into the industry, I need to search for my own opportunities. First, I arranged coffee chats with UI/UX employees, aiming to learn about their projects and explore possibilities for shadowing. Subsequently, I discussed my reasons for getting involved with my manager. As a result, I joined 2 project teams where I could learn from experienced UX researchers, gaining valuable insights into UI/UX. These projects involve various tasks such as usability testing, wireframe creation, and process flow mapping. Through these hands-on experiences, I have successfully taken the first steps towards expanding my knowledge in UI/UX." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688105713441 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "saa2baks@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sahl", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Bakshi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7b647847-cbf1-401d-9024-e600f790b962?alt=media&token=ee53c7c1-c99f-4508-b741-83b4716f9c7e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my previous internship, I encountered the challenge of refactoring some parts of the testing code base. This proved difficult due to its complexity and inadequate documentation. I was able to solved this by analyzing each part and writing down what it was responsible for. By doing so I was not only able to make the necessary changes.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "Honestly, I can get inspired by nature for the way it integrates form and function. For example, an engineer took inspiration from the kingfisher, to redesign the nose of the Shinkansen Bullet Train which reduced power use and enabled faster speeds. Moreover, observing everyday objects that seamlessly blend clean looks with functionality are where I derive ideas from." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://sahlbakshi.github.io/portfolio/\nI don't have specific link for product design but I am deeply interested in it.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Time, EDT" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The cause of supporting orphans resonates with me. Every child deserves to have access to food, clothing, shelter, and a nurturing environment to grow and realize their full potential." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I wasn't particularly a part of a community but I hoped take care of stray kittens and cats until they were old enough to get adopted or wander outside safely after being vaccinated." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I wanted to be able to develop web applications. To acquire this skill, I utilized various learning resources such as YouTube videos, online articles, and sought guidance from friends whenever necessary. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687943944024 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B/2A", - "email": "brenda.li@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Brenda ", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Li", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Financial Analysis & Risk Management", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7be7c003-934e-403e-9056-b978c54db0cd?alt=media&token=1e1a7de4-cead-41c7-9d33-429cb915d648", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I would break research in several stages. Initially, prior to a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, I will often use an internet-based and heuristics approach. This would include seeking the people that are knowledgeable in the domain and learning key aspects and areas from them, including what we often recognize as research as well as thought-behaviours and obscure information. Crucially, I prefer to preform literature reviews & meta-analysis, media analysis and perhaps a population or social-behaviour (cultural) analysis. This step crystallizes the problem definition, importance, scope, and viability.\n\nThe second step comprises first-hand research and meta-analysis of situation, solutions, and key stakeholders, including current options and competitors. Via: people, books, and conducting studies and comparison/contrast situations and placing myself in daily situations that perhaps extend beyond any one particular scope or situation, + graphing, data analysis. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Mobile", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I’ll admit that CS 135 and CS 136 serve as my introductory courses to CS; hence, during my prior study terms, the technical challenges have been largely corroborated with academics. One such challenge was to implement transformations on vectors with matrices in Racket without prior knowledge in linear algebra nor any understanding of a matrix. Specifically, matrix multiplication was an iconic example of using Racket to, essentially, learn linear algebra. First, the challenge was to use the examples they give in CS135 assignments and thereby extend by hand and create my own tests, formally coded into the design recipe: \"black box\" testing in Racket. Secondly, to identify and understand mathematical notation used to represent matrices (from a subpar mathematical background). 1) & 2) combined created a visualization of matrix multiplication that was transcribed into code. From thereon, further testing and different methods (efficiency) was done, in addition to teaching peers & extension.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST. Should situation change, I may be in CST.\n\nMy apologies--since I began in Winter, I have co-op in next Winter and have yet to formalize a UWaterloo-format PDF resume. Currently, would a Notion-linked resume be acceptable for this occurrence?\n\nLink: https://www.notion.so/Brenda-Li-Product-Designer-3756a26388e14773a2e0935906e68800?pvs=4 " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "What brings me excitement, passion and drive is helping others through comprehensive, valuable and creative ways. The bigger picture of things, and issues with both large or wide-ranging challenges resonate clearly within myself since earlier years. \n\nI think a particular interest of mine is health-technology innovation/improvement in products, services, and legislation for wellbeing of society or as human beings. For the last term(s) at UW, I cofound a biotechnology startup and assist as VP Finance & Logistics for a UW startup that aims to make cell-growth serums more accessible, sustainable and affordable. It pertains to several areas of passion, including global food, health, and sustainability. I wish to use science, learning, and community to improve global growth. One area that I am particularly keen in is the way these technologies may save or improve lives, such as with organ donation and eliminating wait time or wasted rss. Thus, I joined the Velocity Health Challenge et. al." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm a part of a community in UW, comprised of Waterloo students striving for greater done deeds. Let me explain. The most wonderful appeal about UW I have learnt is its student body: ambitious, humble, beyond-friendly (and genuine), and creative. Aside from this superset, I'm a part of student residence, UW Velocity (startups), EA and Greenhouse communities. I have gone to CUMC, WCC @ Western, in addition to speaking with professors and lecturers (both current & with prior experience in UW) and graduate students (UofT, etc). Time and time I realize the inventive genius and academic and personable (d.t.e.) characteristics that blend into the soul of UW students. (Similar characteristics befall several clubs, hence I'll explain holistically.) Personally, I contribute towards this network through connecting nodes of students together & integrating areas learnt from one to another; this includes inspiring & supporting students ment./socially, creating a product to aid medical research, et." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During a summer prior to high school, I decided to travel to the Shaolin Monastery in China to learn the beginnings of wushu, kungfu, and san-da kickboxing and to immerse myself within the daily regiments and training in the temples for my 14th birthday. High school was about to begin, and I knew I would visit my extended family in China prior and therefore be blessed to be able to live and learn with the best-in-class within the province and perhaps in all of China, and so I enrolled. I believe that anything we learn has a lasting and potentially beneficial impact on ourselves and those we may impact in the future, and I wished to learn martial arts, different ways of thought and behaviour, and take on a challenge in a foreign and immersed environment. With me were four other internationals (adults), with whom I stayed and conversed/befriended. I generally approach all situations with an inquisitive, open, and deterministic approach. Hence, daily tens miles ran & martial arts learnt." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615174268 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "manallkhann.03@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Manal", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Khan", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Global Business and Digital Arts", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7bfac982-09ba-4360-b7bf-303bf9b5318f?alt=media&token=223dd11f-4256-4978-9f42-ae3b9433f3b6", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "As a product designer, I seek inspiration from various sources in my daily life. One significant source is observing human behavior and interactions. By paying attention to how people navigate their surroundings and engage with products and services, I gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points. This observation allows me to design with empathy and create meaningful solutions that enhance user experiences. Additionally, I find inspiration in exploring different cultures and their unique aesthetics. By immersing myself in diverse traditions, art forms, and lifestyles, I can infuse my designs with cultural elements that resonate with specific communities. Moreover, I actively engage with online design communities, attend industry events, and collaborate with fellow designers. These interactions foster a vibrant exchange of ideas, providing fresh perspectives and pushing me to continually evolve as a product designer." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://manalkhan.webflow.io/", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "As a User Experience Researcher, I specialize in conducting interviews and surveys to gather valuable insights. Through one-on-one interviews, I delve deep into users' perspectives, motivations, and pain points, uncovering rich qualitative data. Additionally, I design and administer surveys to reach a larger user base, collecting quantitative feedback on a broader scale. These research methods allow me to understand user needs, preferences, and challenges, complementing each other to provide a comprehensive understanding of the user experience. By combining interviews and surveys, I ensure a well-rounded approach to research that informs user-centered design decisions." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time(EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "From a young age, I became acquainted with the educational challenges faced by children in my home country of Pakistan. This early exposure inspired me to seize an opportunity at the age of 15: teaching English and Math to underprivileged students. Throughout my two-month teaching experience, I witnessed the sheer passion and excitement that these students exhibited when learning something as simple as colors or shapes. This eye-opening encounter made me reflect on how often we take our education for granted and fail to appreciate the opportunities we have.\n\nMotivated by this realization, I embarked on a journey to support students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these children were unable to afford an education due to their parents' job loss. Engaging in this cause deeply resonated with me because observing the genuine passion that individuals can have for their studies fills me with an immense sense of gratitude." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be a part of a community centered around a recycled book library, an initiative that my younger brother and I collaborated on. Recognizing the value of books and the importance of promoting literacy, we came up with the idea to create a space where people could access and exchange books while also promoting sustainable practices\n\nTo bring this idea to life, we first reached out to our friends, family, and neighbors, asking for book donations. We were overwhelmed by the positive response and received a wide variety of books, spanning different genres and age groups.\n\nWe transformed a small room in our neighborhood into a cozy and inviting library. We gathered recycled materials to furnish the space, ensuring that our initiative aligned with our commitment to environmental sustainability. We invited local residents, schools, and community organizations, emphasizing the benefits of reading and the importance of reusing and recycling books." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "This summer, I embarked on a journey to learn photography driven by a passion for visual storytelling and a desire to capture all types of scenery around me. I researched technical aspects, practiced regularly, and sought feedback from a friend studying film to learn more about important elements to focus on when taking pictures. Sharing my work through social media connected me with a lot of my friends who have the same passion. Learning photography provided a new perspective on details, light, and emotions. It has been a rewarding journey of expressing creativity and capturing moments in a meaningful way.\n\n\n\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688592241224 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "dh25nguy@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Duc Huu", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Nguyen", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7d2c1445-794b-4ee5-b6cd-9997545a2357?alt=media&token=d01d6075-9526-4639-88ea-39b629cfc1d0", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "When I was working contract for Minecraft servers, I faced a really challenging problem in incorporating custom models into the game. While developing a racing minigame, I was asked to use a model engine to integrate custom car models into the game, which our 3D modeler also used. No matter how much I tried, the cars wouldn't align with player models in movement.\n\nAfter digging deep into the engine's obfuscated code and messaging the original developer on Discord, it appeared that this bug was considered expected behaviour within the engine itself: it did not support vehicle mounting. I had to implement my own custom movement behaviour, which clashed with existing animation code, so I needed to recreate that as well by learning how Minecraft's engine handled animations.\n\nI considered this the most challenging technical problem I have faced because it involved a lot of different sides to development: communication, codebase exploration and ultimately implementation of complex logic.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The fight for green energy is a cause that deeply resonates with me. The reality is that our world is experiencing increasing pollution each day, with no signs of slowing down. Growing up in a third-world country, I have personally witnessed the destruction of beautiful natural landscapes in favor of industrial complexes. Moreover, over the years, I have learned about the unsustainability of our current energy usage and the impending consequences that future generations will face. This cause has struck a chord with me because I believe engineers and programmers have the potential to lead the way in creating a greener Earth. A prime example is the advent of electric cars, which hold the promise of significantly reducing pollution in the future—a revolution spearheaded by the very group I mentioned earlier." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In high school, I participated in programming classes and took interest in the Minecraft development community. I ran my own Minecraft server and developed plugins to add custom features to the base game. Thanks to many people that I met in the community, I was able to get my start in the world of real software development. I learnt OOP concepts such as classes, interfaces, dependency injection all from interacting with the community, concepts that my high school class doesn’t teach. Throughout high school, I contributed back to the community by offering my development services to the people who needed it. Overall, I’m proud to be a part of this community, and I’m thankful for all the things I’ve learnt while I was in it." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I ran my own Minecraft server, I noticed that many servers had their own forums made from Xenforo. So I was motivated to make my server a forum as well. I downloaded a cracked version of Xenforo and tinkered with its internal code for some time, trying to make the forum themed after my server as much as possible by changing colors, backgrounds and textures. This experience got me familiar with Javascript, HTML, CSS and jQuery, which are all technologies used by Xenforo. I also learnt some MySQL while digging to understand how the forum posts were being stored. I felt like the approach of having an end goal already set and learning everything on the way works out the best for me, and this is one of the best examples." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615270857 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "n8choudh@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "External Director", - "firstName": "Nitya", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Choudhary", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Economics", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7d723c97-60a4-43bd-99ec-be92718ab28e?alt=media&token=b006ceb6-8a2f-49f9-8e45-e7bba3c8f4ec", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "An event idea that aligns with Blueprint’s mission as the External Director could be a \"Tech Career Transition Workshop.\" This event would be focused on empowering individuals with non-traditional backgrounds. Whether it be an economics student like myself seeking an alternative path beyond finance or a fourth-year psychology student taking a computer science course for the first time and discovering they want to learn more about tech, resources in place for students with these stories should be available. The workshop would feature industry professionals who have successfully made career transitions into the tech industry. This event would embody Blueprint's mission of making technology more accessible and useful for those who create communities and promote public welfare. By offering practical guidance, resources, and networking opportunities, Blueprint can foster inclusivity and help expand the talent pool in the tech industry to ensure diversity is present in this thriving field!\n" - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time - Living in Waterloo" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is promoting mental health awareness. As a student in an academically rigorous environment like the University of Waterloo, I have witnessed and experienced first hand the toll that stress and pressure can take on individuals' mental health. It is critical to prioritize mental well-being and continue working on establishing a culture that encourages open conversations. My passion for this cause stems from belonging to a culture where mental health is not taken seriously. With this, it is in my hands to break this generational trend and contribute my time towards accomplishing this goal. Blueprints's dedication to using technology for social impact aligns perfectly with my passion for leveraging digital solutions to promote mental health. Let us foster a community that values mental health, breaks down stigma, and ensures that everyone can thrive both academically and personally." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I am incredibly proud to be part of is the University of Waterloo as an Orientation Leader. This coming September will be my first time being an active member of this community and I am thrilled to bring my experiences from high school where I thrived as an orientation leader. Being in a position to provide mentorship and support to incoming students is something that truly motivates me. I highly valued my orientation leaders who helped me through my transition to university life and I want to give back to my community by doing the same for incoming students. I will be there to listen, offer advice, and address any concerns they may have, ensuring they feel supported and connected within the UWaterloo community. Through my role as a Waterloo Orientation Leader, I am confident that I will make a positive impact on the experiences of new students, providing mentorship and support as they embark on their university journey!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During the COVID-19 pandemic, I dedicated my spare time to learning the skill of coding and web development. Motivated by my curiosity and the increasing demand for technological proficiency, I explored coding through various free online resources and enrolling in a bootcamp, with a focus on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. During my learning process, I developed a passion for front-end development and made sure to learn more about user experience principles and graphic design concepts. To put my skills to the test and gain practical experience, I attended hackathons where I collaborated with individuals from around the world to create innovative web-based solutions. Through being authentic and showing genuine passion for my projects, I was also able to win some awards at hackathons. The skill of coding not only complements my future economics courses with heavy coding components but also opens doors towards exciting opportunities in the tech industry." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688603976528 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "kevin.2005.ge@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Kevin", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ge", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7e3142e3-878a-44cf-96f2-0231ec3264f1?alt=media&token=d00aa35f-0c88-469a-913d-af0650061e74", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In my experience at the Canadian Youth Champion's fall 2021 competition, after a few days of working, it became increasingly harder to navigate our code. Having several people working on different parts of the program without documentation quickly became a nightmare to untangle. Thus, as the STEM director and lead of our coding group, I worked with the other coders to agree to add comments throughout. We decided to add comments on new sections of our website, helping identify what a new div would do, or what for and where a function would be called. We also agreed on a single variable naming pattern, so it would be quick and easy to identify different variables and their purposes. Overall, after having learned the hard way, we managed to clean up our code and work more efficiently the rest of the way. Although we had some minor bumps in the rest of the road, the cleaner code made trouble shooting much easier than it had once been.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in Waterloo (I'm also flexible in working in-person or virtually if need be) (EDT/GMT-4)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Since the start of the pandemic, I have always been keen on staying safe especially as I currently live with my grandparents. When the pandemic started becoming more severe in 2021, I volunteered to be a LinkedIn specialist for the organization Project Northern Lights. I found the feats that the organization was able to accomplish as a non-profit was astounding, as they delivered tens of thousands of units of PPE to communities in need. Thinking of my grandparents and the many other groups of people at higher risk to the pandemic has made Project Northern Light's cause truly resonate with me and my goal of helping others be aware of the risks the pandemic brings. As a LinkedIn specialist volunteer, I am happy to have been able to expand the organization's reach on the platform and inform viewers of recent news on the pandemic." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Also in 2021, I joined the Canadian Youth Champion's fall 2021 competition to work on a two-month long design and coding project. As a team, we sought guidance from the organization's mentors and learned a lot from them and each other. With their support, my team managed to win first place! After the competition, I opted to stay with the organization for the winter 2022 session as a mentor myself. It was very rewarding having gone through the program to see other student's project grow and mature. I was able to use my experiences coding and my experiences with the program in the previous term to help guide a team of 10 through their own project! Additionally, my role as a mentor expanded into an organizer, where I helped plan and run the final 300-person event of the winter 2022 term. Seeing the program grow from its humble beginnings of ~100 members to 300 attending that event and how many people the program and my work is able to help was eye-opening!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Last year, I applied to the Global Youth Challenge, a competition that has students present their opinions on a divisive issue through an artwork or essay, and a video. Although I had made several small videos for projects before, I had never used advanced video editing software before, solely relying on Windows Movie Maker. Even though I could have gone with a basic video with Windows Movie Maker, I wanted to try and put in my all. As such, I decided to use the weeks until the deadline to learn as much as I could about DaVinci Resolve. I usually find that tutorials and online documentation are how I learn best, so I looked to find those resources online. I quickly found the beginner's guide as well as videos that go through basic tasks in DaVinci, helping me get a sense of what videos I could make with the software. I ultimately created a short video which helped me get a spot at the finals, where I won a tied third place!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688180305629 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "ssathish@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Sriram", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Sathish", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F80ff73c5-5009-4751-aa6f-ace4b42fadc3?alt=media&token=b04e653e-b485-485e-b7dc-12fa5413e7d7", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "In my second co-op in Winter '22, I worked for a cybersecurity startup that had a couple of pilot programs that were scheduled to be launched in the summer. They had a couple of applications that required extensive improvements and one of them was an Admin panel that helps the end-user control the entire suite of products. In my second week, I took on the initiative of completing all improvements to the portal and collaborated extensively with the UI designers and the product manager to build a solid application before the end of my work term. As a result of this, the company was able to launch its programs well before the scheduled start date." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Mobile", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In my current co-op, at a pre-fab housing startup, I had to come up with a solution to build the shortest possible electrical routing network for any given floor plan. Firstly, I made sure to identify the different building panels where the outlets and wires can be attached. This was done so that the generated network does not violate the structural integrity of the building in any way. After this, I generated all possible wire paths for each panel and used a well-known algorithm to generate the shortest network possible. \n\nOverall, I broke down this complex task into shorter bite-sized tasks and completed a few of them in short two-day sprints. Breaking down the complexity certainly helped a lot in identifying potential edge cases and helped me deliver the project well within the deadline.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that deeply resonates with me is environmental sustainability. I grew up in two cities where pollution is commonplace and access to clean air is limited. This has had a profound impact on me growing up and has fueled my passion for addressing this critical issue. I had the opportunity to take part in several clean-up drives and environmental campaigns in high school where I helped raise awareness about the need for urgent collective action. These experiences helped solidify my commitment to making the planet a better place to live for everyone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "One community that has helped me grow immensely has to be my cricket club back home. This club allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and has played a huge role in defining me as a person today. Being part of this community has taught me the value of being a team player and how collective efforts can achieve remarkable results, even in the face of daunting challenges. My biggest contribution was when I captained our side to victory in an under-13 tournament. My job was made much easier due to my amazing team who showed resilience in the face of adversity." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Before joining UWaterloo, I had very limited technical experience and I wanted to do summer internships to become better at web development. However, opportunities were very limited due to the pandemic and I was forced to gain that experience on my own. It was during this time when hospital equipment was limited and I got the idea to build a chat application, similar to Facebook marketplace, where clinics can request equipment from the public. I used this project-based approach to learn new technical skills. This opportunity to truly make an impact gave me the motivation to learn the ins and outs of full-stack development and geared me up for my academic and professional career." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1687923943454 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "olivia.h.honsinger@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Olivia", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Honsinger", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8207a889-c139-487a-b89f-3796137775ca?alt=media&token=f9ed823a-f60e-46fc-9c4c-0a5da9131967", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Anything that would be a good technical learning experience! I want to look back at the end of the year and be proud of what new things I've learned since F23.", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem that I've worked on in the past was the SE Booking Bot, which was used by Fall 2021 students in Software Engineering to schedule the use of on-campus study spaces amidst COVID restrictions. Some of my teammates were experienced web developers, but it was my first project, and given that I was unfamiliar with any of the technologies, I felt overwhelmed and behind. I had a hard time grasping the concept of Mongoose schemas and models, understanding the different types of HTTP requests, and struggled to understand interfacing with an API. I was able to slowly wade through by exploring different internet resources (W3Schools, official documentation, and conceptual videos) along with asking for help from my teammates to guide me through one of the provided examples, so I could learn hands-on. I learn best when I can work through an example with someone, and I applied what I learned (with help) in order to make a simple REST API for the SE Booking Bot project.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "One of my favourite products is Timepage by Moleskine. Although they're generally known for physical notebooks and planners, they have a subscription-based calendar app for iOS. Despite the initial learning curve, the features it provides has made it impossible for me to use any other calendar. My favourite thing that they do differently from the big-name calendar apps (like Google calendar, Apple's default calendar) is a monthly heatmap overview for displaying the density of certain days (or weeks) at a glance. I find this much more intuitive, since it saves the effort of counting events per day. They also allow you to filter based on certain calendars (such as school, personal, appointments, etc) so you can get a quick glance at each of those categories. They also have an interactive monthly calendar widget for iOS that allows you to check any day's events without needing to open the app. I haven't found any other calendar app that does it as smoothly or intuitively as Timepage does." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "ET (in Collingwood, same as Waterloo)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The SASC (Sexual Assault Support Centre for the Waterloo Region) provides supports that are vital to addressing mental health concerns faced by sexual assault survivors. Their cause resonates with me because SASC's values and approach to healing from sexual violence (and its related traumas) have measurably impacted me by teaching various coping strategies, providing group-based and individual support, learning resources, legal advocacy, and 24-hour support lines. There's no discrimination based on background or situation. SASC is also a sex worker-friendly resource that emphasizes safety and empowerment for workers. SASC also provides resources for victims of sexual assault and human trafficking. For those unaffected directly by sexual assault, SASC offers learning workshops on how to foster stronger allyship. They recognize obstacles faced by people of various backgrounds, and work with the SVPRO on-campus to facilitate accessible campus-based resources focused on student support." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I'm proud to be part of is the Software Engineering community here on campus. I do a lot of event organizing as one of the VP’s for the Software Engineering Society (SE Soc). Before starting my first term, I independently organized a chess tournament in the Waterloo Park, followed by an informal campus tour and class campfire. While serving in SE Soc, I’ve continued to organize a couple events like resume critiques, class dinners, and coffeehouses with usually over 100+ student turnout. I'm currently finalizing the biggest recorded WiSE (Women in Software Engineering) event since SE Soc's inception, with over 50% of the WiSE population on-campus this term attending. As the longest serving Academic rep for SE '26, I work closely with our program directors to reform our curriculum by soliciting student feedback. I'm in charge of helping re-design the CS 247 \"Software Engineering Principles\" course to be more reflective of modern-day Software Engineering industry practices." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I started trying to bike leisurely this summer. I knew how to ride a bike, but riding leisurely didn't seem very appealing to me. My motivation to start biking stemmed from physical health concerns, along with the frequent need for alone time. I found whenever I would stay in my room, I would derive little joy from playing video games to unwind, and I'd end up wasting a lot of time stressing out about being unproductive. I also had trouble switching gears to study after taking a break to watch Netflix or play games. My approach was to examine why I found biking challenging. I pinpointed that the challenge for me wasn't the physical exertion, but the mental effort required to start a route. I thought of small-step approaches that wouldn't demotivate or overwhelm me. I forced myself to have accountability by committing to bike with my partner, even when I didn't feel like getting out of bed. Having external supports helped me build more willpower and mental fortitude to start each day." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688153112251 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "2krothapasam@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sami ", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Krothapalli", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Mathamatics", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8333af9a-46b1-4b27-b683-1ce3d67fdd0c?alt=media&token=c0395c6d-beb8-4319-b9c3-61819afed9cd", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One of the technical problems was in my co op I had to refactor dead code that wasn't being used at all and do a dependency injection to put all common classes and files in a different project the only problem with that is that there were thousands of lines of code that needed to be done so a simple fix I found was to create a python script to get all common classes and then from there move them to a different project which then I can simply do a dependency injection so that those classes can be implemented to the rest of the project. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "7", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "if you go to the Wwaterloo data science club Instagram page you are able to see some of the Instagram posts I created for the club. Recently I designed and implemented the creation of the Canadian young investors society website https://www.cyis.info/ the website is right here. " - } - ], - "role": "Graphic Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Graphic Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. As the world faces various environmental challenges such as climate change, deforestation, species extinction, and pollution, it has become increasingly important to take action to protect our planet and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be one of the executives in the Cybersecurity Club I the VP of Outreach and I believe I have contributed by reaching out to experts in the field to offer expertise and educate club members of advice in the field of cybersecurity. I also created a terminology page for beginners in the field so that they have resources to educate themselves and improve since there isn't much resources on it that is free. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Recently I took a course on full stack development and I had a lot of struggle understanding JavaScript Arrays and the overall concept of inheritance luckily I was able to learn from others and use projects to help me learn the concept better. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688615707614 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "madhav.malik@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Madhav", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Malik", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F844011bb-458f-4962-8869-2ba938aec61a?alt=media&token=c547bf8b-1ba2-4aa3-ba5f-bbb6e096cd57", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "While creating the HearMate project that could convert speech to sign-language in real-time, I struggled to find a dataset for American Sign Language. It was nearly impossible to build the project without having a list of all the signs and their corresponding words/phrases. \n\nI realised that the only solution was to come up with a dataset, but that too seemed like a very difficult and time-consuming task. It was then that I built a background support system that could record hand gestures in a video and then label them with the corresponding phrase. The background algorithm noted the positions of joints and edges to build the dataset. This was only possible with the support from Suniye NGO in New Delhi, who had a network of sign language instructors. \n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be pursuing my undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo in Honours Computer Science, with co-op, starting in Fall 2023. I will be present at the University before the start of the semester and will be in the EDT zone (GMT -4). \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Living with Haemophilia forced me to confront the challenges of a disorder that caused internal bleeding in my joints. My life was irrevocably changed as frequent hospital visits for Factor VIII injections stalled my academic progress and stunted my personal growth.\n\nHowever, the day I discovered coding and began learning Python and C++, my life immeasurably improved. At school, when I used my wheelchair, I explored the marvels of coding by building projects in the lab and used yoga and physiotherapy to enhance my quality of life. However, the watershed moment in my healing journey was learning self-infusion, which empowered me to visit the Kennedy Space Center, NASA while managing my condition independently, a previously implausible feat. \n\nMy lifelong challenges with Haemophilia and accessing timely medical care inspired the Haemophilia App, an application that connects patients with doctors while offering online consults, trackers and physiotherapy exercises online." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Being the Head Boy of my school, it was my responsibility to cross-check if anyone was facing any issues in the online mode during the pandemic and resolve it or raise issues to the concerned authorities. It was then that I got to know about one of the junior students, Krish Tyagi who suffered from a hearing disability. Interacting with him further made me realize that he was unable to comprehend lessons during online classes and was being left behind. This led me to think of ways in which I could ease his trouble. I looked for a technical solution at hand and started working on a project which could potentially help people with hearing disabilities. HearMate is an AI-based model that would automatically convert audio to sign language in real-time. It could be used to understand online lectures and YouTube videos. I implemented it at my school to help Krish and then collaborated with the Suniye NGO, New Delhi to make it accessible to other children." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "“Design and programming are human activities, forget that and all is lost.”\nDanish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup perfectly encapsulates my learnings from my experience in software engineering.\nDuring my internship at IBM, I was mentored by software engineers. Upon working closely with them, I was in awe of their problem-solving skills and more so their attitude of chasing solutions until they found one.\nAt times they would give me wicked problems and ask to come up with a few solutions. Slowly I learned the art of design thinking and my perspective was molded towards adopting a human-centered approach. I then learned about building empathy maps and mental models, to understand the user better. The skill of design thinking completely engrossed me and I went ahead to think about how its principles could be used in the projects I had already built.\nI would like to join the UW Blueprint team in a bid to help specially-abled and promote inclusion, using my technical and design skills" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688632786495 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "y598sun@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Yiran", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Sun", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8719d151-8151-4a7e-975a-71fe5deef6de?alt=media&token=691a8c51-09e1-44bb-9cc2-a46bf0d504b9", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During the previous term, I had the opportunity to work as an intern in the role of a compiler engineer. One of my main responsibilities involved linking IR files in a desired manner to optimize performance. However, I encountered a few challenges along the way. Initially, I found that the LLVM documentation was not very beginner-friendly. Additionally, since I was working with SPIR-V files, I encountered several GPU-related concepts that I hadn't previously learned.\nTo overcome these hurdles, I adopted a proactive approach. Firstly, I sought out helpful blogs and online resources related to LLVM. I also conducted targeted searches within the GPU team's manual to familiarize myself with the specific concepts I needed to understand.\nIn addition to my research, I took the initiative to design several different approaches to tackling the task, then sought guidance and feedback from my manager. With the guidance and feedback received, the task was done within a week.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern time " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that deeply resonates with me is addressing the large income difference and promoting economic equality. I believe that everyone should have equal opportunities and access to resources regardless of their socioeconomic background.\nThe staggering income inequality we see in our society not only perpetuates systemic injustices but also hinders social progress. It creates barriers to education, healthcare, and basic necessities for many individuals and communities. In my personal life, I actively seek opportunities to volunteer and contribute to organizations that address income disparity.\nI believe in the power of education as a means to break the cycle of poverty. By supporting initiatives that promote equal access to quality education, we can empower individuals to improve their economic prospects and contribute to the growth and development of their communities." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in being a part of my vibrant living community in Montréal, and I have made significant contributions through active volunteering across multiple spheres. One of my notable contributions has been organizing fundraising events to support diverse community initiatives. In a particular instance, I played a crucial role in organizing a fundraising campaign to support our volunteer team's trip to Peru, where we built schools for underprivileged communities. Additionally, I have been actively involved in assisting the local library through organizing events like book sales and managing book collections." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": " Firstly, I embarked on finding the most effective learning resources by exploring various video platforms like Udemy and YouTube, seeking courses or tutorials that offered comprehensive learning roadmaps. This allowed me to gather a solid foundation of knowledge.\nNext, I applied my learning practically by utilizing my local machine to engage in quick exercises and hands-on practice with Kubernetes. This hands-on experience helped me deepen my understanding of the concepts and functionality of Kubernetes.\nIn instances where I encountered confusion or challenges, I referred to the official documentation for guidance and clarification.\nFinally, I actively sought opportunities to apply my newly acquired knowledge in a real-world setting and I applied to a company where I could leverage my Kubernetes expertise within a production environment. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687585173045 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "aj3wang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Anthony", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Wang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "MATH/BBA", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F87a52037-e502-4af6-88c5-0b23eadac117?alt=media&token=ab508afc-5e19-4bae-99f0-9b9ea922b18d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my time as a front-end developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem while integrating a complex data visualization component into our web application. To efficiently display and interact with large datasets, I followed a systematic approach.\n\nI analyzed the data structure, identified crucial information, and researched data visualization libraries. Choosing a React-based library, I focused on rendering performance. Virtualization rendered only visible data, reducing the rendering load. I implemented caching to avoid redundant computations and unnecessary re-renders, leveraging React's state management and memoization.\n\nContinuous testing and user feedback refined the implementation. The integrated data visualization component provided users with a powerful tool for analyzing large datasets. Optimized rendering ensured a smooth and responsive interface.\n\nThis experience enhanced my problem-solving skills and deepened my understanding of data visualization techniques. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One particular subject that I am passionate about is empowering poor youngsters through technology education. I am convinced that access to high-quality education and technology skills may alter the lives of young people experiencing economic or social issues. We can provide them with the tools they need to succeed in the modern world and open doors to a brighter future by giving them with opportunities to learn coding, programming, and other digital skills. We can bridge the educational gap and empower these young people to thrive, pursue meaningful careers, and become agents of positive change in their communities through mentorship programmes, interactive workshops, and strategic partnerships with organisations dedicated to serving disadvantaged youth. By fostering their digital literacy and fostering their passion for technology, we can inspire them to become innovators, problem solvers, and future leaders, ultimately creating a more inclusive and equitable society for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am extremely proud to be a member of the Tech Plus club at UW, where we are dedicated to supporting diversity, inclusion, and equity in the tech industry. I have made major contributions as an active member by organising and implementing events that provide essential chances and resources to underrepresented individuals in the world of technology. The AI x ML event, in which I worked as a Resources Organiser, was an example of an event in which I played a critical part.\n\nIn my role, I worked closely with the event's organising staff to ensure its success. My duties included discovering and obtaining prestigious guest speakers, conducting engaging workshops and panel discussions, and managing logistics, such as venue arrangements and marketing initiatives. Through this event, we aimed to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and provide them with insights, knowledge, and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving fields of artificial intelligence and ML." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning Chinese has been life-changing for me. I took a multifaceted approach to reconnect with my cultural heritage and deepen my relationship with family. Enrolling in formal classes, which focused on vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, gave structure. Self-study utilising textbooks, online courses, and apps helped me remember what I had studied. Conversations with native speakers and immersion in Chinese media were essential. My desire to speak with relatives and appreciate my background remained a driving force in my determination. Setting attainable goals and recognising major accomplishments kept me motivated. The help of family and friends was vital. Learning Chinese has strengthened my relationships and personal development by transcending cultural divides and providing a profound sense of connectedness. It taught me tenacity, dedication, and the value of accepting difficulties. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688177138957 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "kd3tran@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Kent", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Tran", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Mechatronics Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F882144e7-569c-424a-ad8e-5eeae0935474?alt=media&token=e579997e-9288-4505-bd99-8fb7730dbbbc", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Infrastructure or System Design", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One of the most difficult technical issues I faced was during our initial collaboration when we were working on a project using Luxonis cameras and machine learning models. The challenge was to develop software that would allow the user to control the camera and detect the presence of specific parts. The issue occurred when using the Fetch API in JavaScript, where the connection bandwidth was limited and requests had to be sent at a rate of 0.3 frames per second in order to get the latest frame that is generated by the computer vision program and render it to the client side. After weeks of deliberation, I came up with a solution with the lead developer's guidance. Decoding the image into bytes and sending them in packets every 0.3 seconds overcomes bandwidth limitations and ensures smooth data transmission. This experience has taught me the importance of seeking advice and working with experienced professionals to effectively solve complex challenges. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "- Address the purpose of this projects as well as the reason why creating this code repository: We can do this by articulating the need for a standardized code repository and the benefits it brings to project consistency, collaboration, and scalability. \n- Address the concerns by the detractors: I think this is one of the most important element, before we can analyze of any ideas from the supporters, we first need to understand the viewpoints from the detractors. We can address these concerns by providing relevant information, examples, and case studies demonstrating the positive impact of standardized repositories. \n- Organizing workshop or meetings to analyze the breakdown of the code repository or having discussions to around the proposed standardized code repository, allowing developers in the team to provide input, ask questions, and express their thoughts.\n- Provide developers with training and support to guarantee a smooth transition to the code. Provide resources and documents\n" - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "The timezone that I will be based out of next term is GMT-4. my co-op would be in Waterloo." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "What really draws me to the Software Developer position at UW Blueprint is the opportunity to use my technical skills and passion for software development to make a positive impact on the community. Having expertise in Python, Java, C++, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, Rest APIs, GraphQL APIs, I am excited to join the UW Blueprint community after seeing the amazing projects they are working on. These projects not only inspired me as a software developer, they demonstrated the potential for meaningful change through technology. Beyond the technical side, I want to be part of a community where I can have fun, make new friends, and continuously learn and develop new skills. I want to use my skills and work with like-minded people to create innovative software solutions that meet community needs and have a lasting, positive impact. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm excited to work in a collaborative and agile atmosphere where developers promote a supportive environment by aiding one another in problem-solving and strive for superior solutions. I see myself prospering on a team that values open communication, supports information exchange, and embraces a welcoming environment. This could be a place where we - (as each of us is a part of this University of Waterloo community) can face obstacles together, consistently enhance our skills, and foster a happy and productive work atmosphere that fosters both personal and professional development." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During the creation of my own side project, StudyHub, I went on a path to learn a new skill: AWS Cloud Computing. The reason for learning this skill was the conviction that StudyHub might tremendously aid students like me who were eager to connect and make new acquaintances. To learn AWS Cloud Computing Services (including both APIs and SDKs), I relied on self-study, reading AWS material extensively to obtain a thorough understanding of the platform. In addition, I actively sought advice and instruction from the helpful AWS Developers community, leveraging their skills to solve problems and deepen my understanding. This learning experience not only enabled me to contribute effectively to StudyHub, but it also cultivated my love for continual learning and creating solutions that have a great influence on others." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687112973156 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "aarav8304@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Aarav", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Jain", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F882b9496-a861-4f97-b32f-99b463ac86a9?alt=media&token=f34cc8b4-b11d-4e21-9531-a7c182609be9", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my current internship at Bharti Axa Life Insurance, the backend service that I was developing was primarily tasked to be a backend for the frontend - its main job was to aggregate multiple responses from different microservices and send it back to the frontend. However, due to the current synchronous implementation of this layer, whenever new code changes were pushed as part of the deployment process, the backend suffered from long planned downtimes. Therefore, by integrating AWS Simple Queue Service, I was able to move this service to an ansynchronous implementation that not only increased the throughput of the backend, but also reduced these API downtimes by 21%. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Local Waterloo Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am particularly passionate about environmental conservation and sustainable economical progress that preserves nature. This matter is especially prevalent with the rate of economical growth that we are witnessing around the world, and implementing smart solutions by harnessing the power of technology and software could help us growth sustainably, make economical progress and enjoy nature." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of a community of problem solvers: people who implement their thought provoking ideas to build solutions to real world problems. To extend this spirit and enable others to be influenced by the ideas of inspiring yet unorthodox individuals, I took on the role of being an Executive Producer for my school's TEDx event during the summer before coming to Waterloo. Over this past year, I still mentor my juniors, who are part of the our high school's TEDx, to enable our audience to think different." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Given my love of building new software, I kept producing new side projects consistently. However, I noticed a pattern: most of my side projects were full stack web based apps. Therefore, this summer, I wanted to try something new; therefore, I challenged myself to build a ray tracing engine, which combined math and low-level C++ programming to make something new. I did this by reading up on \"Effective Modern C++\" by Scott Meyers and some linear algebra. The main motivation was to keep pushing the boundaries of what I currently know and what I can currently build, so that I can keep improving my skills as a software engineer." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687943786727 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A in Fall 2023", - "email": "smurawal@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Shashwat", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Murawala", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F88d6cee8-7bd1-4e12-ade4-e3b3f349f5dc?alt=media&token=42dbbc07-338f-4ee7-b182-75b81ff8db49", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A technical problem that I worked on in the past was for a gender and age detection software. A challenge I encountered was optimizing the accuracy and efficiency of my software when it was given a large database. As I increased the size of the database, the program had to process a larger number of images causing it to become slow and have low levels of accuracy. In order to solve this, I used 2 main solutions. First, I went through the code and analyzed the existing algorithms and identified areas of improvement. My main goal for this step was to minimize the running time of my program. Second, I was able to optimize the algorithms by improving the machine learning models. I accomplished this by training the model on a diverse dataset, before adding additional pictures into the database. As a result, I saw an improvement in the accuracy and efficiency of my program. The time for processing the database was reduced by over 50% and the accuracy which was at around 60% went to 90%.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause which resonates with me is health care. Specifically, I am passionate about improving access to healthcare services for underserved populations. Healthcare is a fundamental human right, and it is essential that everyone has equal access to quality medical care regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, gender, geographical location, etc. Many people face challenges that prevent them from receiving proper health care such as language barriers or limited transportation. This can lead to major disparities in the quality of healthcare between the two populations. Technology can play a vital role in improving our healthcare access. In modern times, Telemedicine is a great example, as it allows remote consultations and medical services. This is a game changer for people living in rural areas and ones with limited mobility as it doesn't require you to be in person. All in all, leveraging technology can help bridge the gap between underserved populations and healthcare resources." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the Future Possibilities for Kids(FPK) community. I have contributed to this community by volunteering at a summer called Camp Contribution. It is a camp which empowers kids to make an impact in their community by igniting the belief that they can make a difference. I was able to guide them in their project of making a difference in their community. An example of this was when the children chose to help out local birds. They made bird feeders out of recyclable material. I was able to mentor them in making that project a success. This camp also enables children to develop their leadership skills, allowing them to create and develop projects with their peers which benefit the world around them. Having the power to shape children into future leaders is an important one and should be handled carefully. All in all, I was able to aid young children make a difference in their community and develop their leadership skills to become leaders in their community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A new skill that I learned in the past is photo editing. Photography has always been a passion of mine, and I wanted to enhance my ability to create visually appealing and captivating images. I was motivated by the desire to take my photography to the next level and to have more creative control over the final output. I followed a basic 5 step process: Exploration, Learning, Practice, Feedback, Continued Learning. I started off with trying out different photo editing software to see which one I liked best. I ended up choosing Adobe Photoshop. I then learnt how to use the basics from different tutorials and courses online. Next, I did some practice by editing some of my pictures. Then, I asked professional photographers I knew for any sort of feedback they could give me. Finally, after deciding that Adobe Photoshop was the best software for me, I continued learning more advanced features and photo editing techniques to make my photographs the best versions of themselves." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688045259831 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "l5mckay@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Lana ", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "McKay", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F892650f8-82f9-4eb3-b557-b53b9a7a06e5?alt=media&token=5dbe6dca-db01-442a-99f4-6d42916d6e6c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is Spotify. The reason I chose Spotify as my top pick is because of how it has completely transformed the way we listen to and explore music. I use Spotify all the time in my daily life, whether I'm studying, working out, walking to class, or even cooking. It's just so convenient! One thing I really appreciate about Spotify is the ability to curate my own study playlists based on different moods and genres. It has been a game-changer for me when it comes to maintaining focus and concentration. I can create the perfect playlist that suits my current study vibe, whether I need something calming and instrumental or upbeat and energetic. It's like having a personal DJ at my fingertips. Spotify has become an integral part of my routine, accompanying me through all kinds of activities." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "As a Project Lead, I faced the challenging task of optimizing the performance of a web application during peak usage. Slow response times due to high traffic were impacting user experience. To tackle this, I analyzed the bottlenecks, monitored performance, optimized database queries, improved code efficiency, and implemented caching mechanisms. Through load testing, scalability improvements, and continuous monitoring, we successfully enhanced the application's performance. Users enjoyed faster response times and a smoother experience, making all the effort worthwhile.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "As a Product Manager, I demonstrated leadership by taking charge of the complete redesign of a user-friendly website. I provided clear direction and guidance to the cross-functional teams involved in the project, ensuring that everyone understood the goals and objectives. I actively facilitated meetings, such as stand-ups, retrospectives, and story acceptance sessions, creating a space for open communication and collaboration. By actively listening to team members' ideas and perspectives, I encouraged a sense of ownership and fostered an inclusive environment where everyone felt valued. I also took the initiative to conduct comprehensive market research and analysis to deeply understand user needs. This research served as a foundation for developing product roadmaps that aligned with our business objectives. " - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Education equality is a cause that deeply resonates with me. I believe that every individual, regardless of their background or circumstances, deserves access to quality education. Education is not only a fundamental right but also a powerful tool for empowering individuals, promoting social mobility, and fostering a more equitable society. I strongly believe in advocating for inclusive educational policies, reducing educational barriers, and providing equal opportunities for all students. By investing in education, we can unlock the potential of countless individuals and pave the way for a brighter future for generations to come." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am incredibly proud to be a part of the Loyola Catholic Secondary School Engineering Club, which I founded during my time in high school. It has been a fulfilling journey to witness the growth and impact of this community. As the founder, I initiated the club to provide a platform for students who shared a passion for engineering and innovation to come together, learn, and collaborate. We organized various workshops, guest lectures, and hands-on projects to foster practical skills and promote creativity in engineering. Even after graduating, I still make it a point to go back and visit the club, offering guidance and support to the new generation of students. Being a part of this community and contributing to its development has not only been personally fulfilling but has also allowed me to inspire aspiring engineers." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Last year, I decided to learn React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces. I was motivated by the demand for web development skills and the desire to create interactive web applications. I started by reading documentation and tutorials to understand React's core concepts. Then, I worked on small coding projects and used online resources like exercises and videos to reinforce my learning. Engaging with the React community also helped me gain insights and guidance. With practice, I became proficient in React, and landed my first co-op job working with react, allowing me to build dynamic web applications and stay current in the web development field." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1687883261535 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "c2zheng@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Chunxin", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Zheng", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8a0552f1-c753-4699-96eb-ed75fb2ba496?alt=media&token=890c48d1-0436-4a6c-bc3b-00549c2a39dd", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my 1B study term I took CS146. There were several questions related to assembler and compiler.\nI rarely work on relatively large questions in a short amount of time before, so the main problem was to plan the structure of soling problems ahead.\nI worked on the problems with my partner, we discussed ideas to design the implementation of stack pointers and frame pointers in advance, and created documents to keep track of the ideas.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "When I was in grade 8, I joined the class drama club. We were going to put on a show in front of the whole grade and I was in charge of writing the play and directing it. According to the given theme, I designed the plot of one person passing through different dynasties of ancient China and learning about the importance of academic performance. I also instructed actors and actresses to understand deeper to the ideas, so that they could immerge themselves deeply to the scenarios. I managed the whole rehearsal including the costumes, light and sound. It was the first time I showed my leadership in drama performance and I directed several other shows successfully after that." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Life is about experiencing, what are gained through the process is more important than the sole result." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be a part of UW faculty of Mathematics community. I've been an artist last term and a writer this term at MathSoc to demonstrate concepts of Math and CS using comics. I've also been a voluntary note taker for UW accessibility services least term and this term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my 1A term I participated a side project program held by the CS club with some of my friends.\nMy teammates used python, so I learned python by myself within two weeks and completed the projects. We eventually won the third place for the showcase.\nI mainly watched tutorials on YouTube to learn python. Meanwhile, I was tutoring a first year cs student at u of t about concepts in cryptography using python, which helped me get familiar to python in a very short period of time through teaching." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687283992548 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "whoque@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Wasitul", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Hoque", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8bea73d7-38e4-426e-8854-df3c5ca52e82?alt=media&token=b2ef1e74-63bc-4bed-a76f-5606e340aa2b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "UI/UX design", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A few days back I started a project called Earthquakes that shows users live earthquake data. The application also allows the user to donate food and other necessities by travelling to the location or donate money to the affected people using Apple Pay. While making this project I stumbled across a problem. I was not able to give accurate directions to the user from their current location to their desired destination. After hours spending on it, I deleted the file and started to code the algorithm from scratch. With a few help from online resources such as StackOverflow, I was able to find a proper solution. I realised, that I had to take care of the fact that before using users location, I have to update the privacy section of my code so that users can choose whether they want the app to use their location or not. Moreover, I used the Binding property in Swift to help transfer data between files, which helped my code to look clean, concise and easy to debug.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I spend a lot of my free time in YouTube. YouTube acts as a huge inspiration source for me. There are several videos of students of my age eagerly looking for internships and providing valuable opinions about resume and projects. Moreover, there are videos that shows how someone dealt with failures and managed to achieve their dreams. Lastly, a lot of vides in YouTube provides good projects and ideas that inspires me to work on them and create something new with the knowledge that I gained." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Earthqakes: https://github.com/was1509/Earthquakes\nRecognize: https://github.com/was1509/Recognize\nTic Tac Toe: https://github.com/was1509/TicTacToe\nCryptoStride: An application built in HTML, CSS, Javascript, React, Swift and Solidity that we built on OlympiHacks 2023. It encouraged users to walk as they could earn ethereum for waking to their destination by a route provided by the app. They would walk around certain stores and shops. Those shops would be our app's sponsor and hence, would provide us with the money that we can use to reward our users for walking. ", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern time zone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the need for privacy and data protection. I believe, today it is super important to prioritise privacy and security of user data. I would like to dive more into cybersecurity and aid in enhancing the privacy of users by mitigating potential security risks." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be in the University of Waterloo student community. There were a lot of times I felt overwhelmed by studies especially during exams. However, the fact that all my classmates were going through the same thing and were trying their best to become successful motivated me to continue working hard. Similarly, when a classmate of mine is going through some hardships, my friends and I help them to overcome their challenges and offer support." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As a Computer Science student, I am passionate about coding and developing mobile/web applications. However, recently I am diving deep into machine learning and neural networks. Being relatively new to the topic it was hard to understand it at first. However, with the help of my brother and a few online tutorials I was able to get a grasp of the fundamentals of machine learning and generative AI. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687155224832 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "oadeel@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Omer", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Adeel", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8bf08636-d457-4b6d-be6d-b472975d9e65?alt=media&token=7e668636-bab7-42c0-bea7-1d6f250bfc1c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Mobile", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my first co-op term, I was tasked with implementing the state management of a web app. This task was technically challenging because I had zero experience using the React Context API and the initial poor app structure. First, I wanted to identify the different types of API calls and group them separately so they could be called from within the state management system. After this, I determined how to separate the different areas of concern including user authentication, user state management, and external API usage. Once I learned the Context documentation, I executed my plan and was able to create an initial version of the project. Through discussions with my supervisor, I obtained feedback regarding file and component structure and implemented them into the work I had completed. In the end, I reduced the total API calls by 15, increased the user registration flow speed by 50%, and overhauled the overall app structure leading to improvement in app scalability down the line. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time Zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Wheelchair accessibility holds immense significance for me. It all started three years ago when a dear family member was unexpectedly diagnosed with a physical disability, compelling them to rely on a wheelchair. Until then, I was unaware of the challenges faced by wheelchair users, including the lack of accessibility, societal stigmas, and lack of awareness. This propelled me to join Accesso Canada, a student-run NPO that focuses on expanding the accessibility of wheelchair users in the Greater Toronto Area. I started off by beginning development on their website, where I actively published accessibility reviews, improved user accessibility, and performed active maintenance. Every day, I saw the real impact of the work I was doing on those in the community which motivated me further. By joining the organization, my passion for the cause grew and I had the opportunity to leverage my technological skills as CTO to impact hundreds of wheelchair users in the community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I had a strong passion for volunteering and community work in high school. As a volunteer, I always noticed a lack of involvement in philanthropic actions from youth age groups. This motivated me to found 'PRVD', a platform dedicated to making youth philanthropy widely accessible. I enlisted multiple friends to help launch and build the platform. Through this journey, we met with many local charities in the community who expressed their need for the platform and how beneficial it would be for youth looking to get involved philanthropically. Through making inroads into the non-profit community, we were able to build a strong and close-connected network of charities. I am particularly proud of the community as we all shared a common goal of social betterment. In the end, through our propriety platform, I registered over 10 local charities and 50+ users on the platform, thus helping to bring the community closer together. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Being in quarantine, I had plenty of free time on my hands and nothing to do with it. I wanted to challenge myself by picking up a new and beneficial skill. While brainstorming, I recalled my active fascination with websites, including how they were built, and all my ideas for different websites. I finally decided to learn web development. I created a road plan on what I would achieve over the next 4 months. First, I would master Vanilla HTML, CSS & JavaScript. I began using W3 Schools and started off by making small projects such as a static webpage for a mock storefront and a basic calculator. My confidence grew, and I wanted to test my abilities by enrolling in my first hackathon. After a grueling 24 hours, I created a platform for gardeners to advertise on. I was finally ready for learning the different web-dev frameworks. After putting myself through multiple online courses, I mastered frameworks such as React, Node, and Flask. At last, I had achieved my goal of learning web dev!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688181764980 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "ashnoor697@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Ashnoor", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Randhawa", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8e08282a-03b1-4096-847e-ecd20a3a5283?alt=media&token=fa62dc59-2b0c-4700-85c0-b991edf8536e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my experience as a project developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem while working on a project called SkillScan. The objective of this project was to create a Google HR ATS (Applicant Tracking System) platform. To implement it, I decided to utilize Firebase as the backend and Python with Flask for the development. One of the most challenging aspects was parsing the information from the uploaded resumes and returning the relevant data to the user. I faced difficulty in finding a PDF API that could effectively extract the contents from PDF documents. Another struggle was dealing with the matched output. I realized that I had not used the full potential of Firebase Database and Storage together, which affected the proper handling of the matched data. I also did extensive testing and experimented with different APIs and techniques. By reevaluating and ensuring the proper integration of these Firebase components, I was able to enhance the overall functionality.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "To create an ideal member experience, my focus as the Internal Director would be on fostering an inclusive community that values skill development and appreciation. I would prioritize organizing networking events and knowledge-sharing sessions to encourage active participation and engagement. Regular team meetings and constructive conversations in a welcoming environment would promote creative problem-solving and provide opportunities for constructive criticism. Showcasing the meaningful impact of our work to members would help cultivate their interest and enthusiasm. Ultimately, I aim to ensure that every member feels engaged within the Blueprint community, knowing they are making a positive impact." - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Advocating for social justice and fighting against discrimination has always been a passion of mine. Growing up in a culture that was filled with prejudice and harsh judgments towards outsiders, I have witnessed firsthand the need for change. My advocacy stems from a deep desire to create a society that embraces diversity without stereotypes or imposed limitations on individuals for simply being themselves.\n\nWithin my own family, I have observed how judgments based on people's backgrounds have unfairly affected my friends. This personal experience fuels my determination to advocate for a shift in this mindset. Furthermore, I have personally encountered instances of racism while spending time with both friends and family, which has reinforced my commitment to driving change. I believe that we can question and break down long-held preconceptions by encouraging empathy, creating understanding, starting open discussions and educating individuals about race and racism. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take pride in being a woman in STEM. Despite not having many female role models within my family in the field of technology, I initially found myself questioning my choices. However, I have now embraced the career path I have chosen. The challenges I have encountered along the way have only helped my personal growth.\n\nAs a computer science major, I actively engage with the Women in Computer Science (WiCS) community. I've been able to meet others who share my interests and benefit from their experiences. I have the chance to connect with communities and schools in my current job. Collaborating with my team, we lead STEM workshops with the aim of inspiring children to consider future careers in STEM. As the sole woman on the tech team, I believe I can serve as a powerful example for young girls. I hope to encourage their interest, challenge societal norms, and pave the way for a more equitable future. Through my efforts, I strive to demonstrate that women can excel in technology." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "While working on a project my primary focus was on enhancing my technical skills. To achieve this, I decided to improve my front-end skills and gain a better understanding of React.js. My motivation was a desire to grow personally and contribute more effectively to a project I had planned with my friends.\n\nTo begin my learning, I used YouTube videos as educational resources. Additionally, I worked on small projects that allowed me to learn the fundamentals through hands-on practice. Throughout this process, I followed tutorials that provided step-by-step instructions, allowing me to slowly build my skills. With a solid foundation, I was able to apply my skills to a project alongside my friends. This hands-on experience allowed me to put theory into practice and collaborate with others. Working collaboratively not only strengthened my technical abilities but also fostered teamwork and problem-solving skills. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687823129366 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "n3mehrot@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Nandini", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Mehrotra", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8e4f506e-2f8c-4d5e-b9d1-0990f89e309b?alt=media&token=15b00971-3ae6-45ef-84fa-2f40e9729fe2", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Frontend", - "Mobile", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "As part of my previous internship at the Royal Bank of Canada, I led a project on concatenation and display of numerous company documents when requested by a user via a button click on their client credit management system software.\n\nThe primary hurdle was managing file concatenation, retrieved via RESTful API calls from the server. This task was tedious on the frontend, so I collaborated with the backend team to develop an endpoint which processed this before reaching the user interface.\n\nHowever, during the testing phase, we encountered security concerns. Users had the ability to save and distribute these documents, posing a security threat. To counter this, I implemented a timeout function that would automatically remove the document from the server after a certain time, preventing its access from the UI for sharing purposes.\n\nThrough persistent testing and exploratory solutions, I successfully came up with a strategy that worked and fulfilled the client's needs.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "As a student researcher in the Global Research and Immersion Programme at NUS and NTU Singapore, I had the opportunity to lead a project with three high-school students. We were on a mission to dig into the causes and effects of traffic in Dubai, find a solution using design thinking ideologies, and discuss the feasibility of our ideas with professors in Singapore. The most exciting part? We presented our solution to the decision-makers at the Dubai Road and Transport Authority.\n\nThis project brought together diverse fields – psychology, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and design. As the team lead, I learned how to effectively communicate and share information in this cross-functional environment. Along the way, I sharpened my organization, prioritization, and presentation skills, and got better at juggling multiple tasks at once. It was like a masterclass in multitasking!" - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC -5) " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Standing up for more diversity and representation of women of colour in tech, with the aim to build a strong and empowering community, is something that's lit a fire in me ever since I stepped into this field. As we push to build this supportive space, we're also creating a tech world where everyone can see someone who has had similar experiences as them, and that's a mission that lights up my spirit every day. As an Indian woman navigating the world of tech myself, I have had first had experienced the myriad of challenges faced by underrepresented communities within the world of tech.\n\nI've been on the move - mentoring, engaging in diversity discussions, and aligning with organizations that share the vision. The aim? Leveling the playing field in tech for everyone. I'm totally committed to this mission, because I'm convinced - it's the diverse voices that will propel tech forward.\n\nI strongly believe that to create groundbreaking tech, we need diverse minds at the table." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Being a part of the RBC CSter mentoring program for the global intern squad in QTS Capital Markets is something I’m pretty excited about. As a current and previous intern at RBC, I’ve had the cool opportunity to play the role of mentor, kick back with interns over coffee chats, and lend my advice. What makes it even better is that I get to share my knowledge with interns not just in the tech field, but also those who are trying to dip their toes in it. Talking to these students about their doubts and fears when it comes to tech, and offering a listening ear, some advice and loads of support is something I find super meaningful. \n\nIn my role, I'm sort of a go-to person for all things tech, computer science studies, and the ins and outs of the tech industry. My main goal is to create a chill and welcoming space where they can openly share their thoughts or worries." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Right after high school, I decided it was time to conquer a skill that had eluded me as a child: riding a bicycle. I knew college was around the corner, and places like Waterloo and Toronto practically scream \"bike-friendly.\" So, I figured, why not give it a shot?\n\nTo learn, I kept things simple. I would go to the park every morning, starting slowly. I lost count of how many times I fell, but I refused to let that deter me. I reminded myself to relax, not overthink, and focus on the essentials: balance, smooth peddling, and steering with confidence. Slowly but surely, I started finding my rhythm. \n\nEventually, my persistence paid off. I can't express the rush of empowerment I felt when I finally conquered the art of riding a bike. Learning to cycle at that point in my life taught me that embracing the unknown and staying determined can unlock endless possibilities and reveal our true potential." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688095270480 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "aaryan.shroff@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Aaryan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Shroff", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8fb42e4e-51e9-4fb1-9801-6c8a30aa6c82?alt=media&token=db4e9e21-8699-4a5e-a1dd-359373eda1b4", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "One of my favourite books is The Design of Everyday Things, which examines the psychology of design. I learned a lot of design principles that I now see in everyday consumer objects, even though most of the things I've designed are graphics or UIs. For example, the E7 front doors are a great bad example of an unintuitive interface: I never know whether to push or pull b/c it has handles on both sides. This translates to having UX that is very clear on what each element does or what the next step in a flow is. I've seen so many buttons that look _cool_ but really hard to tell that they're actually clickable. Another example are elevators which if well designed, provide feedback through touch or sound and indicate progress, which are also important w/ UX design. It's also important when UIs to signal constraints, what actions _cannot_ be taken. Everyday objects like ethernet cables (that only insert one way) are good at this but USB connectors (I always insert them wrong at first) arent." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GIM33Bt2k2f3N3IhJLJMx4V0Di_lf_bU?usp=sharing\n\nThe EdTech app under the UIs folder is something I built with friends in high school, it was my first time both designing and developing a mobile app in collaboration with others and iterating based on user feedback. We first sought to understand what the typical user would look like (ideally we should've done surveys or interviews), and putting ourselves in the shoes of that user, what we would like the app to look/feel like: what components should be on the home page (for easy access), what would the ideal length of onboarding flow be, etc. We made a prototype in Figma then, ran it through some accessibility checks (e.g.. WCAG contrast), then programmed, and gathered feedback from third parties. And then once we felt like we had the essentials covered, we added glitter like the fancy nav bar (which we realized made the background much more expansive and open!).", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "7", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GIM33Bt2k2f3N3IhJLJMx4V0Di_lf_bU?usp=sharing\n\nThe EdTech app under the UIs folder is something I built with friends in high school, it was my first time both designing and developing a mobile app in collaboration with others and iterating based on user feedback. We first sought to understand what the typical user would look like (ideally we should've done surveys or interviews), and putting ourselves in the shoes of that user, what we would like the app to look/feel like: what components should be on the home page (for easy access), what would the ideal length of onboarding flow be, etc. We made a prototype in Figma then, ran it through some accessibility checks (e.g.. WCAG contrast), then programmed, and gathered feedback from third parties. And then once we felt like we had the essentials covered, we added glitter like the fancy nav bar (which we realized made the background much more expansive and open!)." - } - ], - "role": "Graphic Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Graphic Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is advocating for the safety and reasonable working conditions of doctors and nurses. My parents are medical professionals and growing up in India (which has a severely strained public healthcare system), I've seen them work exhausting and prolonged shifts with lack of adequate rest periods, and often compromise their physical/mental health, time with family and personal interests. Furthermore, often understated, is the risk they consistently face (at least in India) of physical assault, verbal abuse, and harassment from their patients or their attendants. The Indian Medical Association found that more than **75%** of doctors have seen violence at work. Even in Canada, budget is not properly allocated to healthcare which leads to overworked doctors and nurses, and incredibly long waiting times for patients. Championing more resources for healthcare, and stricter regulations for working conditions is something everyone needs todo" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I'm proud to be a part of is the Computer Science Club at UWaterloo. As an international student, who didn't have any friends from high school who were going to Waterloo, CSC was my avenue for meeting new people and making friends. Additionally, events like Bootcamp have been immensely helpful in getting me my first co-op. I joined as a graphic designer and stayed on three terms, eventually taking on the role of Design Lead. I've helped create promotional graphics, designs for the office door, merch and more. I've also been a Bootcamp mentor for two terms now, and given a workshop at a CSC hackathon. The club has given me a lot in terms of social outlets, academic/career support, and I try to give back as much as I can!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I am a big fan of electronic music, what appeals to me about it is that a lot of it is made by artists that are not classically trained with nothing more than a laptop and a pair of headphones. The modesty of how it's produced makes it feel more heartfelt. So I wanted to learn how to make it myself. Thankfully there were a lot of resources online that taught you the intricacies of music software, and large communities on Facebook and Reddit that you could go to for help. But right from the bat, it was much harder than I had imagined. Knowing how all the knobs worked turned out to be not enough, and when it came to actually writing a piece of music, \"practice\" didn't cut it. If you're learning to play a piece, you could just rehearse everyday. But I feel with any creative hobby (music composition, graphic design, fiction writing) the learning happens when you're not actively doing it, so the approach that worked for me was working on it when inspiration struck and not forcing output." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615346142 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "r5mehta@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Raghav", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Mehta", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F90423210-6004-4fd8-a5b7-efa6c6f586f9?alt=media&token=cca60752-b8ab-4039-8df9-ac1fcda0d130", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "response-specified": "Artificial Intelligence", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During the Covid 19, social distancing in confined spaces like elevator was a problem. So I thought of creating a device to count the number of people in the elevator at any time. If there were more than four people in the elevator then the device would set off an alarm to inform that the permissible count has been breached. There were several ideas in my mind to develop the work like using an ultrasound or computer vision software. But, after consideration ultrasound would not have worked because the device would have counted other objects like bags, strollers or other inanimate objects. Then I went on to choose the computer vision in which I used raspberry pi with a camera to count the moving objects and track the direction of their movement. Then I researched and watched online tutorials to develop a work plan. I learnt how to code raspberry pi and use python libraries work to create the program. Then I also built in optimizations to ensure that only humans (not pets) are counted.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "The mission of Blueprint is to \"make technology more accessible and useful for those who create communities and promote public welfare\". To check whether a non-profit organization has a goal that resonates with Blueprint I would first check the organizations website to understand their work and their impact on the community. I would check their technology needs and how it would improve their operations' effectiveness or efficiency. This would help me understand the impact the technology would have for the community. I would then review if Blueprint can help develop the required technologies. I would see the skills available and the proficiency levels in the team at Blueprint. I will also understand the timeline in which the NPO wants the project delivered and if Blueprint has the resources to deliver it. \n" - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "In the next term fall 2023, I will be in my study term(2A) so I will on campus so my timezone will be EST." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I believe that proper education is the way to empower people. To me education is not just about academics but also the ability to think, understand and take action. I believe proper education can help alleviate poverty in the world. I have previously organized a read-a-thons in collaboration with Simbi foundation to create audio books. I have also taught Python to middle schoolers in my high school. Helping others learn is a cause that resonates with me. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In high school, I was part of the Cyfemat club which was a Maths club. Every year this would organize the Julia Math Robinson Festival. As part of this club, we would solve puzzles, maths problems and every Rubik's cube. The aim of the festival was to promote interest in maths among middle & high school students. In 2020, I was part of the organizing team. The challenge was that it was going to be virtual. As part of the organizing team, I worked with the other members to develop the format, researched several puzzles and games and conducted training for volunteers. I was also the game presenter (table lead) for this event. It required a lot of planning and preparation we were able to conduct the event. It was an amazing opportunity and we got great response from the students. I truly felt as a part of that community and when the event ran smoothly the feeling of satisfaction was amazing." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "For my current coop, I had to learn React and Java to make the frontend of dashboard and related APIs. However, I had no prior knowledge of React or experience about frontend development. I found online tutorials and practiced creating small projects with different styles to learn the css tags and alignments of objects on the screen. I also learned how to do animations for my personal website (In progress). I also went through the Business Requirement Document (BRD) to understand the context of my co-op project. It helped me understand what and how I need to focus on. I learn best by applying concepts that I learn. \nIn less than 2 weeks I learned enough to be able to create the frontend of the dashboard and collaborate with professionals to be able to develop the related APIs." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688493191530 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "amuralee@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Aaran", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Muraleetharan", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Electrical Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F92777fd1-14d0-4b6f-b357-b9d093e236a8?alt=media&token=201c5b52-f228-4650-a67f-df8ccb926402", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my first co-op term as a QA analyst, I faced a significant technical challenge: implementing a reusable export verification test using Java and Selenium. The main hurdle was handling the verification of the most recent file while managing outdated files to avoid long-term storage issues. To overcome this, I delved into sorting algorithms and devised an efficient solution to identify the most recent file based on its last modified time. By implementing a sorting mechanism, I successfully pinpointed the latest export and performed the necessary verifications. To optimize performance and prevent unnecessary file accumulation, I also leveraged a file deletion mechanism built into Java's \"File\" library. After completing the verification test, this mechanism promptly removed the files from the system. This proactive approach minimized storage concerns and enabled efficient management of exported files. This experience taught me crucial techniques to solve further technical problems!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based out of the Eastern Standard Time Zone (EST) next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Having a younger brother with autism has deeply influenced my perspective and fuels my passion for to advocate for developmental disability awareness and acceptance. Witnessing his daily struggles, whether it be in school or in public, has heavily driven my commitment to promoting understanding and inclusivity in society, ensuring that individuals on the spectrum receive the support and opportunities they deserve. Recently, I was fortunate enough to deliver a speech at my high school, challenging autism stigmas during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. It deepened my commitment to advocate for understanding and acceptance. Through my advocacy work, I aim to challenge misconceptions, raise awareness, and foster an environment of empathy and acceptance. I firmly believe in the importance of creating a world where individuals with autism are celebrated for their unique abilities and contributions." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a member of Guruvayurappan Temple in the Brampton area. As an active participant, I have spent over 250 hours volunteering, donating my time and skills to various projects. Though I started off rinsing dishes in the temple's kitchen, I was able to leverage my technical skills to improve and maintain the temple’s website. Notably, I am ecstatic to have been part of the website's Pooja emailing list feature. This involvement has allowed me to use my technical skills to improve the temple’s online presence, ensuring that information and updates are readily available to the community. It is very satisfying to contribute to the growth and development of the Guruvayurappan temple community, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve and make a positive impact." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One instance of learning a new skill was when I delved into React.js. Driven by a desire to expand my web development capabilities, I embarked on a self-directed learning journey. My approach involved a combination of things like YouTube tutorials, using tools like ChatGPT to get directions, and a thorough Google search to acquire reliable and relevant sources. I focused on basic concepts like components, state management, and understanding the virtual DOM. To strengthen my understanding, I decided to put my skills to practical use by building a functional application using React for the front-end. This hands-on experience allowed me to better understand basic concepts of React.js, and gain confidence in using it in future projects and employment opportunities. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615844946 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "sbai@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Samuel", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Bai", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science and Business Administration Double Degree", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F92867068-9336-4319-8cbb-77074c0ba8bc?alt=media&token=5ae6338c-3627-48ea-8bfb-5f2d6d2de8a2", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I worked on in the past was with regard to the raytracer Caitlyn. Once the project had a functional prototype, with an adjustable camera and multisampling, the rendering time for a single test made the project untestable, especially on Windows OS systems where multithreading was not enabled by default. It would take over 20 minutes to properly render a scene at 5 samples. This impeded the project's progress, as without reasonable runtimes, it could not be tested and debugged efficiently. As such, myself and the other project member sought to address this issue. \n\nFirst, we understood the problem as best as we could; render times were too slow due to a mandatory triply-nested for-loop. Second, we brainstormed ideas - what if we split the workload between multiple threads? The GPU? Third, we learned the knowledge necessary to complete these tasks, resulting in me learning to use Nvidia CUDA. Fourth, we implemented our ideas with our newfound knowledge.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "Currently, my favourite product is an exercise app called Caliber. I enjoy using this app because it externally aligns its features with what its customer base demands, and is internally consistent in leveraging its advantage of being a mobile app. As someone who previously did not exercise much, I am happy that the app offers many of the core, necessary features for free, such as documenting sets to record progression, or providing video demonstrations and notes on how to perform a certain exercise. Caliber is able to do this because it understands that as an app, it holds the unique ability to offer a service at little-to-no cost to itself, and at the same time, customers who are impressed with the base freemium model are more likely to opt into the paid subscription model. Through this, the app is able to achieve what many other exercise apps cannot, and offer the necessary exercise app services for free, and upcharge on only the premium features." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST: UTC−05:00" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I really believe in maintaining freedom of the press, with a specific emphasis on whistleblowing. Whistleblowing is the practice of an individual reporting wrongdoing within an organization in the public interest. In a society where it is infinitely easier to stay complacent and keep our heads down when those in positions of authority act against the public interest, I have always admired those who have the courage to put themselves at risk for the sake of the greater good. In that regard, I really look up to Julian Assange's founding of WikiLeaks. While I may not entirely agree with his beliefs or philosophies, he risked arrest and deportation to develop a platform where leaked documents could be published and distributed safely in the name of the public interest, and I find that dedication toward serving the public admirable. As such, I also wish to contribute toward maintaining this freedom of the press in any meaningful I can." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to have been a part of the Unionville Youth Council during all four years of high school. The Unionville Youth Council is a youth organization based in Markham, ON which aims to provide a means for community youth to give back to their community. I began as a general member in grade 9 and actively participated in council events, such as our annual Christmas skating fundraiser, 30 Hour Famine fundraiser, or biweekly Food Bank volunteering. In my grade 12 year, I was invited to lead the council as co-chair. Through this role, I was able to contribute to an even greater extent, notably through planning and leading monthly meetings, planning and executing year-round events, and overseeing our council's partnership with the York Region Police. This by proxy, provided a safe space for youth to safely approach police authority within our community to ask questions, learn, and provide their concerns and opinions as to allow for mutual understanding between both parties." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A skill I learned while working on a Spotify side project was how to use the Spotify API, and more generally, a working formula to implement any API. My primary motivation was to create a simple program which could download my Spotify playlists into mp3 files for offline listening, as I personally do not have a premium account. The approach that I discovered worked best for me was as follows:\n1. skimming documentation: I begin with this to get a general understanding of the principles and theory behind a given API library, which will help guide implementation later.\n2. searching for specific functions: based on the type of feature I need from the library, I will search for a corresponding function (usually through Ctrl + F on keywords). If the last step was theory, this is application.\n3. when I inevitably encounter an error (the program does not compile, or compiles with errors), I then consult Stack Overflow using effective search queries, which I consider the debugging step." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688613824015 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "campbell.wang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Campbell", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Wang", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F92dea6d9-262c-4f5d-84b1-a04d4b7843d2?alt=media&token=d4528893-0a8d-4978-841e-ff3bc56da191", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my most recent internship, I had the task of creating a routine to compute the last point of contact between the user and the client. Normally this would be a relatively simple task in something like Postgres (generated column), but this solution is constraining in nature. We were also hoping to build it on top of our custom object service, which was kind of the whole point of the derived properties project (meant to be a template). My solution to the problem was to create paginated queries within our object service of object IDs that matched a form of indexed communication, such as a Slack message or an email, and create subroutines to calculate the most recent timestamp. The solution could be more optimized if we made changes directly to the service layer, but that would've been very time-consuming, so this solution was a nice alternative for the time being.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST (Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I love cats, so the idea of getting stray cats off the streets and into loving homes is a cause that resonates with me. When I'm traveling in Asia, I would keep a couple of tuna cans in my backpack so I can feed any hungry stray cats that I run into. Even though a lot of people are against the idea of feeding strays, the thought of them being hungry makes me sad, so I still do it 🥲" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm part of UWTSS at UWaterloo, which is the Taiwanese student society. I'm especially proud to be in this group of people because we share the same pride in our identities - where we came from and the culture that we brought with us. We put in great effort to educate and spread Taiwanese culture to other students here at UW. An example of this is our booth at CSC's night market, where I helped run a game that people can play for a prize." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned how to ride a motorcycle in Thailand. I was on vacation in Phuket Island, and it was difficult to get around if you didn't have a personal vehicle. I decided to rent a bike even though I'd only tried riding it once before, so I had close to zero experience. My approach to learning was to start slow and ride on the very edge of the road, and practice turning left and right a couple of times. I picked it up pretty well after an hour or so, and I was very lucky that the roads in Phuket are fairly wide." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687927773796 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "nniharik@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Niharika", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Srivatsa", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F94881c8e-747f-4045-9547-aebabfd998e8?alt=media&token=1f5918a1-0efb-447c-b21f-33277bbf05ae", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During a task, I encountered compatibility issues with booking emails across different email clients, including blocked calendar invitation links and inconsistent CSS rendering. To resolve this, I first extensively researched email client limitations and behaviours. Then I tested emails across various clients using the inspect tool to identify specific areas of the code that are being blocked or inconsistent. Based on this research and testing, I brainstormed alternative solutions like manual event addition or direct calendar file download. To tackle CSS inconsistencies, I optimized the code with inline styles, avoiding complex techniques. After implementing the improvements, I conducted thorough testing across different email clients to validate the changes. By applying these problem-solving techniques, including research, testing, alternative solutions, optimization, and iterative testing, I successfully addressed the compatibility issues in booking emails.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT/EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is promoting women in engineering and computer science. As a high school student, my knowledge of the tech industry was limited, making me feel ill-prepared to pursue these fields. I aim to bridge the gender gap by encouraging and supporting women, as their unique perspectives drive innovation and address societal challenges. Through a user survey I conducted, I discovered that girls usually lacked a supportive network and often felt inadequate to pursue the field. I believe small actions will create a significant impact on this cause. For example, as an executive producer on a tech podcast, I always prioritize diverse guests in hopes of inspiring high school girls. In addition, I’m expanding a hackathon project that connects girls to work side projects together, by talking to my high school guidance counselor to introduce the app to young girls. Through these endeavors, I hope to make a meaningful impact on this cause." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be part of the PTC Podcast committee, a tight-knit group of six individuals creating monthly podcast episodes on tech topics. As the executive producer, I brainstorm ideas and invite industry guests. I also organize meetings and social events. Positive feedback from students confirms our impact, inspiring them through our podcast and guest speakers. It's rewarding to know our efforts make a difference. This project fosters personal growth in communication and leadership. Despite remote collaboration, we maintain a strong bond, engaging in lively video meetings and social gatherings. Though I've moved on, this committee remains a truly enriching experience in my life, filled with cherished memories of collaboration, dedication, and the power of sharing knowledge through podcasting. Check out the podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/in-query/id1528766302" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "After my HOSA presidency in high school, I sought feedback on my performance from my teacher. She advised improving my public speaking skills, noting my nervousness and rehearsed delivery. This motivated me to learn and grow in public speaking. Determined to improve, I ran for valedictorian, presenting a 5-minute speech to our graduating class. I researched extensively, crafted some engaging content, focused on delivery techniques like eye contact and gestures, and sought feedback. Rehearsing helped me build confidence while seeking feedback allowed adjustments. I have continued growing these skills by giving stakeholder presentations and running retrospective meetings during my coop. By embracing this practical experience and a structured approach, I grew my public speaking skills significantly." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688603301832 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "s4thapa@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Sun", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Thapa", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F95582418-aa8d-4856-a452-5fea3e9ae9fb?alt=media&token=ea4c7492-a63c-401d-a512-1a15f85f3f17", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "YouTube has been my favorite product, as it has significantly aided my learning and personal interests. As a developer in the past, I relied on YouTube tutorials to enhance my technical skills and help me understand leet code solutions. Now, as a product manager, YouTube continues to be a valuable resource for industry insights. Moreover, YouTube has enriched my hobbies, such as basketball, food, and hiking, through highlights, cooking channels, and travel vlogs. Its vast content library has profoundly impacted my personal and professional growth, making it an essential tool in my journey. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Education equality is a cause that is very important to me as I have done many volunteer positions in the past to promote this cause. I firmly think that every person, regardless of socioeconomic status or what country you are born in, has a fundamental right to access high-quality education. I'm passionate about using technology to close the achievement gap and give every student the same opportunity. If I joined this group, I would be able to work with others who share my interests to develop technological solutions that address these educational inequalities and have a beneficial social impact." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be a member of the immigrant community as a Nepali immigrant. I am aware of the difficulties of leaving one's nation of origin and beginning a new life elsewhere. I have actively served as a mentor and resource for other members of the community, offering advice and assistance to the younger generation both in Canada and Nepal. In addition, I have used my technical abilities to develop platforms and tools that aid in networking, information exchange, and communication among immigrants such as a website re-design for my local temple." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In my current co-op, I got exposed to using Amplitude for tracking metrics, hypothesis testing, and implementing winning variations to enhance my product management skills. Through thorough research, practical application, collaboration with teams, and continuous learning, I gained proficiency in data analysis. Leveraging Amplitude's insights, I made data-driven decisions to optimize user experiences and drive impactful product improvements." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688615576584 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "sprayag@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Srishti", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Prayag", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "CFM", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F959bda5e-bbff-4f9a-a1f8-c3addf22d48a?alt=media&token=3eff9386-6fff-43b0-a1c0-c2d6ffbb848c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "First, I approach any problem with curiosity and outline what the problem I am trying to fix. I want to understand what is broken, but also what I want to achieve by fixing it. This way I have a more holistic approach and am able to talk about the problem better. I will try to use Google and other resources as much as I can but I am also not ashamed to ask for help from mentors or colleagues as they could have valuable experience and wisdon, especially within the same field.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST as I will be in person in Waterloo for a study term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Gender equality/equity is something I feel I have been fighting for since I was a little girl. For as long as I can remember, I have been questioning gender roles and stereotypes. Simple things like uncles taking over when there is a physical task that I am trying to do, even if I was not struggling in the slightest, would bother me endlessly. And then came bigger issues like the victim-blaming narrative and there were also religious issues that made me start to question my faith because what \"all-loving and all-forgiving\" god would discriminate like that? So I feel like as a woman and South Asian I have faced these issues, big and small, throughout my life and I have been challenging it in whatever ways I can for as long as I can remember. Thankfully I have a more liberal family that is supportive of women's rights and closing the gap between genders, but not everyone is priviledged enough to have such support. I hope that we will see more change as we continue to push for this cause." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am part of a cultural group called Edmonton Kannada Association (EKA) where hundreds of Edmontonians from Karnataka (a state in India) get to create a sense of community through events and celebrating festivals together. This community has been home since I moved to Canada at 12 years old, and it has allowed me to meet my best friend and share my love of dance through performing at some of the events. I am a very proud member of this community and therefore wanted to serve on the executive committee to give back to the community. As part of my time as a Youth Secretary, I helped with organizing and executing these events. But more importantly, I helped to set up an Emergency Fund for our community members which was used to assist a family facing a medical emergency. I also helped organize a fundraiser to support Karnataka during a bad bout of floods that had affected 2000 villages. We also were able to properly register EKA as a non-profit so we could continue supporting our people." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I love picking up new skills on the go and am quite quick to learn. This has been especially true in my current coop term as I am trying to learn more Python as I go. The only experience so far was on a finance course I had taken last term, which has helped a lot, but there are different libraries in use at my job so I " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688616096653 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "jc2ling@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Jason", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ling", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F997be24d-0b0b-4659-b1c1-e96793f77324?alt=media&token=0f4a120f-bceb-4e19-bf25-085de0b78d3e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "A product that I enjoy using on a daily basis is Discord. The platform enables users to create and join servers, connect with friends or like-minded individuals, and engage in conversations across different channels. When the recent implementation of AI chat summaries and the ability to create your own chatbots, the software is always improving. Additionally, its use cases vary from events other than gaming: I've competed in online debate tournaments run on Discord, joined communities for design teams and university application information, and so much more. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that has resonated with me for my entire life was the Terry Fox Foundation. As a child, I lost my grandfather to lung cancer, and I became invested in many causes for cancer research throughout elementary school. I always loved how we would run to represent Terry's journey every year and promote active living. I remember we would wear stickers that wrote: \"I am running for _____\". It exhibits the impact cancer has on many people's lives and the impact we can make in the future to improve cancer medication. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I've always been proud of is my badminton club's community. I've been training to compete ever since I was in grade 8; this was also when I implicitly joined the amazing community of competitive badminton. This is where I have developed my lifelong friends since we shared the same devotion to this sport. As I improved, the recognition I got from other members of the community increased. I received the opportunity to train with national players and learn from the best coaches in Canada. Once I was in grade 11, the" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In grade 8, I learned public speaking. Specifically, I learned how to debate, which has changed my life. I've always hated group presentations and impromptu, but I decided I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. Fortunately for me, I had friends on the same path as I was. We all were trying to improve, so the process was much easier and a lot more fun. As time goes by, I realized this skill is something that I could sharpen daily, and realized the importance of consistency and practising the skills you want to improve at every chance possible. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688098972133 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B/3A", - "email": "i3nguyen@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Isaac", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Nguyen", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9a874e0d-488c-419a-ab33-7a8d7845fd0d?alt=media&token=2230a150-4c54-49f7-961c-8e0cf42df049", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A particular school assignment (for CS246) involved the implementation of several design patterns to perform a specific. I found bridging together various course concepts to create a well-designed program to be extremely challenging. To me, these concepts were abstract and posed no clear relation with one another. Breaking down the task into smaller tasks was a step in the right direction for me. I was able to isolate various components of the assignment and connect it with each individual course concepts. By doing so, this painted a clearer picture as to how the program is supposed to be structured based on the tasks it was performing. From then, I was able to create a clear connection with the corresponding course concept for each component and effectively implement it to fit with the assignment criteria. Overcoming this obstacle was an important step to completing the assignment. This experience gave me a new perspective on how to tackle technical challenges such as this one. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A niche yet genuine cause that hits close to home is the supporting local businesses through technological means. This \"issue\" is one that goes unnoticed and deserves more awareness within our local community. It is important to recognize that technology plays a vital role in the operational aspect of a business. Unfortunately, many local/family-owned business do not have the financial means to invest in tools that should be accessible to entrepreneurs. This cause did not resonate until very recently, when I took on a part-time cashier position at a family owned bakery, with the purpose of diversifying my perspective and experience with different lifestyles. Ever since, I was able to pick up on several operational flaws that had a significantly influenced the outcome of the business. To my surprise, many are easily solvable through simple implementation of the technology available to us. Through joining Blueprint, I aim to contribute to the accessibility of technology for everyone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "\"Software for Love\" is a community that I am proud to be a part of as the cause behind the non-profit organization is to give back to the community by providing software solutions. We offer our services for free to organizations that lack the resources to fund their technological needs. SFL relies on volunteers, such as myself, to provide such a service. The lack of financial incentives was not a consideration when I joined the team. Simply, I saw this as an opportunity to change the inaccessibility of technology within our local community - a cause I resonate well with. As I only recently joined SFL, my contributions at this time are rather insignificant. However, I hope to put my best effort in making significant contributions to this initiative in the near future. My enthusiasm and eagerness to create impact does not stop there. Thus, my utmost interest in Blueprint has pushed me to apply for a position where I can employ my skills and knowledge, while giving back to the community!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "To take a step way from tech-related topics, I want to talk about my other interests! Being an avid gamer, I enjoy the competitive nature that comes with multiplayer video games. Whether it be CS:GO or, now recently, Valorant, I was always striving to improve and explore my gaming potential. Picking up a new game is the same as picking up a new skill. Back when my obsession with Valorant was at its all time high, I had an unwavering drive to climb the ranks and be the best that I can be. This meant that I was willing to do anything necessary in order to achieve that. Day and night, I would mindless play without being mindful of my flaws. The lack of progress pushed me to reassess my approach to improving. I saw that because I was not critiquing and reviewing my own gameplay, I was not actively improving and will continue to make the same mistakes. This paradigm shift was what allowed me to reach the top 1% of players. This experience taught me working smarter was better than harder." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687742003310 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "j35dsouz@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jason", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "D'Souza", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Mathematics", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9acd2bea-f7bb-4203-9675-3d1ca113e351?alt=media&token=352af3a9-6af3-4a72-aebe-6167080b799e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I recently participated in a hackathon focused on blockchain. My team ended up creating a tool that would accept an API request from a vendor that would create a newly minted NFT receipt for a sold product with the goal of ensuring ownership and authenticity. \n\nPrior to this hackathon, no one on my team had any experience with blockchain. This was a topic that was completely new to all of us and just deciding on a project was challenging. One of the greatest challenges we had during the hackathon was minting NFTs from API calls. The idea of minting an NFT was novel to us so I ended up reading a lot on the Solana documentation, watching/reading some guides and asking some of the mentors at the hackathon. Throughout this process, I ended up learning how to create a candy machine and call it through an API call. \n\nLearning how to do so was definitely challenging but I ended up realizing the importance of reading documentation and asking for advice and guidance from others. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "I believe hosting a Blueprint Alumni Night could be a cool new event. Blueprint has had some amazing members, many of which continue to do some amazing things. I think it would be valuable for a bunch of current students if Blueprint were to bring some of the graduated alumni back. They could talk about the projects they worked on at Blueprint, how they contributed and why they decided to even join in the first place. They could also talk about what they continue to do right now and how they try to carry on Blueprint's mission after leaving the team.\n\nI assume many students in Blueprint want to leave a positive impact on the world. Doing so without Blueprint's structure can definitely be a bit challenging so it would be a great experience to hear how alumni might've done so after leaving. Thus I believe hosting an Alumni night could have a ton of value for this very reason. Also, it's always great to hear advice from UW graduates working in the industry and is valuable on its own." - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "External Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Over the past few years, I have discovered a passion for environmental sustainibility. I especially enjoy using my skills to contribute to projects that target pressing environmental challenges and actively try to do so. \n\nSome examples can be found from my past experiences as a developer on MidnightSun and finance advisor on Electrium. These UW design teams are both focused on creating electric vehicles. Although my role on both teams are different, the goal of creating a vehicle(s) that are sustainable and efficient is prevelent. Additionally, during my last co-op, I assisted in developing a tool to help employees work on the goal of becoming carbon neutral and environmentally friendly, ultimately resulting in the reduction of a few tonnes of carbon production. \n\nDespite all being distinct, the overarching goal of environmental sustainibility remains. I believe that sustaining the environment will be a pressing issue this century and is thus a cause that resonates with me. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "For the past year and a half, I have been an active member of the UW CSC community. I initially joined to meet some new people and enjoy some cool school events but got more involved after meeting many of its passionate members. \n\nThus, I soon joined the CSC as an organizing member and became an exec not long after. Over the past few months, I have been responsible for acquiring sponsors and speakers, arranging/assisting with collabs and organizing some events of my own. I have always loved the feeling of helping someone else discover something new and insightful or giving people the opportunity to make lifelong friends. \n\nThe CSC to me is a place where anyone remotely interested in computer science can easily join, meet some interesting people, have fun and hopefully learn something along the way. I have definitely grown a lot at UW because of the CSC thus, I hope to carry on the legacy and give students more opportunities to learn, establish connections and just have fun. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When starting out at Waterloo, I knew I would have to look for my first co-op in just a few months. At the time, I knew I wanted to work in software but wasn't sure on how. Thus, I ended up asking around. I reached out to upper years, other first years and full-time SWEs. I ended up learning a lot from these different perspectives and decided to pursue web development for my first internship. \n\nLearning web dev was definitely a challenge. Although some of my past high school CS skills transferred over, web dev was new and unique compared to what I was used to. Using what I learned from reaching out, I ended up taking advantage of some free online resources and made sure to focus on building up a strong foundation. I ended up creating some fun but basic projects before my first co-op cycle.\n\nDuring this process, I learned how to set myself up for a career in web dev. I also learned about the importance of reaching out and understanding different perspectives for the sake of learning." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688669167065 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "d3truong@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Daniel", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Truong", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9b4b63e5-07c2-4b79-8b37-5e0bcf3eba0d?alt=media&token=882f68a8-b338-423a-b608-8f61d6be0380", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "As a developer at my previous co-op, I led a large project aimed to integrate our ERP database with external software. This would allow the entire company to have access to automatically updated information. A challenging technical problem I faced was familiarizing myself with new APIs such as Salesforce API and learning a new framework in Frappe. Interning at a startup challenged me to quickly meet tight deadlines and I practiced many skills to ensure I was working as efficiently as possible. I learned to document all of my new learning with tools such as JIRA tickets, Notion, and Postman repositories so I could refer back to any information when needed. I also became more collaborative by setting up synchronous pair programming sessions with senior developers to learn about coding best practices and proper documentation techniques. By understanding how to research, ask questions, and seek opportunities for new learning, I was able to successfully complete the project.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The MLSE Foundation is a cause that resonates with me due to their commitment to providing youth with a fair chance to participate in sports. Being an avid fan of sports my whole life, I have developed numerous skills, learned valuable lessons, and gained an overall sense of belonging that fostered my social relationships through team activities. While I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment where I was encouraged to participate in sports, many youth face barriers that prevent them from having the same opportunity, whether it be cost, disabilities, social exclusion, or other factors. The MLSE Foundation aims to tackle these issues by refurbishing community active spaces, providing youth with sporting grants, and hosting programs such as LaunchPad which allow those who are facing barriers to have a community to be a part of. In the future, I hope to help others experience sports the same way I did by volunteering with the MLSE Foundation." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Best Buddies is a community aimed to create inclusive educational environments by fostering friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Throughout much of my life, I have observed an unjustified stigma aimed to outcast those with disabilities from the rest of society. In elementary school and high school, I was dedicated to supporting this program to spread the message that all people can and should be treated equally regardless of their disabilities. My most fulfilling experience was seeing one of my Best Buddies grow from learning how to read short stories one-on-one to eventually gaining the confidence to take on public speaking roles in classrooms. As I spent more time in the community, I took on more leadership roles by organizing school-wide events and becoming an ambassador for others to join the program. The experience was very memorable and I am extremely proud to have been able to play a role in breaking such an insensitive stigma." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I learned a new skill was when I learned to cook over my last co-op term. I was motivated to learn cooking as I wanted to build independence, manage my finances better, and keep my health up before moving out and living on my own without any meal plan. In order to learn, I began by watching recipes and studying specific techniques. I organized these recipes in a notepad based on time and cost so that I would be able to find the right recipes depending on the day. In the process, I also learned the importance of meal prepping with ingredient costs in mind. I then proceeded to put the learning into practice by cooking the recipes while applying the techniques I had learned. Though many of the meals that I made in my first weeks of cooking were not perfect, I had the opportunity to learn from each mistake. I sought advice from more experienced cooks, researched videos of particular techniques I struggled with, and applied all the new learning the next time I cooked." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688585151791 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "k2ouyang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Kevin", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ouyang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9c5c0f53-2332-457f-98a5-d0622bdb1cc8?alt=media&token=107869d5-a229-4eb8-9ce2-f3095b98f407", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "When first launching our product for our startup, our web app was insanely slow and crashed frequently. As inexperienced developers, we didn’t really know how to handle the high traffic other than buying higher-powered servers, increasing our burn rate, and reducing our margins. As we continued to gain traction, I realized that we had to explore different options rather than bulldozing forwards recklessly. I analyzed the codebase to reduce dependencies and code density, while also creating standard development practices including code review for team members to follow. I implemented data caching in the frontend, and optimized data queries as well to reduce runtime. We’re now migrating our server to an AWS server managed by Kubernetes. I found that while any problem may seem to only have one solution, it’s important to gather as a team and look over all existing infrastructure to ensure a stable foundation before continuing to work.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "I'm currently the CTO and Co-Founder of a health tech start-up. While we are in the very early stages, it was important to foster a collaborative and open environment so that every team member felt welcome. Our team is around 10 people and weekly socials and light-hearted meetings continue to provide that culture. Celebrating accomplishments together, holding constructive dialogue, and providing encouragement was key in helping team members stay engaged. I felt extremely proud when one of the ideas I presented was discussed as a point of concern during our daily standup. As a leader that focuses on open communication, I've seen many moments where shy team members have something they'd like to share, but due to the way others are speaking, decide to hold back. I would then stop the conversation and encourage them to speak up. No person is able to do something innovative alone. In the end, everyone has strengths and weaknesses and teamwork helps us cover our weak points." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - }, - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "I really support this idea so long as there is thorough documentation on what is provided, routine maintenance and the setup does not take away from gaining technical experience. This is how I would build alignment among developers:\n-> Promoting the shared vision by describing clear goals and aligning to each developer's personal goals of self-growth or accomplishment.\n-> Providing personal connection so each member feels responsible and proud of their work\n-> Encouraging and fostering open communication to ensure strong teamwork and collaborative skills with engaging meetings and scheduled socials so tasks such as pair programming, code reviews, and more are less daunting.\n-> Setting clear and reasonable expectations so developers can feel motivated but not overwhelmed to accomplish their tickets within set sprints.\n-> Recognizing achievements mostly verbally but with prizes as well, to ensure that developers' work does not go unnoticed and they feel integral to the team." - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Out of Waterloo, so EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "While there are countless causes that range from social justice to environmental conservation, those supporting basic human needs resonate with me the most. Specifically, those supporting access to clean water and sanitation. In a first-world country, we often take it for granted as we have direct access to great reserves of water. Many countries don't have such a luxury, often relying on underground reserves and spring water to support their daily routines. However, these pools are often over-saturated with minerals, and contain toxic elements such as mercury, and more, making it a health risk to use. Furthermore, the technology to detect and filter these water sources are insanely expensive and hardly affordable for the populace. Some water organizations I've followed such as charity:water have supplied and developed cheaper alternatives for detection and filtration. The effort to innovate for the support of human life is something integral to me." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm currently a part of The Forge, a startup incubator, and have been for the last 4 years. I first joined as part of a startup called MedX and spent the summer of 2020 growing our company and connecting with other innovators through workshops and seminars. I now serve as an alumnus and an advisor for new startups, giving advice and even providing technical guidance. It's amazing how quickly people take new technology and branch off, continuously innovating and coming up with groundbreaking ideas. I've become quite integrated with the community as well, regularly attending gatherings and other socials. While each person has different goals, innovation is always a common denominator and it results in amazing teamwork and motivation that spreads so quickly. I'm very proud that I can provide and be a part of this amazing culture and I hope to continue to be in the future." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Recently, I just learned how to kickbox and one of the hardest skills for me was the high kick. Since I am not very flexible, I found it difficult to both balance and kick at head level in one swift motion. While most of my peers were able to get it down pretty quickly, I had to keep practicing and even then, I wasn't able to achieve the height I wanted. Instead of being discouraged, I focused on what steps I needed to achieve to be able to kick at that height. I started by trying to improve my balance through drills, then improving my flexibility by slowly hitting targets at higher and higher elevations. Over the course of a couple of days I was able to touch that height my foot. However, the final step was combining it all into one fluid motion and adding speed and power. Through constant repetition and focus I was able to kick at the head level. While not perfect yet, I'm working constantly everyday to make it consistent." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688499695432 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "a9bilal@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Ahmed", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Bilal", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9e504755-7e48-4604-b4de-84fcd2454ced?alt=media&token=efa3b067-5964-4ef8-8ad0-97a16b1b7520", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I developed a calibration system for addressing projection-related issues more efficiently. One of the key challenges I faced involved comprehending the intricacies of calibration in projection mapping. My aim was to devise a calibration system capable of aligning projectors and cameras with one projection shot. This entailed devising techniques to capture precise geometric correspondences while minimizing information loss, which may occur due to suboptimal camera quality or angles. Before identifying correspondences, it was crucial to encode the projection pattern in a manner that avoids duplications during decoding. Duplication could lead to non-uniqueness. After rectifying contradictory data, I needed a method to predict accurate estimates. To achieve this, I leveraged the concepts of locality and interpolation to estimate the current information. I then employed geometric distortion models to attain precise geometric correspondences using a single projection calibration system.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based in EST/EDT time zone for next term. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is leveraging technology for social good. In today's digital age, technology has the potential to create significant social impact, and I am particularly passionate about using it to help those in need. Where technology can make a significant difference in bridging the educational gap, providing equal opportunities, and making healthcare delivery more efficient and accessible. For instance, telemedicine allows patients in remote areas to receive medical consultations without having to travel long distances. As such, technology has immense potential to drive social good. By harnessing its power, we can address various social issues and make the world a better place. I am committed to contributing to this cause and helping people through technology." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am extremely proud to be a part of the Muslim and immigrant communities in Canada. These communities are a vibrant tapestry of diverse cultures, traditions, and perspectives, and being a part of it has enriched my life in countless ways. One of the ways I have contributed to this community is by actively participating in mentorship programs aimed at supporting new immigrants. I understand the challenges that come with moving to a new country, and through these programs, I have been able to share my experiences and provide guidance to those who are navigating similar paths. I also enjoy events that not only celebrate our rich heritage but also build mutual understanding and respect among different cultures. In conclusion, being a part of the Muslim and immigrant communities in Canada is a source of great pride for me. I am committed to contributing to this community in any way I can, and I look forward to continuing to do so in the future." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "While working at Christie Digital Systems I was exposed to the challenge of learning projection mapping. My motivation to learn this skill stemmed from a desire to contribute more effectively to the team's projects and to expand my overall knowledge in the field of multimedia technology.\nTo begin my learning journey, I first familiarized myself with the fundamentals of projection mapping through research papers and reached out to colleagues within the company who had expertise in the area, seeking their guidance and advice. As I encountered challenges during the learning process, I approached them with a problem-solving mindset. Whenever I faced obstacles or encountered new and unfamiliar concepts, I sought out resources, forums, and communities to seek assistance and gather insights. Throughout this learning process, I demonstrated a strong sense of ownership over my projects." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688164940988 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "Graduate student", - "email": "kpsivaku@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Karthik Prakash", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Sivakumar", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Electrical and Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9ed695fc-02dc-445c-af5a-5de81921a219?alt=media&token=e052c6a0-6f14-47a2-87cc-91169ee4047e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "At Aximsoft, I had the privilege of leading a team of talented junior developers on an exciting project. Our mission was to build an app that would transform survey data into actionable insights for our clients. As the project lead, I embraced the role of a collaborative leader, fostering open communication and encouraging innovative ideas. I delegated tasks based on individual strengths, while also nurturing their personal growth in their chosen fields. Together, we delivered the app on time, surpassing client expectations and achieving great results. Not only did we focus on project success, but we also built a strong team culture. We participated in firm-wide sports tournaments, like cricket ensuring everyone felt engaged and valued. Now, as I've moved on from the firm, it's rewarding to see my team stepping up, making an even greater impact. This experience solidified my belief in the power of leadership to inspire teamwork, nurture creativity, and leave a lasting legacy." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my work with the Inteligals project, we faced a challenging technical problem: optimizing the performance of a web application handling a large JSON dataset. With limited time and the startup's funding on the line, we needed an effective solution.\n\nUndeterred, I embarked on a systematic approach. Thoroughly analyzing the backend architecture, codebase, and server infrastructure, I discovered that a shift from traditional RESTful architecture to GraphQL could be the key. Determined, we tirelessly implemented and fine-tuned GraphQL in both the front and backend.\n\nOur efforts paid off as the application's performance skyrocketed, leading to the remarkable growth of Inteligals. This experience taught me the power of tenacity, critical analysis, and the value of exploring innovative approaches to overcome technical challenges. This made me realize that being a full-stack developer is not a skill it is an attitude.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST/EDST time zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I firmly believe that every individual are indebted to the society. Among the myriad causes that touch my heart, \"Education for all\" stands out as the beacon of hope. No problem has a single solution, but imagine how many problems would vanish if everyone had access to a higher level of education. The ripples of this change would not only uplift individuals but also shape a stronger and more vibrant society. As the first graduate in my family, I have witnessed firsthand the profound impact education can have on both my loved ones and the community that molded me." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I have had the privilege of being part of numerous communities, but the one close to my heart was being a member of \"Inspire Tutelage.\" This incredible organization is dedicated to providing educational support and guidance to underprivileged children who lack access to proper educational infrastructure to pursue their dreams.\nAs a mentor within Inspire Tutelage, I had the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of these young individuals. I took on the responsibility of teaching them Science and Math, and I also assisted them in preparing for their crucial public examinations and Engineering entrance examinations.\nWhile I was empowering these bright minds, I discovered immense personal growth. Spending quality time with these talents allowed me to enhance my own people skills, leadership abilities, and communication prowess. It shaped me into a more compassionate empathetic, and capable individual." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": " During my first job as a software developer, I was asked to learn new application development frameworks React, React-Native, and NodeJS. I followed a clear approach, researching fundamentals through online tutorials and interactive platforms. Setting specific goals, I built a basic web and mobile app, incorporating design elements and interactive features. Besides I was actively engaging with the seniors in the office and collaborating with them to solve problems that they were working on. I was very determined to expand my skill set, working late hours, and optimizing the code on weekends, which was liked by my manager eventually, this fast-tracked my learning and made me join a project in just two months." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688598425254 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "amasim@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Azzam", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Asim", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9f522d57-8146-4b79-90c8-e344cb7f57f2?alt=media&token=d243ae08-2167-4a0c-8c81-dceb4c2b941b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "In my senior year, I was the head of the senior student council. During our junior council elections, many of our council members were angry at the teachers about how unfairly some candidates were being treated and the rules being imposed. The situation boiled over to a point where council members were planning on sending hateful messages to the teachers. I knew I had to step in to prevent things from escalating. First, I had to calm down my fellow council members. Next, I carefully listened to their grievances. I found that many of them had valid concerns that needed to be addressed. After understanding the situation, I presented the council’s concerns to the teachers. I needed to be respectful, yet assertive in my communication. There was some pushback, but in the end, I was able to convince the teachers to amend certain policies and decisions. By doing so, I prevented a messy conflict from taking place, while ensuring that the election proceeded in a just manner." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my previous work term, my manager and I noticed that we had extremely large API costs for our document conversion service. After informing the CFO, I was tasked with finding a way to perform the conversion in-house.\nI researched document conversion techniques and tested several solutions from Google, Microsoft, and others. Eventually, I found a way to perform the conversion on a Windows instance using Microsoft’s C# Interop library.\nI coded the conversion service as an ASP.NET Core app, that would be deployed as a Windows Background Service. I used test-driven development to fine-tune the processing. Once the service was working, I ported it to a virtual machine on AWS EC2. I configured the service to run automatically using batch scripts and created a poller to grab conversion requests from our SQS queue.\nBy switching to this conversion service, I generated over $140,000 of annual savings and even reduced the conversion time to 5 seconds.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST (I will be on my 2B term in Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that strongly resonates with me is education. I am deeply fascinated by the power it holds, and the essential role it plays in shaping every human being. Ensuring that someone has access to quality education can empower them to fight against oppression and discrimination, and contribute towards making the world a better place. At the same time, those that are deprived of proper education are fated to a life of struggle and become easy prey for others to take advantage of. By rallying for better educational systems to be set up and imparting knowledge to other myself, I hope to one day contribute to a future where the human right of education is accessible to everyone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In India, I attended a private school from kindergarten to 12th grade. As such, I grew to see my teachers and fellow students as a second family. I owe a lot of my development and success to this community, so to give back I took up leadership positions whenever I could, be it writing for the school magazine or leading the soccer team. My proudest achievement was during COVID, when I founded a free online peer tutoring platform for middle school students in my school and across India. As the CTO, I was responsible for creating our website and online scheduling system, and I also taught computer science and math. Within a few short months, we were able to conducts over a 100 online sessions to teach key concepts and help students revise for their exams. Nothing meant more than the countless personal messages of gratitude we received from students and their parents, thanking us for our guidance. It felt great knowing that I had made a positive impact on my school." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In high school, I had a keen interest in programming and physics. So when I heard about quantum computing (QC), I was instantly intrigued. I discovered that with a bit more development, QC has the power to disrupt everything from cryptography to machine learning. I decided that I wanted to contribute to this vision, and began learning more about it. I started by watching simple YouTube videos on the physics behind QC, and how it was being put to use. Eventually, I progressed to watching quantum physics lectures on MIT OpenCourseWare and reading through reference books. I also got in contact with researchers and experts in QC that guided me through my journey. Soon, I was able to program quantum circuits on industry-standard platforms from IBM and DWave. I was selected last year for MIT’s annual QC hackathon, completed this year’s IBM Quantum Challenge, and will be attending their QC Summer school next month. My journey is ongoing, but I’ve come a long way and loved every step of it." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615815724 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "kgguan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Kelly ", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Guan", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9ff6cbf1-3cad-45e0-80ea-d53711beca8d?alt=media&token=a915c9e7-8679-464d-9d97-b839199f9d0f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My uWaterloo caf carabiner is great, but when it comes to digital products, ScreenZen takes the top spot. Admittedly, it's a love-hate relationship. ScreenZen surpasses Apple's \"Screen Time\" by actually compelling you to stop using apps when it prompts you. What I appreciate about this app is not just its ability to limit app usage, but its unique approach of temporarily shutting off apps for 5-10 seconds while you're mindlessly scrolling. It forces you to pause and reflect on your actions. Unlike Screen Time, where you can simply click cancel, ScreenZen makes you acknowledge reality and grants you the chance to pause and contemplate your choices. Despite its occasional annoyance, I value how it encourages self-awareness and empowers you to change your behavior." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In 2021, my friends and I seized the opportunity to enter the web3 world amidst the surge in NFTs. We founded Cactus Kids Health Club, a global community focused on promoting healthier lifestyles. Challenges were inevitable in this endeavor. As the developer, I shouldered the responsibility of designing NFTs, building the minting website, and deploying onto the blockchain within a 3-month timeframe. The NFT market was relatively new then, lacking documentation. Nonetheless, extensive collaboration and research led to the successful creation of 1,111 Cacti artworks. Deploying the contract onto the blockchain posed a significant challenge due to managing the ever-changing gas fees. Like traffic, gas fees fluctuate based on time and volume. I encountered fees ranging from $2,000 during peak hours to $400 at 4:00 am. Nevertheless, we triumphed over these hurdles and made the project available for sale.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Promoting inclusivity in STEM education deeply resonates with me. My journey began in 2019, after attending \na few hackathons, I first felt the gender gap in cs. This became even more evident, after realizing that my all-girls school had no cs class, compared to the nearby all-boys school.\nTo address this, I founded Comodo Coding Society (CCS) in 2020. CCS empowers primarily female and non-binary students in STEM. I designed comprehensive lessons on Scratch, Python, Git, and Product Design. Our Women in STEM Speaker Series inspires members with professional insights.\nCCS unites students from Canada and the US, fostering a supportive community and promoting equity in STEM. I believe everyone deserves equal access to the tech industry. With CCS, I bridge gaps and contribute to a diverse future in STEM.\nDiversity fuels innovation. I'm dedicated to providing opportunities and empowering individuals in tech. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to contribute to the ESG community by educating students on responsible investing. Last summer, I noticed that young adults primarily focused on profits, neglecting ESG considerations. To address this, I founded MarketAngelo, a startup educating young adults about sustainable investing's correlation with profitability.\nTo engage the community, I organized interactive weekly stock-picking contests with a gamified learning experience. Utilizing my skills in Figma, HTML/CSS, and React, I developed our learning platform. Partnering with PayPal, I hosted \"Pitch It To Win It,\" a two-day stock pitch competition. This event attracted 145 competitors, 300+ users, and 350 newsletter subscribers from Canada, the USA, and Spain, providing an enriching online experience.\nPartnerships with PayPal, Questrade, and CPP Investments secured a $4,500 prize pool for users and attendees, ensuring platform and event success. I am proud to empower a new generation of investors. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I recently learned how to skateboard. I have fallen countless times, but the most memorable was my first. It left me with a fully scraped hand and a slashed leg. Unfortunately, this incident occurred just 12h before my calculus exam, making the writing experience even more unpleasant.\nMy biggest motivation to learn skateboarding was first that since I cannot drive, it seemed like an easy way to commute. But also, the idea of becoming fearless. Growing up, I always envied skateboarders for their ability to fall in front of a crowd and quickly bounce back. They moved on with their lives in just a matter of seconds. So, after coming to uWaterloo and experiencing a challenging first year, I yearned to become more fearless. \nI become more fearless, I reached out to my classmate, who has been skating for a few years, to teach me the ropes. Ever since then, I've been learning how to cruise and have developed a greater sense of fearlessness, especially in front of others." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688097247621 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "bymng@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Benjamin", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Ng", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa14d588c-ee41-4127-b006-1caf97fc20e9?alt=media&token=86fa08c7-29ae-4b27-9d01-6301c5831e89", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile", - "Frontend", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Augmented Reality", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A problem I recently worked on was implementing automatic purchase-authorization to prevent fraud purchases for the Syndi Health platform to facilitate employee reimbursement. The challenge with this feature was the difficulty of communicating information between the multitude of APIs which work together to serve features and ensure user confidentiality. To ensure that bugs were minimized, I began by mapping out the necessary connections that had to be made, finding useful documentation links, and taking note of key parts of the code that could break because of my changes. I then communicated my plan with my manager to break down the feature into smaller components, prioritized the order of subtasks then estimated the time that each would take. As I worked on the feature, I made sure to properly document any critical design choices or workarounds I made to make quality insurance testing easier. Ultimately this was successful and allowed for the launch of the new Syndi Card feature.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Leveraging emerging technologies to break down complex topics and minimize the knowledge gap between those of various backgrounds is a cause that resonates with me. Growing up, my father and I would always have discussions on the weekend where he would help me break down my challenges by providing unique perspectives. Staying up until the early morning on our couch with our matching red and black mugs of hot chocolate, he would share his perspective on the challenges I was facing. Seeing the effortless way he alleviated my stress, I soon gained an appreciation for helping others break down challenging problems. Starting in high school, I pursued this by creating a non-profit organization called Prep Trek where I connected 76 mentees with 61 mentors using a Python algorithm to pair them based on similarities in their courses and career goals. Ultimately, this resonates with me because of the impact I can make in creating equal opportunity." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be in the health tech community with others who have a passion for improving the quality of life of those suffering from health conditions. Stemming from my personal experience seeing my father struggle from the adverse effects of his hyperthyroidism condition, I pursued an internship at ThyForLife, a health-tech start-up which improves the accessibility of thyroid resources and tracking. There, I scaled the platform to over 10,000 patients by developing a web scraping algorithm to optimize social media campaign spending. Seeing the tangible impact of my work, I created my own start-up called Loop last year which is a web app that centralizes the process of attending, organizing, and administrating events and club meetings in high schools to reduce loneliness and depression for students. Concurrently, I pursued an internship at a start-up called Syndi Health which facilitates employee reimbursement and personalized recommendations for mental health services." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Growing up as a Canadian-born Singaporean, I have always been self-conscious about my inability to speak Mandarin very well. Visiting my cousins in Singapore, the awkward pause after they realized I couldn’t speak was something I always dreaded. That is why, in high school, I made it my goal to learn Mandarin. Recognizing the difficulty of doing so, I began by researching the best methods and technologies to learn, referring to articles, videos, and books on language learning. After doing this, I then evaluated my personal strengths and weaknesses, ultimately concluding that my learning is the most effective when I am consistent and have a schedule. Thus, I utilized Anki’s Chinese Support Redux to create flashcards which automatically schedule the number of new words to learn, generate the pronunciation of words and highlight the various tones. I then leveraged habit stacking to finish my assigned cards after dinner, helping me learn 10 new phrases every day." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687440012163 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "a3karmak@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Akanksha", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Karmakar", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa425bae6-c960-4f7a-ba87-78abc7ca36b2?alt=media&token=13436116-5d2f-4b1c-ab48-bf83fd46ac92", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "In my daily life, my family has established a tradition of watching the news during dinner. Each day, we are exposed to different global issues such as wildfires and floods, which impact numerous individuals on a day-to-day basis. Witnessing these challenges serves as a powerful source of inspiration, compelling me to develop solutions that can alleviate or address such situations through the creation of apps or websites. Growing up in Alberta, I have seen, firsthand, how wildfires pose a significant threat and force many people to evacuate their homes. I took the initiative to design an app that provides users with essential information about their local situation, aiding them in navigating evacuations effectively. Observing these issues, not only inspires me to take action but also fuels my motivation to continually expand my skills and knowledge. Having a clear goal and a concrete solution drives my determination, empowering me to make a difference in the lives of others." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://rb.gy/2cb55\nI do not have a portfolio, but I have completed a project on Figma. This project involves creating a mockup of an app called Evacue, which aims to address the ongoing wildfire crisis in Alberta. I started extensive research to gain a thorough understanding of wildfire evacuations. Using user research methods, including user interviews and qualitative research, I identified the specific features that would be beneficial for users. A feature I included is a \"List of Necessities\" which aids individuals in determining what items they should pack and essentials they might be missing. Through this process, I gained valuable insights into the challenges people face during emergencies and honed my ability to devise effective solutions. As I built the mockup, I focused on creating a user-friendly UI design that understands the needs of my target audience. It has allowed me to grow my problem-solving skills and my ability to design solutions through thoughtful UI layouts.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "10", - "role": "VP Product" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Product", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in Waterloo for an academic term, putting me in the EST timezone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "As a girl born and raised in Canada, I am privileged to have grown up in a society that promotes education for women and encourages our participation in male-dominated fields, such as STEM. Surrounded by teachers and an environment that emphasized coding and AP courses, I expanded my knowledge in specific areas that excited me and furthered my growth by participating in clubs and cultivating technical skills. Reflecting on this, I realize that if I had been born in a country that does not prioritize educating women, my opportunities would have been limited. I would have been unable to explore diverse industries, instead being confined to predetermined paths. Education serves as a crucial tool for making a significant impact in the world and pursuing our passions. To address this issue in my town, I joined a club called Westwood Women in Tech. By organizing workshops and events tailored to women in STEM, our club aims to ignite new interests and showcase different opportunities." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "The Bengali Association holds a special place in my heart, and I take great pride in being a part of it. From a young age, I actively participated in cultural events, particularly Saraswati Puja, which deepened my connection to my Bengali heritage. As I grew older, I felt a responsibility to contribute to the association and the community. Through this community, I had the privilege of representing our culture through traditional Bengali dances in diverse settings. These performances allowed me to engage with people from different backgrounds, enabling meaningful interactions and promoting cultural exchange. The association also provided valuable wisdom and guidance through respected elders who shared life lessons and offered advice. Their mentorship empowered me to embrace strength and determination, shaping my mindset to always strive for excellence. With the support of this community, I proudly embrace my heritage and maintain the values passed down to me." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A new skill I recently learned was how to play the ukulele. With being at home, I had time to pick up a new hobby so I was motivated to delve into learning a musical instrument. My goal was to accompany my singing with an instrument and having received vocal lessons throughout my upbringing, I often needed accompaniment to enhance my performances. The ukulele proved to be the perfect choice, allowing me to sing along with music wherever I go. I focused on mastering the main chords that form the backbone of numerous songs, such as the C and D chords, along with basic strumming patterns. Through the process of learning from scratch, I learned valuable lessons in patience and resilience. Overcoming the initial intimidation, I devoted time and effort by practicing on a daily basis, and gradually got better over time. Now being able to sing songs I enjoy and play along with the ukulele has given me a sense of accomplishment, although it is still a work in progress. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688612390608 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "topcheese044@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jeffrey", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Zhang", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa8c9f7d8-2347-4831-b2e3-16bb4796cd7f?alt=media&token=39c64203-910f-4c10-a396-e1d497577cb8", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One particularly challenging task I had to work on in my last coop term was a bug with a clock syncing error. On the surface, the issue seemed simple but all the naive attempts at finding the source of the error turned up nothing. It became quite frustrating and I spent a long time pouring over datasheets and manuals to figure out how to properly configure the hardware to find the source of the clock error. Ultimately, I got some advice from a senior developer who pointed me to look at the specific clock types of the hardware. Through some trial and error, I was able to identify which clock was causing the error in the system and how to configure it to prevent it occurring in the future.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "- Figure out the pros and cons\nI think that clearly articulating the purpose of standardizing the code base could help clear any potential confusion between team members. Highlighting the benefits may sway developers who hadn't thought about those potential benefits to their workflow. \n\n- Communicate the vision well\nIts important to build a better understanding for developers about what the goal of the standardization is. Defining in clear terms how it looks and functions would be helpful.\n\n- Get feedback \nUltimately, as a VP it's important to take feedback and apply changes depending on the advice. Getting the developers involved in the decision-making process is a great way to foster collaboration among the VPs and developers. " - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is the current fight for climate justice. Its become an undeniable fact that the planet will not be able to support human life if we keep going down our current trajectory. I think that if we don't change our ways we will start to suffer and we have already begun to suffer. This is evident in the smog we can see in the air from the unprecedented amounts of forest fires happening throughout the country. As a student, there isn't much I can affect now but I believe that in the future I can make great contributions to projects that can make real change in our lives. To this end, I think that being a part of a great community such as blueprint would be the perfect way to achieve my goals." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be part of a community of badminton players in my city. There are a variety of players from old to young and we all share a great passion for the sport of badminton. One thing that I've done to give back to this community is to coach younger kids on the basics of the sport. Not only was it a great way for me to get some extra exercise but also provide invaluable physical experience to beginner athletes. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During the last term, I wanted to play badminton but due to covid, the facility had gone from a drop-in model where you could pay a flat fee and stay for as long as you want, to a per-hour pricing model with a booking system. Due to the new system, some dedicated Asian dads were able to set up a bot that would automatically book courts en masse the second that they became available. Thus I decided to match them and create a bot using Python and Selenium to automate my own booking process. I started off by looking at examples of code online and then just trying it out on my own computer. Whenever I had an issue I would just google the problem and move forward with the solution that best suited my needs. I learned about web scrapping and how to optimize Selenium to parse specific tags or HTML components to improve speed. Ultimately, through much trial and error and optimization, I was able to play badminton once again." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688182226574 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "a2alrady@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Ali", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Al-Rady", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa8f6c28b-0952-4ea7-993e-7c1f2e422560?alt=media&token=5399d838-4135-4ffa-b185-6e3bd1a25416", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "One of my favorite products is MyFitnessPal; a health and fitness app that tracks nutrition, sets goals, and monitors progress. It's a user-friendly interface and robust features make it stand out. Users can log meals, track calories, and monitor nutrients. The app offers recommendations based on goals and provides diet insights.\n\nFrom a product manager's perspective, MyFitnessPal demonstrates exceptional value by addressing a significant pain point for individuals seeking to improve their health and fitness. It offers a holistic approach to wellness, integrating nutrition tracking, exercise logging, and goal setting into one cohesive platform. Data analytics improve the user experience by collecting information on behavior and preferences. This allows the product team to refine features and provide personalized recommendations. Overall, MyFitnessPal excels with its user experience, robust features, and data-driven approach, making it popular for driving positive lifestyle changes." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The first cause that comes to mind are fundraisers/movements for cancer research, as it is an initiative that really resonates with me. Growing up with parents who are both cancer survivors, I realized the importance of breakthroughs in cancer research and how they could save lives as I experienced it firsthand. It opened my eyes to and made me grateful for everyone in the industry that devote their careers to developing solutions to this disease. It also made me grateful for people that hold fundraisers/events to spread awareness on the disease. Seeing people donating their hard-earned money to these causes still resonates with me to this day and taught me that any little donation makes a big difference. No matter the size of the donation, a donator is still showing their support and care for the cause, and for the people who are affected by it. As I grow older, I hope to learn about different causes like fundraisers for cancer research, in order to support those in need. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take pride in being a member of the Mississauga Monarchs' local youth basketball coaching and mentorship program. As a volunteer mentor, I have had the privilege of working with boys and girls from diverse backgrounds, ranging in age from 6 to 12. This program has allowed me to connect with the community through the sport of basketball and make a positive impact on the lives of the young participants. My role goes beyond teaching basketball skills. I aim to instill important values such as teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. By providing guidance and support, I help the children develop their abilities and build self-confidence both on and off the court. One aspect I cherish about this community is the transformative power of sports. Basketball brings people together, breaking down barriers and fostering a sense of unity. I have witnessed the growth and personal development of the children involved, witnessing them become more self-assured, determined, and supportive people." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I was fortunate enough to learn a new skill was during my first coop term. I was originally hired as a Business Development intern, in which I used basic market insights to prospect leads to collaborate and develop products within the content creator industry. Halfway through my internship, I recognized a problem: some products had extended buffering periods and took longer to go through our product pipeline. Realizing that data and consumer metrics could provide an explanation for this, I took the initiative to propose the idea to my manager. I joined the data team and worked cross-functionally with the sales team. During this opportunity, I learned data science libraries in Python such as Pandas, NumPy, and Matplotlib. To learn these libraries outside of work, I enrolled in a course (Udemy) that covered the basics of these libraries. I primarily learned the basic level ideas from the course and expanded my knowledge through independent side projects and experiential learning." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688354170300 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "surayamanji@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "External Director", - "firstName": "Suraya", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Manji", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa942fa41-be39-45ee-a71c-4637cd5e6f21?alt=media&token=efb6d5c2-2deb-4743-9d74-0a9b4f9c51ea", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "Amid all the stresses imposed by school, it can be difficult at times for students to see their purpose and end goal. This is why I think that an alumni showcase would be a great new event for Blueprint. This would be a great opportunity for students to network, make connections, and see examples of successes that motivate them in school. It can also be used as a way for past Blueprint members to show off their projects, and explain the impact that it made. I believe that a significant part of Blueprint's mission is making an impact, and this idea aligns seamlessly with this mission. What better way to show the impact that Blueprint has than by showcasing tangible results from people who were a part of this? This gives an opportunity for students to connect with alumni and ask questions, while simultaneously leveraging Blueprint's mission and presenting the impact. " - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - }, - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I have been blessed with an opportunity that many women globally have not been given, the opportunity to learn. To me, education is the backbone of a functioning society, and furthering education opportunities is the best way to help less fortunate countries in the long run. There are countless ways to help people in underdeveloped countries, but education is unique because it provides sustainable success and is a long-term solution that helps communities grow and thrive. Education, and especially women in education is so important to me because I have witnessed firsthand family members who have been denied this opportunity. A few years ago, my grandmother told me how she desperately wanted to go to architecture school as a child, but her father had only set aside education money for her brothers. This stuck with me because I realized how lucky I am to study whatever I want, and how important it is to promote and encourage educational opportunities for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "My mosque community has provided me with a religious identity, a cultural identity and a sense of belonging that filled me with pride and made it easy for me to grow up as a Muslim. This community fostered an environment where I was surrounded by people who share similar values to me, providing me with lifelong friendships. My mosque also hosted a multitude of events from sports tournaments to charity and food banks, which were wonderful opportunities to meet new people and learn new things. This is where my contribution comes in. In the past, I volunteered for numerous food drives, and monthly food bank donations, and helped organize some sports events. For as long as I can remember, I have spent once a month donating food bank food to families in need. This contribution is a way for me to not only help people, but make the community a part of something bigger, and help the community be seen in a positive light. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In order to succeed and prosper in competitive basketball, I needed to constantly be improving. One year, I tried out for a high-level team but did not make it. Motivated by this obstacle and a desire to be successful, I decided to work on a crucial skill that I did not know, the reverse layup. My approach to learning these new skills was to start by consulting coaches and looking at the requirements. Where I start, where I put my feet when I pick up the ball. Then I started trying. I started off slow and worked my way up to adding speed, then distance. Subsequently, I added in defence and then did the most important part of all. Practice endlessly until I was not only able to do a reverse layup, but until my reverse layup was perfected, and I was comfortable enough to do it even in high-pressure games. Through hard work and improving my skills, I tried out and made an even higher-level team the next year. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688163559442 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "a6atif@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Anusheh", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Atif", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science and BUo", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Faa5c92ef-3ec6-48f9-8e45-df7c3bb80eac?alt=media&token=1965fd8c-5d7a-42f9-be96-4b3bf438085f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "My first ever project was a desktop app inspired by computation art. “Comp-ART-ment”, an app that enables users to explore computational art by taking in user input and generating artwork with algorithms. While the backend was very intuitive to me, I faced many challenges when implementing the front end of the app. For starters, I didn't even have a clue on how to add buttons to allow users to navigate through the app. After many failed attempts of coding out my own buttons I received advice from a friend to explore open-source code and public libraries. After researching, I was shocked to find so many accessible resources that I can embed within my own code. Learning about public libraries opened many doors and motivated me to pursue more advanced features. This experience taught me how to import libraries, utilize documentation and appreciate its importance. Here is a line to a video demo, enjoy! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eZkDlEQst0idHSMb9AM5U4xg9SvUFKpq/view?usp=sharing", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I find it amusing that my first instinct before answering this question was to research about different research methods. I believe this event alone encapsulates my research philosophy. I believe one must familiarize themselves with general concepts of the specific topic before pursuing new information in order to research efficiently and derive stronger conclusions. I believe this method has allowed me to set myself apart when analyzing information, which is evident in my performance in case competitions. Furthermore, I prefer quantitative and survey-based research. As a math lover, I am very comfortable with numbers and understanding the stories they tell. Additionally, as an ENFP, meeting new people is one of my favorite experiences and has taught me how to create a safe environment to encourage others to provide honest feedback and meaningful input. Overall, I believe the combination of the two provides a balance of statistical and empathetic understanding about a specific topic." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "As an individual who has a sister with autism, I have seen first hand the lack of inclusivity and education dedicated towards special needs students. From unwelcome stares, to a lack of accommodation for families who are raising children with autism. Growing up, I took any opportunity I could to educate my peers with friendly conversations and hosting learning workshops to elementary students. I have been exposed to the barriers faced for special needs students and believe my sister has nurtured a deeper sense of empathy within me towards all students. At first, I was strictly passionate about educating my generation on the autism spectrum to create a safer place for my sister and others like her in the future. However, my cause has evolved as I continue to grow as a CS student. I found that as we continue to pursue technological advancements, the autism community is left further behind. Thus, I am motivated to explore ways to enable inclusivity within technological applications." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I am proud to be apart of is that Canadian Cancer Society as a student head. CCS is committed to funding cancer research through several events. As the student head of my secondary school, I organized a charity event which accommodated for over 1000 students and raised $11,000. The event was organized in the span of 6 months and I overlooked all aspects such as budgeting, outreach, marketing, and sponsorships which nurtured an appreciation I now have for non-profits who continuously organize events to invoke social change. The most valuable aspect I gained from organizing this event was creating a special community where the student body was able to be vulnerable and share one another's grief while also experiencing the hope we were giving to cancer survivors by interacting with them in person." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A few months ago, I decided to set a personal goal to become more familiar with the stock market and understand current investing trends. Initially, I decided to watch a few videos, occasionally read an article, or even perform a few google searches. Through this approach, I was bombarded with information that was not very applicable to me and I started to feel overwhelmed. Thus, I pursued a more interactive way of learning about the financial industry. I decided to increase my financial knowledge while also sharpening my programming experience by developing my own discord stock bot. Through this project, I was able to explore new programming tools for data management and visualization via web-scraping, libraries such as Matplotlib or Pandas, and public APIs such as yahoo finance. Overall, my passion drove me to not only learn more about the stock market and achieve my personal goal, but also enhanced my programming skills for data management and analysis." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688357804901 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "ajcai@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Annie", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Cai", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fabee3d4b-b71f-494c-b07b-c6073c1bb539?alt=media&token=3468da8b-393c-4d55-bc69-3487dfd98e74", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my co-op, I faced a technical challenge while working with Azure SQL for a digital banking application. The application heavily relied on Azure SQL for data storage and retrieval, but it needed to improve its performance, including slow query times and frequent timeouts, negatively impacting the user experience. To address this problem, I thoroughly analyzed the database schema and query execution plans. One key approach I took was to analyze and optimize the indexing strategy. I reviewed the queries used by the application and identified the tables that required appropriate indexing. By creating and modifying indexes on the relevant columns, I aimed to reduce the number of disk I/O operations and speed up data retrieval. Throughout this experience, I deepened my understanding of query performance tuning and optimization techniques specific to Azure SQL. I enhanced the overall user experience, reduced query times, and mitigated timeouts.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "As the Project Lead for the UW PM Club, I am responsible for overseeing a team of 6 developers. To enhance team productivity and foster a positive work environment, I recognized the need to address the lack of spirit that existed in the previous term. This term, I have made it a priority to encourage open communication and collaboration. I introduced biweekly co-working sessions where the team comes together to work on their assigned tickets. These sessions have proven to be effective in fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and addressing challenges collectively. I have witnessed a significant increase in work efficiency, exemplified by the completion of the homepage for our new project in just 2 sprints. This achievement is noteworthy considering that the last term saw minimal progress on the homepage over 4 months. I have not only sharpened my decision-making, problem-solving, and communication skills, but also fostered a positive work environment with impactful outcomes." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is providing those in need with food. Growing up, I was a picky eater. I hated almost every food and always tried to throw it out. My grandparents, who grew up during the Great Chinese Famine, nagged and lectured me to be grateful for my food. It wasn’t until elementary school that I realized there was never a day when I had to worry about what I would eat. This realization made me aware of the food crisis faced by communities not only in Canada but across the globe. My grandparents and I began donating to my elementary school’s food drives and local food banks. In high school, I volunteered for four months at The Stop Community Food Centre. It was disheartening to see the number of people visiting The Stop, but at the same time, it was warming to know that my efforts were helping those in need. I firmly believe every individual should have access to food, and I am driven to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those who don’t." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In high school, my expectations of being able to explore my passion for technology were shattered as I learned women were discouraged from pursuing such a field. Tech courses and clubs were filled with males that made fun of my interests and skills. This led me to join Superposition, a non-profit organization aiming to bring more girls into STEM. I planned 13 events, including an all-female hackathon that garnered over 200 hackers and made 98% of them more interested in tech. At Waterloo, I wanted to broaden my scope and advocate for not just women but all underrepresented communities in the tech industry. So, I joined Women in Engineering as an Events Director and Tech+ as a Full Stack Developer. Being a part of these DEI communities has shaped the person I am today. I cultivated my leadership, time management, and interpersonal skills, but more importantly, I impacted those who struggled with the tech barrier." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I am currently learning LangChain, an open-source framework specifically designed to facilitate the development of applications powered by LLMs. SYDE has a mentorship program that matches incoming SYDEs with an upper-year mentor. Currently, this matching process is done manually. A few friends and I had this idea to automate this process and build an AI-powered mentor-mentee matching application called Athena. I realized that the technical skills required to execute our project extended beyond my knowledge. I started learning LangChain to acquire the expertise necessary. I studied the framework's components utilizing documentation and YouTube tutorials. This allowed me to gain a solid understanding of the core concepts and architecture. To solidify my knowledge and apply it to Athena, I am working on a small-scale LangChain-based chatbot project. I am excited to embrace the challenges ahead and leverage the power of LangChain to revolutionize the SYDE mentorship experience." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688058047915 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "bnasar@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Bilal", - "heardFrom": "Events", - "lastName": "Nasar", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computing and Financial Management ", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fadb0b70d-75cc-4895-ae71-b7f9b6af3bc1?alt=media&token=8fa6936b-80d6-4a99-9d35-56852e56bc89", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In my first coop, I was a software developer at a SaaS startup that provided training platforms for life sci companies. Some of our clients included large pharma companies like Astra Zeneca, etc. One of our resource assignment components kept crashing when deploying training modules to over 1000+ salespeople. I was responsible for investigating the component, so I started off by doing regular TDD testing to see possible breakpoints, interviewers developers who had worked with the component in the past, and generally seeing if I could leverage existing tools. I ended up refactoring the entire component, which was able to succesffuly handle deployment to 1000+ users in the future.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Education Inequality:\n\nI think education is one of society's greatest equalizers. It allows us to develop our critical thinking skills, and more importantly, learn how to work with each other, which I think is critical for a peaceful and successful society. Education inequality is a pressing issue that hinders social progress and perpetuates societal divisions. Access to quality education should not be determined by one's socioeconomic background but rather be a fundamental right for all individuals. By addressing education inequality, we can empower marginalized communities and create a more inclusive society.\n\nWhen I think about current developing nations or even just marginalized communities in Canada itself, I can't help but think of the ways we can create equal access to high-quality education through our current technological capabilities." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Since the start of university, I've been volunteering with The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a non-profit that helps build schools in Pakistan that provide free education to students who might not normally have access to it. From my recollection, TCF is currently providing schooling to over 300,000 students. As part of TCF, I have been helping organize the annual Toronto gala, in which last year alone we raised $350,000. I was responsible for collecting donations, and for the next gala, I'll be helping with securing corporate sponsors and event logistics. It's something I'm really proud to be a part of as I have had the opportunity to help make a difference and provide equal schooling for children in Pakistan, which, in turn, will hopefully create a more inclusive Pakistan for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I've always been unable to convey stories or express myself as I would want to, but I found photography to be an inspiring way to communicate stories, capture emotions, and spark conversations. I started learning by being responsible for taking photos on family trips, and from there, my skills only grew.\n\nI started off with simply my smartphone, playing around with settings (exposure, shutter speed, etc.), and eventually capturing more natural moments. As my photography itch grew, I bought a DSLR camera, which exposed me to how intricate photography can be. I also started using photo editors and experimenting with different lenses. It's a continuous improvement process, but I believe this approach can be applied to any skill. Just pick something up and start playing around with it until you achieve your desired outcomes!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615952718 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "j234li@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Joshua", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Li", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fae4200b4-49c7-407f-8172-5c06498dfc1e?alt=media&token=854733ae-44c0-4cdf-a24b-cc7864a020d1", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I was tasked with creating a Google Drive Picker API in my previous internship. While I initially tried to implement one solution using a npm package with callback functions, it was towards the very end that I discovered that the user authorization it required was completely incompatible with our use case. This meant I had to go back to the beginning. Although I was frustrated, I was also determined to figure the problem out myself. The next day, I set at work implementing a Node.js version of Google Drive API v3. Despite a persistent token issue, I was focused on researching and debugging any errors along the way. Finally, the implementation worked and I am proud to say that the drive picker became a core feature of the platform.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based working in EST on a study term at Waterloo." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Human rights has always been a cause that I am deeply passionate about. During high school, I joined the Amnesty International club to pen multiple articles on human rights violations - from Myanmar to Iran, and even in Canada. I also spearheaded a complete redesign of the website (archived at https://joshlicoding.github.io/AmnestyUCC/), implementing a much more user-friendly interface to view club articles, publications and summits. My role as the Head of Website Development at Amnesty not only spread awareness about human rights in my own community, but also reflected my broader drive to create “tech for good.”" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "During my last 2 years of high school, I was proud to be a part of the Toronto IB community. I noticed, however, that the resources available to us for studying at school were either insufficient or unorganized. Thus, I co-founded a platform called NOTZR (using React.js and Firebase) for students to freely share notes for any IB course - and eventually amassed over 50 notes in total. By contributing this resource to my community, I hope that I managed to give back and help my peers just a little bit on their learning journey." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Cooking has never been my strength in life. Thus, in preparation to live off-campus next term, I decided to master at least 1 dish over this summer - the red sauce pasta. The plan was simple: throw the pasta in boiling water, heat up some sausage, pour premade marinara into the pan and be done. But every time I cooked the dish, I was always left unhappy. Whether that be too-coarse parsley, flavourless red sauce or dried-up pasta, I never seemed to get it right. But I don’t quit or leave my cooking as is; instead, I always reflect on exactly where I went wrong and how I can try to improve next time. It doesn’t always work out right away - it took me many tries to figure out that marinara should be poured in at the end and not simmered - but I never follow where I went wrong twice. I know that I will make mistakes, but with a spirit of optimism and an eye out for improvement, I will grow better over time. And indeed, my pasta now tastes better than it ever has." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688150645881 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "j6diamon@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jaryd", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Diamond", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb1c0890e-2642-41b3-92cd-5b6946cb432f?alt=media&token=1df5c168-1889-45a4-b31a-bd41d25a8acb", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my last co-op term, I was given the task of developing a tool to help speed up internal processes as a capstone project. Since I was working for a machine learning consultancy company, I decided to create a full-stack web application to help monitor deployed machine learning models and extract analytics in real time. However, this task was quite daunting at first, as it would involve research, database design, creating and documenting API endpoints, and UX design, all with a technology that I had limited familiarity with prior. Nevertheless, I took things one step at a time, made a timeline to ensure I balanced my other client work with this project, and spoke with the lead machine learning engineer to ensure I had an understanding of how to optimize the tool best to the company’s tech stack. Through hard work and perseverance, I managed to create a fully functioning prototype and delivered a successful presentation of its features to the entire company.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A few years ago, my baby cousin was born prematurely with several neurological conditions and was told by doctors that it would be nearly impossible for him to lead a highly-functional life. He was in the hospital for close to a year, putting immense strain on his family, as they had 5 other children to take care of. However, an organization called Chai Lifeline stepped in and provided support for my cousin and for the family, babysitting the kids, making meals, and helping in any way they could. My cousin persevered and is now a healthy and happy young boy, and I was inspired to give back to this incredible organization. I volunteered with them for 2 years, helping to run their yearly fundraising event called Jump for Chai, which raised nearly $200,000, along with fundraising myself. After seeing firsthand how much of an impact Chai Lifeline made on my family, I am dedicated to the cause of providing services for families that are going through hardships." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "There is a principle in Judaism called “Tikkun Olam”, which means to repair the world. From a very young age, I was taught the importance of giving back and performing acts of “chesed” - kindness. I am proud to be a member of the Jewish community and have contributed to it throughout my life. In middle school, I volunteered at a charity called Out of the Cold in partnership with my synagogue, where I helped to prepare meals for the homeless during the winters. In all 4 years of high school, I volunteered weekly with Live2Give, an organization dedicated to giving back to the Jewish community and the global community at large. During my time there, I packed food boxes for the hungry, wrote letters to Holocaust survivors, and created blankets for the homeless. I have continued to be involved at Waterloo by regularly going to Chabad, which hosts events to bring the local Jewish community together. I would love to further contribute to “Tikkun Olam” as a developer at UW Blueprint." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I was remote during my last co-op and found there would be minor breaks in the day, whether that be between meetings or waiting for PR reviews. Instead of wasting time sitting around, I decided to pick up a new skill - playing guitar. As someone who is passionate about music, I found it to be a great way to relieve stress. I also used it as an opportunity to bond with my sister, who happened to also be learning, and we would often spend nights together playing songs we liked. At first, I definitely struggled a bit with hand cramps and fast chord changes, but I soon realized that working for 2-3 hours straight to try and learn a song is far less effective than taking it piece by piece in small intervals. For any skill, especially learning an instrument, what is most important is consistency and understanding that everyone has to start from the beginning, but with healthy motivation, you can eventually accomplish what you set out to do (which in my case was learning Dust in the Wind)." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688100998188 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "swittenb@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "firstName": "Serena", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Wittenberg", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Biomedical Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb22f19e4-414e-47df-84b9-5b03c9edb56f?alt=media&token=498bc1a4-7f5d-443b-9516-eb3e37d185c4", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "To build alignment among developers regarding the creation of a standardized code repository, the following steps can be taken:\n- Understand the concerns: Engage in transparent communication with the project leads to gather insights into the concerns and viewpoints of both the supporters and detractors.\n- Define the benefits: Define the potential benefits of having a standardized code repository, such as improved collaboration, code consistency, easier onboarding for new team members, and faster development cycles. \n- Ask the developers: Ask for input from the developers who will be using the code repository. \n- Continuous improvement: Establish a feedback loop to continuously gather feedback and iterate on the standardized code repository. \n- Training and support: Provide training and support to developers to ensure they understand the benefits, purpose, and usage guidelines of the standardized code repository." - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I draw inspiration from the constant advancements in technology, health, and science. Understanding emerging technologies helps me envision their integration into my designs. Staying updated with the latest developments enables me to meet the evolving needs and behaviors of users. By observing how people interact with existing products and studying user research, I gain valuable insights that inspire innovative solutions. The intersection of technology, health, and science fascinates me as it offers opportunities to create products that improve well-being. Blending creativity with functionality, I strive to design solutions that push the boundaries and positively impact society." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Portfolio: https://serenawitt.netlify.app/\nI worked on a project called \"The SideKick,\" a wearable crutch support aimed at enhancing the independence and safety of two-handed crutch users during daily tasks, with a specific focus on enabling efficient dishwashing. The main goal was to design a solution that would allow crutch users to free up their hands while performing various activities, improving their overall mobility and functionality.\nThe design process followed a user-centered approach, starting with extensive user research. This involved creating personas and conducting interviews with crutch users to understand their challenges, needs, and preferences. Additionally, a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) analysis was conducted to identify and prioritize user requirements, ensuring the design process aligned with user expectations. This project taught me the importance of incorporating user feedback, conducting research, and using a multidisciplinary approach in product design.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Central European Summer Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Health and welfare are deeply important to me, which is why I am pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering. The opportunity to make a positive impact on people's lives by enhancing healthcare technologies and accessibility is a cause that resonates strongly with me. I believe that everyone deserves access to quality healthcare and well-being, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status. By joining UWblueprint, I aim to apply my skills in design and technology to support nonprofits and create meaningful change in the healthcare sector. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the chess club community. Chess has been a significant part of my life, not only as a competitive game but also as a source of personal growth and community engagement. For instance, I was very involved in the chess community of Nice my home town in France. I am a member of the Riviera Chess Club and prior to moving to Canada for university, we would meet weekly for lessons, tournaments and get-togethers. Nice’s chess community is a very convivial one, with many regular events taking place with other chess communities in France. In addition, I have also taken on leadership roles within the chess club. As a chess teacher, I have contributed to the organization and planning of tournaments, league matches, and by teaching children. I have actively sought opportunities to give back to the community through chess. I would volunteer to give private chess lessons to children, helping them develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic skills." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning SolidWorks was a significant milestone for me. My motivation to acquire this skill stemmed from my passion for design and engineering, as well as the desire to expand my technical capabilities. I began by researching various resources such as online tutorials on youtube and video courses to gain a foundational understanding of the software. Additionally, I dedicated regular time to practice and hands-on application. Starting with simple designs, I gradually progressed to more complex design projects, allowing me to become familiar with Solidwork's features, tools, and workflows. Project-based learning was essential in enhancing my skills. I undertook the design of a 3D prosthetic leg and gained practical experience and honed my problem-solving abilities. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687629830122 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "a8kar@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "firstName": "Aritra", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kar", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb51c03e9-2c13-408c-8977-0889a09cd7e6?alt=media&token=df121a4d-b057-4584-baf4-d752c7e02b32", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "This is a classic project management problem:\n\n1. Identify stakeholders: Developers are the key stakeholders in this case, as the change is expected to affect new projects.\n2. Communicate with stakeholders: Supporters expect faster development for new projects, while detractors may resist change, have project-specific requirements, or lack consensus on standards.\n3. Convince detractors: Address their concerns while highlighting the benefits mentioned by supporters. Focus on defining common, reasonable standards to alleviate concerns.\n4. Implement a pilot project: Led by supportive developers, this project will demonstrate the benefits of a standardized code repository, building confidence in the approach.\n5. Collect feedback: Gather input from developers and the non-profit using the pilot project. Identify actionable points to address any issues that arise." - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I’ve come across several challenging technical problems before, but a pertinent one is as follows. I had to implement an efficient infinite scrolling effect in React.js for a card-based application without using any external libraries. After a lot of searching, I came across the Intersection Observer API which provides a way to asynchronously observe changes in the intersection of a target element with an ancestor element. Using this combined with a few React hooks (useEffect, useCallback, and useRef), I was able to build the desired feature. The trick was to attach an IntersectionObserver to the last card and checking when that last card came into the viewport, i.e. intersected with the viewport. Then, the number of posts would be updated, which would trigger a state update and fetch the next set of posts. It sounds like a simple fix in hindsight, but it proved to be a challenge before I solved it! Here’s the demo of the completed app: https://aritrakar.github.io/spacetagram/", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that deeply resonates with me is addressing the issue of electronic waste (e-waste) and promoting responsible e-waste management. The rapid advancement of technology has led to a significant increase in the production and disposal of electronic devices, which presents a pressing environmental challenge.\nE-waste poses serious risks to our environment and human health. Improper disposal of electronic devices leads to hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, and cadmium leaching into the soil and water, contaminating ecosystems and harming both wildlife and communities. Additionally, the mining and extraction of raw materials for electronics contribute to environmental degradation and social injustices.\nAlthough I haven't been actively involved in e-waste management initiatives yet, I strongly believe in the importance of addressing the issue and taking action to make a positive impact. I am committed to learning more about the same and finding ways contribute actively." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "While I'm not currently actively involved in a specific community, I understand the significance of community in our lives. I strive to foster connections and contribute positively to the people around me, whether it's at work, with my neighbors, or through other interactions. Although I haven't pursued specific volunteer opportunities, I remain open to exploring communities that align with my interests and passions. By actively engaging and collaborating with like-minded individuals, I aim to make meaningful contributions and help create a more vibrant and supportive community. I want to join Blueprint because I believe I can find a community here that wants to use tech for social betterment. The kind of education we receive is a privilege, so it is only fair to participate in initiatives such as Blueprint to give back to society using the skills we have learnt, while also further honing those skills." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One notable experience of learning a new skill was when I delved into the world of object-oriented programming by learning C++. My motivation to learn it stemmed from a keen interest in software development, a desire to build robust and efficient applications, and a strong desire to not have to write C code. At first, I did not have a very systematic process of learning and was picking up different features as I solved problems. I started to see the beauty of the language as I adopted a more structured learning method by applying new language features/concepts such as smart pointers and design patterns to solve more complicated problems. Now, C++ has become my favourite language. I've found that I learn programming languages best when I use them to make things, and that has been my approach for learning new technologies. I believe that coding is a lifelong learning process and I still have a long way to go in this journey." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688531644016 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "z335zhu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Ziming", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Zhu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb7226370-c5c0-477d-98c2-5c2a9f5ac135?alt=media&token=8482437f-9b4a-4c05-b14a-10939d000c79", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I was working on one of the company's websites during my first co-op term. I need to upgrade the front-end framework from AngularJS to Angular and update the back-end services apis. I had not worked with C# .NET framework before that work term and had lot's of issue creating RESTful api and using the company's library. The first thing I did was to go to the .NET official documentation to watch the tutorial videos and had a basic understanding of the language and the framework. Then I asked other colleagues how they improve their knowledge in technology, and they recommended Udemy lessons. After quickly watching several tutorials, I was able to solve most of the issues. Then I reached out to my manager when I met difficulties. I was finishing the task and learning the framework at the same time. I was able to complete websites by myself after that tasks and I think the experience taught me how to solve technical issues.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "After checking the blueprint's website and social media, I am really interested in the project that the blueprint is working on. I like working with non-profit organizations to improve their capability of helping people. I feel it would be exciting to apply concepts learned in university to the real world and provide support." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am in the Calgary and Alberta Chinese cultural community and I am really proud to be one of the members. We had several activities throughout the year and I am in the volunteer team. I am the team leader to organize new year events and help other volunteers to schedule their work." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned percussion during high school. I was always interested in drums and keyboards and I got a chance to join the school band as a percussionist. I first started with very simple music and gradually got to know all the instruments, then I started harder ones and found music that I am interested in online. I met lots of difficulties when I started to learn percussion, I first did research online and found solutions to the problem, and I never hesitated to ask the band director. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687507401305 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "b6ngo@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Brandon", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Ngo", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I was struggling to deploy with Google App Engine. The documentation for Flask was not updated for the version I was using and there was conflicting information. Through StackOverflow I found out that I needed a strict file structure for frontend components. Furthmore, through reading over the Node.js documentation, I found out I needed an app.yaml configuration file. Fortunately, those approachs worked. However, if I ran into other issues I would have asked someone for help.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I'm interested in resource sustainability and conservation. After doing many GEOG courses based on sustainability I realize there are many ways to preserve the environment that regular people can do to greatly offset excessive commercial waste. It is one of my goals to educate people on these methods and analyze the outcome if it were to be applied globally." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am part of the FPV drone freestyle community. Fostering a community of people to continually challenge each other to fly their best is rewarding since we all improve and have fun together. I have sanctioned KWAD games and organized casual freestyle flights at new locations around the GTA." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned how to build and fly FPV drones around a year ago. My main motivation for getting into it was to get started with hardware engineering. Also, I remembered that years ago I approached someone who was flying drones and wanted to see what it was like for myself. I started researching the parts I would need through Youtube and practicing flying in the simulator. While building, I learned to read technical diagrams to solder wires and connect components. Flying was difficult at first, but after focusing on the core concepts (like hovering, flipping, rolling) I proceeded to learn more complex tricks like Matty Flips." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687277602228 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "manasva.katyal@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Manasva", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Katyal", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fba29b5d2-110e-4b58-997f-b59f90e4d2c6?alt=media&token=197464e9-f33f-4d66-9fcb-8b7314046c1d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem I faced in the past was when writing my Extended Essay for the IB program. I wrote an essay in physics, about the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in estimating photometric redshift. This required me to apply ANNs to my theoretical astrophysics knowledge. In its initial configuration, as expected, the ANN did not perform overly well, with an error of about 22%. However, I had confidence in the idea as I knew the theory lined up with suggesting redshift was relationally tied to photometric brightness values through constrained bandpasses. So, I continued experimenting with different network layer configurations to optimize the performance. Optimizing this yielded some improvement, bringing the error to just over 14%. However, the biggest improvement came from adding an extra feature to the input data known as the photometric colour, which I determined to be useful through my theoretical-side research, lowering the error to a mere 4.2%.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Toronto (GMT-4)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is that of free access to education for everyone. In my personal life, I have used various free online learning platforms to supplement school such as Khan Academy and Codecademy. I believe that access to such platforms has played a huge role in shaping my personal technical competence. Such resources and educational opportunities can provide equal opportunities to everyone around the globe as long as you have internet access and a desire to learn. The main reason I resonate with these is that they allow anyone who wants to learn and develop to do so regardless of any present barriers such as societal or financial ones. They also allow you to learn at your own pace, something that can benefit a lot of learners in cases where just school may not be enough. Because of this belief, I have volunteered in teaching roles across various free organizations like school clubs and the Air Cadet program. Overall, that is one cause that I personally resonate with." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "One community that I have been proud to be a part of for the past 6 years is the Air Cadet program, in my time at 540 Golden Hawks Squadron. The program has allowed me to develop as a person and leader. I have also pursued my pilot licensing through cadets. One way I have contributed to the program is through the teaching roles I have taken on in the last 2 years as a staff cadet. I have instructed cadets in the general weekly training, and have also held a special role as a flight theory instructor due to my unique skill set as a licensed pilot. More recently as a Warrant Officer in the past training year, I was a part of the senior command team in charge of running our squadron of over 200 cadets and leading a team of about 30 staff cadets. Lastly, in my role as the Administration Warrant Officer, I have automated many repetitive administration tasks with various code-based solutions, something I am very proud of. Overall, this community has greatly shaped me as an individual." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One time I learnt a new skill was when I was learning how to use the MERN stack. I was not new to web development but had used the LAMP stack for previous projects, and wished to learn how to use the more JS-oriented MERN technology stack in order to access its benefits in aspects such as scalability and building real-time applications. Whenever I learn something, whether it be coding-related or not, my number one principle is not to take unnecessary shortcuts. Hence, I found a YouTube playlist of tutorials that introduced key concepts step-by-step for Node and React and did these individually, before moving on to a playlist that dealt with how to connect these two together, with libraries such as Redux. I personally learn best by doing, so while I did follow along in VS Code with the tutorials I also had a practice project in development simultaneously. After each lesson, I would go back to that project and apply my new learnings to it. In this way, I learnt how to use the MERN stack." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688395147892 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "k2patel@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Krishna", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Patel", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbd0cb86b-5571-467c-8f32-a154fa10899d?alt=media&token=96689ca7-1787-4f60-9f68-1670b3f4aad9", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product right now is a Chrome extension called Simplify Copilot. It allows me to auto-fill the tedious job applications, where you have to manually fill out your experience, personal information etc. It allows me to save a lot of time and really streamlines the job application process. I also like the fact that it allows you to save your application for a certain company so if you want to apply to multiple roles at the same company it's even easier. Although, if I were a Product Manager for the company I would recommend they implement a few changes. The first would be the ability to have different types of applications that you can use to autofill. For example, as a user I could have one specifically for positions related to backend, one for frontend etc. I would recommend editing the front end to be more accessible, a lot of the fonts are very small and as a result hard to read. Some of the text actually overflows and there is no scroll either so it is just unreadable." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Mobile", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my previous co-op, I encountered a challenging technical problem when asked to create a realistic notebook using only HTML, CSS styling, and JavaScript, while also ensuring they worked as flip cards for course content. The hardest part was to achieve an interactive flipping effect with smooth animations and seamless transitions between the front and back of the notebooks. To tackle this, I initially researched existing animations people had posted, however nothing that was 'perfect' existed yet. Hence, I decided to develop a custom solution. I began by carefully designing the HTML structure, and then mixing together a few animations that I found were similar online. After which I came up with a animation that I was proud of and did the job. The last and hardest part for me was to ensure these flip cards were dynamic which I was able to do mainly with Boostrap. However when it came down to the notebook spiral I had to test multiple solutions but ended up using javascript.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Unsure as of right now but most likely EST." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is mental health awareness. I believe everyone should have access to the mental health supports and resources they need and that we need to educate children early on about the importance of maintaining their mental well-being. For example, at the start of the pandemic, I co-founded a youth organization, focused on mental health. Mind Awareness is something I take the utmost pride in. It started after I watched a video about mental health stigma across the world in Psychology class. Seeing the contrast of how much stigma exists and how important mental health truly is was frustrating and I wanted to take a step to change that. In the past, I've hosted an imposter syndrome seminar as well as a children's reading program through the organization. Currently, I am working on implementing social media education for kids through elementary schools, and have also received some funding to pursue this project." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I am a part of is the Women in STEM Community. I recognized early on that STEM was definitely my passion and engineering was what I wanted to pursue. I started actively contributing to it in grade 11 when I took part in a summer research internship specifically to promote girls to pursue STEM. I met some of my biggest supporters and peers during that internship and later went on to be a part of the WISEST Youth Council which was a part of the same organization that I did my internship at. As an executive member, I hosted a hack-a-thon specifically for women and gender-diverse students in high school to help them build a sense of community and interest in STEM. As of right now, I am no longer a member but I have continued my support by mentoring the high school students who are now a part of the council. I help them with planning projects, ensuring progress is being made and even with general questions they may have as they navigate through high school and post-secondary. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A few months ago, I made a decision to learn mySQL, a popular relational database management system. My main motivation was that a lot of employers sought out people with this skill but I had no idea what it was let alone how to use it. I began by following a 5-hour freecodecamp intro to MySQL and slowly began growing my knowledge on queries, tables etc. I followed all the tutorials in the video step by step. The next step was for me to implement this knowledge practically and start doing some work on my own. I decided I was going to make something that would help me which ended up being a book database website so I could keep track, and rate the books I was reading. For this part of the learning process it came down to a lot of googling when I got completely stuck, and even asking peers for help when I was completely lost. Overall, I am glad I took the time to learn mySQL because it has come in handy so many times since." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688610755338 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "k2xiong@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Kathleen", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Xiong", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbdbd1bdb-2104-454c-bfc2-bc2935e7c03a?alt=media&token=0563f24b-5663-4726-ba26-744a89dea576", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I encountered a technical challenge when working on a collaborative project to build a ping pong robot. My role in the project was to build the hardware components and set up the Raspberry Pi, which was used to link the hardware and software. A small screen used to control the Raspberry Pi was unreliable, being slow to use and difficult to control. Realizing this impeded our testing and debugging process, I made the decision to find a more effective solution. Researching alternatives, I found that using SSH to remotely control the Pi would be more reliable and enable multiple team members to test simultaneously. The drawback was the removal of the camera’s visual display since it wasn’t compatible with the new setup. After careful deliberation, we decided to use SSH, which greatly enhanced our workflow and productivity. This experience taught me the importance of flexibility, critical decision-making, and the willingness to adapt when faced with challenges.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is the protection of the environment and preservation of our planet, being vital to the wellbeing of current and future generations. By joining UW Blueprint, I hope to use my skills to solve existing environmental problems. The project Plastic for Change was immensely inspiring to me, taking the existing issue of a lack of transparency in recycled plastic production, and creating a technical solution that benefits the environment and thousands of stakeholders. To contribute to the health of the environment, I created a website called “Save the Turtles,” with the goal being to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable practices. The website simulates a person’s ecological footprint based on factors in their life. By providing users insight into their impact on the Earth, I hoped to encourage a more sustainable lifestyle. Through projects like “Save the Turtles,” I hope to use my passion for technology to move towards a sustainable future." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "One community that I take pride in is the Greenhouse Project, a club dedicated to managing the school gardens. As a member, I tended to the gardens and donated produce to local food banks, finding immense fulfillment in engaging with club activities and making a positive community impact. Wanting to have a greater impact, I pursued a leadership position. I became the VP, where I focused on the club's administrative functions, implementing systems to accommodate the expanding membership. I proposed the creation of streams, where members participate during their designated weeks, and develop a spreadsheet to streamline tracking members and volunteer hours. I also spearheaded a fundraising initiative, collaborating with administration to raise $700 for supplies. The Greenhouse Project community has been pivotal to my personal growth and development. Through my active involvement, I have contributed to the club's mission and made a positive impact within our school and local community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "My initial exposure to frontend web development came from a hackathon where my team created a website. With limited knowledge, I explored online resources to expand my understanding. I was able to implement the necessary project components, but wasn’t satisfied with my results, unable to create what I envisioned within the time limit. I was motivated to learn more, spending time exploring technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and gaining practical skills from experimenting. When I participated in another hackathon, I witnessed significant improvement in my abilities. I was able to contribute more effectively, collaborating with my teammates to design and implement various features. My motivation to improve started from the desire to contribute meaningfully to my team, and led to interest in backend development and technologies like React. Witnessing improvement after starting with limited knowledge has solidified my passion for frontend development and continuous learning." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688183366977 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "saumyakhati1@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Saumya", - "heardFrom": "Events", - "lastName": "Khati", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbe2c29a5-04e5-4cd9-88ce-4c73d12dc47c?alt=media&token=d8a9a9ee-9bb6-4e01-a7a2-d6dfb08197a9", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my internship, I built an integration testing system for my team's core service. It presented a challenging technical problem because as an intern, I had not worked on such a large scale project independently before. To solve it, I worked through the following stages:\nResearch: Conducted thorough investigations into existing solutions, considering recommendations from my manager and weighing their pros and cons.\nMockups: Developed a basic mockup with simple tests to demonstrate the system's functionality to my manager.\nDesign and Infrastructure: Worked on design diagrams and collaborated with DevOps teams to develop the underlying infrastructure.\nCoding: Started coding the project and periodically updated my manager on the progress. For encountered issues, I explored multiple solutions before seeking input from my manager for a senior engineer's viewpoint.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "During high school, I was co-chair of the Chess Club. My responsibilities included keeping members updated on tournament dates, providing tactic exercises during club meeting days and keeping track of in-club game results which decided the main and secondary rosters for school tournaments. In addition to this, I was also responsible for ensuring that everybody in the main roster was ready to play during tournament days or finding appropriate replacements if they were unavailable." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The potential for recent AI/ML advances to have a significant impact in the field of medicine—particularly in areas like imaging and diagnosis tech—is exceptionally high. In fact, we're already seeing numerous advances in diagnostic procedures and will likely continue to see more in the future. This is a particular cause that resonates with me because when I was younger, I was really interested in going into medical school and becoming a doctor. While I grew older and eventually realized that this particular path would fit me in the long term, I think the ability to still do work and have an impact in an area of medicine through modern software is something that I am quite interested in. A project like paramedics-react is exactly what I want to be involved in." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am an avid martial enthusiast and have been an active member of the Northern Karate (NKS) community for the past seven years. I recently achieved my third-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate. This accomplishment is a culmination of my dedication and hard work and the love I have for martial arts. As a senior student, I wholeheartedly embrace having the opportunity to mentor junior belts and help them with their katas, stances and other fundamental aspects of martial arts. It is an honour to be trusted by the senior instructors to teach and share my knowledge with other students." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my second internship, I was assigned to a project that required front-end work with React. Prior to this, I had limited frontend experience and I had never worked with React before. Because I wanted to complete the task and get the job done well in a timely manner, I was highly motivated to learn as much about this new framework in as short a timeframe as possible. To accomplish this, I essentially followed the following three step-plan: watch tutorial videos about React (~a few hours), read the official documentation (~1/2 hours) and finally designing the mockup for the project in a local repository to try out different approaches before narrowing down on what works best. For steps 1 and 3, I also reached out to Stack Overflow consistently in order to clear up any confusion or read up on best practises for certain issues." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688605683631 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "ythurair@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Yadushan", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Thurairasa", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Biomedical Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbed4e58d-8cea-4778-88d2-c25b416fdd3e?alt=media&token=7d0e4264-8e5d-4b66-bd28-55c776c03fc0", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Power of Code is a youth NPO based in Toronto which aims to promote computer science and math education among GTA highschool students. POC hosts workshops, alumni panels, and speaker events. As a Director of Logistics, I led the technical development of our platforms such as event registration. A challenge I faced was authenticating users using PostgreSQL and connecting it with Django for backend. What helped me solve this problem was utilizing documentation. As a developer, it’s important to use these resources first. I couldn’t quite grasp the concept yet, so I turned to YouTube videos for help. This was far better as I could follow along and apply the tutorials to my code. I learned to make user account models in Django consisting of username, password, and email. These models are then migrated into PostgreSQL. I learned about database schemas and tables and how large amounts of data are stored and manipulated. As a result, students could register for webinars from the POC website.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "The Apple Vision Pro is one of the coolest products I’ve ever seen! The AR headset has the potential to pivot an ever-changing digital world without losing our physical one. The business objective of the Vision Pros is to use Spatial Computing to blend the physical and digital worlds together. By removing limits on screen size, users have greater freedom in how they interact with their digital needs. This would be insane to see in the entertainment industry as more immersive content become the norm. Although the steep price, what makes this product my favourite is its user market. The Vision Pros are intended for everyday use whether that's at home or the office. For example, startup founders can integrate the Apple ecosystem into their physical realities. The extensive hardware required for this product is the main factor for its price but with the trajectory nanotech and chip manufacturing are headed, there is no doubt that this product would be more affordable in the near future." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Climate change continues to damage our environmental ecosystems. I witnessed firsthand the impact when my family in Sri Lanka had a terrible harvest due to climate conditions. As part of UW’s catalyst program, I created and pitched to a panel of judges a tech startup called Root which aimed to reduce local carbon emissions through an app that gamified public ride-sharing and green transportation. The app incentivizes local communities to take part in challenges that encourage more eco-friendly methods of travel. Players then receive rewards based on their position on the leaderboards. On Root’s digital map, ride-sharing services and optimized routing to destinations are implemented so that players can easily navigate their cities. After judging, Root took home the 2nd overall prize at the pitch competition. The gamification aspect is very similar to UWBP’s project “Building Up” where teams can move up on global leaderboards by selling toques for RtR’s Campaign. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Today, I was going to swim in the big kid's pool! Despite swimming for 2 years, my 4-year-old self was so nervous. Splash! It was a euphoric experience I will never forget. From that point, I would continue to take swimming lessons for 14 more years. My community is very important to me. It’s where I play, learn, and laugh with my family. Without the community center near my house, I wouldn’t have been able to swim so I wanted to give back to the place where I took swimming lessons for so long. I started volunteering in 2018, helping the lifeguards teach kids of all ages and also adults. I saw myself in the kids which motivated me to continue volunteering until 2020 when COVID shut down all facilities. That didn’t stop me. I took rigorous first aid and lifeguard training courses until I finally got hired by the city to work as a lifeguard and swim instructor. My goal for more than a decade of giving back to the people who shaped me into who I am came to fruition. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Coming off 4 hackathon wins, I felt on top of the world! I learned so much about the software space through 2 projects that I worked tirelessly on. Universal, a 2FA document transfer app to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Wildfire, a market analytics research platform for businesses to improve product design. That’s when my friends and I set out to create our own hackathon. We wanted to support hackers in scaling their projects further AFTER the hackathon. I took on a project management role where I co-founded and led the logistical efforts of XHacks. I learned about sprint planning, marketing, and stakeholders. We gained 1200 participants by marketing on Discord servers for uni students and software enthusiasts. We also secured sponsorships from HyperX, Voiceflow, and ProductHunt. Notably, we partnered with Slingshot, a startup incubator geared toward high school students. Winners of our startup track would be able to scale their existing projects into viable long-term endeavors." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688162018429 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "vihaan@jagiasi.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Vihaan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Jagiasi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Mathematics", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbfa3f936-8405-4ada-8d4e-6554d8b30fad?alt=media&token=623f8d71-b036-4a81-9e40-b6aea2413b32", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem that I faced while working on front-end development was optimizing the performance of a React application. The application I was working on was a large e-commerce platform with numerous components and complex data flow. As the number of users increased, the application started to slow down significantly, leading to a poor user experience.\n\nTo solve this problem, I started by analyzing the application's code to identify any performance bottlenecks. I used the React Profiler tool to identify the components that were taking the most time to render and update. I used React's memoization feature to prevent unnecessary re-renders of components.\n\nI also used lazy loading to load components and resources only when needed. This reduced the application's memory footprint and improved its performance.\n\nUsing React's built-in tools and techniques, these optimizations significantly improved the performance of the application, making it faster and more responsive.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time(EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "In a world where opportunities are not equally distributed, there is a cause that deeply resonates with me: empowering underserved youth through education. \n\nEducation has the power to transcend boundaries and open doors of opportunity. However, for underserved youth, these doors often remain firmly shut due to systemic inequalities, socioeconomic challenges, and limited resources. This stark reality compels me to take action and advocate for change.\n\nEvery child, regardless of their background, deserves a fair chance to receive a quality education. Through education, they can acquire the knowledge, skills, and confidence to transform their lives and shape their destinies. \n\nBy empowering underserved youth with education, we not only uplift individuals but also create a ripple effect that strengthens families, communities, and society as a whole and illuminates not only their futures but also the path towards a brighter, more inclusive, and prosperous future for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Motivated by my love for education and the desire to make a meaningful difference, I sought out a local nonprofit organization focused on providing educational support to underprivileged children. From the moment I joined, I knew I had found my calling. The energy and dedication of the volunteers, combined with the resilience and potential I saw in these young learners, ignited a fire within me.\n\nAs a volunteer tutor and mentor, I have had the privilege of working closely with these children, providing them with academic guidance and emotional support.\n\nI have actively participated in organizing educational workshops and cultural exchange programs which aimed to broaden children's horizons and ignite their curiosity about the world. \n\nBeing part of this community has not only allowed me to contribute to the educational growth of underprivileged children but has also enriched my own life in profound ways. It has taught me the importance of resilience, empathy, and patience." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As a front-end developer, I realized that my understanding of REST was limited, hindering my ability to create dynamic and interactive web applications which motivated me to learn and master REST APIs to enhance my expertise.\nI curated a collection of high-quality resources that offered practical examples and hands-on exercises.\nTo stimulate real-world scenarios, I embarked on several ambitious projects to implement RESTful APIs from scratch. These projects challenged me to tackle complex tasks which solidified my understanding of REST API design principles and also gained invaluable hands-on experience.\nI actively sought opportunities for collaboration by joining online developer communities and engaging in open-source projects related to REST API development. \nThroughout my learning journey, I encountered various challenges and to overcome these challenges, I actively sought guidance from mentors, undertook extensive research and implemented thorough testing and debugging practices." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688600301338 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "ky2lin@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Kaitlyn", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Lin", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Managment Engineering ", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc0c25d9c-704d-40c4-bd46-cd856a705b4d?alt=media&token=b929af59-9ef0-4f10-9eca-37a4db54d879", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My current favourite product is a smart light switch button pusher called switch bot. The existence of the product revolute the way we interact with traditional light switches, offer the convenience, energy efficient and enhanced control over the light system. Especially for students who rent and cannot switch the lightbulb into a smart lightbulb, the switch bot is convenient. \n\nOne aspect of the product is that it offers a comfort with the aid of allowing faraway control of lighting fixtures through smartphones or voice assistants such as Alexa, Siri, or Google. The product improving safety and simplifying everyday existence. The product's electricity performance feature permits scheduling and decreases carbon footprint. Its intuitive interface and seamless integration with voice assistants offer a flexible user experience. \n\nOverall, the product makes it a top on the list is the convenience of a switch bot the simplicity quality and price friendly for everyone to use. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The motive that resonates with me is the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This consists of developing progressive healthcare solutions and supporting the communities. This past few years in the pandemic, I had observed that with shortage of healthcare people’s when visiting hospitals, the wait time in the ER is longer. This has me motivated to contribute for the future the development of digital health systems to prevent a virus that spread globally. By doing so, I aim to help preventing the global spread of viruses and protect the lives of healthcare professionals who have sacrificed their own well-being during these times. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be part of a community of people who enjoy playing badminton. I contribute by being a member of the UW Badminton Club and participate in the events such as 3 vs 3 tournament. \n\nBeing part of the UW badminton club had allowed me to connect with fellow players who share the same passion in this sport. During session, we will discuss our success and areas of improvement in the games we played. Interacting with individuals who have similar interests makes the sport fun and collectively improve our skills together. \n\nOn my free time, I will watch badminton tournament to learn from world champion and observe their playing techniques. This helps me further develop my understanding of the sport and improve my own gameplay. \n\nAll in all, being involved in UW Badminton Club allows me to play the sport in different forms, meet people who share the same interests and do all of this while playing the sport I love. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I learned a new skill was being involved in the world of User Interface (UI) design. In beginning, my motivation of learning is because my goals are to become all rounded Product Manager. \n\nSlowly, when I researched more about UI design fundamentals, I found I have passion in design. My approach on learning user interface is do research, such as “What is UI?”, “What is the difference between UI and UX?”, etc. As well, understanding the concept of UI. The next step after knowing the basic of UI I engaged in hands-on project, with creating wireframes and mock-up using Figma. To feel more involve in learning UI I also participate sprint design to engaged with mentors and get input from an experience UI designer to get feedback on the design as well opinion in the UI industry. Through these efforts, I develop a solid understanding of UI design principles and with an expectable ability to build an interface. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688615408809 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "vyogalin@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Vaaranan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Yogalingam", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc33d411f-dcf4-4e46-88de-9390d062adc2?alt=media&token=83a59285-d86a-462f-991e-704b72ab8ca0", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile", - "Frontend", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Embedded", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A difficult project I worked on was at my second co-op, where I developed an application that professors could use in class to quiz/poll their students (like a web-based iClicker). The application was originally browser-based, and I was tasked with developing a mobile version of the application for iOS and Android. This posed a challenge for a couple of reasons. Firstly, no one on my team, including myself, had much experience with mobile app development, especially with React Native, which was the technology I ended up using. Secondly, I was the only one working on this task, since the rest of our team members had to work on other aspects of the web app. Finally, it was towards the end of my co-op, so the timeframe was short. To overcome these challenges, I first figured out how to manage my time in an \"agile\" manner. Using the software development life cycle, I did proper research, handled technical challenges on my own, and produced a v1 iteration by the end of my term!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST/EDT (Waterloo Time)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "During my first year at Waterloo, I was looking for ways to gain experience as a software developer. Given that everything was online due to the pandemic, I looked online for projects I could work on, and people I could connect with. I came across a project online, led by a Project Manager in the UK. He wanted to develop a Weekly Planner app for his friend's son who had Autism. The goal was to take the physical calendar system they already had for him and make it digital. I worked as a front-end developer, and since the project started with just the two of us, I helped brainstorm and prototype the first iterations of the app. The project and its cause resonated with me for two reasons. Firstly, I had already worked with a local organization that helped South Asian families whose children had Autism, so I understood and appreciated the cause we were working towards. The second was that the app gave our client more technological freedom, a cause that I am also passionate about." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Growing up in the east end of Toronto in Scarborough, I benefited from a multitude of free and accessible programs that helped me with my education and overall well-being. I wanted to help people similarly, so over in the fall, I volunteered at the FeedScarborough food bank, both on the setup and registration team. It was an eye-opening experience, because I got to meet many food bank clients, and learn about their unique situations. I also appreciated the way the food bank worked. We leveraged modern POS technology that allowed us to give clients points based on their needs, which they could spend on anything in the food bank. I would arrive in the morning every Saturday to set up the food stands, and then I would register/sign-in clients as they came in afterwards. When I came back to Waterloo for the winter, I remotely helped the food bank set up an app to help track volunteers and tasks. Overall, it was a large operation, with many moving parts, and I was proud to be a part of it!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Recently, I have been trying to learn more about embedded development, mainly through Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, and ESP32s. Hardware technology has always fascinated me, but I was always intimidated for a few reasons. Firstly, some of the materials are not easily accessible (boards, wires, tools, etc.) Second, there’s a lot prerequisite knowledge you need to work with those materials. Finally, the learning process and mistakes can be costly. However, some advice I received was that I should try to figure out what I wanted to create, then ask questions, and work my way backwards. That way, I know exactly what I need to learn and what materials I need. Using this process, I learned a lot of new skills, like how to read hardware documentation, and even how to solder. I am currently working on a few new projects, like a smart coaster and alarm system, but overall the learning process has been informative and fun, and I have developed skills that I can apply to future projects!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688605829022 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "visionjwd@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jun Woo", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Oh", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Mechanical Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc36dd55f-01e4-43fa-b71c-7793e553bcfc?alt=media&token=85ae64da-5f7b-47ab-99e5-5a4386f138ac", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One of the biggest challenged I faced was optimizing a image heavy website. When I was developing the website for JWD Creative House, one of the issues was optimizing performance as the website contained more than 70 high quality images. Utilizing Static Site Generation of NextJS, I was able to improve the loading performance of portfolio pages by 36%. Furthermore, priority tags were implemented for important content of each page, such as the home menu and background, to ensure that those elements would be loaded ahead of time. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I tend to look for inspirations in digital products we use everyday and also physical products. I enjoy taking the physical experience of a product and converting that experience into a digital product that can be accessed by everyone. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "www.junwooo.me\nwww.jwdcreativehouse.com", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST(Will be in Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One of the causes that I'm passionate about is accessible education for everyone. I spent much time as a tutor and an instructor, and I noticed a lot of gaps between students from different households. Since I experienced the gap firsthand, my interests are surrounding bringing STEM education to those who are in low-income areas. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be a part of the small business community in Toronto. I have been part of this community for 2 years now. It is a significantly large community, with a diverse background, and I was able to contribute by providing media services that helped many business see anywhere from 20-140% in online presence growth in the past year. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One recent example of acquiring a new skill is when I decided to learn UI/UX design and its applications in product design.My motivation to learn UI/UX design stemmed from my desire to broaden my skill set and contribute more effectively to the entire product development process. I recognized the importance of user-centered design and its impact on overall product success. I had a structured approach to learning UI/UX design, where I started off by finding reputable material on the internet to learn the basics. After I was comfortable with the basics, I went on to apply the things I learned in a project, by creating Figma Wireframes and implementing the design in an actual website. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688180264816 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "kx3tan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Kevin", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Tan", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc55b4fac-cf3f-487e-9cfc-9e84b82b119d?alt=media&token=1833f946-1c23-4850-9a28-77cad920e90d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A technical problem I dealt with was optimizing a MongoDB database. Our API allowed update requests to provide only the JSON parameters it wants to update, making updates simpler. But this also presented a problem: when a parameter is no longer needed, it would remain in the database, making the object more cluttered and hard to work with. I evaluated several possible solutions. A solution I thought of was to remove unnecessary parameters from the object before it is validated by Mongoose. While this was simple to implement, it required a lot of hard coding which was not scalable and made it difficult to abstract. Another solution was to indicate in the MongoDB schema when a parameter was no longer needed using a function and to use post validation Mongoose middleware in order to remove the parameter under conditions. I consulted my team members to get a second opinion and to optimize the solution. I also rigorously tested the solution to ensure no further issues are brought up.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is reducing the use of fast fashion. Fast fashion is extremely popular because it allows consumers to have access to cheap and trendy clothing. But this comes with the exploitation of cheap toxic materials as well as child labour. Many of my friends rely on fast fashion from websites like Shein and after learning about its consequences, I’ve realized how large this problem really is. I am constantly looking for ways to reduce our reliance on fast fashion and, in the past, I created a web application that tries to support the cause. This web application takes in images of any kind of clothing and links its users to more ethical and eco-friendly alternatives. I believe that through Blueprint, I’d be able to support this cause through projects like Focus on Nature as well as Feeding Canadian Kids in order to increase our appreciation for the environment and to reduce the need for children to enter the workforce. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I’m proud to be a part of is the teaching community. For the past 3 years, I’ve spent countless hours creating curriculums to teach and empower youth who want to break into the world of computer science. In teaching 80+ students in my high school’s computer science club and 15+ students privately in a local teaching center, I’ve always strived to make computer science more accessible to students who are interested in it. I’m proud to be a part of this community because of other aspiring teachers who are similarly passionate about helping others learn. Upon realizing that UW Blueprint supports Jump Math in developing a math assessment tool, I immediately became intrigued by the position of not only allowing youth to learn, but also meeting other Blueprint members who share the interests of the teaching community. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A skill I’ve learned and am still learning is rock climbing. I’m very motivated to pursue this skill as it is a very diverse form of sport. It not only requires strength and flexibility, but it also requires a lot of problem solving and technique. However, the greatest motivating factor for me is the community that’s built around rock climbing. Nothing feels more motivating than when you’re struggling to climb a route and a stranger, whom you’ve never met before, is below you, encouraging you and giving advice when needed. Despite it being an individual sport as opposed to a team sport, I still feel as if there is a team supporting me. \n\nWhen I’m trying to complete a climb, I often try to figure out the solution on my own. After having a couple of falls, I turned to the rock climbing community, either online to learn some techniques, or in-person with the fellow climbers I meet. Applying to Blueprint, I’m excited to meet a similarly supportive community.\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688596991296 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "s46hasan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Shaheer", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Hasan", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc67742cb-2d56-4e85-9082-ac154c18e5f3?alt=media&token=c4bafa16-fdff-492c-8c2e-4e1a8e2c2518", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile", - "Other:" - ], - "response-specified": "Cloud/Infra (falls under backend)", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem I faced was optimizing a slow mobile application with high message load during usage. I analyzed performance, identified the bugs (or potential problems), and then brainstormed potential solutions (while comparing their pros and cons). Eventually, I reduced network requests through creating a new message routing scheme in the backend. I also refactored code to improve the readability from previous iteration, as well as implemented efficient algorithms to perform message handling. I also made sure to extensively test my solution with many edge cases to ensure I did indeed solve the original technical problem. This experience highlighted the importance of a systematic approach, collaboration, and continuous monitoring for sustainable performance improvements. Through my experiences, I have learned a lot on how to debug a problem and backtrace it to find the root cause of the issue. From there, I am able to assess the problem further & create a solution!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be working in EST (local) timezone. Thus, there should be no issue when it comes to that :)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates deeply with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. As our world faces pressing challenges such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity, it is crucial for us to take action to protect and restore our environment. Growing up in this society, I have been able to witness the fast deterioration of the climate (ex. the mass wildfires polluting the air). I want to find a way to use my technical skillset to help combat this, so that future generations can live in a stable environment they can strive in. A project that caught my eye is Plastic for Change, I truly admired how we were able to combine data engineering and development to help solve pollution. This relates with the cause I mentioned, and further inspires me to join Blueprint where we have already achieved solutions similar to what I would like to do. It is astonishing to see how we've used software to innovate solutions to social causes and I'd love to help!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Being a second-generation Canadian, I grew up immersed in a multi-cultural environment. I am proud of my Pakistani heritage and have grown up going to local markets owned by fellow immigrants. However, during the pandemic I could not along with many others and as a result, these small businesses suffered heavily. I was indirectly affected by this as I care for the owners of these businesses and wanted to help somehow. To help alleviate the pressure placed upon them, I co-founded a startup which bought product off of them then revamped it into mystery boxes which we would sell and distribute to our own customer-base. It was a win-win situation as we helped these businesses make profit in a rough time while making some profit ourselves. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and how to run a business from end-to-end while feeling good about being able to help my community. Blueprint will enable me to be in a similar win-win situation where we grow while contributing to a good cause." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Although technical skills are always great to learn, soft-skills are equally important (IMO). A time I learned a new skill is back in high school when I played competitive soccer. I used to play up top and would love to just what I was comfortable with. However, there were times my coaches would need me to drop back and play different positions for the team to succeed. I really disliked doing it at the start but by the end I gained a lot of invaluable perspective. I learned how to be adaptable and be able to sacrifice your own needs in order for the team to succeed. Since then, I have carried this mentality into other ventures such as my co-ops, clubs, and other team settings in general. It has enabled a growth mindset within me which in turn has helped me become a great leader, and an overall asset in any team that I have been a part of. I hope to carry this leadership trait with me at Blueprint as we are continuously working with others. Hence, I know it will be beneficial for us!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688099347134 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "h2khan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Hasan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Khan", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc9dc1a38-134a-457b-b571-39d0575eb900?alt=media&token=a033b12d-beb2-43ed-bead-7947e272bbef", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my tenure as a Data Engineer at Adastra Corporation, I faced a daunting challenge: frequent pipeline loading failures caused by inconsistent data quality in ETL operations. Determined to find a solution, I developed Python scripts that automated data cleaning processes, ensuring data quality prior to integration into data warehouses.\n\nTo tackle this issue, I identified prevalent data quality concerns such as missing values and formatting errors. With these insights in mind, I began writing scripts capable of addressing these issues. The positive impact was evident, as the incidence of failures significantly decreased. To fortify the scripts, I implemented error handling mechanisms to capture any unforeseen errors during the data cleaning process. Through following testing, I was able to validate the accuracy of the cleaned data, effectively preempting potential errors. Although initially challenging, my commitment and perseverance led to a 70% reduction in pipeline failures.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that holds great significance to me is promoting equality and fighting against racial discrimination. As an individual belonging to a minority race, I have personally experienced and witnessed the challenges and inequalities that marginalized communities face on a regular basis.\n\nThroughout my academic and professional journey, I have actively sought opportunities to advocate for equality. For instance, I am an active member of the Orphan Sponsorship Program, where I help raise awareness, and run events to fundraise money to sponsor orphans all over the world.\n\nThrough my involvement in the program, I have seen firsthand the transformative impact that consistent support and care can have on these children's lives. UW Blueprint's mission to leverage technology for social good aligns perfectly with my values and aspirations. I am eager to collaborate with a team that that shares this vision and collectively works towards creating a more equitable world for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "One community that I am immensely proud to be a part of is the Orphan Sponsorship Program which I have been actively involved in for a year. This program has not only provided me with a sense of purpose and fulfillment but has also allowed me to make a meaningful difference in the lives of orphaned children.\n\nWithin the program, I have taken on various roles and responsibilities to contribute to its success. One area where I have made a significant impact is in ensuring the financial stability and transparency of the program by helping prepare financial statements, including balance sheets and income statements. In addition, I have played a pivotal role in securing sponsorships from businesses by engaging with potential donors and sharing the inspiring mission of the program.\n\nI am excited to bring my experiences, skills, and passion for making a difference to the UW Blueprint team, where I can contribute to meaningful projects that empower communities and create a lasting impact." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "An instance of learning a new skill was when I took on the challenge of mastering Azure OpenAI with Python for a company hackathon project. I had a strong motivation to learn this skill as it was a group competition with coworkers and I wanted to give a strong impression for myself as I just began my co-op there.\n\nTo begin my learning journey, I conducted extensive research on Azure OpenAI, exploring its capabilities, documentation, and best practices. Then, to gain practical experience, I set up a local development environment with Azure services, including Azure OpenAI, and began experimenting with sample datasets. I immersed myself in hands-on coding exercises and tutorials, gradually building my understanding of how to leverage Azure OpenAI APIs to analyze datasets effectively. This allowed me to gain a strong understanding and also how to incorporate it along with Python powerfully. All in all, we were able to develop a strong project solution and impressed the company leadership." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688061712585 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "m7selvar@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Maruhan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Selvaratnam", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Statistics", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcacb6950-b52b-4ccf-ba04-e6ff396b9f7e?alt=media&token=f4bfbb53-fc89-4434-96de-fcf702fc8466", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "One challenging technical problem that I worked on in the past involved having to optimize a quarter-end report at my co-op that took around 7 hours to compile. The reason why this task was so difficult was the underlying SQL queries (that were written a long time ago) were doing very unnecessary things that were taking far too long and there were too calls to databases that were hardly used. To solve this problem, I had to start by researching how to optimize these queries (there were too many subqueries within the query) and also searching through the different tables within the database where I could more easily find the data I was looking for to reduce the time needed for the queries to run. I also looked into moving different fields into other tables that were already being used by the report to decrease the number of queries that I had to do overall. By doing this, I was able to decrease the time from 7 hours to just below 4!", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "ET" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is helping the environment. All the time, we hear about how we're destroying the environment and how there is nothing that we can individually do about it. While this may be true, I genuinely believe that there is power in doing the small things and doing our part to make change even at a personal level. In the past, I've volunteered for environmental organizations by planting trees in parks or even doing trash audits at my high school. I always try to advocate for the environment and try to lower my environmental footprint for myself and those in my community. In the future, I want to be more involved with trying to help the environment, whether that be teaching people outside of my community or getting more involved within organizations like Blueprint which can help out the cause through projects such as the one with Plastics for Change." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I'm proud to have been a part of is Tech+ here at UWaterloo. Tech+ is a community that actively promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion values. I am proud to be a part of a community that is so welcoming and that thinks very similarly to me. These three values are important to me as I've seen the value that comes alongside promoting them through the different events and initiatives I helped plan through the club. In the club, I often have participated conversations regarding different DEI topics such as underrepresentation in Tech, the wage gap, and accessibility in development. I have also been responsible for planning events for the club that promote those values while also keeping into consideration the things the lessons we learn through our DEI talks. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A skill that I learned recently was how to use React when creating websites. Before I had learned how to use it, I was only using vanilla Javascript, HTML, and CSS which was powerful at the beginning but I quickly found that it was not enough to do the cool things that I wanted to do with it. I wanted to expand my bounds of possibilities and I found that React would be able to help me do that. To learn it, I started with a Google search (which usually happens when I'm trying to learn something). I watched all sorts of videos until I found a good video series and I just watched along (and coded along) until I felt I was comfortable enough. I did other projects to learn concepts and kept on watching videos until I was able to code the thing that I originally wanted to make in the first place. Now, I always find new videos to watch to keep on learning new things!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688607515631 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "rnankani@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Rohan", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Nankani", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcb443c98-e9f1-49c4-b9fb-bc021521d622?alt=media&token=0b2a32cf-f461-4464-ae80-98f895a1e95f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During Hack the North, my team faced a technical challenge when deploying our website using CockroachDB since we wanted our application to collect and display data effectively, but as newcomers to the technology, we found it quite difficult. Despite initial struggles, we developed a workaround solution to showcase our project effectively. Instead of using CockroachDB, we created a mock database using a JSON file as a temporary substitute. This alternative approach allowed us to showcase their project's potential and core concepts without fully integrating CockroachDB. The experience taught us the importance of adaptability and finding alternative solutions when faced with unexpected difficulties. Overall, our experience at Hack the North highlighted the importance of striking a balance between ambitious goals and practical execution.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The cause of mental health and healthcare resonates with me deeply. Healthcare and mental health services in Canada and other countries have a lot of potential for improvement. Long wait periods for specialized care, limited access to mental health resources, and inequality in healthcare provision are all challenges. As a result, healthcare infrastructure needs to be invested in, preventive care needs to be prioritized, and mental health needs to be given equal importance. Reducing stigma and tackling systemic inequities are critical for encouraging open talks and improving mental health. Advocating for better healthcare and mental health services can help to build a society in which everyone can enjoy healthy, satisfying lives." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the Sikh community and actively contribute to it by volunteering at Gurdwaras. I volunteer in the langar, the community kitchen, where I help serve meals to those in need. It is gratifying to be able to help and ensure that everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, has access to warm and nourishing food. I seek to promote the Sikh values of selfless service (seva) and equality via my work in the langar, generating a sense of unity and solidarity within our community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I decided to learn React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, due to my interest in website development and its widespread adoption in the industry. I began by watching YouTube videos to comprehend the fundamental ideas, then moved on to online tutorials and sites such as Codecademy. Following that, I worked on little projects and practical exercises that allowed me to apply the concepts to real-world circumstances. The learning experience was exciting because React enabled the building of dynamic and responsive interfaces, which fueled my desire to learn more about its possibilities. Learning React enables me to design compelling and interactive online applications in general." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687300297699 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "z24cheng@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Zixuan", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Cheng", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "CS", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcbdd7bc5-8d4b-4799-bd10-27da0e8121a1?alt=media&token=557d4cc7-2dc7-41d3-88d2-819701c06534", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In a machine learning project, I tackled a challenging problem by implementing a custom loss function for a regression task using C/C++. Standard loss functions didn't fully meet the unique requirements of predicting house prices based on various features. I developed a custom loss function that incorporated both absolute and squared error components, penalizing larger errors more heavily. Through efficient C/C++ coding and extensive testing, the custom loss function consistently outperformed standard ones, improving the accuracy of predictions. This experience highlighted the importance of tailoring loss functions and demonstrated my proficiency in C/C++ programming and machine learning integration.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I find inspiration in various aspects of my daily life. One significant source of inspiration is observing people and their interactions with the world around them. By observing user behavior, needs, and pain points, I gain valuable insights that shape my design thinking process.\n\nI also draw inspiration from nature and its inherent beauty and functionality. Nature's elegant designs, patterns, and efficient systems often inform my approach to creating user-centered and sustainable products.\n\nMoreover, I actively seek inspiration from other designers and their work. Exploring design blogs, websites, and attending design conferences helps me stay updated on the latest trends, innovative ideas, and design thinking methodologies." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://zixuancheng24.wixsite.com/my-site-4 (It's like a prorject that my team is still working on)", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "GMT-4,Waterloo" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates deeply with me is advocating for inclusivity and support for individuals with disabilities. As a student who personally navigates the challenges of ADHD and other mental health issues, I have firsthand experience of the obstacles and stigmas that can arise. This has inspired me to take action and contribute towards making the world a better place by fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment for everyone.\n\nI believe that every individual, regardless of their abilities, should have equal opportunities to thrive and succeed. I am passionate about raising awareness and promoting understanding about disabilities, breaking down barriers, and encouraging empathy and acceptance within our society. By actively engaging in initiatives and projects, I aim to create positive change and empower others to embrace diversity and embrace the strengths that lie within every person." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be part of a voice-overing community post high school. We undertake voluntary projects like COVID-19 awareness videos and educational content for minors. My role involves voice-over work, communication, and editing. I contributed by creating a website to showcase our work and attract clients.\n\nIn our voice-overing community, I contribute as a voice actor and handle communication and editing tasks. I also developed a website to promote our services and attract clients. Being part of this community allows me to pursue my passion and contribute to impactful projects.\n\nI joined a voice-overing community after high school, engaging in voluntary projects like COVID-19 awareness videos and educational content. I contribute as a voice actor, handle communication and editing tasks, and developed a website to promote our services." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Recently, I embarked on the journey of learning to play the piano. I approached this new skill with a deep sense of dedication and seriousness. Music has always been a passion of mine, and I wanted to express myself through the piano.\n\nTo learn this instrument, I invested significant time and effort into practice. I sought out various resources, including online tutorials and books, to understand music theory and piano techniques. I also enrolled in lessons with a piano instructor who provided valuable guidance and feedback.\n\nCommitment was key in my approach. I set aside regular practice sessions, focusing on specific goals for each session. I dedicated myself to developing muscle memory, improving finger dexterity, and honing my understanding of music theory. I understood that progress would come gradually and embraced the challenges along the way.\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688181318769 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "mail.ericgao@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Eric", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Gao", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcd8dcbf4-7b47-44f3-822d-5d5da0a89973?alt=media&token=fab1b61d-5827-4a15-906e-ba900ca8e289", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "Inspiration first comes consciously. Personally, I love to analyze the products around me. After immersing myself in Don Norman’s teachings, I’ve been actively dissecting why I love/hate the products I use. \n\nI also believe inspiration comes unconsciously from unconventional places. Great examples of this are Steve Jobs taking college calligraphy classes or Manu Prakash making the Paperfuge from children's toys, I believe that having the most diverse perspectives generate better ideas. I look for inspiration consciously and unconsciously with every product that I interact with.\n\nHowever, my own internal perspective is not enough. One of my favourite experiences is working with other graphic designers. Seeing perspectives and ideas that radically differ from mine is an extremely insightful experience. Inspiration comes to me from other designers. This could be done internally through a team or it could be externally with platforms such as Pinterest, Medium or social media platforms.\n" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ttT9Q8up1TRMEsgiqEmtwTl1fxpFa563/view?usp=sharing\n\nThis project was the Shad design challenge project that my team created. My specific role was leading the design of the app. Within the presentation, I outline the main obstacles our team faced and what I learned from the project. ", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "In the fall, I will be starting my 1A term in Waterloo which makes my timezone EST. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Project5K (P5K) is an organization with a mission to create and promote student volunteer opportunities. \n\nJoining in grade 9, my first experience was organizing an event gathering volunteers to distribute care packages on the streets of Downtown Toronto. This was my first ever volunteer experience, and it ignited a passion for promoting youth volunteerism in my community. Since then, I’ve stayed with P5K, organizing various volunteer initiatives such as tutoring, donation drives and park clean-ups. This year, I had the opportunity to lead the team to run a nationwide card donation initiative. In ON, AB, SK, NL, PEI, and YT, 400+ students created 2800+ cards that were delivered to front-line workers.\n\nI credit P5K for making me a leader and a passionate volunteer. Through my involvement, I have personally grown and made a tangible impact on my community. I love working in P5K because I get the opportunity to spread the growth I experienced through volunteering to others.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "My journey with my school's DECA chapter began with disappointment and failure. I initially had set my sights on qualifying for the international competition, but in both my grade 9 and 10 years, I was unable to qualify. Following the grade 10 year where I prioritized my DECA training over everything, I found myself questioning my abilities and contemplating quitting. However, I was surrounded by a community of students and teachers who encouraged me to stay. Recognizing my perseverance, my advisor took me as an executive.\n\nToday, I am the Co-President of my DECA chapter where I lead my executive team to run the 2nd largest DECA chapter in Ontario. At the provincial competition, our chapter won 69 awards and I finally qualified for the International competition. However, my greatest joy was witnessing my chapter members develop and support each other. I'm proud to have cultivated the same competitive and supportive community that helped me and many others persevere to succeed.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I initially joined Project 5K as a graphic designer. To this day, I still have no idea why they accepted me because I had ZERO experience. My role was specializing in creating marketing schedules and designing promotional content (ie. posters). To design my first poster, I decided to use Canva. Looking back, I'm amazed I wasn’t kicked out immediately for that poster. \n\nAs time progressed, I honed my design skill. My motivation was to create more engaging marketing content but also because I genuinely enjoyed creating media. I spent time learning professional software such as Adobe Illustrator and Figma. Beyond posters, I explored new aspects of design such as creating motion graphics, logos and brand identity. For me, the best way to learn is by simply “doing.” I took every opportunity to make a new poster, design a logo and most importantly, seek feedback. I plan to apply this learning approach and attitude to my newfound interest in product design to help NPOs at UWblueprint." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688179867154 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "nicholas.chew@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Nicholas", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Chew", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fce6efe98-3ddd-4880-8e71-9bfeddfd5789?alt=media&token=6ca7886f-bd75-459f-ba28-87fb145e07c2", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Frontend", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "At my current co-op I am building a microservice using Spring Boot to manage data interactions between resource inventory services in a clustered environment. A major technical problem I had faced during development was related to the consistency of data because multiple instances of the service had their own local caches. This led to various inconsistencies when a resource was updated in one instance but was not immediately reflected in the others. To resolve this, I conducted extensive research online and sought guidance from an experienced colleague who suggested I implement a distributed caching solution using Redis. I spent many hours reading Redis documentation learning to resolve the caching issue and performed comprehensive testing to ensure data consistency and synchronization across each instance. This overall experience taught me how to use my resources effectively and broadened my problem solving abilities in a collaborative software development environment.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Accessible education is a cause I have grown to care deeply about. When I was 10, I made the switch from a school with limited resources to one with a tremendous amount of educational support. Suddenly, I had access to more books, technology, and resources that made a significant positive impact on my eagerness for learning. Most importantly, it was access to new computers and software that allowed me to incorporate a new personalized learning style into the school curriculum. Due to these experiences, I was highly motivated throughout high school to create positive social change within my school and extracurricular communities. I worked hard to secure a teaching job that allowed me to teach private programming lessons online during Covid, which fulfilled my goal of giving back to the community using my technical skills and passion for teaching. Ultimately, I seek to continue this journey of creating meaningful social change on Blueprint through community initiatives." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "For four years, I was part of a scouting group as a volunteer leader where I had the opportunity to work with youth and share my passion for technology. I organized weekly workshops that covered a wide range of topics, from simple programming to logic puzzles where I encouraged the children to think critically and creatively. Through these activities, I aimed to inspire them to explore new fields of STEM so that it could open their minds to the possibilities of future careers. A particular workshop I'm proud of was a hardware activity involving circuits and crafts. The kids worked in teams and built out a toy piano using simple electronic parts and tin foil. It was a challenging project requiring them to think creatively, and it was incredibly rewarding to see their reactions to the final product. I’m proud to have contributed to my local scouting group and the fact that I was able to create a positive social impact by broadening the educational curiosity of youth in my community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A few years ago I was introduced to the world of origami. I decided to dive into this hobby to improve my logical thinking skills and to find a new leisure activity. Starting with the traditional crane, I progressed to models with thousands of folds, and the journey was both rewarding and challenging. I found that the most effective approach was to ask people with more experience for advice so I could learn unique techniques to enhance my skills. Additionally, I attended community workshops such as the annual origami convention in New York, which allowed me to connect with other folders and learn from more experienced individuals. One of the most rewarding aspects of origami is the sense of accomplishment with each completed model. The patience and attention to detail required for each model taught me valuable skills that I continue to use in other aspects of my life, but most importantly it is a hobby that gives me a sense of leisure and relaxation." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688000346945 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "r43fan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "firstName": "Rongqi", - "heardFrom": "Other", - "lastName": "Fan", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fceeb8a7b-eb50-4aa1-a3bf-554d075d2257?alt=media&token=ca830c6d-5285-49bc-9654-f369784e6023", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "The first approach is to do some research on the non-profit's mission and history of its past work. I believe it would give broad overview of the match between Blueprint and the non-profit. Second approach would be actively engaging with current and past members from the non-profit to get a feel of what they want to achieve. Lastly, I believe it is important to communicate internally with Blueprint members to explain the non-profit's background and ask for their feedback." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Other:", - "Fullstack", - "Frontend" - ], - "response-specified": "Data Science/ML", - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A technical challenge that came to mind was implementing Monte Carlo tree search while creating a AI connect-5 players. The concept of Monte Carlo tree search it self was not hard. However, we needed to generate input data that are fed into the neural network whose output dictates how the tree expand. Those outputs are also backpropogated to all the parent nodes. \nThis problem was challenging mainly because there was not a well-defined correct solution. \nI started the implementation process right away when I was facing this challenge and went all the to completion before any testing. That turned out to be a big mistake because there are many components to the process such as neural net input processing and back propagating output results while gaining the correct tree structure.\nIt took me around a week to figure out an implementation with good performance. A lesson I learned was to break the problem into small sub-problems which are much easier to solve which are eventually merged.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in Waterloo next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The main cause that resonates with me is environmental sustainability. The fast industrialization in the past few decades have created tremendous wealth around the globe, but in the meantime, it has left us with issues in areas like climate change and air pollution. \n\nI grew up in a small and quiet town in suburb of Beijing. The nature in the neighbourhood left me with so many precious memories. However, everything has changed since I was in primary school in which air pollution started becoming so bad that I couldn't even see things that are 100m away by the time I was in middle school. This past week, Beijing has an average temperature of 40 degrees which is essentially unliveable. Climate change is real and we need to act immediately to preserve our planet for generations to come." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I have been really involved in UWaterloo CS Club since my return to Waterloo last fall. Coming out of the pandemic many people including myself had trouble finding friends or a cohort of people to study and hang out with in general. The beginning was always the hardest. I started by going to the CSC office a lot which has allowed me to meet many of the organizers of CSC. For me, CSC provided everything that allowed me to meet a wide range of people from all kinds of backgrounds. \nLater, I joined the Codey dev team in order to contribute to the community while I am away on coop. It has allowed me to provide features to better facilitate services provided by CSC on discord such as resume critique. \nIn addition, I invited many of friends (many I met through CSC events) to come to the CSC office more and most of them have been actively involved in CSC daily. It's been a great journey so far I hope to create an even more inclusive community. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I used to focus on technical skills a lot but the pandemic has taught me that Social Skills are what makes myself happy. I was to be extremely introverted so getting started on improving my social skills weren't easy at all. I started by talking to some of my classmates randomly but it soon becomes clear that it wasn't helping much as the interaction was only a few minutes in between classes. Then, I tried to go to more club events but it felt like I wasn't getting to know the people well enough so we couldn't become friends that could hang out with in and outside of classrooms. To solve those problems, I decided to stay on 3rd floor of MC and talk to lots of people who were hanging out in the club offices and it has allowed me to have conversions not only about school but about life in general. One thing I've learned was the best approach to learn a skill is to see others develop such skills. For me, I was able to understand the value of listening find common interests." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688110602875 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "a49lu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Allen", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Lu", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Knowledge Integration", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcf03809d-8bd4-4559-8e09-08c7a2b64556?alt=media&token=79a9c951-12d8-4233-8441-3c76d7a82b99", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "Oftentimes, I find inspiration from the smallest to biggest things. I often encounter small problems in my life that then lead to either a critique of user experience or a new idea. Examples of this include writing some thoughts on the use of colour, font, slogans, and QR codes on campaign signs, or thinking of a save feature on Instagram for locations (eventually implemented!). I also tend to find inspiration from my friends, or from Dribbble/articles when faced with a design problem. And of course, as an ideator I tend to get caught up in the big ideas rather than the small details, which is why I take a lot of inspiration from urban planning.\n\nHowever, I've also been recently trying to ground myself and have confidence in my own abilities as a person. For far too long I've been caught in a status game of thinking I am not good enough, but I know that to be effectively inspired I have to have faith in their abilities." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Portfolio: www.allen.lu\nAlthough this is not a digital product, I learned quite a bit about user design and collaboration through a museum exhibit (What's So Funny?) I created with four other students for Knowledge Integration's Third-Year Design Capstone. When we were tasked to teach high school students about a topic in the SDGs, I effectively used the double diamond method to ideate a unique topic with unique ideas. However, collaboration between people with different ways of thinking proved to be challenging, and I learned that communication, an emphasis on completion over perfection, and prototyping would have mitigated a lot of our problems. Additionally, I felt that our group could have done more user validation to ensure that our exhibit did cater to high school students. Although we kept students at the forefront of our decision-making, interviews and surveys would have helped us create content that was more fine-tuned to the high schooler experience.\n", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I prefer to use qualitative research methods, and feel that they are often underrated in favour of more \"objective\" quantitative methods. This is because although a number may tell us about the mode or mean of a particular research question, it does not give us enough insight into particular individuals at the extremes of a demographic. It does not even give enough insight into individuals that trend toward the average! This is especially dangerous if you are designing a product that has to be accessible to everyone.\nMy main methods of expertise would be content analysis and literature reviews, as I have the most experience with those from a Research Methods course I took. I also feel fairly comfortable with the process of absorbing a large amount of information and finding the connections between the different topics. However, I also have experience with survey design, interviewing, and user persona creation." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "In Toronto's mayoral byelection, I really resonated with the person-centric approach to politics that Olivia Chow championed in her campaign. When countless candidates were chastizing her for refusing to commit to a specific property tax increase, she stood her ground and insisted that choosing a property tax increase and then pruning a budget is the wrong way to approach city building. Instead, we should:\n1. Determine the services needed based on citizen input\n2. Negotiate with governments, search for sources of funding\n3. Look into property tax increases (as a last resort)\nThis approach truly struck me as much more humane and logical, especially as it treated citizens as more than just a number on a budget sheet.\nOthers also chastized Olivia for reaching out to both LGBTQ+ communities and communities unaccepting of queer people. But a person-centric approach demands reaching out to everyone, despite their views. Otherwise, you build a city that only works for certain people." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am a proud Torontonian, and although it has its problems with bureaucracy, delayed projects, and housing, this city continues to shine with opportunity. As a high school student, I involved myself in 1UP Toronto as its Communications Director and saw myself not only promoting youth city building on social media but teaching workshops surrounding visual design. However, as a university student, I've simply been showing up to vote and have stayed politically engaged, whether that is through watching videos about TTC projects, watching debates in-person, or encouraging friends and family to vote in the mayoral byelection (especially important as byelections traditionally have lower voter turnout). I especially am happy to push people (even random strangers on the subway!) to vote because I know that even small steps like showing up at the polling station can make a significant impact on the future of a city." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As a musical theatre enthusiast, I've always wanted to learn the skills needed to be in a production. It wasn't enough to watch Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, or Hamilton; I wanted to experience what it was like to be on similar stages, telling equally impactful stories. When I saw an opportunity to participate in \"Something Rotten\", I leaped at the chance. When I first entered the rehearsal room in Bolton, I was very shy and hesitant at first. Not only did I not know most of the people in the room, I also stood out as one of the more nervous dancers (due to my perfectionism) and one of two East Asians in the room. However, once I got accepted and started going to rehearsals, I quickly realized that in musical theatre, what matters more is the energy you bring to a scene, not how perfect the moves are. My mind eased and I started having fun with my character, while also asking for tips on improvement from the director and choreographer." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688611316051 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "harryjwang04@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Hary", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Wang", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcfbba170-4a31-4d97-85ed-fbe3596d8546?alt=media&token=23517b01-eaec-40b8-9ea6-7068ad72f408", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": " Over the course of my last co-op experience, I ran into a few issues that were are correlated to specificity and edge cases in my coding. In order to solve this issue, I planned out my code first - using mapping, trees, and diagrams in order to encapsulate all of the cases that are possible in the issue. That way, I would be able to see all of the possible issues that I needed to test and not miss any of them. One particular instance was when I was coding for a robot arm, I didn't account for the fact that robot arms are unpredictable and can turn more than a normal human arm. Thereby causing the boundary cases to be more than I expected and thus, I made changes to code after having created a diagram for the robot arm as well as all of the built in components of the arm as well as the rotation of the arms in order to gauge the boundary cases of the components so that I could update my code to satisfy all possible conditions.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is cancer awareness. As a little kid, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and therefore, since then, I have been working to help in any way possible to support the cause. One of the major things that I did was that, in the 10th grade, some of my peers and I began a fundraiser to support St. Jude's Children's Hospital for Cancer. Through communication with the Blue Valley School District and the City of Leewood, we organized raffles, t-shirt sales, and donation stands. This event expanded to all of the five schools in the district and with the help of the football team and basketball teams there were \"gold out\" and \"pink out\" games for the corresponding sports. Through the sporting events, raffles, etc., the fundraiser for St. Jude's Hospital was able to earn over $400,000 over the course of the three years and is continuing to this day." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "The community that I am most proud to be in is the volleyball community. Through my junior and senior years of high school, I coached a club volleyball team named HLA. Throughout the process, we were able to make it to nationals both years and played against teams all over the country. However, despite playing against these amazing teams and have the competitive spirit to match, I learned that the volleyball community is one of the most supportive communities that I have been apart of. Throughout games, everyone participating and watching all constantly cheer and support each other while having fun doing it. The game, through my lens, has garnered the attention of people all over the world - both young and old. As the game continues to expand around the world, it helps bring people together and connect over something that they can remain physically active as well as be able to have fun with each other." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Coming into high school, I had never coded before. However, I was interested in learning and being able to code on my own. Although I was eager, I realized that brute force and cramming wouldn't be the answer. Therefore, I decided to try all sorts of different methods to learn code. One of the most successful for me was talking to those more experienced than me and asking them for successful methods that they used to get into coding. Some of the methods including watching videos on YouTube and simply trying it yourself. This in particular motivated me to learn more code because I was able to see all of the cool things that could be coded and the infinite capabilities that coding could have to impact the world. Through this, I was able to learn the general concepts of code and them apply them to things that I was interested in trying. Over, time as I got issues in my code, I again would consult those more experienced than me that would help direct me in the right path." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688611633445 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "yimingding0413@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Yiming", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ding", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Math/BBA DD", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fd382eee1-3c31-4a6c-99a8-2c463bbe6f78?alt=media&token=78b82df8-4de0-4ced-9715-b6753ecc3223", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My recent favorite product would be AI generation products, especially products like Chatgpt. I would be lying if I said I didn't optimize all my sentences to check grammar and synonyms in Chatgpt. Automation has become more and more relevant and the introduction to Chatgpt is a big leap as it reduces so much time that was previously wasted on things such as research, writing improvement, and idea generation. Even chatting with Chatgpt can give you the false sense that there's someone behind it, it's the ability to learn has never been shown on any other Artificial intelligence or chatbots before. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time (Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is the opportunity for education. I have always considered myself fortunate to have access to secondary and post-secondary education. The clichéd stories from my parents about walking miles to school remain relevant, given that some children in the world still struggle to access education. In impoverished neighborhoods, a child may never have the chance to attend high school and discover what awaits them in the outside world. When I watch YouTube videos depicting gang violence, it often becomes evident that lack of educational opportunities is a common factor leading individuals to resort to violence for survival." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Being an immigrant at the age of 11, I struggled to assimilate into Canadian culture and fit in. I have had negative personal experiences related to racism, bullying, and hate speech, even encountering such instances in places like police stations where I was not allowed to translate for my parents when they were involved in accidents. As a result, I have always been committed to helping new immigrants and refugees. One of my volunteer experiences took place at an organization called the Immigrant Youth Center, where I helped new immigrants and refugees find their social circles and prevent feelings of isolation in Canada. One impactful experience was when I befriended a refugee from Syria. He was the brightest person I had ever met, always stopping me to ask about any words he didn't understand. Alongside many others, we organized various events such as cooking clubs, Christmas parties, and more. Our efforts garnered over 1200 followers on Instagram as well as over 1000 attendees." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Throughout my time at Waterloo, I've always had a hard time learning concepts that are difficult and abstract. Continuously improving upon my methods, I eventually figured out the few steps that I need to take to grasp different ideas and how I motivate myself to push through. \n1. Remind myself that it is important and I will need it in the future, and by learning it now the future me will thank the present me. \n2. Read over it thoroughly about the idea and the workings behind how it works, repeat this step until I at least have a rough idea of it. \n3. Visualize this in my head, internalize that idea, and ask myself why it makes sense and how would I apply it \n4. Practice endlessly, this step could be the hardest as I often tell myself that I understood this concept and I don't need to do more practice. Truth is, one can never practice enough, especially for math.....\n5. Look back at the idea now that I have practiced it and know how it works, and compare it to the initial idea. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688145177467 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "dsramkum@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Deepika Sree", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Ramkumar", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science and Business Double Degree", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fd732b917-3242-442c-9118-6dcdf5b73c8e?alt=media&token=f6f69ad1-e0ca-424f-bfb4-90e573d3d98b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "My knowledge from IB Psychology has made me better understand the implications of the research process and shaped my approach to research. My approach to deciding which research method to use depends on several factors such as the project’s objective, access to participants, participant bias, researcher bias, and more. Thus, I prefer to use any research method that best meets the objective and reduces bias. Moreover, I recognize that a combination of different methods is often important to address aspects that a particular research method may not acknowledge. \nBy replicating different studies in the IB Psychology course, I gained expertise in experiments, interviews and participant observations. By writing a 4000 word essay regarding the downfall of an Indian empire, I gained experience in secondary research of primary and secondary sources. I continued to build my experience in secondary research by applying the market segmentation strategies I learned in my business courses. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will on campus, so my timezone will be EST/EDT." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Blood donation may seem like a simple process, yet very few Canadians donate blood and overlook the number of lives that are lost due to a lack of donors. Surprisingly, the number of people who donate blood decreases each year in Canada, risking the lives that can be saved through blood transfusions from donors. To raise awareness regarding this issue and encourage more Canadian youth to donate blood, my friend and I co-founded the organization, Project Life Bank (PLB). Through PLB, we have fundraised around $260 in support of Canadian Blood Services, collected 150+ e-cards in appreciation of safe Canadian blood donation system advocates from Blood Watch and conducted workshops regarding the marginalization of minority communities in the Canadian blood donation system. This project helped our youth audience realize the importance of blood donation in Canada, allowing them to become more active citizens of the country." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Key Club is a high school club that created a large impact on me and I am proud to have been part of a club that serves its community. As a general member of my school club, I helped my local community by taking part in volunteering events, campaigns and fundraisers. As the Lieutenant Governor, I helped different Key Clubs across Canada understand and fulfill their club objectives/responsibilities. My guidance helped these clubs operate efficiently and effectively serve their local communities. Additionally, I organized service events alongside other Lieutenant Governors, which helped me to expand my impact by serving larger communities. Although my Key Club journey was confined to high school due to the nature of the club, I am a proud Key Club Alumni member and continue to find ways to serve my community. By being a part of UW Blueprint, I hope to play an important role in developing projects that help our community!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As a Bharathanatyam dancer, I created a few techniques and tricks to improve my skills, which I wanted to share with my peers at dance class. This motivated me to develop the skill of teaching dance. Hence, I requested my instructor and became a volunteer at the studio and within a few months of being a volunteer, I was upgraded to becoming a teaching assistant at the studio. My initial approach was to strictly follow the class outlines given by my instructor, however, I was quick to learn that each dancer learned differently and I needed to be able to cater to all of their needs. Thus, I became open-minded and collaborated with the dancers to discover their individual needs. This helped me deviate from the class outlines while meeting the class objective at the end. Teaching dance was a constant learning experience for me as each dancer varied in age and level of expertise. Ultimately, I can empathize with my team members in projects and clubs, making me a better team worker." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688592976866 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "m5ghazi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Mark", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Ghazi", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Economics", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fd776cd04-eea3-4e76-a9fb-79f7c0d6a62c?alt=media&token=98356d6d-975c-4c96-8997-a8f5cf35559d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I look for inspiration in my daily life through my friends. A lot of my friends are in Computer Science, I see the amount of amazing things that they do such as creating their own games, doing capture the flag events, creating their own servers. It gives me so much inspiration because it makes me ambitious and wanting to learn even more about how I could in the future hope to have as strong of skills as they have." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "A project I've been working on was improving the networking events on behalf of a club at the University of Waterloo. Often times when students arrive at a University, they feel self-conscious and have difficulty finding a community. These networking events help students connect with others, creating long-lasting friendships and professional connections that will them in their future careers.\nNetworking events at the university were sparse, and had low attendance. To address this, I began planning out a calendar of the events that could be held, keeping a ratio of 4 events per month. Then I focused on the promotion, ensuring daily content on all their social media platforms.\nThroughout the semester I noticed an increase in attendance, participation and student satisfaction. This process taught me how to plan and maintain deadlines for a group, use different tools for social media promotion, and coordinate with different organizations in the region. ", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my time as the co-president for a club, I took on project management in order to maximize efficiency within the products we put out on social media. By managing the projects, I noticed there were a lot of issues with resource allocation and scheduling. One of the main issues I encountered was managing weekly instagram posts while having few members within our club. \nTo address this issue, I had to analyze the requirements of the projects, what our main goals were and how we could achieve them within a timely manner. After some analysis, I created a road map to ensure what our goals were while creating a plan to ensure we can keep our weekly social media posts out within a timely manner.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST (Easter Standard Time)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is helping the world achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I believe one way to achieve these goals is to help create technologies for companies, not for profits, and charities who try their best to achieve this goal. This is also a main reason why I want to work with blueprint, I want to be part of something that has strong impact in the real world, and can help the world meet its basic needs through technology." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am proud of is the University community. This community fosters so many initiatives to include and welcome anyone of any skill level. I contribute to being a part of this community by being executives within clubs and volunteering on campus. By contributing within clubs, I find myself contributing to this warm and welcoming community by leading events and contributing towards a better community on campus." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One time I learned a new skill was learning how to code on R studios, my motivation to learn it was because I knew this would benefit me in the future and wanted to make my transition as easy as possible to set me up for my future. My approach to learning this was by first doing quick searches and trying to find a good guide that would help set up a foundational basis for R-studios, but I found that looking for things through YouTube and Safari didn't really help me. I had to find an alternative so I went onto the R website, and found that they had their own guide on how to use their program, and dives into all topics from beginner to expert. This guide was really good as I figured out that they went through all of their code and explained it in a very logical way. This helped me learn to code and understand codes in a logical way, which will follow me throughout my life." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687428403027 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "nsachdeva.iv@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Neil", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sachdeva", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fda1ec101-d3d4-4437-b96a-4c94d9738fc1?alt=media&token=210eda34-ee69-4689-8f0c-a399f077ff9f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Giving up early might have prevented our team from winning. On the day of my team's robotics competition we discovered an issue with our autonomous code. The path for our robot failed to work because of the slight change in the size of the field. Since there was only two hours before the competition started, we began to feel hopeless and were willing to give up rather than embarrass ourselves. Luckily, there was a team talking about motion profiling, by mapping out the field into coordinates and traversing the robot in that manner. By this point in time the programming team had already gotten used to scraping through documentation to learn new libraries. Due to our past troubles with poor documentation we were able to tweak our code so that it could take advantage of the motion profiling features so the path would work. Although, we did not win, the fact that we were able to reach the semifinals showed us the advantage of learning how to efficiently read documentation.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Timezone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a cause that resonates with me on a multitude of levels. Specifically I am worried about how AI systems have the great potential to violate the privacy rights of individuals. As someone who was heavily invested in privacy issues, like the Edward Snowden case, I see a great potential for harm if this problem is not addressed. Additionally, I am very interested in the future capabilities for AI throughout our world, on both a technical and societal level, so ensuring these technologies are created whilst protecting the privacy rights of users sounds ideal to me. AI algorithms require a large amount of data and the collection of this data through informed consent can ensure everyone gets to live in a utopian society. A society where AI does not infringe on their right to privacy and programmers take strides to protect their rights from overreaching governments and corporations." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "The fitness community has changed the trajectory of my life for the better. Although, I initially expected the fitness community to be filled with individuals who were vain and judgmental, I was pleasantly surprised when I found that this community was filled with people willing to help everyone through their own fitness journey. Of course not everyone was amazing, but the general mentality of this community was one that always pushed you to become the best version of yourself. Being this proud of the community pushed me to try to give back to it using my technical experience is robotics and programming. I ended up creating a sensor to fix the form of users during certain injury-prone exercises, like the deadlift or squat. This sensor would alert the user if their spine was in a compromised state so that the user could correct it before serious injure. After all this community has done for me, I was happy that I could help in creating a safer environment for new lifters. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning American Sign Language (ASL) earned me a friend. It all happened when our class was getting a new student with a listening disability and to be accommodating we were heavily encouraged to learn as much ASL as we could. Initially, I had almost no motivation to learn anything more than the basics. However, this all changed once I started befriending the student and we started to connect on the same hobbies, like snowboarding and robotics. To learn ASL I would start employing it as often as I could whether I was at home or at school as I believed the only way to grasp this skill was practice. I was so motivated to be able to communicate with my friend that ASL became second nature. Although, the initial motivation was purely based of being able to communicate with my new friend, this skill has come into use later on and has helped me become the bridge between those with listening disabilities whenever I volunteered." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615885899 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "Nicole.qian.qjr@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Nicole", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Qian", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fdabd3830-ce1f-46b7-9aef-371ec1ed29e8?alt=media&token=167822b9-abae-4d0d-8533-9b525dbc82cf", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I use Pinterest, Behance, and Colorhunt. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://nicoleqian2001.github.io/My-website/\nClick on “UX Design” and then one of the images covers on the left side to enter a project.\n", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I prefer to use unmoderated interviews. I chose the unmoderated interview method since it is less prone to bias, and the observer effect--individuals acting differently when they are aware that they are being watched--does not apply. My main methods of expertise are interviews and surveys. I have experience conducting unmoderated interviews with users from various backgrounds and creating surveys. \n" - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT (Toronto time)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is designing software/products that promote sustainability. I care deeply about recycling and I always classify waste before disposal. As our world faces increasing environmental challenges, it is crucial to recycle and reduce waste. I would like to create products that raise waste classification and recycling awareness, improve recycling efficiency, or educate companies to create more sustainable products. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I was on Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at the University of Waterloo for 8 months. I volunteered as a Frontend Developer to redevelop Uganda's Center for Media Literacy and Community Development (CEMCOD)’s website using React.js from May-August 2022. I volunteered as a Lead Web Developer to implement some features (a map, some texts) using Wix.com. I'm proud to be part of EWB because it is a non-profit humanitarian organization. I got to help people from developing countries by improving their living standards and making education more accessible for them." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I discovered that my passion lay in the field of design after I took CS449-Human-Computer Interaction. From then on, I proceeded to complete Coursera's \"Google UX Design Certificate\". I choose to take this course because it offers systematic knowledge of 5 stages of design thinking processes, and user research, and I got to build 3 UX projects for my portfolio. I " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688181600309 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "b392wang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Braydon", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Wang", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fdb283c66-0973-4fb3-b283-0e0ea06e9a24?alt=media&token=684c4298-77c3-42bf-9933-1a805d9aa20e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Recently, I was assigned a task by my manager that initially seemed out of my scope. It required working through many microservices, across verticals, incorporating both frontend and backend features, and writing unit/integration tests along the way. Worse yet, I had to finish this task by the end of the sprint, and I only had about a month of experience working in the company. Despite knowing the difficulty of this, I still tried getting through as much as possible. On the first day I made no progress, I was stumped on how to even start. The next day, I knew I couldn’t do this alone, I had to ask others for help, but since this task dealt with many repos and services, I couldn’t rely on my own team. I worked cross-functionally with other engineers, designers and product managers across the company. Doing so not only helped me finish my task, but also helped me learn and make meaningful connections with people I would never have interacted with otherwise. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I'll be in Waterloo next term (EDT)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that holds a special place in my heart is promoting literacy and education to all kids around the world. Growing up, I never realized the importance of education. I didn’t even realize how privileged I was to have a proper education. As I grew older, the more I understood that education is a fundamental human right and a powerful tool for empowerment. Unfortunately, not everyone has equal access to quality education, which can limit their opportunity for growth and success. This is why I’m interested in joining UW Blueprint, as my values perfectly align with the mission of Project READ Literacy Network. This project’s commitment to empowering families in the Waterloo region with access to literacy and skills training is something I’m really passionate about. It’s not just about learning to read and write, but also to enable individuals to become active citizens in their communities and enhance their employability. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m really proud to be a part of a non-profit, youth-led organization with a purpose of bringing to light international humanitarian issues from around the world. I wanted to be a part of something that had an impact on society, and also educated those about events happening outside of the country. I joined this community as a developer and designer, and contributed by maintaining the organization’s website and creating informative posts on social media. I knew I wanted to do more, so I volunteered as a mentor and project lead, and organized remote workshops on various topics. These workshops provided a platform for young individuals to learn about the world, voice their opinion, and spread awareness to others. This experience taught me things I would never learn elsewhere, including the importance of being part of a tight-knit community. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I wanted to know more about machine learning and AI. My motivation came from the fact that everyone in the world is talking about it, but I couldn’t wrap my head around how it actually worked. My curiosity led me to enroll in a machine learning bootcamp over the summer, where I worked with other like-minded individuals and AI experts to create many small, working ML projects. My curiosity didn’t stop there. After the bootcamp, I delved deeper into certain areas like NLP and image classification, where I finally got a better understanding of how things like Chat GPT and Stable Diffusion were created. I found learning new things to be best when I get my hands dirty and start a fresh project by myself, relying only on my own knowledge and the web. I still have a lot more to learn about it, which is why I try to learn at least a new concept/feature every week, to keep my skills sharp and my curiosity going." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687635065282 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "j2492li@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jesse", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Li", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fde6c80ac-1ddb-44ea-a33d-46f221c703cb?alt=media&token=5a8250e6-c364-4a60-9287-51cb5736835b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my previous co-op term, I was introduced to Kafka, an event streaming platform. I firsthand saw the power it had to seamlessly help microservices communicate with each other. One time, there was a production issue where a clients quote details kept changing. I was relatively new to the codebase and unfamiliar with the event flows, so pinpointing the root cause initially posed a challenge. I began exploring possible business flows in the code where the bug could have originated from. After narrowing it down to a few, I then sifted through the production logs on Datadog to look for hints. Eventually I realized that multiple Kafka events were concurrently updating an object, leading to only one event's changes being recorded due to a race condition. To address this, I assigned related events the same Kafka key, ensuring they would be processed in the desired order. This experience deepened my understanding of Kafka's capabilities and enhanced my problem-solving skills.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be studying in Waterloo in the fall, so EST." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that resonates with me is giving back to the community. We all have been in situations where people have gone out of their way to help us, whether it's through education, volunteering, or mentorship, just to name a few. Seeing the transformative impact it can have on individuals and communities alike has fueled my passion to make a difference in any way that I can. I have previously volunteered at summer camps and marathons, been a TA for my local math organization and enjoy giving advice/providing mentorship whenever possible.\n\nAs a project developer, I see an opportunity to leverage my technical skills and collaborate with like-minded individuals to create innovative solutions that make a meaningful impact on those in need.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’m proud to be a part of my local hockey community. I grew up playing hockey with my local youth organization, and there I had the privilege of crossing paths with exceptional coaches, teammates, and mentors who made my experience memorable and had a profound impact on my life. As I progressed as a competitive player, I felt a strong desire to give back to the community that had shaped me. That's why I made the decision to volunteer as a house league coach. Taking on this role allowed me to guide and mentor children who found themselves in the same position I was in not too long ago. It was an incredible experience, as I not only had the opportunity to help develop their hockey skills, but more importantly, I could share valuable life lessons and foster their personal growth. It was an incredibly rewarding experience and I am happy to have been given the opportunity." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my first co-op term as a Software Developer, I had a valuable opportunity to acquire a new skill. Their codebase was written in Spring Boot, a framework I was unfamiliar with. I began by researching online for documentation and simple tutorials I could follow to build a basic Spring Boot app. Then I browsed the company’s codebase to familiarize myself with best practices, key concepts, and project structure, taking note of how they built RESTful API’s, connected to databases, and the overall application flow. Throughout this learning process, I didn't hesitate to seek guidance from more experienced developers whenever needed. Equipped with foundational knowledge, myself, along with another co-op, applied our learnings to create a simple financial document generator application using Spring Boot. \n\nThis experience taught me the importance of proactive learning, leveraging available resources, and seeking guidance whenever needed." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688176437987 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "ksivanes@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Kerushani", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Sivaneswaran", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fde6f788b-5e53-4596-9c99-6472bf294983?alt=media&token=61416a05-bbba-4d28-8ebb-1bcad0bae6fd", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I encountered a significant technical challenge while participating in the ElleHacks hackathon, where I was tasked with constructing the user interface for a website. To ensure a user-centric design, I conducted thorough user research, incorporating the gathered insights into the initial website prototype. However, when I presented the prototype to the project developer, they expressed reservations about its feasibility, highlighting a potential hurdle we faced. In response, I went through a couple of iterative design adjustments, aiming to strike a balance between functionality and visual appeal. This involved refining the formatting, spacing, and component placement to create a more practical and feasible design. Through numerous iterations, I adapted and fine-tuned the user interface, taking into account the developer's concerns and constraints. By embracing iterative processes and being open to feedback, I successfully navigated the challenge and arrived at a seamless final design.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "As a designer, I draw inspiration from the world around me and keep a close eye on current trends. I find websites and social media platforms to be valuable sources of design inspiration. By exploring various design trends showcased on these platforms, I can stay up-to-date and incorporate fresh ideas into my work. In particular, my social media feed has become attuned to my search for design inspiration. It consistently presents me with helpful and cool posts related to Figma tips and tricks, which I find incredibly beneficial. I make a conscious effort to absorb and retain this knowledge, storing it in the back of my mind to be utilized in future projects." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Although I do not have a portfolio, here are some links to projects I have worked on. \nGather & Grow: https://devpost.com/software/gather-grow\nPractice website: https://kerushani.github.io/recipes/\nFigma-made blog cover pictures: https://www.nrx.com/author/ksivaneswaran/", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Next term, I will be based in Eastern Standard Time." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Period poverty and menstrual equity are causes that deeply resonate with me. Sadly, this topic often remains hidden due to societal taboos, leading to silent suffering, particularly among marginalized communities. It may come as a surprise that even in Canada, one in four menstruators face having to make the choice between buying menstrual products or meeting basic needs like food and rent. While the government has taken steps to address the problem, such as providing free menstrual products to school-age students, it is clear that these initiatives serve as temporary solutions rather than comprehensive systemic changes." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I was privileged to be a member of Bleed the North, a non-profit organization committed to addressing period poverty and advocating for policy changes to achieve menstrual equity. As an advocacy, writing, and social media coordinator, my responsibilities were diverse and impactful. I engaged with community stakeholders, discussing potential actions to address the issue, while also creating informative blogs and educational content. Additionally, I developed engaging social media content to raise awareness and foster dialogue. Furthermore, I contributed to the logistical aspects of our biannual events, including speaker coordination, brochure development, and overall event planning. Marketing initiatives, such as campaign creation, slogan development, and content design, were also part of my role. Although Bleed the North is currently on a hiatus, I am eager to continue developing valuable skills through my courses, co-op experiences, and extracurricular involvement, like Blueprint." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my co-op term as a technical writer and marketing specialist, I seized the opportunity to acquire new skills by learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In my role, I often found myself responsible for website layout changes and incorporating new elements into the company's site. As I performed these tasks regularly, I began to contemplate the possibility of creating a website entirely on my own. Motivated by this idea, I started a personal project to build a website from scratch, which proved to be a fulfilling experience as I witnessed the tangible results of a functional product. To gain proficiency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, I turned to various online resources such as the Odin Project and YouTube tutorials. These platforms provided me with the necessary knowledge and guidance to navigate the intricacies of development. By leveraging these resources and investing time and effort, I successfully expanded my skill set." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688587443149 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "s3rahman@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sadiq", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Rahman", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fde6fbf7f-a4a5-4f19-a15a-4e7099e9d0ff?alt=media&token=f33dede4-f76f-49e3-a6dd-18df792e1c40", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my programming course in 1A, I found immense pleasure in tackling the various projects assigned to us. Admittedly, each project initially presented a daunting challenge, leaving me utterly perplexed and disoriented. However, through repeated readings of the manuals, engaging in discussions with my friends, and gradually grasping the requirements, I started to decode the tasks line by line. As I completed the first segment of each project, a surge of satisfaction and delight coursed through me, fueling my motivation to persevere and bring the entire project to fruition. The primary obstacle for me lay in comprehending how to commence and discerning the essence of the task at hand. To surmount this hurdle, I diligently utilized the resources available to me, ultimately igniting the momentum required to achieve success and complete the projects.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I find great satisfaction in utilizing a combination of platforms such as YouTube and trustworthy sources obtained through Google when engaging in research activities. Additionally, I occasionally delve into Reddit, where I can connect with fellow students and like-minded individuals to gather their perspectives on the subject at hand. Although my primary approach leans toward relying on credible sources available through Google, I appreciate the abundance of information they offer. Furthermore, the convenience of reading through textual information often surpasses the time commitment involved in watching an entire video. However, I must acknowledge the value of videos, especially when they incorporate visual aids like diagrams and images, which greatly enhance comprehension. Personally, videos tend to be more captivating and enjoyable to watch which is why I lean towards them sometimes. These methods constitute my preferred methods of research." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time. I will be in Ontario." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Islamophobia is a cause that holds significant personal meaning to me. As someone who grew up Muslim and has recently developed a close bond with the Muslim community, I have experienced love, appreciation, and respect in countless ways. This community embodies care and compassion, making it feel as if everyone is part of one big family. \n\nI recall a recent encounter at my residence where a new friend approached me after recognizing my religious attire. We shared a meal, discussed our school lives, and opened up about our aspirations for the future. In no time, this person became a trusted confidant, someone with whom I could discuss anything. \n\nIt saddens and deeply upsets me when Islam is wrongly associated with \"terrorists.\" The people I have encountered within the Islamic faith are some of the most remarkable individuals I have ever met. Therefore, fighting against Islamophobia has become one of my core values and causes and I am determined to advocate for it for as long as I live." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am immensely grateful to be a part of the Muslim community, where I am surrounded by respectful, kind, talented, and inspiring individuals. Together, we navigate the journey of life, supporting one another like a united team. Joining the UW MSA as a volunteer and member of the Tech Team was initially nerve-wracking, but the experiences, relationships, and sense of family have made it all worthwhile.\n\nIn the current term, I have expanded my involvement by becoming a volunteer, aiming to enhance the community's experience through event setup and improvements. By lightening the workload and striving for excellence, I am committed to making a positive impact on fellow students. Being part of this community fills me with pride, and I am grateful for the opportunities to grow and contribute to its flourishing environment." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During the lockdown, I immersed myself in the intricate world of League of Legends, initially feeling overwhelmed by its complexities. However, the joy of playing with friends and gradually improving motivated me to seek guidance from YouTube videos and professional players. With consistent practice, I achieved remarkable progress, now ranking among the top 1% of players. This seemingly trivial mastery of a video game has taught me that with determination and enjoyment, even seemingly insignificant pursuits can lead to incredible achievements.\n\nMy experience in League of Legends has shown me the power of perseverance, finding joy in the process, and being supported by a community. It serves as a reminder that regardless of the endeavor, personal growth and accomplishment are possible when we wholeheartedly commit ourselves." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687327599114 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "tqiu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Tony", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Qiu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Management Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fdf047a85-a2ce-4f89-a966-8786890f1cdc?alt=media&token=95d0d5aa-f89e-41a8-ae60-561c287b2fb3", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Developing a data table component in React was a demanding but rewarding challenge. The project required decisions for each functionality: should they be internal or external to the component? For instance, indexing was kept external, while deletion and sorting (ascending and descending) for each property, and item-based logic, were integrated within.\n\nThe approach chosen for each feature influenced other aspects of the data table. To address this, I brainstormed all potential approaches for complex features. Each was then trialed and checked off to prevent repeated work.\n\nA pivotal decision was to keep all searching and indexing external to the component, instead focusing on managing the data passed as a prop internally. This choice significantly simplified the overall project, making it a useful experience in strategic problem-solving.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "As a product designer specializing in web design, I view every design in the world as a learning opportunity. This learning is particularly abundant in our day-to-day lives. Because of this belief, I pay attention to any design on a 2D surface. For instance, I look at the design choices evident in Discord, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitch, as well as in physical mediums like book covers, brochures, billboards, and promotional cardboard cutouts.\n\nOne of the key lessons I've gained from drawing inspiration from my everyday surroundings is that consumers subconsciously discern whether a brand is attempting to misrepresent its true nature. Typically, a successful brand is self-aware, cognizant of its reputation and current status, and doesn't strive to masquerade as something it's not. For instance, successful local cafes don't attempt to mimic the websites of multinational coffeehouse chains; their authenticity is integral to their brand." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://tonyqiu.ca/", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "UTC -5 / Eastern Standard Time (EST)\n\nToronto" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Reducing single-use plastics and switching to biodegradable packaging is a cause that deeply resonates with me. The convenience of single-use plastics has long led to serious environmental consequences. Plastic waste clogs waterways pollutes landscapes, and threatens wildlife. Furthermore, it does not biodegrade and can persist for hundreds of years. Biodegradable packaging offers a viable solution to this crisis. It decomposes naturally, returning to the environment without leaving harmful residues. The transition to such sustainable alternatives would significantly reduce plastic pollution, aiding in the preservation of ecosystems. Hence, advocating for and adopting the use of biodegradable packaging and decreasing reliance on single-use plastics is an urgent necessity. It's a cause that not only affects the environment but also our future generations." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am extremely proud to be part of a local garbage cleanup group in Pickering. Our purpose extends beyond the simple act of picking up litter—it's about fostering a sense of community pride, environmental responsibility, and a shared commitment to preserving our hometown's beauty.\n\nMy contributions involve organizing the weekly cleanup drives, rallying community members, and spreading awareness through social media platforms. We've expanded our efforts by introducing waste management education in local schools, inspired by the belief that change can start with the younger generation.\n\nNot only have we succeeded in making our community cleaner, but we have also seen the tangible effects of our work in sparking conversations around waste reduction and recycling. The impact has been significant, and I am humbly proud to have played a part in that." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One day, I found myself intrigued by the strategic depths of chess. It's an ancient game that has captured millions of minds worldwide, which sparked my interest. I was fascinated by its mix of strategy, tactics, and critical thinking. The ultimate motivator was the intellectual challenge it offered and my desire to exercise my mind in new ways.\n\nI approached learning chess systematically. I started by understanding the basic rules and the roles of each piece. Then, I used online tutorials and chess apps to delve deeper into strategies and tactics. I played against computer opponents initially, which gradually increased my confidence and understanding of the game. To learn from real-life scenarios, I started watching professional chess matches, following along with their moves and the analysis provided, and over time, my skills improved.\n\nLearning chess was a fulfilling experience, showing me that with the right motivation and systematic approach, I could conquer the complex game." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688598198205 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "a2rakin@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Abrar", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Rakin", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe0e19f9f-25b0-4525-89d5-d62912c75b58?alt=media&token=5c8da63c-39c8-43ce-926e-2f5fb226b978", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is the Wealthsimple app. \n\nI had been wanting to get into stocks and crypto trading for a long time, but I remember getting overwhelmed by all the charts and statistics on my friend’s trading app. The sheer overwhelm prevented me from trying out trading for a long time. It was not until I came to Canada and discovered Wealthsimple that I started my journey in crypto and stocks - I absolutely fell in love with the user interface given how intuitive it was. Even a beginner like me felt like he knew what he was doing. Additionally, I am really fond of the feature that allows users to auto-invest their earned dividends into their respective stocks. This way I do not have to always manually keep track of these dividends and re-invest.\n\nIn terms of improving the product, Wealthsimple can:\n\na) Bring in more cryptos frequently.\nb) Tap into markets outside Canada.\nc) Use AI to suggest trendy stocks and cryptos to users." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "10", - "role": "VP Product" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Product", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Easter Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "My first year of university was online due to COVID, and learning online was not easy. Especially in my core courses where I had to learn advanced calculus, pointers, memory management, discrete mathematics, etc., I used to struggle because there were no live lectures, very few pre-recorded videos, and to make things even worse, I did not have many friends either since everything was online. All these difficulties made me compassionate towards my fellow students and my juniors - I wanted to make education accessible and easy for all. That made me build WatTube and hexa - both projects aimed at helping students from all levels study and prepare for their exams. Additionally, I also made several group chats so that people do not feel isolated and without support, especially in these hard times. The community is still growing; we don’t want our juniors to go through the same struggles as us." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In Bangladesh, it’s rare to find students in high school with a solid knowledge of programming. The culture there is to focus just on the academic subjects, and Computer Science is not offered as one in Bangladesh. This means students do not have the opportunity to sufficiently explore the field of Computer Science, and students who do choose Computer Science as their major in university, do not know if it is truly for them. I was in the same shoes, and so, just before graduating from high school, I founded the school’s first programming club where we welcomed people from all schools around the country. The club quickly gathered hundreds of members, to whom we taught programming and motivated them to participate in olympiads. I also organized the school’s largest programming contest with over 200 participants. Still today, many juniors have been thankful towards me for helping them explore Computer Science and pursue their passion." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In my last internship, just few days before the launch of our product, I was assigned a task that required the use of GraphQL. I was completely new to GraphQL and the task had several other components too in addition to the GraphQL part. The task initially seemed a little overwhelming to me. I divided up the task and planned out an approach (keeping a buffer day in hand) that would let me finish my task within the allotted deadline. The size of the task and the tight deadline meant that I had to quickly learn GraphQL. When learning any new technology or a skill, my approach is to get hands-on as quickly as possible. I went straight to the documentation and went through the quick start guide. After learning the theories and going through the examples in the documentation, I played around with several GraphQL queries on Insomnia. Within the first day,I had a good grasp of GraphQL fundamentals. Soon, I was able to complete the GraphQL part, and then the entire task, within the given time." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688129922616 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "j47wen@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Wingchee", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Wen", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Economics with Finance Specialization ", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe1429db7-a6e9-45f8-a0ef-9f046ca26e50?alt=media&token=060b21df-1deb-4ef5-9a95-7f5f087e054d", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I haven't had much exposure to technical problems regarded as challenging, but I did encounter a problem in my Econometrics 2 (ECON 323) course, where I could not find the path of the data file. I need to tell Stata the path in order to import the data file. I solved this by starting the assignment in advance. so I could show the TA my computer screen in person at the tutorial, where he taught me how to trace the file's path right away. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based out of the Eastern Time Zone next term. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is assisting the less fortunate, who would otherwise feel lonely and despair, by providing emotional support, technical support, etc. (excluding direct financial support). " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am part of the enTECH community - enTECH is another WUSA club that provides technical support to seniors on a 1-to-1 basis. I contribute to this club by being one of the technical volunteers, where I talk with the seniors over the phone or email and help them no longer feel frustrated/helpless with their technical issues (because we resolved it). I also actively contribute to the club on an executive level since September 2021. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned the new skill of Stata (Programming language), which has become my favourite programming language, in my ECON 323 class (Econometrics 2). I was motivated to learn it, because I gained satisfaction from being able to clean datasets with over 50,000 entry rows and perform regressions to solve real-world research study questions. My approach to learning this language is to actively ask the TA questions at the weekly tutorial and through email, like when we can use the command/function. I also like to google examples of how to use a function. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615911724 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "e2ghafoo@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Erfan", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ghafoori", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe2530978-7d02-441c-be6b-6ee2fd0f107c?alt=media&token=0b9e257c-c29f-4c53-819c-f6b46dbd14cf", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "In my daily life, there are a couple of places that provide inspiration for me. One of the main things that inspire me is seeing emerging and innovative tech being made all around the world. I like to read through posts on YCombinator Hacker News and look through Product Hunt to find the interesting things that others are building. I'm pretty interested in entrepreneurship and seeing these posts drives me to act more on my ideas. In terms of other places where I find inspiration, I'm very into film and tv and as a result, I do find that I get a good amount of inspiration from seeing a solid movie or show. I find films are really good reflections of society and what the world is like from the time that the film is made. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1obthS3qxiLMqa-4QshOTKSO3AHaDLMTh/view?usp=sharing\nPathcha was a research project that I got to work on with a pathology doctor and a developer. This project was essentially a web app that simplified the process of learning how to detect cancer within images for undergraduate students. I worked with the doctor to figure out ways that this learning process can become more intuitive and we essentially ended up working on a captcha sort of system for pathology images. The second project is a graphical user interface for a hardware product that I worked on. By working on these projects, I learned a lot about the process of designing software. In particular, I learned about how to take what the stakeholders wanted out of a product and convert this vision into a Figma design. I also learned how to compromise in terms of my designs and that what I think is the best design might not necessarily be the best for the particular product.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Mobile", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "​​A challenging problem that I worked on was at my last internship at onsemi where I was working on establishing a component library and also implementing a redesign of the interface. The most challenging part of this was deciding what entails a component. In order to do this efficiently I had to look through critically at the figma files for redesigns and look for components that were relatively similar and introduce each of these as components. I also had to look at the frontend codebase and find all the places where repetitive frontend end code was being used and use the newly written components. There were some components that were much more difficult to solve such as the responsive user input components (spinboxes, switches, buttons) as these user inputs did not react to states (error, warning) and this was a feature that needed to be added. In order to solve this I had to look into the documentation for these user input components and overwrite them with custom ones.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based out of the Eastern timezone (EST)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Recently, I've become very moved by the Women Life Freedom movement that is going on in Iran. As someone that was born in Iran and with a lot of family still there, this cause means a lot to me. The movement is mostly involved with protesting the violation of human rights that occur in Iran such as executions for political prisoners, freedom of expression, political freedoms. (something as simple as just honking your horn during a protest is enough grounds for an Iranian officers to kill protesters) Ever since the start of this movement, I've been very involved with the movement by attending weekly protests in Toronto and Waterloo in support of the ongoing movement that is going on in Iran. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am a part of that I am proud of is Tirgan. Tirgan is a nonprofit organization that hosts cultural Persian events in Toronto. I've been involved in this organization as a volunteer before at their Summer Tirgan Festival. I'm proud to be a part of this community as this is one of the only organizations that works on letting people of other cultures learn more about Persian culture. As a volunteer, I've helped attendees of the festival find the locations of the events that they are looking for and explained to attendees what the events are all about. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Recently, I've become quite interested in animation and drawing digitally. I was always pretty interested in these topics and in high school, I even delved into flash animations for a little bit but as I came to university, I pretty much didn't touch anything animation related for a couple of years. During my last study term, I was looking into hobbies that I can take up that are less technical in nature as I felt like too much of my time was being spent on coding/software engineering. So, I picked up drawing again. I've been taking this hobby pretty seriously at this point and I've been learning a lot through creators on YouTube. Through these creators on YouTube, I have also been fortunate to find a couple of really good books about animation that I have started looking into. In order to improve my skills in animating and drawing, I have been allotting blocks of time to work on animations. Also, to hold myself accountable, at the end of each week, I reflect on what I've worked on." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688104302838 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "r3abdulr@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Rami", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Abdul Rahim", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe362eb57-7baf-4422-a769-bb6e0460af91?alt=media&token=19e12a30-c72c-4db7-a612-fb7e3b8d29fe", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I start by clearing my mind of the obvious and sketching all the initial ideas I have which helps in opening up space for innovative ideas. I also focus on competition, diving into their user reviews both good and bad. These reviews offer precious insights into user needs and preferences, guiding my design decisions in what to avoid and what to implement. I further explore online platforms like Behance and Dribbble, as well as the app store. These provide a wealth of real-world designs, showcasing current trends and unique solutions. By analyzing these designs, I understand how they meet user needs. This blend of clearing my mind, analyzing competition, and studying real-world designs usually helps with getting a continuous flow of new ideas." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://medium.com/@Simran.Rajpal/actio-supporting-fitness-scheduling-64374f5b4f1a\n\nThe project above involved the development of a fitness scheduling app called Actio. Actio aimed to provide users with a streamlined approach to scheduling and tracking their fitness activities. Throughout the project, I successfully applied user-centered design methodologies by conducting extensive user research, developing user personas, creating wireframes, and building a low-fidelity as well as a high-fidelity prototype using Figma. \n\nThroughout this project, I learned the importance of user research, which uncovers key insights and informs design solutions. Throughout the process of coming up with mock-ups and sketches and wireframes, it really drove home the idea of how iterative the design process is which is usually based on user research and gaining feedback from the users. There is a lot that I learned from the project, but definitely not enough to cover in this small textbox.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "ET (Will be based in Waterloo/Toronto)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is the Palestinian struggle for justice and freedom from colonial occupation. This issue, I believe, stands as one of the most significant examples of anti-colonial resistance in the contemporary world, and my stance is heavily informed by a strong belief in human rights and the right of every people to live free from the infringements of oppressive and colonial rule.\n\nPalestine has shaped my dedication to standing against oppression and inequality. Similarly, the historical and ongoing struggles of Indigenous communities in Canada have further solidified these beliefs. The global prevalence of systemic oppression, rooted in colonialism, emphasizes the fight against injustice as borderless and interconnected. These experiences instilled a commitment to advocating for marginalized communities worldwide, defining my role as a proactive advocate for equity, justice, and human rights. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I have been deeply involved in activism centered around the Palestine cause. Recognizing the necessity of a platform for this cause on my campus, I took the initiative to revive a Palestine solidarity club at the University of Waterloo. This student-led organization is dedicated to advocating for peace, justice, and freedom for Palestine. Over the last couple months I have been deeply involved in setting up the club, recruiting people to help me out, and laying the foundation for what we hope to achieve.\n\nOur activities are diverse and purposefully designed to foster understanding and solidarity. We are planning awareness campaigns, peaceful demonstrations, speaker series, and film screenings. These initiatives are intended to shine a light on the rich Palestinian culture and history, while simultaneously raising awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by Palestinians due to Israeli settler colonialism and occupation." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I was motivated to learn React to easily build websites and manifest countless ideas I have which created a strong sense of empowerment. Utilizing the vast online resources, I decided to start off by watching YouTube tutorials, which provided a visual and practical way to grasp the concepts. Simultaneously, I began reading the React documentation to get a more in-depth and structured understanding of the library.\n\nAs I progressed with the tutorials and documentation, I felt it was time to get my hands dirty. I've always been a big fan of the 'learn by doing' method. So, I embarked on creating my own projects, starting with simple ones and gradually moving on to more complex applications.\n\nEvery new project presented its own set of challenges, and with each challenge overcome, my knowledge and skill set expanded. I sought help from the online community when I hit roadblocks, learning to debug and improve my code through constructive feedback." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688610467190 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3B in Fall 2023", - "email": "zraeid@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Zafir", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Raeid", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe3868386-b43b-448b-a41a-67b38ed43288?alt=media&token=2b4720e3-3937-4c27-a09b-53e54976f937", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "One of my favourite products is the Tesla Model S electric car. I find it to be a remarkable combination of cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and sleek design. The Model S showcases the advancements in electric vehicle engineering, offering impressive performance and an extended range. Its innovative features like Autopilot, over-the-air software updates, and the large touchscreen interface enhance the overall driving experience. Moreover, Tesla's commitment to accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation aligns with my values and passion for leveraging technology for social and environmental impact." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "As the VP Project Scoping, I assess whether a non-profit's goals resonate with Blueprint by considering the following factors:\n\nMission Alignment: I review their mission statement and values to ensure they align with Blueprint's mission of leveraging technology for social impact.\n\nImpact and Community Focus: I evaluate the scale and significance of their impact on the community they serve, focusing on addressing critical needs.\n\nCollaboration Potential: I assess their openness to collaboration and willingness to work closely with Blueprint's team.\n\nTechnology Alignment: I analyze their technology needs and determine if Blueprint's services can effectively support their goals.\n\nLong-term Sustainability: I consider their commitment to long-term sustainability and growth in driving positive change.\n\nBy evaluating these factors, I identify non-profits whose goals align with Blueprint's mission and values, ensuring impactful and sustainable partnerships." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One cause that deeply resonates with me is promoting access to education for underprivileged communities. I believe education is transformative and can break the cycle of poverty. I have volunteered, tutored, and fundraised to provide resources and support to marginalized students. In high school in Bangladesh, I actively visited underprivileged communities to connect with them and teach children various subjects, from Math to Science. Additionally, I organized workshops and campaigns to raise awareness and advocate for education equity. I am wholeheartedly committed to a future where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive through education and contribute to making the world a better place." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As a passionate advocate for product/UX design, I am proud to be a part of UW/UX at UWaterloo. This community brings together peers who are enthusiastic about UI/UX. I have contributed to the community through multiple initiatives as a Logistics Project Manager and Podcast Director.\n\nI launched a new project program to give aspiring designers at our university the opportunity to gain UI/UX experience and hone their skills through collaborative design challenges, providing them with a platform to showcase creativity.\n\nI am heavily involved in cross-club workshop planning for multiple events like Blueprint Night, aimed at promoting the design community and providing participants with practical knowledge.\n\nI am currently in the process of launching a podcast, where I am responsible for content planning, outreach, and episode production. We believe this podcast will give the design community at UWaterloo the chance to listen to experiences and have their unanswered questions addressed." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Driven by my passion for creating mobile applications and games, I delved into Android development through immersive tutorials and project-based learning. I embraced a hands-on approach, following online tutorials to understand the workflow and gain proficiency in Android Studio, Java/Kotlin, and essential components. I stayed abreast of industry trends, sought feedback from developers, and honed my skills through internships at Siemens, Wattpad, and Ford. This comprehensive approach enabled me to swiftly grasp the essentials and craft user-friendly mobile applications." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687368108890 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "n3bajwa@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Product", - "firstName": "Nivriti", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "B", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe387a0c2-88a3-4318-8b05-283034ea73c0?alt=media&token=29c32448-6979-4e30-b22a-6e83b96bb2ef", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "10", - "role": "VP Product" - }, - { - "id": "11", - "role": "VP Talent" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Talent", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Bridging the digital divide and enabling universal access to technology is a cause that I strongly identify with. Technology has a big impact on many parts of our life in today's world of expanding connectivity, from communication and education to access to vital services and information. But not everyone has access to technology equally, and this difference can worsen social and economic disparities. People still use outdated flip phones in the slums of my home country, India, demonstrating the gap in technology between Western and other countries around the globe. The idea that ensuring everyone has access to necessities, particularly technology, originates from the idea that technology can empower people and communities and enhance their quality of life in a variety of ways. I have always believed that technology can be a vehicle for education, creativity, economic opportunity, and social inclusion when it is widely available and reasonably priced. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As a passionate ambassador for women's empowerment, I am really proud to be a member of the Girls Empowerment Movement (GEMS) as the Programmes & Initiatives Coordinator. Through GEMS, I have helped develop girls' leadership skills and promote gender equality by empowering them through planning workshops, mentorship programmes, and cooperative collaborations with women who are making a difference in our community. I have also increased awareness about menstrual equity, helped lead a campaign where we donated $10000 worth of menstrual supplies, and sparked positive change as a former Regional Ambassador for Girl Up Brampton. Contributing to these communities, where girls thrive, tear down obstacles, and develop into self-assured leaders, is an honour for me. Not only am I proud of my contributions in the past but also hope to be an active participant in the future. I firmly believe that together, we help to create a world that is more diverse and equitable.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I started making my Twitter Bot, I realized Python was the way to go. Although Python was not extensively taught in my academic curriculum, I recognized its significance for this particular project and was motivated to acquire proficiency in it. I started by setting clear goals as to where I wanted to be in a few weeks. This provided me with a sense of direction and purpose, which motivated me to dive into the learning process. I relied on various online sources like PluralSight, CodeAcademy, and YouTube channels dedicated to teaching Python's fundamentals. Since practical experience is equally important, I started developing my bot on the side having acquired as much knowledge as possible. I committed to consistent practice to reinforce my Python skills on platforms like Leetcode. This experience not only demonstrated my ability to proactively learn new technologies outside of formal education but also showcased my adaptability and determination. I was proud of myself. \n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688141033290 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "msikka@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Finance & Operations", - "firstName": "Malavika", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Sikka", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Honors Mathematics", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe6d8ff43-d07b-4291-a3d2-47f183a179aa?alt=media&token=fa5612f4-629b-4456-bcbd-3168ce8d044a", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "13", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?", - "response": "There are certain ways I would follow/suggest to create the sponsorship pitch to external organizations as persuasive such as clearly communicating how the opportunity aligns with their goals while emphasizing benefits like visibility and ROI. Showcasing past successes, offering data-driven analysis of potential reach and target audience demographics, positioning it as an attractive partner worthy of investment would support in gaining interests towards our goals. Another important aspect is to tailor packages to the sponsor’s needs as it would show flexibility and a willingness to collaborate on mutually beneficial terms and can go a long way in securing partnerships. Also, providing transparency in metrics is vital in demonstrating how we measure and report the impacts. All this while, by build a personal relationship with potential sponsors an engaging in direct interactions with them, we can increase the likelihood of securing a sponsorship." - } - ], - "role": "VP Finance & Operations" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "Collecting qualitative data from our research is very crucial and thus various methods that I prefer bringing into action include building one-to-one interactions such as conducting user interviews to delve deeply into users' experiences, behaviors, and attitudes. Running surveys to collect quantitative data from a broader user base, allows for a more extensive assessment of user preferences and trends by providing valuable statistical information. Another vital method is usability testing, where we observe users interacting with the product or interface, enabling us to identify usability issues and areas for improvement. Additionally, user behavior and engagement can be analyzed through user analytics to further comprehend user interactions and preferences. \nReflecting on my experience in the field of secondary research and data analysis, I would consider the methods of secondary research as an area of expertise for me.\n" - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "My availability is flexible. Therefore, I can work in any time zone that aligns with the requirements of blueprint for the next term. I am adaptable and can accommodate different time zones to ensure efficient collaboration and support for the organization's objectives during that period.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me deeply is the importance of equality, social justice, and inclusivity. I strongly believe in supporting the rights and well-being of marginalized communities since I'm witnessing the challenges faced by them including seniors and mentally disabled individuals (while volunteering for The Earth Saviours Foundation). It drives my dedication to create a more equitable and inclusive society where everyone has equal opportunities and their voices are heard." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As a social worker at The Earth Saviours Foundation, I'm proud to be part of a community focused on residents' well-being and development. I coordinate with the administrative team to meet their needs promptly, ensuring a supportive environment. While researching for Noise Pollution policies, I propose NGO-level interventions for a healthier living environment. Embracing the 'Do Not Honk' Campaign, I raise awareness among residents and stakeholders. I study the village economy and suggest sustainable measures for improved livelihoods and resource preservation. Additionally supporting fundraising, I engage donors to benefit both residents and the organization. Working as a social worker at The Earth Saviours Foundation, it has been a journey filled with purpose and fulfilment. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a community that prioritizes the welfare of its residents and continuously strives for positive change." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I first came to Canada, I realized that I had limited knowledge of Computer Science and various programming languages. Unlike some of my peers who were already well-versed in these subjects from their high school education, I found myself at a disadvantage and recognized the importance of improving my skills in this area. \nMy motivation to learn such programming languages stemmed from the desire to enhance my academic performance, broaden my career prospects, and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving technological landscape. I understood that these skills were becoming increasingly valuable in the job market, and I wanted to be well-equipped to pursue various opportunities in the field of technology.\nTo approach this learning journey, I sought out online resources to familiarize myself with coding languages, dedicated consistent time and effort to practice coding daily and took help from my professors and peers for guidance.\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688411520586 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "amashru@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Aadhyaaa", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Mashru", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science ", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe80e46ed-989d-4cae-8ee5-29d92b64bdf8?alt=media&token=4fa050a4-ae17-4664-9eee-5fd31687ff92", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "While working on a web dev project, I encountered a perplexing bug that was causing unexpected behavior in the program. Certain inputs were producing incorrect outputs, leading to data inconsistencies and errors. To identify the root cause of this issue, I decided to take an approach focused on writing thorough tests. I began by reviewing the existing test suite and noticed that it didn't cover the specific scenarios where the bug was occurring. This indicated a potential blind spot in the testing process. I started by creating new test cases that replicated the problematic inputs reported by users. By meticulously examining the inputs, I identified patterns and potential edge cases that could trigger the bug. I designed test scenarios to cover these cases, making sure to include a wide range of inputs and variations. Next, I executed the newly created tests and carefully observed the output. This process allowed me to narrow down the conditions under which the bug manifested. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "To assess whether a non-profit's goals resonate with Blueprint, we must delve into their mission, values, and initiatives. Analyzing their core objectives and comparing them to Blueprint's vision is essential. Additionally, examining the non-profit's focus areas, past projects, and impact on the community can shed light on alignment. Collaborative opportunities can enhance collective efforts, while transparency and accountability ensure responsible practices. Evaluating values, ethics, and seeking feedback from past partners helps determine resonance. By considering these factors, I can identify non-profits that share their commitment to social change and responsible impact, paving the way for meaningful partnerships and collaborative endeavors." - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be in my 2A study term, this fall. Hence, I would be based in Waterloo. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Back in my home country, I lived by the motto \"Service Before Self,\" which perfectly aligns with your noble cause. I led a foundation dedicated to providing education and vocational skills to underprivileged children, aiming to empower those who lacked the opportunities we often took for granted. Initially, I focused on education, recognizing its transformative power. Soon we were a team of CHANGEMAKERS. We realized that these children lacked access to labs, hindering their understanding of scientific concepts. To bridge this gap, we organized Science Fairs, offering them hands-on learning experience. \nAs I consider applying, I recognize that my skills may not match the accomplishments of other brilliant minds. However, my deep passion and unwavering commitment make me confident in my ability to contribute meaningfully to society. I am wholeheartedly prepared to embark on this journey, driven by the belief that through education and dedication, we can create a brighter future for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "The foundation I am privileged to work with has fostered an unbreakable bond among its members. Recently, we introduced the \"Each One Teach One\" scheme to ensure our personal pursuits didn't overshadow our commitment to the foundation's cause. Under this initiative, every student we have taught takes on the responsibility of mentoring two younger students, creating a chain of knowledge sharing.\n\nI firmly believe in the law of karma, some people even refer to it as Newton's third law. It states that every action carries an equal and opposite reaction. Giving back to society is not a mere favour but an obligation we hold. We embrace the notion that it is our duty to contribute to the betterment of our community and make a positive impact. By fulfilling our duty, we acknowledge the value of the resources bestowed upon us. It is only through actively utilizing these resources for the betterment of others that we truly make a meaningful use of them.\nweblink: https://aadhyaaafoundation.com/" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During a previous project, I embarked on learning the Agile framework and using JIRA as a project management tool. My motivation was to improve our team's efficiency, collaboration, and project delivery. To begin, I familiarized myself with the principles and practices of Agile, understanding its iterative and collaborative approach. Recognizing the benefits it could bring, I researched JIRA extensively, exploring its features and capabilities. I then took an active role in implementing Agile methodologies within our team. I facilitated discussions to define user stories, prioritized tasks, and created sprints in JIRA. By configuring custom workflows and utilizing JIRA's boards, I visualized the progress of tasks, ensuring transparency and facilitating communication. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688583080484 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "aserhan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Aman", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Serhan", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe8a2dd16-b52b-42a3-8711-1b9d146edfc3?alt=media&token=19414f31-c1d1-4eb2-8e93-24ea04df8e56", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "My biggest sources of inspiration are the designs that I remember. In daily life, we interact with so many different environments, products, objects, systems, processes, etc. Some of them, we interact with and immediately forget because there wasn’t anything that stood out to us. The remaining designs stick with us, either because we liked them so much or because we disliked them. Those are the things from which I get my inspiration. It’s either a standard I want to work towards or something I want to look at with a more critical eye and learn from.\nIn terms of things I design for personal use, I get a lot of inspiration from my culture, which is rich in beautiful and meaningful patterns and visuals. I believe that the best things we make are ones that have a special meaning to us and can be shared and enjoyed with the people around us. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Link to my portfolio: https://lucky-mochi-40c.notion.site/Design-Portfolio-Aman-Serhan-19bc7e0f6af64807ab06f62f38c518d3\nMy portfolio contains designs from the various tools I’ve learned over the years. I want to highlight the Spotify redesign project that I did using Figma. I’ve used Figma in the past for side projects and internship work, but I recently started digging deeper into it. I wanted to create a new project from scratch to showcase my interest and my ability to learn quickly. I conducted user interviews with friends and classmates to identify their main issues with the Spotify Web Player design, and then I created a wireframe that addressed these issues and added more simplicity to the pages. Due to time constraints caused by midterms, co-op search, and other commitments, I chose to stick with a lower-fidelity design, but I would be more than happy to provide more work samples during the application process if needed.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I have the most experience with user interviews. Through design courses and side projects, I’ve gotten the opportunity to plan and conduct interviews and see first-hand what is required to get valid and insightful data. Something I am fascinated by is looking at different types of questions and assessing their quality, especially in terms of eliminating bias in our phrasing and the effect that has on users’ answers.\nI am also very interested in contextual inquiry because it’s a great way to get into the user’s environment and catch all the nuances of their behaviors/preferences that the user might miss in an interview setting. I'd love to get more hands-on experience with this type of research.\nOverall, user experience research is a really interesting topic to me as a Systems Design Engineering student, and I look forward to applying more of these concepts in class and potentially while working with Blueprint." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Toronto" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is the Palestinian cause. I am originally from Palestine, and I was raised to be proud of where I come from. I am always working to shed light on the Palestinian plight and advocate for change. In high school, I was elected to the position of Service Prefect, a student government role centered around promoting service learning and activities. I used my platform to shed light on various social issues, including the Palestinian plight. I added a Palestinian novel to the Grade 12 English curriculum and organized a school-wide fundraiser that raised thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid for Gaza. I also hosted a few educational seminars. By the time I graduated, the community was much better educated about this cause. Upon starting at Waterloo, I looked for ways to continue my service-learning journey, which is why I am applying to Blueprint. I am also currently in the process of starting a Palestinian student group at UW with a couple of other students." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be part of the Muslim community. Through adding two books to the curriculum, planning holiday celebrations, and hosting guest speaker events, I spent my first 3 years of high school effecting real change for the Muslim community at my school. It culminated in my senior year when I realized that I am graduating soon, and I needed to build capacity for these initiatives to continue. So I started the Muslim Students Association. I assembled and trained a passionate team of younger students to take over. I worked with them on all our initiatives, including the curriculum project, our Ramadan celebrations, and educational events. As the founder and president of the group, I organized, mentored, inspired, and oversaw the team and everything we did. I wanted to ensure that I was delegating the work meaningfully because I wanted the students to be well-equipped to take over after I graduate. I am happy to say that this club is still active and growing." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Earlier this year, I decided to learn more about project management out of personal interest. I’ve been interested in project management for a while, and I wanted to take concrete steps – specifically getting my CAPM® certification. I did an online course, read some books on the topic, and studied for the CAPM® exam. I achieved a high score on the exam and got my certification in April. Throughout my co-op term, I applied my knowledge to the projects I was working on. Applying PM methodologies and teaching the co-op students on my team about them helped us all work much more efficiently. I’m using these skills in my study term as well, especially in group projects. I enjoy taking the lead on planning and monitoring our projects and timelines, and my group members appreciate the organization and efficiency I add to our work. I am currently studying for the Scrum Master certification as part of my effort to dig deeper into various Agile methodologies." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688595179915 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "h5khuran@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Hitarth ", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Khurana", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favorite product is cold coffee at a local food joint called \"Cheffective\" in my hometown Delhi, India. I went to that place because that joint was started by a mutual friend. After trying it for the first time I was amazed at how good the food and drinks especially the coffee were. Their food joint started from scratch and they grew exponentially in a matter of months. This happened first due to a huge network of connections and also because of their marketing skills. My friends and I visit that place twice a week because of various reasons - their items are cheaper as compared to other local joints, their branding is amazing (fancy coffee lids and their logo and name on the cup) and also the ambiance at the place is impressive as we always have a good time there." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I am aware that a good user-experience researcher uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods. I will be using research methods from my past experiences such as my work with a professor at Delhi University. There, she taught me the use and importance of statistical tools, interpretation of results, and report writing. I am sure that all this and further help from the VP of Scoping and other seniors will make my time at Blueprint a success." - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "waterloo time, est" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is bullying and the other underlying factors associated with it. I was bullied in high school when I was a straight-A student in my freshman year. I didn't have any friends with such \"power\" to fight back for me. Looking back at that time I feel angry because now everything has changed, those people/seniors who bullied me are not in a good place overall and I am doing well regardless. I feel angry because if something like that happened to me now I would have taken action rather than just staying silent and telling my closest friends. Something like bullying arises from a lot of causes and it is prevalent all around the world. I wish all institutions take more and more steps against this." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of Velocity - the startup incubator at our campus. I was its campus ambassador last year and it was terrific. It was actually the time when an engineering student told me about Blueprint in one of the meetings.\nI contributed by hosting large-scale events with students from all over the university. Along with just organizing events I was able to learn a lot about the startup culture in general and I look forward to starting one soon." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As I approached my senior year, my curiosity and constant consideration of \"what's next\" helped me understand that I had a very possible future career in cryptography. \nI made sure to consult my seniors, understanding how cryptography would help build my career. While on a call with an old friend, I was encouraged to apply for international summer programs. After doing considerable research, I discovered QCSYS, one of the most prestigious summer programs in quantum cryptography held by the University of Waterloo. \nI got selected and the program was incredibly informative, and I got to discuss my ideas with like-minded students from all over the world. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688583681441 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "helios.he@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Helios", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "He", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science/Business", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe995bac9-c239-4274-8e15-0a19a60df3b1?alt=media&token=5e6c5802-33a5-45f3-a099-2bbf4d0b3dff", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I encountered during my co-op was when I tried to run the source code of a continuous learning model provided by a research paper. The code required numerous package installations, and to avoid disrupting the existing environment on my machine, I Dockerized it.\n\nThe first challenge was the project required specific versions of Ray (a library for parallel and distributed Python) and Bazel (a build and test tool). However, the specific commit version of Ray required for the project was not available as a Docker image, so I cloned the repository from the Ray commit inside the Dockerfile instead.\n\nThe second challenge was that the required versions of Ray and Bazel weren’t compatible with ARM64 processors, which was used by my device. To overcome this, I downloaded their source code to modify and manually compile these dependencies. However, by carefully reviewing the source code and making adjustments, I was able to successfully run the program.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "Spotify.\nFirst, Spotify has transformed the music industry by providing a platform that allows users to stream music from a vast library. It identified a significant shift in the way people consume music - from physical and downloadable formats to streaming - and capitalized on it. \n\nSecond, Spotify's user interface is intuitive and user-friendly. It's easy to search for music, create playlists, and discover new songs and artists. This ease of use has played a significant role in Spotify's widespread adoption.\n\nThird, Spotify's personalized recommendations, powered by their sophisticated algorithms, provide a unique and tailored user experience. The 'Discover Weekly' and 'Daily Mix' playlists are excellent examples of how Spotify uses data to enhance the user experience.\n\nLast, Spotify's business model is often cited as the quintessential example of a successful freemium strategy. It's a great example of how a well-thought-out business model can contribute to a product's success." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT (in Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that deeply resonates with me is elderly care, developed during my time working as a dietary aide at a retirement home. This experience, particularly during the peak of the pandemic, underscored the vulnerability of our elderly population and the critical importance of their care.\n\nThe pandemic brought unique challenges to the retirement home, with stringent health guidelines to follow and heightened risks for the residents. This environment fostered my empathy, as I saw firsthand the struggles of the residents. It was a stark reminder of the fragility of health and the importance of compassionate care.\n\nWhat stood out most were the personal connections I developed with the residents. During a time of isolation and uncertainty, these relationships became a source of comfort. It was a powerful lesson in the value of human connection in healthcare." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride as a member of the Oakville Speed Skating Club, a community that has shaped me as an athlete and a person. I've found immense satisfaction in coaching aspiring skaters, guiding many to provincial and national medals. One standout moment was coaching a skater who clinched gold at the Canada Youth Championships.\n\nMy contributions to the club extend beyond the rink. I've volunteered at competitions, participated in fundraising activities, and helped maintain the rink to meet safety regulations. These experiences have enriched my understanding of community and teamwork.\n\nThe journey hasn't been without challenges. Balancing school and training was a constant struggle, often leading to 12 a.m. training sessions. As a coach, communicating effectively with younger skaters was a learning curve. However, these challenges have only strengthened my commitment to the club. I am proud to be a part of this community and look forward to its growth and success in the years to come." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning Vim. My motivation stemmed from my experience at my current co-op, after watching a senior engineer help me debug an issue using Vim and his ability to effortlessly navigate through the codebase without taking his hands off the keyboard, relying solely on Vim within the terminal. \n\nTo learn Vim, I adopted a two-fold strategy. Firstly, I dedicated time outside of work to practice using Vim on personal projects. This allowed me to gradually build my proficiency and confidence in using Vim as my primary text editor. Secondly, I actively made an effort to minimize my reliance on VSCode at work. This forced me to apply and reinforce my newly learned skills in a real-world setting. Though challenging at first, I persisted and gradually became more adept at efficiently navigating, editing, and managing files within Vim.\n\nBy combining deliberate practice outside of work and integrating Vim into my daily workflow, I successfully added this tool into my repertoire." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687916008855 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "asouphan@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Alex", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Souphanthong", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe9ea5b66-0b23-4f0e-a912-d44bf8c6778b?alt=media&token=a4ceb90e-2b89-4442-8d96-bfb42137e65f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During a computer science class, I was given a particularly challenging assignment to develop a timetabling algorithm for my high school. The objective was to design an effective system, that would take on a variety of variables, and produce an optimal timetable that maximized the amount of students with their desired course. The biggest obstacle was constraint satisfaction in the sense that there was an optimization problem around scheduling courses. It is impractical to consider all possible combinations of schedules, so choosing an approach which visits a subset of the solution spaces is ideal. To approach this problem, I developed a fitness function that would calculate the amount of matches any given algorithm would have. This helped to measure the effectiveness of various algorithms and compare changes made in previous iterations. In the end, the final algorithm consisted of a greedy algorithm combined with a genetic algorithm that minimized the weaknesses of both.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The rising issue of homelessness in Canada is a cause that deeply resonates with me as it’s an issue that I can see in my community being close to and often around Toronto. I think it’s important to acknowledge that often times the sole reason for homelessness is not personal choices or failures but instead a combination of intersecting factors such as lack of affordable housing, substance abuse or poverty. As someone who grew up in a privileged environment and with good support systems, I am able to recognize that these people if given my circumstances would have a higher chance of success. I believe that addressing homelessness begins with prevention and by providing support to individuals at risk of homelessness we could help to break the cycle of poverty. There is no one solution to homelessness but it is an important issue to address in building a more equitable society.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I’m proud to be a part of is my hometown’s local hackathon which has the main mission of encouraging high school students to explore the world of technology. The hackathon takes place once a year and I have contributed both as a participant and organizer. This community is something I’m passionate about as growing up I always had an interest in technology but didn’t have the opportunities to connect with people who shared this same interest. The hackathon gave me this chance; allowing me to not only network with people in the industry but build upon my skills by attending workshops and developing a project for submission. Following, my time as a participant I applied to be an organizer of the event as I felt like I had a lot to offer in terms of improving the event and sharing my passion for technology. As an organizer, I was able to help coordinate and set up workshops that went on over the course of the event, for topics such as intro to web dev and cybersecurity.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A new skill that I have learned is coding in VHDL. My motivation to learn this language stemmed from my interest in working on digital design and exploring hardware development as a career path. The approach I took to learning this skill began with me setting out goals and outcomes that I expected. The main goal that I set for myself was to learn the VHDL syntax, and design patterns, and by the end of it synthesize my own digital circuits. To achieve this goal I began by gathering information from different online resources which helped me develop a strong foundation in digital design concepts. This allowed me to jump into writing VHDL code, but like learning anything it wasn’t perfect. As someone who was new to the language I would often implement inefficient solutions, in order to overcome this obstacle, I began exploring open-source code, which helped expand my understanding of the language and problem-solving techniques available to me. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688607411385 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "h33gupta@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Harshul", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Gupta", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Febcedc3e-d2ff-49e5-b6a0-c964c8458ddd?alt=media&token=aa511b8f-dd2e-4342-befa-b069d188301f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem that I've worked on in the past was my experience creating ClassMate, a project made for hack::peel. Since I only had one team member, who was not very well versed in web development, I took it upon myself to handle the majority of the work. I also set my goals high for this hackathon, having never used Flask for backend, or MongoDB with Flask. I managed to complete the majority of the project, with React, Flask and MongoDB, which I had not ever used together prior to ClassMate. I ended up placing fourth, which I was quite happy with, especially since ClassMate was quite an undertaking and a big challenge based on my prior experience with the tech stack of ClassMate. Throughout this hackathon, I faced many challenges using these new technologies, including sending API requests, CORS issues, building an API for the first time, HTTP header issues, and more. Using the internet and support from mentors, I managed to mitigate these issues.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based in Waterloo as I am on an academic term so I will be in the EST timezone." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me is climate change and global warming. Throughout the past few years, we've seen the drastic effects and impacts which climate change has had on our daily lives, including increases in Air Quality Warnings for those of us in the GTA, record wildfire seasons, and more violent and frequent extreme weather events. This is something which resonates with me quite deeply as climate change is something whose effects can be reduced and mitigated and I believe that we, as individuals, as well as corporations can all play a part in reducing these effects. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I was proud to be a part of was the music community in my secondary school. Throughout high school, I was a part of the music executive council, and throughout COVID, I had reached a higher level of leadership which involved bringing back a dying music community. Throughout grades 9 and 10, I helped with planning Music Nights and Movie Nights and was an active participant in running the events. In grade 11, when school went entirely online, the music community almost died, and running events became difficult. Additionally, we were unable to gain much traction and bring new members into the music community, so in my grade 12 year, when I was Chair of the Music Executive Council, I recreated the music community which I had adored in Grade 9. Throughout that year, and with the help of the other Music Executive Council, we restarted band and ran various team building activities, including Movie Nights and other events, ending the year with the start to a good community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I learned a new skill was when I initially began to learn web development. This was shortly after I participated in my first hackathon, and I was motivated to learn it after seeing all the capabilities that various web technologies had when creating web apps. My approach mainly focused around building things which I wanted to build, using the technologies I had learned about from that hackathon. I began by brushing up on my limited knowledge of HTML and CSS, and then in the next hackathon which I participated in, I attempted using more web technologies like React and Flask, as I believed that the best way for me to learn development was by building things. This worked out quite well, and although that first hackathon wasn't anything special, I continued to build things and eventually created a Discord bot which filtered out hate speech that won $5000 as well as a runner-up note sharing web app using Flask and React. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688434159731 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "c2kim@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Catherine", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kim", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Febd35e10-a3b2-45d7-abe9-eb549eb3f289?alt=media&token=adee4f7b-5c42-47b4-86a2-9e9c85824489", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "When I was working on web scraping with Selenium and Python for the first time, I kept getting a ValueError when I initialized the webdriver. I was confused as I was confident that my very short code was correct. I asked a few people I knew had experience in Selenium what the issue could be but they, too, were unable to figure it out because nothing seemed to be wrong. I tried a variety of solutions suggested by Google and none of them seemed to work until I reached one Github comment that suggested the Selenium version was incorrect. Thankfully, version 4.9.0 worked because the urllib3 update from version 4.9.1 caused the problem.\n\nAlthough I had tried version 3.9.0 as suggested by another page, I realized that software developing will have me stumped over a very simple issue and make me doubt my own skills but that the satisfaction upon correcting it will be worth it, and that I should consult help if needed instead of getting discouraged as I am still in the process of learning.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST (Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "While I was looking for housing in Waterloo for the first time, I realized how fortunate I was to never have had to previously worry about where I was going to live. If looking for housing was hard for me, how much harder would it be for those less fortunate? Moving to a new city knowing nobody else was hard, but being in residence really helped form new connections and give me comfort in adjusting to a new place. That's how I know proper housing can hasten the reintegration of those who have not yet been able to find a community to call home.\n\nOnly when crucial physiological needs are met, the very bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, can people fulfill their other needs. Homelessness rates have been constantly rising and nearly tripling in Waterloo over the past three years. These statistics seemed intangible to me until I was eating on Lester Street and watched a homeless man ask for money and then be asked to leave the area. I strive to use my skills to help those people live." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a part of the Korean community and I have contributed to it by volunteering my time as a Korean Teaching Assistant to a variety of ages. As I've been fortunate enough to have retained my culture's language, I want to make sure that the next generation can do so too. By volunteering in a Korean School for children, I have been able to teach children not just the language but also about the food, games, and historical events in Korean culture. It has been very rewarding to see them choose to retain and learn more about their Korean heritage. \n\nMoreover, by volunteering at the University of Alberta as a Korean Teaching Assistant, I was also able teach similar things but to people who weren't Korean and wanted to get to know more about the country, language, and culture. By doing so, I believe I was able to contribute to Korean culture as an important way of keeping the Korean community alive is to tell others about it and encourage them to experience it as well. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I remember when I first started learning the clarinet, I was very insecure about my skills as I come from a very musical family and I didn't seem to reach the progress rate that I had wanted. I was then given the opportunity to play clarinet at a senior home and although I was wary, I decided to do so because the songs were simple. \n\nHowever, after performing, I realized exactly why I wanted to keep learning the clarinet. Until then, I had only played the clarinet because it was just another instrument to learn, a substitute to the violin. Yet when I saw seniors cry and come up to me to tell me how much it reminded them of a family member or themselves a long time ago, I felt the impact of what music could do. \n\nFrom then on, I reformulated my practice plans from studying the repertoire and scales to a more performance based style, such as learning how to transpose in my head and improvise. This newfound passion drove me to redefine success as I now had a reason for what I did. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687496506861 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "malharshah200428@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Malhar", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Shah", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fedf3e4f4-3d1e-4e72-85bd-db766bc60fa7?alt=media&token=f5a91bd8-14c0-4750-842d-e9d913bea45b", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my time at BMO, I faced a challenging technical problem while integrating the Salesforce application. Changes in the application were often made without proper communication, resulting in frequent breaking of our automation scripts. The main issue was the changing XPaths of elements on the pages, making it difficult for the scripts to locate and interact with them.\n\nTo overcome this problem, I developed an AI-based solution in the form of a JAR file. This tool dynamically located the XPaths of elements during runtime, eliminating the reliance on static XPaths used in our existing scripts. By utilizing machine learning algorithms and heuristic approaches, the JAR file analyzed the structure and content of the Salesforce application's pages to identify the optimal XPath for each element. With dynamic XPath generation during runtime, the scripts consistently located the correct elements, reducing manual intervention and maintenance efforts.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "In my role as the CTO of RentKeepr, a non-profit startup, I have demonstrated leadership by effectively managing a team of 8 individuals on our tech team. This includes overseeing 4 backend and 4 frontend interns who play crucial roles in our organization.\n\nTo ensure the smooth progress of our projects in alignment with our business timeline, I provide the interns with weekly deliverables. By setting clear expectations and goals, I empower them to work efficiently and contribute to our collective success. I prioritize effective communication, ensuring that everyone understands their responsibilities and the vision of our startup.\n\nAs a leader, I understand the importance of supporting my team members in overcoming technical challenges. I actively engage with the interns, offering guidance and assistance when they encounter difficulties on the job. By providing mentorship and sharing my expertise, I foster an environment where they can develop their professional and personal skills." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be based out of EST next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Every Canadian student viewed Terry Fox Day as a holiday to relax and enjoy a walk with friends. However, for me, it held a deeper significance. Witnessing the impact of cancer on my grandparents and experiencing the emotional toll it took on my family made me realize that fighting cancer is a cause that resonates with me on a personal level. After seeing my grandmother seize in front of me at the age of eight, the urgency to combat this disease became ingrained into my life.\n\nInspired by these experiences, I am driven to contribute to the fight against cancer in the future. As someone with a strong background in computer science, I aspire to leverage my knowledge and skills to support cancer research efforts. By combining technological advancements with medical expertise, there is potential to make significant strides in understanding the disease, developing more effective treatments, and ultimately improving the lives of patients and their loved ones. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be an active member of the Vallabh Youth Organization, a religious club dedicated to helping young children explore Hinduism as a religion. Within this community, my contribution has been in the role of a teacher, imparting knowledge and understanding to kids ranging from 5 to 16 years old.\n\nAs a teacher, my primary responsibility has been to educate these young minds about the various philosophies and the rich history of Hinduism. I design engaging lessons that not only provide them with factual information but also encourage critical thinking and self-reflection. It brings me immense joy to witness their curiosity and eagerness to learn about their faith.\n\nThrough my role as a teacher and active member, I hope to inspire the next generation to embrace their heritage, deepen their spiritual connection, and contribute positively to society. I am proud to be part of a community that values education, inclusivity, and the preservation of our cultural heritage." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I embarked on a journey to learn a new skill: dancing. My initial motivation was to stay in shape, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic had taken a toll on my fitness. To achieve this goal, I joined dance classes online, avidly watched dance TV shows, and dedicated myself to rigorous practice and conditioning.\n\nThe culmination of my efforts came when I had the opportunity to perform a dance on a TEDx stage. It was an exhilarating experience to showcase my newfound skill in front of an audience. The sense of accomplishment and the joy of expressing myself through dance were immensely rewarding.\n\nLearning to dance not only improved my physical fitness but also brought me a sense of fulfillment and self-expression. It taught me the value of discipline, determination, and the power of stepping out of my comfort zone to acquire new skills. This experience has instilled in me the belief that continuous learning and personal growth are essential components of a fulfilling life." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688613556840 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "a6au@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Andrew", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Au", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fee9b530b-8a33-44be-8b45-c3fcd4a963d4?alt=media&token=20b5663c-855c-4c48-be1c-7c410efa9a21", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I recently did an assignment that involved implementing a tier list using iterators. A particularly difficult challenge was a method that could traverse the list of tiers forwards and backwards by a given n, and return an iterator pointing to the first element of the tier that it lands on. The tier list was defined as an array of pointers to tier objects that behaved as lists. My initial solution was to define an index within the iterator class to track which tier the iterator is on and increment the index with the given n, so that we could find a tier with this index. This didn’t work. I decided to backtrack and sketch a rough draft of how the iterator class would look like, what fields were needed and their purpose, so I had a better idea of how the program would work as a cohesive unit. I figured that we had to skip over empty tiers. To check for empty tiers, I would compare the iterator for the start and end of the tier. If they were equal, then the tier is empty and we’d skip it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am passionate about supporting the development of children. During the past four years, I have worked with children as a summer camp counsellor, ski instructor, elementary math tutor and vice chair of my local youth council. My favourite part of teaching kids is watching them grow. As a ski instructor, many of my students are beginners and start off extremely scared at the prospect of skiing. But after I guide them through one run, they become less scared and are willing to go up for another run. After a couple runs, they often want to explore new slopes and graduate from the “magic carpet” to the chairlift. By teaching skiing techniques and leading fun games, I am able to clearly observe their confidence increase and be a part of their skiing development, while improving my own leadership and communication skills. It brings me immense joy knowing that I am making an impact on the lives of others and empowering them to pursue new things, while improving myself and gaining new skills." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A group of friends and I founded the Software Club at my high school to provide a supportive space for students interested in graphic design and software development. As vice president, I enjoyed sharing my passion for graphic design and programming with junior students by leading weekly workshops that introduced different languages and software, such as HTML, photoshop and vector graphics editors. As part of our efforts to promote graphic design and software development, I conceived and coordinated a school-wide logo design contest. Over the course of a month, participants designed original logos, created mockups of products, and presented their brand and logo. It was inspiring to see the wonderful creativity and implementation of skills that students had gained from our workshops. I continue to mentor the club today. My experience as a leader in the club has helped me contribute to a community of aspiring designers and developers, while sharing my passion with others." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In 2016, cubing was all the hype and the speedcubing world was fierce with competition as records were being broken left and right. I watched my friends flick the cube at incredible speeds, solving these mind-boggling puzzles as if they were geniuses and, although I was no genius, I wanted to join in too. The first step to learning to cube is to choose a method for solving. I chose the traditional CFOP method which involved four steps and, for a while, focused on just the first two steps to gain intuition on how the cube works and gradually became faster. My friends supported me, sharing tips, Youtube videos and websites that I could consult. Next, I moved on to memorizing algorithms for the last layer and practiced like crazy until they became muscle memory. As my passion for speedcubing turned from FOMO into a desire to become a wiser and speedier speedcuber, I progressed with my friends, solving in under 25 seconds regularly, and proved that you do not have to be a genius to cube." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687974641440 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "a2baid@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Anay", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Baid", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Feebb39cf-c55c-4e60-adda-406f3b59bcb1?alt=media&token=7d0fe816-e1a8-4039-a50e-c8f007d720cf", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "While developing my Developer Portfolio, I faced a challenging technical problem: optimizing the website for performance and cross-browser compatibility.\nTo address this, I leveraged modern web technologies like Flexbox, Grid, and CSS animations to achieve a responsive design. Additionally, I implemented optimizations for improved loading speed and compatibility.\nI began by minifying CSS and JavaScript files, reducing their size and enhancing loading times. Lazy loading was implemented to load only necessary resources, further improving performance. Browser caching was utilized to store assets locally, reducing redundant downloads.\nThese optimizations resulted in a 98% score on Google PageSpeed Insights for mobile devices and a total page load time of under 2 seconds. The website achieved full compatibility with major browsers.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "As a User Experience Researcher, I would excel in highly technical methods like comparative analysis, where meticulous evaluations and assessments guide optimal choices based on features, performance, and efficiency. I believe rigorous testing and evaluation processes would enable precise measurement of data transmission rates. Valuable insights from user feedback and surveys would inform nuanced decision-making in usability evaluation and design. Through meticulous usability testing, I gain invaluable insights into interface effectiveness and efficiency by closely observing user interactions. My expertise extends to qualitative research methods, including interviews and focus groups, enabling a comprehensive understanding of user needs, preferences, and behaviours. In employing diverse and precise research methods, such as comparative analysis, testing, user feedback, usability testing, and qualitative research, I am committed to delivering exceptional user-centric experiences. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Toronto EST, so basically Waterloo time :) " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "My passion lies in advocating for accessible education and empowering students through technology. I firmly believe that knowledge should be universally attainable, and technology is crucial in bridging educational disparities. Through STEM Simplified, we utilized online platforms to disseminate scientific concepts and technological advancements, creating an immersive learning environment that fosters curiosity and analytical thinking. During my tenure, I addressed challenges in launching our website through strategic team restructuring, expediting bug resolution and enhancing user experience. This experience underscored technology's potential to streamline procedures and drive educational progress. I remain dedicated to leveraging computational thinking and innovative solutions for a transformative educational environment. My cause is leveraging technology to unlock students' potential and foster an inclusive society, dismantling barriers and providing limitless opportunities. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "My involvement with the Hack the North community facilitated interconnectivity between aspectual and conceptual thinking, profoundly enriching my experience. Through collaborative engagement and the diverse nature of participants, I explored numerous innovative opportunities.\nAs the founder of STEM Simplified, a student-led organization, I dealt with website development, where challenging formatting and uploading issues hindered the desired UI/UX design. To overcome this, I advocated for a streamlined approach, forming specialized groups to address distinct issues. This expedited bug resolution and ensured a successful website launch.\nThis experience deepened my understanding of the intricate relationship between real-world challenges and the judicious deployment of Information Technology, epitomized by the \"mechanization of simplicity\" concept. It reinforced my unwavering commitment to projects, harmonizing convenience for commercialization and multifaceted problem-solving. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I was motivated to learn Computational Thinking due to its foundational significance in Computer Science, with wide-ranging applications across industries and disciplines. To acquire this skill, I studied the core techniques known as 'cornerstones' or the 3As: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithms. Through online resources, I mastered these techniques, using decomposition to break down complex tasks, pattern recognition to identify similarities, abstraction to anticipate broader implications, and algorithms to guide step-by-step problem-solving. Computational Thinking's utility lies in its capacity to optimize time complexities, combine elements effectively, and establish the principles of generalization and specificity. My pursuit of Computational Thinking involved deep immersion to comprehend the cornerstones' practical applications, enriching my problem-solving abilities and providing adaptability across diverse contexts. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688615166949 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "spoonawa@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "firstName": "Serena", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Poonawalla", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering ", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fef84d2da-fc9f-4c14-8c16-32f5639b9ab2?alt=media&token=dcd180da-594f-40d5-bf08-66cc572cc249", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "I prefer to use primary research methods in which I’m directly interacting with users or stakeholders. I find that you can learn a lot from the intangibles that come with face-to-face communication. I’ve found this to be especially true in the case of usability tests, where sometimes people aren’t aware of actions they perform habitually and a researcher being able to be there first-hand leads to key observances. In regards to the research methods I consider to be my main methods of expertise, I have expertise and experience in observation studies, surveys, user interviews, secondary data analysis, and case studies. " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "Using a product management lens, I would say my iPhone is my favourite product and that it is so due to its user-centric design, ecosystem integration, and branding and marketing. \n\nUser-Centric Design: The iPhone's intuitive user interface and seamless user experience have been key to its success. Apple has consistently focused on understanding and meeting user needs, and providing a user-centric design that prioritizes simplicity and ease of use, as reflected in both its hardware and software.\n\nEcosystem Integration: My iPhone seamlessly interacts with other Apple products, such as Macs, iPads, and Apple Watches, creating a cohesive user experience and a sense of customer loyalty.\n\nBranding and Marketing: Apple has mastered the art of branding and marketing. The iPhone's sleek design, premium feel, and association with innovation and status have contributed to its desirability among consumers. Apple's marketing campaigns excel at communicating the value proposition of the iPhone. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "My high school was in an area where many newcomers to Canada and refugees initially settled, so I was directly exposed to the struggles and stories of this population. It saddened me to see my classmates and their families struggle to transition to the area, whether it be due to unfamiliarity or the intolerance of others. I wanted to take action, so I became the student representative for the Safe and Caring Schools committee as well as the president and SAC member of the Social Justice and Equity committee in my school, where I made sure that not only was community inequity addressed, but also that everyone was valued for who they were and their differences. I also got involved in a student-led startup that funded community events for Canadian newcomers to bond through art. I passionately believe in the power of diversity and inclusion and always go out of my way to make sure that I make anyone that may feel out of place or uncomfortable, feel welcome, supported, and heard." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be a member of Ontario Nature’s Youth Council. I help with their local biodiversity conservation advocacy by delivering outreach workshops, writing in the Ontario Nature magazine, and organizing the annual summit to encourage youth-led conservation initiatives. I hold the cause and the community very dear to my heart. Beyond this, I’m also a black belt and national medalist in karate. When I started learning karate, the guidance of my senior ranks was an integral part of my training. This is what inspires me to contribute as a volunteer sensei, and in general, give back to the community that made me who I am today! My upper belts taught me the technical aspects of karate, challenged me to always push myself, and were a source of my confidence both in and out the dojo, all things I try to pass down to the students I teach! " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "In my second co-op I was a software developer at a very small startup where I was given a ticket on my first morning! I had some previous programming experience from high school clubs and courses but had no experience with the company’s stack so I felt quite lost looking through the code I had to work on. The first thing I did was communicate this with my team. Then, I broke down the steps I needed to take to learn the languages and necessary framework by finding appropriate courses/reading materials and going through them bit by bit, while applying what I was learning to the ticket as I went. From a non-technical point of view, I also recently learnt how to play chess! My dad loves the game and I’ve always wanted to play with him so I approached my learning by watching introductory videos, asking for tips and advice from friends who were experienced players, and playing against my sister (who I also convinced to learn with me). I’m still a beginner but I’m definitely getting better!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688162241844 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "lucy.wu1@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Lucy", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Wu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff0828b68-390f-4a86-bc12-b7eec7b9315c?alt=media&token=443a585b-74c1-4d4d-bd6a-6cfdf7e80427", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my internship at Placeholder, I tackled a challenging data management problem: the lack of a tool to replicate real-life data from production to staging impeded effective testing. To address this, I took the initiative to develop an automated replication tool across AWS S3, MySQL, and third-party SaaS service databases. Despite the absence of specific requirements and instructions, I conducted thorough research and collaborated with the Operations, Analytics, and Engineering team to determine the data to be replicated and the database linkages. I then presented a proposal with multiple solutions to my lead, evaluating the pros and cons of each. After solidifying the proposal, I familiarized myself with AWS S3, MySQL, and third-party APIs by reading documentation. Throughout the implementation process, I maintained open communication with my team and manager, providing regular progress updates through detailed tickets. This ensured the timely delivery of a high-quality solution. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I'll be based out of Eastern Time (ET) next term (same time zone as Waterloo)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "The cause of environmental conservation and sustainability resonates deeply with me due to my genuine love for nature and my appreciation of the multitude of benefits nature brings. As a Website Developer and Outreach Ambassador at Splash on Earth, a local environmental non-profit organization, I had the privilege of developing their official website and engaging with over 500 residents in the Forest Manor region, promoting environmental initiatives and raising awareness. Witnessing how easily the environment can be taken for granted, I am driven to protect and preserve it for future generations. I firmly believe that environmental sustainability is a collective effort. Through my role, I leverage my technical and interpersonal skills to communicate the importance of conservation, encouraging people in my community to take action. Together, I believe we can foster a widespread understanding of the preciousness of our environment and work towards building a sustainable future for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As a member of the women-in-tech community, I take pride in pursuing my passion despite being part of an underrepresented group in the tech industry. I am on a mission to support and empower my community. I previously held a leadership position as a Student Representative in the Bank of Montreal's Women in Technology (WIT) organization. During my tenure, I organized panels on allyship with inspiring leaders in the technology line of business at BMO, monthly technology mentorship huddles for over 100 female adolescents, and interactive coding events that tackled challenging algorithm problems. These events helped me to enlighten women to pursue unconventional paths and establish a tight-knit and supportive community. I am proud to have witnessed the growth in self-confidence of the female adolescents in WIT and to have bonded with different students and professionals across Canada. It was truly a rewarding experience. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I enjoy doing art. I entertain the idea of expressing my sentiments through visual art. In the past, I often faced problems where I fail to depict my visions with the limited art supplies I had, so I set the goal of learning digital art, specifically Photoshop. Seeing artists making wonders with Photoshop, I knew it would help me turn my ideas into reality. I first researched the basic features available in Photoshop and organized a schedule to learn one feature per week. I used resources like YouTube videos to obtain the basics and solidified my understanding by playing around with Photoshop. After understanding the basics, I spent most time applying what I learned to create artwork. For occasions where I encountered knowledge blind spots, I would look for solutions via online forums. Although learning Photoshop was challenging, I found it exciting to take on those challenges, knowing that I was making progress and obtaining the skills I need to get closer to my vision. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687361600293 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "d27kim@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Donghwui", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Kim", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff0fc7498-3e17-4797-aa4c-f0c8825fbf27?alt=media&token=e23458fd-181a-48ee-a454-34b89fd234dc", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I had the opportunity to work on an environmental challenge during a program called SHAD last summer. I have worked with a team of five and identified a problem of water illiteracy. 56% of young Canadians aged 18-34 were unaware of how they acquire their drinking water, which stemmed from a lack of education about Canada’s freshwater resources and their sustainable usage. I tackled this issue by collaborating with others and utilizing the strengths of each member. As a result, my team successfully created a rough app prototype called “Hydrolife” that features short podcast episodes, habit trackers, water bill trackers and community comparisons to educate new homeowners. HydroLife would not only effectively reduce the frequency of making destructive habits but would also lead to a whole new generation of environmentally conscious homeowners through an intergenerational aspect of users’ new habits.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "My timezone will be based in Waterloo, Ontario (EST)." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates with me the most is promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion as it has always been an essential topic of my life. It is something that profoundly expresses my spirit and genuine passion. I firmly believe that building stronger connections within society is extremely crucial to the growth of us all. Having been deeply involved in my community, I saw systemic barriers that immigrant students faced daily in the Canadian school system. These barriers, both linguistic and cultural, spawned a variety of mental health problems, feelings of alienation, and social disconnection. Therefore, I want to interweave social ethics and my technical skills to create innovative solutions that dismantle structures of social oppression and global problems. At Blueprints, I aspire to become a collaborative and enthusiastic thinker, surrounded by brilliant people that I share core passions with. Bringing my collective-minded spirit, I am thrilled to take creative approaches." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be part of my Korean culture and ethnic community. I strongly believe in the power of sharing one’s culture with others and the fact that multiculturalism can lead to new innovations in terms of prosperous cultural vitality. The first step of my contribution was to build a diverse, spiritual and international network. I have been involved in numerous clubs that support diversity such as the culture club at my high school and the EDI youth initiative at Leadership Niagara. I was responsible for planning and managing social events with activities like playing board games from other countries, teaching languages and presenting ways to eliminate systemic barriers through the lens of the student perspective. Being part of my community, I have set a goal to create new forms of inclusion, connection and joy, which help reshape cultural identity. The impact that they had on me has been immense, shaping the path of my life toward the joy of the collective." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When I first attended high school, I struggled to socialize with other people due to a lack of confidence and public speaking experiences. I was motivated to learn public speaking skills when I watched inspirational speeches from Barack Obama and Martin Luther King. I realized that they shared common characteristics: they exuded confidence and were passionate about what they were talking about. After watching these videos, I wanted to turn my weakness into strengths and become like these role models. After a fair amount of practicing public speaking in front of my friends and some teachers, I started to manufacture the mysterious and miraculous power known as confidence. With this newly cultivated confidence, I started to get involved in leadership organizations such as the student council, city youth advisory council, and Waterloo engineering society. These valuable experiences taught me that I could be a leader who influences the audience with meaning and vitality." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688615864063 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "william.park@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "William", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Park", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff11a6630-acf9-4533-93d1-dcb30c77472e?alt=media&token=07da5a6c-d42d-4d5c-8811-344b0346afc8", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my internship at 1Password, I created an integration between the 1Password CLI and IBM Cloud CLI, enabling users to authenticate into IBM Cloud using credentials stored in 1Password. The main challenge for this project arose from the fact that IBM Cloud requires an API key for authentication, but generates a temporary access token based on this key to authenticate the CLI commands. Storing this token on the local disk would introduce security vulnerabilities, so I had to find a solution that would enable the use of this token without storing it on disk. Tackling this problem involved determining the most common use cases of the IBM Cloud CLI through discussions with IBM, conducting research on IBM’s SDK to determine how to dynamically generate an access token from an API key, and considering optimizations such as caching to minimize the token generations required. Once completed, the project was demoed to IBM and played a key role in IBM's adoption of 1Password developer tools.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Pacific Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I first learned about the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in high school. Since then, I’ve been drawn towards initiatives focused on achieving those goals or a subset of them. This is one of the reasons why I joined Waterloop, the University of Waterloo's Hyperloop design team, where I served as the web team lead. Hyperloop technology, being an efficient and sustainable form of transportation, has the potential to contribute significantly to several of the UN's SDGs (e.g., making cities sustainable). This is why I resonated so strongly with the team’s mission. Also, this Fall, I’ll be joining the AI For Good Foundation as a part-time volunteer. The foundation's mission is to drive technological data science and ML solutions that measure and advance the UN's SDGs. I’m excited to apply my interest in ML to a cause I deeply care about. My passion for technological solutions that contribute to social good is also precisely why I’m thrilled about the opportunity to join UW Blueprint!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In high school, I was the president of a club called KidSport PMSS. Our objective was to raise funds to support underprivileged youth in our community, providing them with the opportunity to participate in organized sports through bursaries. We worked in collaboration with KidSport, a non-profit organization that shares the same goal. Within the community, I organized and ran events, such as our annual sports equipment drive, to fundraise and raise awareness for the organization’s cause. Being able to give back to my community, particularly considering the significant role that sports played in shaping my life, was an incredibly rewarding experience. Although I passed on the leadership of the club to capable hands upon graduating, I’ve maintained contact with KidSport PMSS, offering guidance whenever needed and staying updated on their progress. I’m happy that I’ve been able to contribute to a community that I’m immensely proud to be a part of, even beyond high school." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I’m currently serving as a research assistant at the university, evaluating the feasibility of a Central Bank Digital Currency based on the XRPL blockchain. This role has helped me acquire several new skills, including creating smart contracts with XRPL and utilizing the xrpl-py Python library to interface with the blockchain. I’ve also gained significant insights into the potential benefits and risks of integrating CBDCs into governmental systems. My fascination with blockchain partly stems from my passion for digital security, as cryptographic concepts like hashing and proof-of-work are fundamental to blockchain. The rapid growth of the blockchain community is also incredibly exciting to witness. In this role, while I have learned a substantial amount from reading research papers and referring to articles, interacting with the blockchain itself (e.g., writing scripts to interact with XRPL, deploying smart contracts) has definitely been the most valuable contributor to my learning." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687930921343 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "bill.bg.gong@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Bill", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Gong", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Systems Design Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff1985da1-535b-42b6-bd7f-14866e124c08?alt=media&token=71ff1336-ec63-4c4e-af73-4ae84c6802d4", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "In my daily life, I find inspiration in visual arts. I believe that visual arts and digital product design are intrinsically connected, with each influencing and inspiring another. Visual arts appears in various forms, such as paintings, drawings, and photography, which all heavily emphasize creativity, aesthetics, and storytelling. These artistic disciplines provide a rich source of inspiration for digital product designers like me. Principles of product design such as composition, colour theory, and visual hierarchy are also learned from visual arts. They can all be applied in digital product design to create engaging user interfaces. \n\nTo me, visual arts can compel designers to explore outside the box and think of unconventional ideas, which fosters innovation and pushes the boundaries of traditional design norms. \n\n" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "Try: https://billgong.notion.site/billgong/Designing-Digital-Menus-for-Restaurants-in-the-GTA-15d80629c9c64153ae049ce8411a580e\n\nIn summer 2022, I co-founded my own tech-business, Kiwii. Kiwii is a digital menu building business for restaurants in the GTA, where I was involved in design, user research, user testing, and front-end prototyping. Kiwii's menus are designed using Figma and built using React or Dart. They can be accessed through a QR code scan, which removes the need for paper menus at restaurants. With my contribution, I secured 5 partnerships with restaurants in the GTA and obtained $1700 in revenue within the very first month of launch. One of the restaurants that Kiwii partnered with was Lil'Pot, which was the most popular hotpot restaurant in Kitchener, Waterloo. Seeing my work lead to real results made me incredibly excited about software design and its potential to create meaningful change in the world. ", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "5", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?", - "response": "Usability testing and pilot sessions are by far my favourite research methods because I believe it provides the most valuable insights into user experience. It allows me to observe firsthand how users interact with a product, uncovering pain points, areas of confusion, and opportunities for improvement. I personally enjoy any UX research method that interacts with users themselves. The direct feedback and qualitative data obtained from usability testing provide actionable insights, allowing me to make informed design iterations and create more intuitive and user-friendly experiences.\n\nDuring my time as a UI/UX designer at the Ontario Government, I conducted multiple sessions of usability testing. Feel free to read more about my experience regarding UX research.\n\nTry: https://billgong.notion.site/billgong/Designing-AI-Chatbot-for-Ontario-s-Internal-Communication-Platform-4cc01688a151487d8583ce5db20129ff " - } - ], - "role": "User Experience Researcher" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "User Experience Researcher", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I will be working in Eastern Standard Time next term." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Homelessness in the streets of Downtown Toronto has become normalized in recent years. Since Toronto's budget fails to address this crisis adequately, many individuals—including children—are left with nowhere to go. Since 2021, there have been over 7,000 homeless people in Toronto at any given time. \n\nThat's why I decided to organize an event called the \"Christmas Care Project,\" a community-driven fundraising event aimed to deliver balanced meals to the homeless population of Downtown Toronto. With the help of 50+ locally sourced volunteers, we helped deliver over 200+ meals to the homeless. We also delivered 150+ \"care packages,\" which included female hygiene products, sanitizer, masks, tissues, and energy bars. \n\nTry: https://www.linkedin.com/company/christmas-care-project/" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "In 2022, I co-founded the Markham Chapter of Medlife, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that partners with low-income communities in Latin America and Africa to improve their access to medicine. Over the course of one year, I constructed a team of over 60 active members to plan fundraisers, raise awareness, and host webinars to help struggling families gain access to hygiene products in Lima, Peru. \n\nMy primary responsibilities included planning meetings, designing promotional material, organizing due dates, and recruiting more members to join the organization. One fundraiser that I was particularly proud of was the \"Moving Mountains Campaign,\" where my team and I were able to raise over $1069 within two weeks. \n\nI know that UW Blueprint has many projects related to helping struggling individuals, such as \"Feeding Canadian Kids\" and \"Supportive Housing of Wloo.\" I hope to be a part of them if I do get the chance." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Technical Skill:\n\nDuring my time at Markville App Development, I was exposed to design tools such as Figma for the very first time. At the time, interface design and software functional design were very foreign concepts to me; I knew nothing about coding or wireframing. However, my extensive background in visual arts drew me into learning these design tools. \n\nMy initial approach to learning design on Figma was incorrect; I focused too heavily on the aesthetic side of a design. I wanted my designs to look as pretty as possible without thinking much about functionality. I used too many colours, fonts, and words. As I received guidance from upper years who provided feedback on my designs, I learned that the most important skill to develop as a designer is the ability to create a simple, minimal, and concise design. To this day, I create my Figma designs with user experience at the forefront, knowing that simple, minimal, and concise design is the best design to master. \n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688183852443 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "b56lu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Barton", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Lu", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff3486cd4-0e53-4d4b-93ba-2da4de1ea2c0?alt=media&token=71978dde-baae-4cd6-afe4-e318271850f5", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Frontend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "At DoctorCare, I was tasked with implementing correctors: algorithms that process an accounting number with several associated billing codes (which specify the services a doctor has provided to patients and therefore should be paid for) and error codes (which specify errors in the combination of billing codes). After processing, the error would be corrected. \n\nMy first step when approaching this was to look at existing code in the codebase and create a table of function calls, specifying arguments and files. Then, I created a list of classes and functions that needed to be implemented as well as questions to ask. \n\nThrough discussions, I realized that the issue was more complicated. To code the corrector, I needed to keep K30 codes, but change the K08 codes. However, the function calls I had analyzed only allowed you to change codes with errors. Only the K30 codes had the errors. To solve this, I created a duplicate of the claim with the new code and wrote off the old claim.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "From Bootcamp to Blueprint Night, Blueprint has collaborated with many clubs to offer enriching experiences to the Waterloo community. \n\nI propose that Blueprint partner with Tech+ to offer a semester-long Full Stack Bootcamp catered to beginner 1st and 2nd year students. UW Blueprint has a reputation for being competitive to get into. First year and second year students can be intimidated from applying as they may feel their skills are far too subpar. Moreover, it can be extremely hard for beginner students to know where to start and to motivate themselves to overcome the uncomfortably steep learning curves of programming. \n\nIn particular, I propose the bootcamp be based on Full Stack Open, a well-regarded online course that we can adapt into an in person offering. Each week would focus on one of Full Stack Open’s 14 weeks of content. To connect this further with Blueprint’s mission, we can incorporate real examples of how these coding principles have been used in social projects." - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "External Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Time!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I grew up in an elementary school where 90%+ of students were Chinese. Yet, I reply to my parents with pure English. I eat savory Chinese dishes without knowing their names. I mumble 邓丽君 songs because I do not understand the lyrics. I am Chinese, but I am not.\n\nMy embarrassment spurred me to explore what being Asian means. Inspired, I founded Red Pocket Magazine (RPM), an international literary magazine to amplify Asian diasporic voices.\n\nTo date, RPM has published 7 issues, 79 pieces, reached 2.5K+ followers on social media, and amassed 6K+ readers. For June 2020, we had a special issue and interviews with LGBTQ+ leaders. During the pandemic, RPM also launched Humanity Unmasked, a social media project for Asians to share their stories in a time of rising Asian hate.\n\nMost of all, I am so proud of the pieces that we have published. Impactful stories like a Chinese French girl recalling her mom eating weeds in the Cultural Revolution made me realize I am not alone. This work is needed. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am proud to be part of the community at Tech+, a student club that promotes DEI at Waterloo and uplifts the voices of marginalized communities in tech. \n\nAs a former Co-Director and current Student Advisor, I pushed for our All-Hands to incorporate strong DEI focuses through different activities and discussions. I started an initiative where each week, two students present DEI articles to everyone at All-Hands. Using my experience with Red Pocket navigating discussions about race relations, the model minority myth, racism, and representation, I brought an enthusiasm into Tech+ discussions about DEI.\n\nUnder my leadership, I have pushed key changes to make Tech+ more socially fulfilling for students. These include requiring almost all members to be in person starting from next semester, shortening the length of All-Hands, and making kudos a primary part of All-Hands.\n\nMost of all, I am so proud of seeing this community continually improve their knowledge of DEI and push for justice." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "When the entire world shut down in March 2020, I was left with a lot of time. (Especially because grade 12 marks couldn't go down! Thank god.) With this time, I decided I wanted to finally wipe the dust off the guitar that my parents bought me in grade 3, and actually learn how to play a chord or two. As a singer, I was motivated to learn it so that I could play guitar while singing. My initial approach to learning guitar was to first search up tutorials on the internet.\n\nI never completed it. \n\nWhile that may seem like a bad thing, I realized the best way for me to learn would be to learn enough so I could begin applying it immediately. Specifically, I would learn a song that I really wanted to sing, and that had a variety of basic chords. With this in mind, I learned \"Can't Help Falling in Love\", a classic. This was my philosophy: continuous, interactive practice until I could record one full take of the song." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "3 or more", - "timestamp": 1688615966393 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "w3phung@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Winnie", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Phung", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Honours Arts and Business Co-op", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff4f541d8-beab-4742-b87d-22105163265b?alt=media&token=5f53ce45-daac-4dd5-9f58-27bffec653a8", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "I look for inspiration from my daily interactions with the people around me. I find that conversing with people always gives me new insights and perspectives on a topic that I never knew could be so in-depth. It helps me view things differently, and allows me to understand their wants and needs. For example, when my friends and I go out, they sometimes rant about something bothering them. Understanding their pain points inspire me to think about how that problem could be solved, or how I would reiterate the design to enhance their user experience. Slowly learning these different perspectives and needs allow me to incorporate their feedback into my own designs, too. It helps me think of different approaches to solve the problems I tackle, and allows me to be more considerate of the underrepresented groups I design for. After all, they will be a part of the user/consumer groups. Overall, the daily interactions I have gives me inspiration and helps me explore new solutions in my journey." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://www.winniephung.com/portfolio/ready-up", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EDT, Eastern Time Zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that strongly resonates with me is the advocacy of equity-focused designs. Growing up with Chinese immigrant parents, I always noticed their struggle when using products in Canada due to the language barrier. Although they could learn English, equity-focused designs would enrich the experience. Equity-focused design specifically considers underrepresented and excluded groups. For example, alternative text can be added to photos to make it more accessible for the visually-impaired, which produces the same outcome for able-bodied people; both groups will “see” the image. I strongly believe that designs should provide a good experience for whoever uses them, regardless of differences. When I am working on design projects, I always try to have at least three accessibility considerations, such as passing the WebIAM colour contrast test for better visibility. Equity-focused design promotes accessibility and can be achieved by taking consideration of these underrepresented groups." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I am proud to be in is the entrepreneur community at Waterloo. I believe that entrepreneurship is one of the ultimate forms of creativity, as original ideas branch into something more significant. What once was a problem that lessened the users’ experience has now been solved by an entrepreneurial idea or product made! The journey itself comes with a lot of benefits too, as more lessons are learned through ideation and testing. I find myself enjoying each step of the way when designing.\n\nI have engaged and contributed to this community through UW Entrepreneurship Society! Being the current VP Design of this club has allowed me to promote this environment through my designs. I also got the opportunity to help design “Project Janus”, where clubs and organizations create postings of their current entrepreneur projects and positions they need on their team. It creates an inclusive space where people are free to start projects with help or join existing ones to make a change." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I learned a new skill was when I was learning UX design. My motivation to learn UX was through my passion for art and interest in the applications I use everyday. My approach to learning began with reading explanation articles. I believed that learning the concepts and practices for UX design would enhance my current designs. I also watched a video about the UX design process, however, this became a problem because the video expected me to know UX concepts and software for prototyping. This sparked me to search for online courses instead. Specifically, courses that would assist me in the making of my first project, because I believe doing it helps you learn quicker. After comparing some options, I found the Google UX Design Professional Certificate courses. While I may have a stronger understanding of the concepts and whole process, the biggest takeaway I got was that the joy of UX design is that there are always improvements that can be made. I will always learn something new!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688607898257 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "maggielu0331@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "External Director", - "firstName": "Maggie", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Lu", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computing and Financial Management (BCFM)", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff565277d-b013-4c9e-a075-b7e802860aaa?alt=media&token=fdd764ec-b844-46b3-9b9c-4863a9c1270c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "The more, the merrier! Let’s reach out to a new audience by collaborating with a non-profit like the Canadian Disability Foundation. Blueprint’s “accessibility” mission can have more than one meaning - ability and disability affects user experience online. A seminar (called “Dimensions to Design”) on different accommodations for various auditory, tactile, and visual barriers will introduce students to new perspectives and foster social inclusion. We ourselves can embody this by teaching students how to implement larger text settings, colour blindness palettes, text-to-speech, and text highlighting.\n\nIt’s an ambitious idea that I’ve got experience with. As a part of the non-profit Passionfruit Youth, I collaborated with the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy to raise awareness as well as $840 in donations from middle school students. We held a week-long speaker seminar and Minecraft build event where students recreated animals, bird feeders, and habitats. Check it out: linktr.ee/maggie_lu" - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - }, - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "Continuous learning! Given the nature of Blueprint and Waterloo, new skills in the workplace will be useful for members years and years on. \n\nLearning may mean shadowing experienced members, hosting training sessions, and compiling resources like an advanced bootcamp. To further set up a target for growth, members should take initiative and lead small parts of projects, and have their achievements recognized with org awards (like “Biggest Hypeman” or member shoutouts).\n\nCommunication and transparency will also be par for the course, including feedback forms, roadmaps, and member involvement in decisions. Team building may mean holding short icebreakers at the start of each meeting, having small org-sponsored coffee chats at coffee shops, and org-wide gaming sessions.\n\nI’ve also created some sample org mascots (anthropomorphic blueprints) for spirit and branded swag, similarly to PFY’s, an org I work for: linktr.ee/maggie_lu. There’s nothing like a common banner to unite people!" - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern time (at Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Here’s something small but vital: our social bonds make the world go ‘round. I wasn’t always aware of this! Years back when I was Head of Social Media and PR for Youth Helping Youth Ontario, I faced the challenge of connecting with my team despite the pandemic. I tried unconventional methods and even resorted to the second page of Google results for \"zoom bonding activities.\"\n\nDuring stints in other orgs, I’d learned that team members love to know that we see their effort and we appreciate what they do. I adapted that knowledge into something everyone could apply: in our Slack, I revamped the “kudos” channel. Members tag and openly shoutout team members for something fantastic they do. Get kudos, give kudos! We suddenly had over thirty messages a week with huge praise for ourselves, our friends, and our work.\n\nIt indeed made a world of difference for YHYO. First hand, I now know and advocate that our bonds mean success both in life and in doing what we do best: helping the community." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "When I was a newly minted Vice President of the non-profit Youth Helping Youth Ontario, I faced an issue. We’d prided ourselves on being an online hub for volunteering and event opportunities. However, the return to in-person meant our metrics had dropped, our analytics returned disheartening trends, and our team was scratching our heads at a loss. To fix this, I led the Fall 2022 round of recruitment and personally saw it through from the beginning to the end. Schedules for graphics, storyboards for promo videos, and sheaves of paper for flyers were organised under my direction. I held solo meet & greets, coffee chats, and a slew of formal interviews to get to know our member candidates. My core team implemented a plan for the new talent, where we spruced up old guides and delegated experienced members to be shadowed by our new YHYO family members. With this structure, we quickly found our rhythm as a well-oiled information machine. Now, I’m President - and ready to pass on the torch." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Maybe if you’re like me, you love Costco samples because insight before a commitment is important. To provide a sample of what my work could look like at Blueprint, I’ve put together an Instagram account: linktr.ee/maggie_lu\n\nTo do so, I had to learn how to emulate Blueprint’s social media. I put the posts under a magnifying glass: I looked at the corporate memphis art style, the way the background logos interlock in the feed, the desaturated colour palette, and the caption writing style. As far as Google searches went, no dice on internet results for the graphics - so I improvised and lifted the people and logos from screen grabs of the posts, which I also modified. I found fonts through online font finders. By colour-dropping, looking at the pages of other chapters, and brainstorming everything related to blueprints for puns, I had a pretty good approximation with a few of my own twists!\n\nJust like how I’ll disguise myself to get more Costco samples, I always go the extra mile!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688613158198 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "mkgmahra@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Moaz", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Mahran", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "CS/BBA", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff65f1c17-386f-42d8-bbeb-21d70fba6ac8?alt=media&token=86531209-ee40-41f3-861b-43815a875205", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In my previous co-op experience, I primarily focused on automation tasks. While we had existing scripts and systems for most of our products and services, I encountered a unique challenge when we had to automate newly installed equipment. This particular project involved setting up a new model of pumps in a building that was purchasing our Building Automation System. The process involved two main aspects: planning the automation strategy and writing the code to implement it. To begin, we held a meeting where we discussed and determined the desired behavior of the equipment, guided by my manager. Each team member then individually created sample code that aligned with the desired outcome. Later, we regrouped to consolidate all the code into a single, efficient program. To ensure consistent performance, we conducted regression testing on the code, evaluating its behavior across various scenarios, including edge cases.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "It's challenging to pick a single favorite product, but if I were to choose, ChatGPT stands out as an exceptional innovation. Its groundbreaking capabilities in the field of natural language processing have captured my interest and admiration. Witnessing the transformative potential of ChatGPT has ignited my curiosity and fueled my passion for exploring the realms of machine learning and large language models. The ability of ChatGPT to generate human-like responses and engage in meaningful conversations has not only impressed me but has also opened my eyes to the vast possibilities in enhancing user experiences and driving meaningful interactions. I am constantly fascinated by the advancements in this technology and eagerly look forward to further immersing myself in the world of machine learning and exploring new frontiers alongside the dynamic landscape of large language models." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Waterloo, ON" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "As a computer science student, I strongly believe in the importance of using our gifts and opportunities to make a positive impact on others. It is not only fulfilling but also essential to direct our knowledge and skills towards causes beyond our personal benefit. The concept of selfless giving resonates deeply with me, and that is why I decided to apply to Blueprint. Through this platform, I aspire to contribute the knowledge and experiences gained from my computer science studies to support nonprofit causes. By leveraging technology and my skills, I aim to help people without any expectations of personal gain, solely driven by the desire to make a difference in their lives." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take immense pride in my involvement with the Salam Neighbour community, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about Islam and addressing Islamophobia. For nearly two years, I had the privilege of serving as the marketing team lead, where my responsibilities encompassed managing social media platforms, hosting and organizing events, and enlightening people about the true essence of Islam. More recently, I transitioned within the marketing department, assuming a key role in spearheading the development of a new website for Salam Neighbour. Collaborating with a team of four exceptional and talented developers, I am excited to contribute my skills and expertise to create an impactful online presence for the organization." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During a group trip, I discovered the game of Spikeball and felt a strong desire to actively participate rather than spectate from the sidelines. Determined to join in the fun, I embarked on a learning journey. Initially, I observed the gameplay attentively, carefully studying the movements of the players. This allowed me to grasp the rules and intricacies of the game. To further enhance my skills, I engaged in practice matches, gradually honing my abilities. With persistence and dedication, I eventually gained the confidence and competence to actively partake in real game sessions. Now, whenever I play Spikeball, I feel self-assured and capable, enjoying the experience to the fullest." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688156653543 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "j23singh@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "firstName": "Jeevsidak", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Singh", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff69cf7dc-50d8-4376-a28f-e5efb24d8945?alt=media&token=198fae25-af23-4c7a-9f78-ed9afe831b8c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "This may seem obvious as I am a Computer Science major, and coders tend to 'steal' from other coders, but I tend to look for inspiration in other people's work. As I like to follow the motto \"If it ain't broke, don't fix it\". Thus I believe that combining others' ideas can help me create a great idea of my own. By adding to existing work, changing it, and adding my own touch I can create and develop great projects. " - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "This is a link to my Github: https://github.com/JeevsidakSingh. \nHere you will find all of my projects (which are also linked on my resume).", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - }, - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "To build alignment among developers for a standardized code repository:\n\n- Communicate benefits: Emphasize collaboration, efficiency, and code quality improvements, saving time, knowledge sharing, and onboarding ease.\n- Address concerns: Create a safe space for feedback, listen actively, and provide examples of successful implementations.\n- Collaborative decision-making: Involve project leads in shaping the repository's structure and guidelines, forming cross-functional teams, and engaging key stakeholders.\n- Pilot projects: Conduct small-scale implementations, highlight positive outcomes, and gather feedback for refinement.\n- Training and support: Provide training sessions, documentation, and ongoing support to assist developers during adoption.\n- Continuous improvement: Encourage feedback, incorporate suggestions, and recognize contributions to ensure the repository remains relevant." - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Climate change and saving the planet are causes that deeply resonate with me. As I witness the alarming consequences of environmental degradation, it ignites a passion within me to take a stand and make a difference. Nature has always been a source of solace and inspiration for me, reminding me of the interconnectedness of all living beings. I feel a profound sense of responsibility to protect and restore our planet. The urgency to address climate change compels me to take action on both personal and collective levels. I am committed to adopting sustainable practices in my everyday life, reducing my carbon footprint, and advocating for environmental policies and initiatives." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Growing up as a Sikh in Canada, I always felt different. Being the only kid with a turban made it quite difficult to find people to relate to. Although it was difficult, I stayed true to my roots and was always proud of my heritage. Eventually, this rubbed off on my classmates and the hate and bullying turned into curiosity and friendships. As I grew older and got to high school, I realized that I wasn't the only one who had to go through this, there were numerous others just like me. Thus I started volunteering at my local Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) as a Punjabi teacher, this allowed me to act as a role model for other children who were facing the same situations that I went through as a child. I would teach these kids to be proud of their heritage and speak their mother tongue; showing them that you could combine Western and Eastern cultures, allowing them to educate others as well." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I like to play a lot of sports. Whether that be basketball, soccer, or even football, I just like to be active. Thus I tend to dabble in new areas of athletics quite often. And whenever I try a new sport, I have to learn new skills (although many skills are transferable, most sports have specific skills you must excel at). For example, I recently learned how to play spike ball and had to learn all the rules and skills associated with it. When I first tried to hit the ball, I completely missed the net and all my friends laughed at me, but I didn't give up and kept trying. I was motivated by the possibility of getting quite good at the game and being able to have competitive games with others and being able to trash talk my friends. My competitive nature kept me from quitting and I eventually did get better at spiking the ball on the net. Now my friends and I do have competitive games on a regular basis, and I achieved my goal of being good enough to talk smack while playing." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687748253304 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "z335zhu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Ziming", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Zhu", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff7065fc6-9aa4-4241-b01a-1bb3fdb405b3?alt=media&token=81138bf6-47d4-410f-9333-9cb1d9fe6c3f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I was working on one of the company's websites during my first co-op term. I need to upgrade the front-end framework from AngularJS to Angular and update the back-end services apis. I had not worked with C# .NET framework before that work term and had lot's of issue creating RESTful api and using the company's library. The first thing I did was to go to the .NET official documentation to watch the tutorial videos and had a basic understanding of the language and the framework. Then I asked other colleagues how they improve their knowledge in technology, and they recommended Udemy lessons. After quickly watching several tutorials, I was able to solve most of the issues. Then I reached out to my manager when I met difficulties. I was finishing the task and learning the framework at the same time. I was able to complete websites by myself after that tasks and I think the experience taught me how to solve technical issues.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "I was the volunteer team leader in Chinese cultural center and we organized several activities each year. My responsibility is to coordinate with team members to assign work and make daily schedule. I am able to corporate with other people to ahcieve best efficiency and make proper devision for the team." - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "After checking the blueprint's website and social media, I am really interested in the project that the blueprint is working on. I like working with non-profit organizations to improve their capability of helping people. I feel it would be exciting to apply concepts learned in university to the real world and provide support." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am in the Calgary and Alberta Chinese cultural community and I am really proud to be one of the members. We had several activities throughout the year and I am in the volunteer team. I am the team leader to organize new year events and help other volunteers to schedule their work." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I learned percussion during high school. I was always interested in drums and keyboards and I got a chance to join the school band as a percussionist. I first started with very simple music and gradually got to know all the instruments, then I started harder ones and found music that I am interested in online. I met lots of difficulties when I started to learn percussion, I first did research online and found solutions to the problem, and I never hesitated to ask the band director. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688076271030 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "c63zhang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Carolyn", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Zhang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff803fcfa-0ac8-4ac2-967d-e0fb4f1b7b53?alt=media&token=15e831af-3f52-419a-bfc0-4c0ede3e0686", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Like many, I had a huge Wordle phase last year and would play the game daily. A mix of curiosity, boredom, and eagerness to put into practice the C++ I was learning at the time led me to decide to try to develop an algorithm to solve Wordle.\nI began with a mildly effective brute-force algorithm that merely filtered through the list of Wordle words. It was only when I started looking into information theory and predictive modeling, as suggested by the many YouTube videos and blog posts I consumed, that I started developing a more robust strategy. One of the biggest hurdles I faced along the way was the slowness of data collection and model testing―I was iterating through a fairly large dataset (thousands of words) and performing many operations for each word! To solve this problem, I used memoization to store state information and speed up the process. In the end, through plenty of perseverance, I eventually got to a Wordle solver that averages 3.49 guesses to win! Better than me :D", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "I’ll be in Eastern Time :)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "It’s no revelation that women are vastly outnumbered in STEM―especially in computer science, where women only account for 20% of bachelor’s degrees. The root causes of this issue are deeply ingrained in society, beginning as early as preschool where teachers’ own implicit biases can lead to unequal opportunities for boys and girls.\nGrowing up, I was fortunate to have strong female role models to look up to. My high school computer science teacher―a woman―instilled my passion for programming and always encouraged me to take on tough challenges and believe in my abilities. Later on, my friend and I founded a Women in STEM club at our high school to bring together and provide resources for other STEM-focused girls, with events ranging from Q&As with alumni to career presentations. Being able to make a difference in a cause that matters so deeply to me was immensely rewarding, and I look forward to bringing the same level of dedication to developing projects for social good at Blueprint!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I’ve been a part of Computer Science Club’s Events Team since the beginning of my 1A term. Through this community, I’ve met some of my closest friends and mentors, learned to effectively work with others to meet deadlines, and put together some pretty cool events 😎 The most rewarding event I organized was definitely W23 Bootcamp, where I coordinated with several UW tech clubs (including Blueprint :)) to put together a multi-day resume review and mock interview event. I wanted to go one step further that term and make an even bigger impact: I knew how nervous all my 1B peers and I felt entering our very first co-op search, so I put together \"Co-op Masterclass\", a presentation and Q&A event where upper-year speakers with plenty of co-op experience shared the strategies and knowledge they’d accumulated along the way. I was thrilled to see the level of engagement throughout the event, and it was incredibly rewarding to hear attendees gush about how beneficial the event I organized was!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "I first started learning full stack web development when I bought myself an online course (as a Christmas gift :)), hoping to learn skills for co-ops and hackathons. I watched hundreds of lessons, reviewing the basics (HTML, CSS, JS) and learning new libraries/frameworks like Bootstrap, Express, and React. As I got deeper into the course, I couldn’t help but imagine all the possibilities unlocked by the new skills I was learning―and this only motivated me to learn more. A particular project my learning inspired me to get started on was a meal prepping app to help reduce household food waste. This project became a positive feedback loop for learning: as I dreamed up new features, I also faced real-time problems, which led me to search for and learn from tutorials and bug fixes (thanks Stack Overflow!). My top goal right now is to learn as many new software skills as I can―and Blueprint is just the place to do that, with so much experience to gain through working on a project team!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688091140712 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "e222wong@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Ernest", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Wong", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science and Business Administration", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff81d9787-16c0-4b7d-96e1-719f488e0c3a?alt=media&token=a0ff53dc-8b0f-45c2-b459-6ab8400c19c4", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging problem I’ve recently worked on was a project for my internship at Bloomberg. My task was to build a system to recommend trading workflows to clients. What made this problem challenging was its open-ended nature. I wasn’t guided towards a specific approach, and in fact our team wasn’t even sure if there was an effective solution. Subsequently, I used a statistically based approach to determine which solutions were most effective and how to improve them. Some factors I considered were accuracy, efficiency and scalability. I evaluated multiple solutions, both heuristic and machine learning based, and slowly iterated each one to determine the most effective solution. In the end, I implemented an LSTM model which analyzed a user’s trading behavior to determine effective workflows. I faced many challenges such as processing raw data and scaling my system to work on millions of orders. This experience taught me how to systematically approach open-ended technical problems.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that holds great significance to me is access to quality education. I strongly believe that a society's progress and prosperity are intrinsically linked to the quality of its education system. I was first exposed to this problem during high school when I devoted numerous hours to tutoring students at our school’s math club. Through this experience, I witnessed the transformative impact of personalized education, not only in terms of improved academic performance but also overall happiness. The satisfaction of providing these opportunities to students was immensely fulfilling. This experience led me to also channel my passion for software development towards addressing this challenge. I developed an application that connected 500 students with tutors across Canada. I hope that I can continue to contribute to this space, whether through meaningful projects, such as Blueprint’s work with Project Read, or continuing to share my knowledge with the people I work with." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that has become an integral part of my life that I’m proud to be a part of is Waterloop. What makes me passionate about the team is both the extraordinary individuals I work with and the complex yet gratifying challenge we strive to overcome. As the lead of the firmware team, I feel that my greatest contribution wasn’t the projects I've worked on, but the mentorship I've been able to provide. Over the course of two terms as lead, I’ve enjoyed onboarding new members, aiding them in grasping complex concepts and helping them foster meaningful connections with other team members. As a team lead, my goal has been to make Waterloop as good an experience as it was for me. I’ve been dedicated to facilitating opportunities for members to acquire new skills, meet interesting people, and work on problems that ignite their passion. In all, I love being a part of Waterloop because it’s provided me with so many opportunities to learn, mentor and contribute to a meaningful problem space." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "My passion for improving access to education led me to create a mobile app that connected students with tutors. When starting out, I had only worked with web dev, but I felt that a mobile app would be more accessible for the demographic. As such, I embarked on a journey to learn mobile dev with the aim of making my vision a reality. My approach was to learn the basics, build smaller projects, and finally work towards the final app. I delved into many tutorials and interacted with online groups to gain new insights. I faced many obstacles throughout the process, such as when I chose the tech stack I wanted to learn. Flutter, a cross-platform language, had much less support when compared to other frameworks, but was much more efficient since I could build for both platforms simultaneously. Rather than being deterred, I viewed these obstacles as opportunities for growth and problem-solving. This project has led me to seek new opportunities and developed my interest for mobile development." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688600979086 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "Finished 1B (Coop term)", - "email": "rachelheo455@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Rachel", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Heo", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff8527bb5-1382-426a-a9ba-11520938da01?alt=media&token=b6c1a432-0053-442a-b81c-ae86d147983c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "In my previous role as a project developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem related to the test bench I was using. The test bench was constantly being updated and modified by multiple teams, leading to productivity delays in my tasks that relied on it. Various teams were working on debugging the bootloader, FPGA, firmware, and other components, making it crucial for everyone to use the most up-to-date versions. To address this, I proposed a solution to my product manager, suggesting of a better plan to utilize the version control system for the test bench's codebase. By fully utilizing branching and merging techniques, each team could work independently and integrate their changes once stable. Additionally, I recommended the adoption of automated testing and continuous integration practices to ensure stability and early issue detection.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product is a productivity application called Todo mate. Though this may be another average to-do list app, to-do mate allows me and my friends to share and interact with each other's to-do lists. This feature provides a sense of accountability and motivation, as I receive notifications about my friends' completed tasks. This peer pressure effect inspires me to stay focused and productive. Todo Mate's social element made me realize the power of human connection and support in driving productivity. Thus thanks to Todo mate and my friends, I am able to continue to thrive in a motivating environment with boosted productivity." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "People with disabilities. My little cousin has autism and I have seen him grow up facing difficulties in learning, hardships with his social life, and him having difficulties coming to terms with himself. I have always been there for him and supported him however I can and with the love and support, he was able to become a more confident extraordinary child. Witnessing his struggles and triumphs has fueled my passion for supporting individuals with disabilities and enabling them to overcome challenges. I believe in fostering empathy, understanding, and acceptance within society, and I am committed to creating a more inclusive and compassionate world for everyone. I have learned that small acts of kindness and support can make a significant impact on the lives of people with disabilities. To further pursue my passion for this cause, I have been part of a charity that supports children with disabilities for 2 years as an executive member." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in being a member of the Korean church community, especially considering the challenges I faced as a Korean immigrant who had to relocate total of 10 times throughout my life. The warm embrace and support I received from this community helped me adjust to the new foreign country and find a sense of belonging. This community also helped me to stay connected with my Korean heritage, providing a valuable link to my roots. One of the ways I actively contributed to this community was through my involvement as a singer in the worship team for over four years. Being part of the worship team enabled me to express my faith, uplift the spirits of fellow church members, and foster a sense of unity during our gatherings. I brought people together through this unity as well as welcome new comers with Korean worship songs they are familiar to. I am grateful to be part of such a community that has had a profound impact on my journey." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Reflection. Throughout my life in high school, I rarely had time alone. Go to school with friends. Chillax at home with family. Time went by so fast every day. After I started university, I had a difficult time adapting to the new environment with new people and no one I knew from before as I moved across the country from BC. Alongside, I had imposter syndrome seeing so many talented students. To sum up, during my transition to university, I experienced a sense of isolation and self-doubt. To overcome these challenges, I recognized the need for self-reflection. I set aside dedicated time to contemplate my goals, values, and aspirations. Through journaling and introspection, I gained clarity about my strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. Taking a proactive approach, I seek for resources and opportunities to develop new skills. Attending events and workshops, self-learning coding, and participating in extracurricular activities helped me build confidence and overcome feelings o" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687928083851 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "s3passi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Sameer", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Passi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff89e3ace-f0d8-4989-a9eb-a5bb916885be?alt=media&token=fd5c51b1-13f6-4282-8160-f5d9dccced82", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During a previous co-op, I encountered a challenging technical problem while developing an end-to-end service that handled messages and data transmission during scheduled maintenance or unexpected shutdown periods of our company's product. Initially, I relied on Lambda functions for this task. However, during testing, I discovered that this approach was excessively costly. To find an alternative solution, I delved into AWS documentation. I explored options such as scheduling Lambda functions or delaying their execution. Unfortunately, these approaches did not suit our needs since the shutdowns could be unexpected or longer than the maximum Lambda delay. Fortunately, my research led me to discover Step Functions. By utilizing Lambda functions to detect shutdowns in the system, I could leverage Step Functions to retrieve and store the data until the shutdown period ended. Once the system confirmed the completion of the shutdown, the stored data would be sent for further processing.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favourite product would have to be Beats headphones. Being a music lover, these headphones have become an integral part of my daily life. Whether I'm working, studying, or working out, they're always with me. The noise-canceling feature also really helps me with my focus, something I sometimes struggle with. The versatility of Beats headphones allows me to seamlessly transition between different activities. They have truly become an essential product that enhances my overall productivity and enjoyment throughout the day." - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (Waterloo)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "I am deeply passionate about advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and promoting accessibility. This cause holds a special place in my heart because my aunt was a quadriplegic, and I witnessed firsthand the challenges she faced in her daily life. I believe that everyone, regardless of their abilities, should have equal opportunities and access to resources. I am committed to fighting for improved treatment and inclusivity for people with disabilities, making the world a more accessible place for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I take great pride in being part of the Indian community while also embracing my Canadian identity. I am grateful for the way Canada has welcomed my family and provided us with opportunities for a better quality of life and access to superior healthcare. As a member of this diverse community, I have actively contributed by organizing cultural events and celebrations. I have also volunteered at local community centres, assisting newcomers in their settlement process. Through these efforts, I aim to foster unity, bridge cultural gaps, and celebrate the rich heritage of my Indian roots within the Canadian context." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Learning new skills has always been an exciting journey for me. One notable experience was when I took up a co-op job that required proficiency in Amazon Web Services (AWS), an area where I had limited experience. To prepare, I dedicated my break between school and the start of the co-op to educate myself on the various AWS applications, such as Lambda and DynamoDB, by watching numerous instructional videos. Once the work began and I had access to an AWS account, I spent extensive time during the first week and many late nights practicing and experimenting with different services. By challenging myself and persistently seeking improvement, I gradually became proficient in using AWS, ensuring I was well-equipped to fulfill my responsibilities during the co-op." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688571914864 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "3B", - "email": "a364gupt@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Anoushka", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Gupta", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff9421dd1-a220-44a9-8430-f31b46155908?alt=media&token=513d96cd-faae-4163-8e24-19b8bdf03bb9", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Frontend", - "Backend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "I previously faced the challenge of poor code quality in a production application. The product was recently acquired and hence the previous owner used to outsource their features to a lot of developers around the globe. As a result, there was a lot of different styles of codes and redundancy functions and classes.\n Therefore, to make the codebase consistent with the current company code practices, I conducted a thorough code review, identified key issues, and prioritised refactoring based on impact. Following best practices, I improved code readability, modularity, and reduced duplication. Rigorous testing and open communication with the team ensured stability and alignment with project goals. Documenting the process facilitated future maintenance. The refactoring significantly enhanced stability, performance, and maintainability, reducing development time and effort. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "One of the causes that resonates with me is promoting equal access to technology and digital literacy.n As a web developer, I have witnessed the power of digital platforms in providing education, connectivity, and empowerment. Hence, I make a conscious effort to prioritise creating inclusive and accessible web solutions, implementing web standards and responsive design. I have participated and volunteer in WWCode events and hosted a workshop for Mathsoc to create more awareness about different opportunities. My goal is to make a meaningful impact in creating a more inclusive and equitable digital landscape for all." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I'm proud to be part of the Frontend Mentor community. As a web developer, I actively contribute by completing frontend challenges, providing constructive feedback to fellow members, and engaging in the forum discussions. I share my expertise, offer solutions, and encourage others to learn and grow alongside me. Through my contributions, I help create a supportive and collaborative environment that fosters continuous learning and skill development among aspiring frontend developers." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my third co-op, I encountered a project that required working with Three.js, a powerful 3D visualization library. Recognizing its importance, I dedicated a weekend to gaining an in-depth understanding of Three.js.\n\nI extensively researched Three.js, studying official documentation, online tutorials, and examples. With this knowledge, I embarked on hands-on practice, building projects of increasing complexity. Starting with simple scenes, I gradually incorporated lighting, materials, animations, and interactivity to create immersive visualizations.\n\nThis gave me a boost at work to understand the pre-existing codebase of the visualiser as well as to built newer features." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688483776743 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "s42zhu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "VP Finance & Operations", - "firstName": "Sophia", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Zhu", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Math/BBA", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffc034a0d-6929-479d-bdc9-9d328a97b2d2?alt=media&token=99d1ab45-e1d0-4c5d-93ad-3b28c9cceba1", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "13", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?", - "response": "I approach sponsorships with one core thought: “How can I add value?” and use it to build a sponsorship deck.\n \n1. Blueprint - I’ll highlight our mission of social good, share our values, and how we’re unique. \n2. We’re Worth It - Now, the sponsor is going “Hey, this Blueprint fella seems interesting!”. So, I’ll showcase our past projects, emphasizing our successes. We want to gain their trust as we show them how we’ve added value to our local communities. \n3. Benefits - At this point, the company thinks “Blueprint ain’t that bad!”. So, to reel them in, I’ll emphasize how they can align with positive change and support our work by giving us monetary or in-kind sponsorships. I’ll explain what perks they’ll receive, whether that's their logo on our website or a swag bag. Sponsorships should provide value to both parties, as well as our clients. \n4. Thank you! - Lastly, thank them and ask them to imagine how their sponsorship can help Blueprint’s endeavors to improve our local communities" - } - ], - "role": "VP Finance & Operations" - }, - { - "id": "14", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?", - "response": "When looking at Blueprint’s mission statement, several key phrases that stand out: \n\n1. Making technology more accessible and useful\nThey must have a technological goal, as that’s where our expertise lies. Furthermore, this goal must align with our internal resources: Is the task feasible for developers? Do we have the bandwidth? Is the scope of the goal reasonable?\nIn addition, we should ensure that the best solution for their goal incorporates technology out of necessity, rather than grandeur. After all, Blueprint prides itself on high-quality and high-impact work, not ‘work for the sake of work’. \n2. Create communities and promote public welfare\nWe need to ensure the company’s goal positively impacts our local community—the more impactful, the better! We also need to check the company. Do they have a history of positive change? What actions have they already taken to solve their problems? We want to align ourselves with other companies that also value social welfare! " - } - ], - "role": "VP Project Scoping" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Project Scoping", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Whenever your mental health goes haywire, the experience can be summed up with 2 words: It sucks. I’m no stranger to it. In fact, with the crushing pressure of academics and uncertainty of the future, I doubt anybody is.\n\nHowever, that shouldn’t be normal. Kids shouldn’t be struggling to wake up. Students shouldn’t have to wait months to see a therapist. Adults shouldn’t doubt their self-worth over job applications. \n\nThat’s why the Ontario Structure Psychotherapy Program’s cause resonates with me. It allows adults to receive free short-term cognitive behavioral therapy, connecting patients with certified psychotherapists. \n\nAlthough it doesn’t solve the issue, it provides an important opportunity for those who are actively seeking help! It’s a free and reliable way to receive professional therapy, significantly reducing the entry barriers when searching for a solution. Most importantly, It gives people hope for a happier future—one where they don’t need to struggle alone. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I’m part of is called Asian Wander Women (AWW). It’s a Facebook community to inspire and connect Asian and female (to-be) digital nomads. I joined because I wanted to see what digital nomadism is like and whether this lifestyle would be a good fit for me. \n\nAt first, I contributed through rare and random questions. However, when I stumbled upon a volunteer position to help with AWW’s social media, I jumped at the opportunity. \n\nAfter a few months, I transitioned to become a community moderator, Event Lead for the AWW Buildathon, and later the Content Lead—my favorite role. Here, I managed the “AWW Spotlight” series, interviewing AWW members and asking them about travel, nomadism, and remote work. It was so fascinating to see how people pursued authenticity! Currently, I’m working as Sponsorship Lead for AWW’s Summit. \n\nMy time at AWW has been so fun—I’ve met so many women that inspire me to pursue my dreams—and I hope I’m a part of the community for the years to come!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "One skill I’m learning is flipping a coin over my knuckles. It’s normal to think “Wow! Why?” In response, I’ll say: \n1. It sounds cool \n2. I’m curious about it. Curiosity drives my decisions and encourages me to learn about the world. I use it as a lens to explore my environment, poking and prodding for more information. \n3. Flipping a coin prevents me from biting my nails. I hope to use this skill as a stepping stone to removing bad habits and taking opportunities to improve myself!\n\nTo learn this skill, I first researched. What information was already on YouTube? Next, I spent time breaking down the steps. How should I go about learning to make it more efficient? What common mistakes did people make? Then, I practiced. At home, when I was bored, whenever. It’s consistent practice that really matters, like practicing for 20 minutes each day, rather than 1.5 hours on one day. Lastly, I recorded myself for a more objective view, helping me improve. There’s always more to strive for!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1687963860808 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "4A", - "email": "sasaraf@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Lead", - "firstName": "Shivam ", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Saraf", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffc351d09-972b-4ef8-9152-af99a6bebadd?alt=media&token=c11f2c4b-3a99-4712-8499-6414bf363685", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "4", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During the Winter of 2023, I had the wonderful opportunity to intern as a Software Engineering Intern at Cockroach Labs. During the scope of this internship, I worked on implementing forward indexes on JSON columns in Cockroach DB. In contrast to all of my other technical experiences, the biggest challenge with this project was that none of my team members had certainty over the right way of solving this problem. It was solely up to me to research on the way other databases, such as Postgres, solved this problem for the purpose of putting forward an idea which could be implemented and agreed upon by the entire engineering organization at the firm. This saw me read several research papers as well as interacting with the open source community before I finally stumbled across a low level solution. The solution required me to rethink and redesign how JSON objects were stored in the binary format and I was able to deduce a mapping on which a lexicographical ordering was implemented!", - "uniqueId": 1 - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.", - "response": "I had the amazing opportunity of being a Project Lead at Coffee 'N Code during my 1B term at the University of Waterloo. During my first few months at the University, I noticed an omnipresent stigma around the world of programming. Most non STEM students viewed programming as a practice which was super difficult and unattainable without having prior experience in the field. With an aim to teach programming to my peers having little or no experience, I started a Python workshop. This workshop spanned over 14 weeks and witnessed over 100 people tuning in during each weekly session. The course was designed in a way which was beginner friendly and also consisted of introductions to some of the most important concepts. Most students, towards the end of this crash course, were also able to develop a game of their own choice in the `turtle` graphics package provided by Python. Upon receiving feedback on this workshop, it was found that most peers now felt comfortable to code!" - } - ], - "role": "Project Lead" - }, - { - "id": "8", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.", - "response": "1. As a starter, I would love to conduct an engineering all-hands where I break the ice and propose the idea about creating a standardized code repository. After sharing my own viewpoints, I would love to open the panel for any questions and comments for the purpose of creating discussions between engineers present on the call.\n2. After gathering all the feedback from the call, I would love to understand the overall consensus with regards to the scenario at hand. \n3. In the event that there is a majority for the motion of creating a repository, I would encourage the development of a prototype initially. Before complete migration, all developers would have access to this prototype which would bring further clarity if such a proposal is effective and feasible.\n4. Throughout the process, I would ensure that I keep on receiving feedback from all engineers present and shall also create an environment where fruitful technical discussions are fostered" - } - ], - "role": "VP Engineering" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "VP Engineering", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Easter Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Having come from a humble financial background, I view myself as an extremely grateful person who is fortunate to have a shelter above my head, food to eat and water to drink. Having had the opportunity to reside in different Canadian cities since 2019, I have noticed that homelessness and general poverty has been on the rise. Even though I find myself complaining about the harsh winters in Ontario, I find it almost impossible to put myself in the shoes of those who live without basic necessities during these months of survival. Having said that, I strongly believe that having access to technology in the modern era is sufficient to kickstart a solution towards this pressing problem. This thought has inspired my interest in a community such as the one found at Blueprint where people, such as myself, believe that having access to technology can make an impact for the greater overall good. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "All throughout my life, the one thing that has stayed constant is my affection for various sports. Team sports, specifically, are something that I have always adored as they inculcate camaraderie almost instantaneously. One team sport that I have been playing for over five years has been soccer. During my current internship, I noticed that there was a large presence of soccer fans who loved the sport but did not play it due to a lack of a team. I was fortunate to have had the right number of people for taking the initiative to forming a team and registering for a local tournament. Every Sunday, the team gets together to play a tough game which goes on for 70 minutes. This has, in-turn, helped me meet many more soccer lovers, such as myself, and also break the ice between my coworkers in a very natural way. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "As someone who is always on the hunt for being a tad better each day, I recently developed an interest in understanding how I can improve my mental focus in daily activities. This led me to discover meditation and it's benefits. When I first started meditating, I severely underestimated the challenges that would come with it. The main aim of each 10 minute session is to clear your thoughts with the sole purpose of focusing on one's breathing. Having said that, my initial attempts saw my brain being clouded with random thoughts throughout each session. While this was frustrating, I actively chose to practice it every single day with an aim to better clear my mind during each successive session. Moreover, I actively researched on how experienced practitioners achieved excellence in this field and some of these findings have helped me become better at this practice. Conclusively, constant repetition despite the initial failures have helped me become better at meditation." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1687756977237 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "1A", - "email": "anantduggal05@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Anant", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Duggal", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science // Business Administration (Dual Degree)", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffca65fcc-8569-4da4-b1af-08d6964c1de0?alt=media&token=c970d6c7-3b48-4468-85fc-0c2bf8aa480f", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "Currently, I am working on a desktop application called \"Swift\" which aims to integrate machine learning and technological frameworks into a comprehensive repository of tools for developers. This innovative solution streamlines the onboarding process by automating various tasks, eliminating the need of user intervention. On the full-stack team, I am actively using electron.js with FastAPI, MongoDB & GCP to construct the application. However, this endeavour is not without challenges. Notably FastAPI being a relatively new framework, presents scalability issues and has a smaller user base, resulting in limited support on platforms like Stack Overflow. To address this, I successfully implemented flaskwebgui, an extension that allowed me to combine my existing knowledge of Flask. By harnessing the power of FastAPI's multithreading capabilities and mitigating scalability concerns, I effectively tackled resource-intensive tasks that would have otherwise led to delays when using Flask alone.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Over the past 4 years I have personally witnessed the inequities and injustices persisting within STEAM, especially towards women & marginalized communities. Progressing into a leadership position as the chair of SPARK which looked to provide accessible opportunities in the GTA, I amassed a team comprising over 70% women – 40% from diverse ethnicities in pursuit of gender equality. Under my guidance, we spearheaded an initiative known as a learnathon which sought to foster a union between education & STEAM. Particularly, we integrated technology, sustainability & the empowerment of minorities within the event, thereby showcasing their impact on our participants via presentations. Our learnathon attracted an array of Workshop Leads, Mentors & Speakers, most of whom were passionate women activists within the STEAM fields, sharing their projects to inspire those traversing similar paths. SPARK has grown towards equality involving more women & marginalized people, under my leadership." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As an avid developer on ROBLOX, I have actively contributed to a One Piece game for over 2 years. Being Head Management within the game, I have exposed myself to front-end development, utilizing visual effects & intricate 3D models to fashion interactive features that engross and captivate players. Also building robust back-end systems, I spearheaded the creation of a framework “Glue” that stands as the second-most optimized UI within the expansive platform, elevating the overall player experience.\n\nEmbracing my role as a leader, I’ve contributed to designing, implementing, and collaborating with like-minded individuals to forge roadmaps that expedite the game's progress. While leading 30 developers & 20 staff members, the game has achieved resounding success with over 60 million visits & 700 000 active members. With my active engagement in the game's development, I have played a pivotal role in driving the success & satisfaction of its players." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "With SHAD, I was exposed to environmental sustainability which urged me to uncover new skills to make an actionable change within the community. Being inspired by SHAD concepts such as researching, prototyping & pitching my design to a team of stakeholders, I furthered this and implement the goal we made into an actual application. Specifically, I recognized the social & environmental impact of poor disposal of chemicals in household items so, I designed a mobile app and implemented it using Flutter & Dart where I first used full-stack. The app was able to educate all age groups through app incentives “Bloo Points” on proper disposal & utilized APIs in finding the nearest disposal station of a given product. I took this a step further by using an online AR application & Tensorflow that displayed the product’s toxicity by scanning the product’s name. I aim to advance my experience in sparking social change by merging my passion for technology & social impact at UWBlueprint." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688183220522 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "m272xu@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Michelle", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Xu", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffd085edc-061b-44f3-9ea4-59c7c9713165?alt=media&token=d5e9a274-5076-4e8a-b9f4-a2f44ebb5f3e", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I encountered was a problem that was not initially relating to the project I was working. I was working on creating a new feature for a web application that would fetch and display a user's data from AWS DynamoDB. As I was working on this feature I noticed that there were occasions where not all of the data was being fetched from the queries. To solve this problem, I did my own investigation to gather information about the bug and its behavior. I then took this information to my coworkers to see if they had encountered the problem before, but they had not. From there, I did more research online and found information regarding pagination in DynamoDB which requires the use of of 'nextToken' parameter. Having discovered this, I was able to implement it into the project I was working on, as well as other queries across the application to provide future proofing and prevention of the bug that I ran into.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern time zone" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Encouraging more women, and especially young girls into the field of STEM is a cause that deeply resonates with me. Historically, women have been underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, facing numerous challenges and barriers. Breaking gender barriers and promoting equality in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, can help us to drive innovation by being exposed to a more diverse set of viewpoints and ideas. Empowering women in STEM not only promotes diversity and inclusivity but also fosters innovation, advances society, and paves the way for a more equitable future. This cause resonates with me as a women identifying individual working in the stem industry. I am often the sole female developer in a team and I would greatly like to see more women in this field. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Growing up, I loved reading and each week I would go to the library and take out a new stack of stories to indulge in. As I got older, I joined my local library as a volunteer. As a volunteer, I have helped with children's events as well as mentored a struggling reader in one-on-one sessions. As a passionate advocate for literacy and education, being involved in this community allowed me to make a positive impact on the lives of young readers and share my love of reading." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Growing up I always enjoyed baking, however, I was not big on cooking as I had a big fear of heat and knives. However as I entered university, I was motivated to try and learn how to cook. My motivation to learn was the desire to recreate the family dishes I grew up enjoying and to be able to share these recipes and traditions with my close friends. My approach to learning was of gradual progression, starting with simple recipes. I began with dishes that required minimal cooking time and had a limited number of ingredients, typically without meat (a whole new area). I initially followed recipes exactly, however as I gained more confidence and skills, I was able to adjust recipes to my own tasting. I also challenged myself to make harder recipes and use ingredients (such as meat, seafood) that I would not have gravitated towards previously. With any skill, practice is very important, and I am able to do a bit of practice each day to further improve my skills." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1687577299182 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "j33ho@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Jacqueline", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Ho", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffd2eeeb1-813f-4304-a2e1-8d9b534a714e?alt=media&token=4d4ace58-31bc-4a45-9a33-e09fe85a1a39", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my senior year of high school, I was faced with the task of coding my own game within a tight deadline of 2 weeks. Excited, I was determined to create the perfect game. But, my excitement soon faded as bright red lines covered my code & bugs appeared throughout. Soon enough, a week passed and I found myself in a pit of doubt–Should I give up? But, something told me to keep going. So with the time I had left, I made a list of proactive steps I could take to finish the game. Instead of allowing my frustrations take over, I viewed each bug as a learning opportunity–thoroughly testing my code at each step. And instead of coding an idea instantly, I took the time to carefully plan it out and research new concepts. With my newfound mindset, each feature came more easily and in the end, I transformed the screen of errors into my own game! By persevering, I not only learned new technical skills but also a valuable lesson: challenging myself is truly the best form of self-improvement.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - }, - { - "id": "2", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?", - "response": "If I could only have one app on my phone, it would be Pinterest. Pinterest has always been my go-to source for inspiration with its endless collection of images and ideas curated by creative minds all around the world. Whether I’m searching for outfit inspiration, graphic design concepts, or aesthetic palettes, I often find myself scrolling endlessly on Pinterest, amazed by the abundance of ideas on the platform. Honestly, It's like diving into a bottomless rabbit-hole of inspiration! Not only has it been my biggest source of inspiration, but also a great way to organize all my creative ideas and thoughts into one place. Whenever I start a new project or seek life inspiration, I love creating a moodboard dedicated to whatever’s on my mind! By sorting and curating my own personal collection, I can visually explore ideas and capture the essence of my vision in a curated collection of images, colours, and aesthetics that I can always look back on." - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.", - "response": "https://jacquelineho.me/\n\nCreating my personal portfolio was actually my first ever dive into web development! I had no prior experience or knowledge in building websites and started off by following an “Introduction to React.js” youtube tutorial. However, as I began to explore the world of web development and let my creativity flow, I soon found myself spending hours of my free time working on my portfolio for fun. Whether it was being able to pick a colour palette for my website or designing the layout of a page, the entire process allowed me to merge my passion for creativity and coding into one and soon the perfect outlet to express my artistic vision while growing my technical skills. My journey of learning web development was an eye-opening experience that led me to discover my genuine love for the craft, and with UW Blueprint, I hope to continue to grow my passion for creativity and tech.", - "uniqueId": 2 - } - ], - "role": "Product Designer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Product Designer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (EST)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Growing up in Canada, I had the privilege of living in a world where my access to free healthcare was something that I took for granted. It wasn’t until my Gr. 11 World Issues class, where I gained a deep understanding of the cruel impact of poverty across the world, that my perspective truly changed. As I learned about the poor quality of life in countries with little to no medical access, the issue of global health inequality touched me personally. I soon became deeply passionate in addressing the lack of medical resources in low-income communities. In hopes of making an impact, I co-founded my city’s MEDLIFE chapter–a non-profit dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty. Leading 100+ members through city-wide initiatives, I helped raise over $1000 to bring essential medical services for marginalized communities in Africa during the pandemic. Ever since, I’ve been committed to ensuring that essential healthcare reaches those in need & hope to continue my efforts with UW Blueprint." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "Computer science has always been my favorite course, but being 1 of 3 girls in my Gr. 12 class, I recognized an underrepresentation of women in my school’s STEM community. In response, I became passionate about closing the gender gap in STEM and created my school’s first app development club–aimed to inspire girls to gain an interest in coding. By reaching out to girls interested in design, marketing, and music, I fostered an inclusive environment for all women to explore a passion for coding. Recruiting 40+ female members, I led school-wide events and meetings dedicated to promoting gender equity in computing. As well, I closely mentored a team of 15 young girls within the club through a year-long project, providing my personal advice and support whenever they needed. Being a part of the Women in STEM community is something I will always be proud of, and I hope to continue to share my passion and work towards a future where women can stand tall in the field of computer science." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Fashion has always been a constant source of inspiration for me, igniting my creativity and allowing me to express myself authentically. However, I often struggled to find clothing pieces that truly resonated with my personal style. Whether it was due to high prices or the unsustainable practices of fast fashion, I felt disconnected from the clothes I encountered at my local stores. Determined to break free from this cycle, I decided to take matters into my own hands and pick up the skill of sewing! With the help of my mom's old sewing machine, I began to delve into this creative endeavor, immersing myself in hundreds of YouTube tutorials. Starting with small additions and alterations to old clothes I found at the thrift store, I gradually gained the confidence and skill to design my own unique outfits from scratch! Through this experience, I not only gained the opportunity to explore my style and create innovative designs, but also advocate for a more sustainable and inclusive future." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688591754282 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A", - "email": "y333wang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Product Manager", - "firstName": "Yaxin", - "heardFrom": "Instagram", - "lastName": "Wang", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Biomedical Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffd49da25-3c94-432a-a4d3-609ce0ef8b11?alt=media&token=d31f86f3-6ddc-47c8-8037-9da7cf04249c", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "3", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What is your favourite product?", - "response": "My favorite product is my Nalgene water bottle. \n\nIt may seem simple, but this reliable and well-designed product has constantly served as my favorite adventure companion; providing me with that refreshing cold taste of water when I need it the most. \n\nThe bottle has hiked summits with me, traveled to Europe, and offered me comfort on my worst days. The blank canvas of these bottles allows me to layer it with stickers from my most recent adventures. It serves as a visual diary, documenting my journeys and reflecting my interests. It's not just a functional item but also a personal statement, allowing me to proudly display my individuality and share a glimpse of my life's experiences with those around me.\n\nIt’s the answer to 90% of my problems. Stressed? Tired? Take a drink. Want to leave an event? Drink enough water until you need to go to the washroom. For me, the answer always lies at the bottom of the bottle, but perhaps not the bottle you expect. " - } - ], - "role": "Product Manager" - }, - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "Blueprint is a team that's known for contributing phenomenal and impactful work to our community. To me, the ideal experience would include: \n\n1. Learning a diverse range of new skills \nWhether this be technical or soft skills, I would hope to learn and enhance my skills. Blueprint would support me in my journey, and provide me with the necessary resources to practice these skills, allowing room for both personal and professional growth. \n\n2. Meeting new people \nI would hope to have the chance to connect and interact with like-minded individuals who share similar interests and passions. Blueprint would provide a supportive community that allows members to engage with others who inspire and motivate them. \n\n3. Meaningful contribution to an important cause\nI would hope to use my skills to contribute to a Blueprint project I am passionate about. I would have opportunities to input my knowledge and perspectives to create meaningful change and provide avenues for me to make a difference.\n" - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Daylight Saving Time " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Two years ago, I watched a silly youtube video about this invention called the paperfuge. Essentially, it's an invention using primarily string and paper, costing approximately 20 cents, serving the same purpose as a centrifuge that costs thousands of dollars. This invention revolutionized diagnostics and medicine in developing countries. \n\nThis invention resonates with me deeply and has ignited my passion for the field of accessible healthcare. It has opened my eyes to how elegantly simple solutions to complex problems can be and reveals the transformative power of engineering, technology, and a little bit of innovation. This invention has not only influenced me to pursue biomedical engineering but also serves as a compass as I navigate the rest of my professional career. \n\nWhile I don’t expect to invent a paperfuge with my time as a blueprint, I would be thrilled to contribute to a drop in the bucket, and help work towards revolutionizing the healthcare system; one step at a time." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "I am so proud to be a woman in engineering.\n\nIn school, I was never particularly interested in tech or math. It was always a ‘boy thing’. In grade 11 I was one of 5 girls in my math IB class of 40.\n\nIt was daunting on my first day.\n\nBut as time went on, I found my place (and my passions). I’m grateful to have the support that I had, but I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am.\n\nIn high school, I joined a nonprofit called Ignite Science. Initially, I was in charge of outreach, then co-president 2 years later. During my time there, I ran numerous events aimed to empower women in STEM, including various competitions, and a summer camp: ‘Girls in Code’.\n\nMy contributions to this community continued as I came to Waterloo. I joined the Women in Engineering Student committee at UW, and was director of podcast, then of advocacy in my first year. In these roles, I helped plan and execute a variety of different events, doing my part in shaping a more inclusive engineering landscape.\n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "Being stuck in the barren lands of Waterloo for a summer coop was definitely unideal, but now, I’m so grateful.\n\nIf not for the boredom, I would have never gone to PAC and bought a rock climbing pass, and would have never learned this new skill.\n\nAt first, I felt out of place. I was unfamiliar with the ‘climbing terminology’ and felt no improvement. For the first month, after every climb session, I would wake up the next day with my forearms throbbing. But yet I persisted.\n\nMy approach to learning the skill? Just show up. Slowly I learned the fundamentals and grasped the technique, and before I knew it, I felt like a part of a community. Routes that I once thought were impossible came naturally to me, and I was able to see tremendous self-growth.\n\nMy motivation to start learning this skill may not be outstanding, but my motivation to stick with it (even when I sucked) is what I am proud of. I'm not afraid to try new things; as I know that growth often comes from embracing discomfort." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688508795635 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "selena.zhang@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Selena", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Zhang", - "locationPreference": "Fully Remote", - "program": "Software Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffe41947d-7ab5-461a-bcc4-a0b368545200?alt=media&token=3f5c8ad0-b931-460b-8f8f-a7625c5a5cec", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical problem I worked on in the past was at my last co-op, where I discovered that a page in the company's application was very faulty. It turns out that it was inheritance gone wrong, and people made updates to the superclass without making appropriate changes to the subclass the page used. To fix this page, I consulted with other members on my team to see what the desired functionality of this page was supposed to be, and then traced back in the source control to see what changes were made, and then fixed the subclass to become functional again. ", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "Eastern Standard Time (Toronto)" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "A cause that resonates me is volunteering and giving back to the community. Since the start of high school, I have spent over 175 hours volunteering my time at various organizations, from sorting food, toys, and school supply donations at the Salvation Army to volunteering my time at City of Vaughan summer camps, providing a fun experience for the campers who may not be able to afford to attend expensive private camps. These experiences all support and give back to the community, and they resonate with me because as I child I received Christmas presents from charitable donations, and attended city-run summer camps. Now that I am older, I enjoy being able to give back to these programs that were a part of my childhood." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community I am proud to be part of is the Engineering Ambassadors at UWaterloo, and they do outreach for incoming students. I contribute to this community by volunteering for orientation/open houses for prospective students, and doing one on one EngChats with students to help with their university decisions." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "A time I learned a new skill was during the WiCHacks Hackathon hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology. My team decided to create a backend using Python Flask, and I did not know any Python. My approach was to use pair programming with someone who knew some Python, and to find and follow online tutorials. Since this was a one day hackathon, by no means am I an expert on Python, but I am proud that we were able to create a functional backend, and won the \"Innovation that Excites\" category against over 50 competing teams." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688183898019 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2A in F23", - "email": "nxyzou@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "Internal Director", - "firstName": "Nancy", - "heardFrom": "Clubs fair", - "lastName": "Zou", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "Biomedical Engineering", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffe8b8e95-44a8-4a93-b557-bbf3b1d62ba9?alt=media&token=6b967db1-c0bd-4f9e-b88f-4da385609884", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "16", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What would an ideal member experience look like to you?", - "response": "One of the first things I heard about Blueprint was its community. Highlighted in every Medium and IG takeover, my goal as Internal Director is to uplift and unite the most vital and positive part of the BP experience: the people.\nI aim to execute engaging in-person events where members can make connections and memories. When schedules won’t allow, I'll arrange remote socials that center collaboration via activities like online games.\nDuring long meetings at Develop For Good this summer, I found opting for short cooperative games over unsatisfying breaks allows for bonding and refreshed minds. I intend to carry this to BP to build community and sharpen attention in general meetings.\nLastly, I intend to promote BP to the larger community through Medium posts and merch for the BP team! As a Logistics Coordinator at UW/UX and Design Manager at DFG, I have ongoing experience with organizing socials, meetings, and merch. I’m eager to apply my background to elevate the BP member experience!" - } - ], - "role": "Internal Director" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST: I will be on campus at UWaterloo as F23 will be a school term for me." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "From youth, I was tugged away and told to avoid eye-contact with the homeless. Of all things, knitting changed my perspective on this issue.\nI joined my high school Knitting Club seeking a new hobby. Instead, I gained a strong passion for social good and raising awareness for the homelessness crisis.\nFor 3 years as President, I led the 100-member Knitting Club to knit and donate 40+ blankets and scarves to Toronto homeless shelters. In this time, club members cumulatively committed 4500+ hours of community service to the cause. Clearly blankets were a short-term solution for a much larger issue, but we were limited by our skills and resources.\nNow, however, my skill set and desire to contribute to society have only grown. In fact, this drive led me to join Develop For Good this summer as a Design Manager to design a mental wellness app for a Kenyan not-for-profit.\nI am elated at the opportunity to continue applying and building upon my drive to contribute to social good with Blueprint!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "As a student, I loved free tutor communities. I hated asking my parents to cover any costs, so free meant a lot to me. Moreso, I held such appreciation for my tutors who kindly answered all my questions about coursework, scholarships, university, and life. As a result, I eagerly volunteered as a tutor myself for 3 years; my proudest feat was helping a student raise her grade by 30% in grade 11 Functions!\nThough I don’t tutor anymore, I still want to give back to a community that helped me so much, both academically and by providing me mentorship. This summer, I became a website designer and developer for Homework Hub, which aims to provide Ontario high school students with free academic support via educational content and tutoring sessions from volunteers.\nIn this role, I was involved in design, development, and internal usability tests using Figma and Webflow. Through Homework Hub, I hope to promote and advance access to free tutor communities and academic resources for all students!" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "The summer before starting at UWaterloo, I researched how students stayed organized and informed on deadlines in university. Notion was the most endorsed platform from all the videos and blogs I found. I decided to leverage Notion to help me stay on top of my academics, personal life, and extracurriculars at UWaterloo.\nMy approach was simple but effective: I dove headfirst into tutorials and different ways to use the platform, playing with the app until I found what suited me. As a trial, I used Notion to help me juggle my summer job and studying MTHEL, the math review course for incoming first-years (remember that?!).\nAnother bonus is that Notion is a very common tool used in many extracurriculars. Thus, using Notion for school helped me keep my clubs efficient, and vice versa!\nNowadays, it’s become an integral aspect of my more organized life. Even on co-op, I still use it for goal tracking and extracurriculars. I’m excited to apply my Notion skills to help Blueprint stay on track!" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688071241707 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Co-op", - "academicYear": "1B", - "email": "paulkoushik04@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Koushik", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Paul", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Electrical Engineering", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffec6f028-c0f8-4e2d-a92e-d82e24a2bc23?alt=media&token=400f99ad-cbc3-423b-9aed-9fe1d45836cd", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Backend", - "Fullstack" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my internship as a Fullstack Developer at the engineering firm Peto MacCallum Ltd., I encountered a significant technical challenge related to scaling a web application. The application, called \"StructuralConnect,\" aimed to facilitate seamless collaboration and data sharing among engineering teams working on complex structural projects.\n\nAs the user base grew rapidly, the application started experiencing performance issues and occasional downtime. It became evident that the application's infrastructure needed to be optimized to handle the growing demand.\n\nI utilized performance monitoring tools to identify bottlenecks in the application's code and database queries. This significantly reduced the load on the database and improved response times for commonly requested data.\n\nThrough the implementation of these scaling measures, I successfully addressed the performance challenges faced by the StructuralConnect application.\n", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "During my time at Providence Healthcare, I had the privilege of witnessing the profound impact that technology had on the lives of elderly residents, particularly amidst the challenging circumstances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nWith restrictions and safety measures limiting in-person visits, the residents at Providence Healthcare faced heightened feelings of isolation and a significant loss of connection with their families and friends. Volunteering and helping them overcome these obstacles provided me with firsthand evidence of the positive impact that technology can have on their well-being and overall quality of life.\n\nJoining UW Blueprint, a club dedicated to leveraging technology for social impact, would provide me with a platform to continue advocating for the integration of technology in the lives of the elderly." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "During the COVID-19 pandemic, I had the opportunity to join a nonprofit organization that aimed to support small mom-and-pop businesses in adapting to challenging circumstances. Seeing these businesses successfully transition to the online sphere, expand their customer base, and generate revenue during such difficult times was a testament to the impact we were able to make as a community.\n\nBeing a part of this nonprofit allowed me to contribute my skills, knowledge, and passion for technology to help local businesses not only survive but thrive in the face of adversity. It was gratifying to witness the positive outcomes of our collective efforts as we helped these businesses regain their momentum and continue serving their communities.\n\nBeing a part of this nonprofit allowed me to contribute my skills, knowledge, and passion for technology to help local businesses not only survive but thrive in the face of adversity. \n" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my high school years, I developed a strong desire to gain a better understanding of personal finance and take control of my financial future. They served as a foundation for my financial education and helped me grasp the fundamental concepts of money management.\n\nTo expand my knowledge further, I attended open seminars and workshops on financial literacy at the University of Toronto. The seminars not only enhanced my understanding of financial concepts but also provided a platform for networking and engaging in discussions with like-minded individuals.\n\nAs I gained knowledge and confidence in my own financial journey, I felt compelled to share my discoveries with my friends. I would help them create budgets, teach them how to open up investment accounts and pay tuition. By sharing my own experiences and highlighting the accessible resources available, I aimed to empower my friends to embark on their own financial education journeys.\n\n" - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "This is my first time!", - "timestamp": 1688101373312 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "2B", - "email": "kevincui113@gmail.com", - "firstChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "firstName": "Kevin", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Cui", - "locationPreference": "In-Person (Waterloo)", - "program": "CS/BBA", - "pronouns": "He/Him/His", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fff67bd5d-32a7-436f-97a9-8dcba020e144?alt=media&token=1f3493f7-d4b7-4e7d-90ce-9926b5a81505", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Mobile", - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "During my last co-op, I had a task to create an AWS Step Function to handle the workflow of account management for a new service. I’d worked with serverless Lambdas before, but this involved designing more complicated architecture for how they would interact.\n\nOne issue I ran into while ideating was that deleting an account was very inefficient since the service used a NoSQL database, which would cause problems at scale. Structurally, an account has many resources under it which all had to be deleted individually. The service used DynamoDB, but after researching I found that relational DBs have a cascade delete property, requiring only deleting the parent to delete child rows too.\n\nAfter considering other options and how changing the DB would affect other aspects of the service, I decided to migrate to RDS. The entire Step Function involved many decisions like this and required much more planning than coding, but it taught me to think about problems differently and from a high level.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "EST" - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "When I was younger, my mom had an unknown allergic reaction to a plant she encountered on a walk, and we hurriedly called 911. The ambulance took her to the ER at a local hospital while I, being young still, stayed at home. The next day when my mom came back all she could talk about was the hospital experience. At 2am, in a waiting room with only 1 other person in it, it still took over 4 hours for her to be seen.\n\nI strongly believe that healthcare should be a basic human right, and I love the universal healthcare system that we have in Canada, but there’s also a new set of challenges that come with it. Throughout the last few decades, wait times across the board have increased nearly 200%. This is largely due to systemic issues such as lack of equipment, personnel shortages, and scheduling difficulties. Fixing the system is a long process, but applying technology and medical innovation is a good first step towards everyone across Canada having timely and quality access to healthcare." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "One community I’m proud to be a part of is the Computer Science Club Community. This term, I was the lead of the Community Representatives team. The thing I enjoy most about the community is the people. From singing karaoke together at events to struggling through assignments together in the CSC office, some of the strongest bonds I’ve built in university have come from CSC.\n\nAs lead of the reps team, I work with initiatives that are very close to the CS community and its members. I worked on the first-ever CS class profile which was started by the club (plug: https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/classprofile/2022/) and highlights the accomplishments of our graduating class and is a resource for students across the CS community. In addition, I’ve also worked on maintaining our Internship Repository, an open-source GitHub repo for student co-op opportunities (another shameless plug: https://github.com/uwcsc/2023-internships) and running community events like movie nights and chess tournaments. " - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "For me, being a UW student can be hard. On top of studying and working, you’re still trying to find time to gym, hang out with friends, see family, and a million other things. It’s easy to forget to take time for yourself. I wanted to change that during my co-op term.\n\nI’ve long been a fan of crotchet plushies (they’re just so cute) and always wanted to learn, but I’ve never been an artsy person and didn’t have much confidence in my skills. I figured instead of overthinking, I would just step outside my comfort zone, throw myself into it, and learn by doing and making mistakes. I bought a beginner kit and while I was terrified of failing, reluctantly got to work. And 1 month, many failed stitches, eyes that wouldn’t stay attached, and deformed flippers later, I’d completed crocheting a penguin! It was a process filled with failure and imperfections, but now the penguin sits on my shelf as a constant reminder of what’s possible with hard work, and to take time for myself while I’m here." - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Once", - "timestamp": 1688435080482 - }, - { - "academicOrCoop": "Academic", - "academicYear": "3A", - "email": "k5sodhi@uwaterloo.ca", - "firstChoiceRole": "External Director", - "firstName": "Kriti", - "heardFrom": "Word of mouth", - "lastName": "Sodhi", - "locationPreference": "Hybrid", - "program": "Computer Science", - "pronouns": "She/Her/Hers", - "pronounsSpecified": "", - "resumeUrl": "https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fff816aea-e2a1-42ba-a087-0c72f6b5a711?alt=media&token=bcd1e8cc-d424-48b8-8d6b-993f2b784238", - "roleSpecificQuestions": [ - { - "id": "15", - "questions": [ - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?", - "response": "UW Blueprint, being the first chapter in Canada, is known to have a strong mission to create technology that makes a social impact. As an external director, I would propose a “Tech for Good” summit to reinforce Blueprint’s external brand, maintain, and establish partnerships with 3rd party organizations. Although UW Blueprint has created a variety of projects since 2015, the positive impact of the hard work is not on outward display. The summit would allow for a project showcase and invite new NGOs to get a feel for Blueprint’s work while maintaining strong relationships with past partners on their project progress. The event would be promoted on the BP social media accounts and bring together tech industry leaders, innovators, and other BP chapters through interactive workshops and panel discussions. Overall, the summit would reinforce Blueprint's commitment to driving positive change through technology by displaying inspiring initiatives by BP and the greater community." - } - ], - "role": "External Director" - }, - { - "id": "1", - "questions": [ - { - "options": [ - "Frontend", - "Backend", - "Fullstack", - "Mobile" - ], - "other": true, - "question": "Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?", - "response": [ - "Fullstack", - "Backend", - "Frontend" - ], - "type": "multi-select" - }, - { - "maxLength": 1000, - "question": "Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.", - "response": "A challenging technical project that I worked on in the past was creating a computerized AI component of a chess game in a team. To meet the targets of the project in a timely manner, I broke down the work into smaller chunks and used resources such as a project roadmap to set realistic deadlines. This helped everyone know the requirements and made unexpected blockers more manageable. Specifically, my team faced the technical problem of having to refactor the codebase when creating the computerized component to generate the chess moves automatically. Since everything was documented and comprehensible, I was able to refactor for this change when the specifics of our project changed. I came up with the logic for this new implementation after consulting industry standards and effectively integrated it into our existing functionality of the manual piece movement. In brief, utilizing such strategies allows for versatility when there are pivots to the technical requirements of a project.", - "uniqueId": 1 - } - ], - "role": "Project Developer" - } - ], - "secondChoiceRole": "Project Developer", - "shortAnswerQuestions": [ - { - "question": "What timezone will you be based out of next term?", - "response": "In the fall, I will be in the EDT timezone and living in Waterloo." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.", - "response": "Mental health is a cause that deeply resonates with me due to its profound impact on individuals, families, and communities. The alarming statistic that \"Disability claims stemming from mental health issues now account for 70 percent of workplace disability costs\" serves as a stark reminder of the urgency to address this issue. During my co-op at the WSIB Innovation Lab this summer, I advocated for a project focused on creating an AI-powered journaling platform to provide support to those facing mental health challenges. This innovative solution aims to empower users to express themselves freely while receiving personalized guidance from the technology. By leveraging the capabilities of generative AI, we aim to provide a safe and non-judgmental space for individuals to reflect and process their ideas, fostering a sense of self-awareness and facilitating therapeutic growth. Through this endeavour, I strive to contribute to a world where mental health is destigmatized and prioritized." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.", - "response": "A community that I am proud to be a part of is being a part of women+ in STEM. Similar to other underrepresented genders, I faced inherent barriers in the tech industry with a lack of initial experience compared to my male counterparts. However, it has been a rewarding journey to learn and grow from the Waterloo community to contribute to WiSTEM initiatives such as WiCS and TechNova, a hackathon that aims to bridge the tech gap for gender minorities. As the sponsorship lead for TechNova, I interact with external organizations, build lasting relationships, and reinforce our external brand. For example, it is crucial to use gender-inclusive language in all interactions to contribute to a safe environment. Through these secured sponsorships, I am able to help cultivate an inspiring event for gender minorities and create a space where participants gain lifelong mentors and support. Overall, I am grateful to be a part of a growing community of women+ in STEM where I can also guide others." - }, - { - "question": "Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?", - "response": "During my fellowship at the AI4Good lab, I engaged in lectures and mentorship with leaders in the AI industry to understand the fundamentals of the topic for my personal interest and to make an impact through a project. Since I had only completed my first year of computer science at the time, it was difficult to initially grasp these new ideas. However, I took extra time to focus on the topics I struggled with and asked for clarifications whenever needed which led to my overall success in the program. After learning these fundamentals, I strengthened my base by creating a project within a team of 5 that was focused on improving the negative effects of echo chambers in social media for users. Throughout the month-long project, we created four ML models that organized tweets based on their political lean as a starting point for our goal. This experience demonstrates the importance of asking for help when learning a new skill and persevering while working hard to achieve quality results. " - } - ], - "status": "pending", - "term": "Fall 2023", - "timesApplied": "Twice", - "timestamp": 1688611289534 - } -]" \ No newline at end of file +[{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"kushalgoel786@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Kushal","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Goel","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F01b3e17a-73c3-477a-a84d-cbf6ef2d7bda?alt=media&token=d90e50ca-e221-4fb6-b3a0-05dec3bf06c8","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In the face of limited data availability for mutual fund investing, I tackled the challenge by developing a project that leveraged Net Asset Values (NAVs) to calculate crucial performance metrics. Using Python and data analysis tools, I created an algorithm to process NAV data and derive metrics like historical performance, return on investment, volatility, etc. These metrics enabled me to assess fund performance, risk levels, and cost-effectiveness, aiding informed investment decisions. Additionally, I incorporated data visualization techniques to present the metrics visually, facilitating easy comparison and identification of investment opportunities. Overall, this project effectively addressed the challenge, providing valuable insights within the constraints of limited data, and empowering me to make informed investment choices.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based in Waterloo only, which means Eastern Time (ET)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am passionate about spreading financial knowledge, specifically in the area of personal finance. Financial literacy is crucial for individuals to lead secure and empowered lives. I believe that by promoting financial education, we can empower people to make informed decisions about budgeting, saving, investing, and debt management. This knowledge helps individuals build emergency funds, avoid predatory loans, and plan for their future. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the FlutterFever community, which I initiated. Through this community, I taught app development to over 200 students, providing workshops, curriculum, and ongoing support. The inclusive and supportive environment encouraged collaboration and learning. Students were able to apply their skills through coding challenges, receiving personalized feedback and mentorship. It has been incredibly rewarding to witness their progress and enthusiasm as they built their own apps."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned personal budget management and finance. My motivation was to take control of my financial well-being. I approached it by watching YouTube tutorials and talking to knowledgeable people. Applying the concepts to my own finances helped solidify my understanding. It has empowered me to make informed decisions and work towards my financial goals."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688586786267},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"Graduate student","email":"sharvarirane5@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Sharvari","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Rane","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Management Sciences","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F031c6f11-6a24-4ab2-9966-13e1613e3dd3?alt=media&token=f7573bcb-2c0d-41d1-a977-82e575006561","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"The research method I would mostly like to use is Test Assumptions, Experiments and Metrics. In this method, let we have my app Support Bud, we can first create an initial prototype, write your own assumptions, and other users' assumptions for it, eg. Assumption 1: there are very limited functions in the app which does not satisfy the problem statement. Then we can experiment on the users, since its is a small scale project as of now we can go ahead with a few user interviews and survey forms, in its next version for catering a wider audience we can move to survey forms and support groups. \nwe can then choose a metric and see if our assumptions are true. Most likely, what we assume is only half true. Thus the experimentation is important."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"In my day to day life, I find inspiration in the people I work with. Everybody has a different outlook of solving problems. If I find that I am not able to handle a particular task properly, eg. at one I was not able to manage my mails properly, so I discussed this with coworker who could do that well and he helped me with tips and techniques to sort my mailbox. Similarly there are numerous inspirations we can find in people or even strangers that we talk to on a daily basis."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Portfolio link: https://sharvarirane5.wixsite.com/sharfolio\nBuilding my portfolio has helped me combine my artwork, my work from undergraduate college as well as current design prototypes, which has motivated me to bring creativity in the every work that I do.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based in EDT for the next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that greatly resonates with me is that of \"Social treatment of people with any kind of illnesses or disabilities\". More often than not, people who have skin diseases, weight problems, physical disabilities etc. are treated differently, which indirectly affects their mental health. This can especially have a damaging affect on young adults. This cause resonates with me because I have been dealing with psoriasis (an autoimmune skin disorder) since the past 10 years and thus want to extend the community to help others dealing with it too."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I would like to say that am a part of \"Psoriasis Warriors\" which is what psoriatic people on social media call themselves. We help each other by motivating others through posts and lending a helping hand to people in distress. But most importantly, it is by creating awareness among people who do not know about this condition.\nEnvision being the first person on the planet to wear glasses, now imagine us wearing them in a variety \nof styles and colours at this moment. The pair of glasses remains the same, but what has \nchanged is our vision. This is what I aim to achieve with people having chronic illnesses and I feel this can be changed using design thinking. \nDealing with this illness myself, I have seen that while there is contact information, \nsupport groups, and physicians around, it could still be challenging to connect with ideal people \nwho are going through a similar experience as we are. This sparked an idea for a prototype,\nSupport Bud which deals with this issue."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learnt Indian Classical Music during my engineering. It was funny as started learning it because I wanted to be a singer. While learning singing I realized that there is no limit in learning music, or rather no limit to learning anything. In the beginning, I was trying to get into the technicalities and thought that once I learn this I will be done. Later on, I realized that this approach won't work as you cannot get good by just knowing stuff. I practiced it everyday, and day by day I could feel the difference. Today its been more than 5 years, but still I feel there is a long way to go, but now I don't mind because I enjoy singing everyday!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688143336170},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"doreenshtylla@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Doreen","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Shtylla","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Accounting & Financial Management (AFM)","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0439624a-7bcb-45d7-a93c-4c3fa31ef1e7?alt=media&token=4841f0f6-5762-4a71-847f-6c71f19a027a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"In my daily life, I look for inspiration through nature and by observing the world around me. The beauty and intricacy of nature reminds me to search for harmony in all aspects of my life and in art, and appreciating all the different shapes, colours, textures, and aesthetics, while observing the world around me helps to appreciate the way all our actions have ripple effects on each other. Together, these two areas of inspiration help me to value interconnectedness and balance."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Unfortunately I don't have a link since everything I am designing at work is confidential, however one of the projects I am currently undertaking involves creating a platform to bridge a gap between clients and consumers. I have just begun the onboarding, and will soon begin to enhance the existing Figma wireframes to create a deliverable that can be sent off to developers. Throughout this process, I will be collaborating with the technology department to work through tasks and sprints at hand, and will work with department members to explore how to ideate creative solutions as a part of our growth strategy. So far in these beginning stages, I've learned to pinpoint and understand what is required of any type of project beforehand, and to prioritize what is best for the user in order to create the ultimate experience.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I'm passionate about enhancing education accessibility, whether it is about product design or any other field or subject. I've personally benefited so much from the free training provided by my workplace, which allowed me to discover UX/UI design in the first place, and to grow a passion for it from there. If I had not found those resources from my job, they would have been quite costly and inaccessible to me otherwise. That's why joining Blueprint would allow me to work with like-minded team members, and not only further enhance what I've learned, but to create opportunities as a club to help other students discover and grow as well. As I've seen on Instagram, all of your events like Blueprint night, Tile, info sessions, and more are all awesome ways to introduce students to their potential interests. As a result of this, I'd love to join the team so I can be a part of this process and impact!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm very proud of my heritage and of my Albanian culture, and have continuously been engaged in activities and events that support and uplift people of the same or different backgrounds. I have been involved with leading and organizing my high school's Multicultural Showcase Night (a night of cultural performances, dances, and entertainment) in May 2022. My team and I wanted to ensure that proceeds from the event went to communities in need, and so we donated all the funds to Ukrainian relief efforts to help those most affected by the situation. This was such an amazing personal experience; I discovered how to combine my passions to benefit a real-world problem. This May, I was invited to perform a traditional Albanian dance, and it was so amazing to see how last year's success impacted the spirit of all the students. I was proud to see other students being proud of themselves, and it was so rewarding to know that my dedication could lead to these incredible community-building moments."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"This summer term I have been working at RBC, where my role is project-based, however it does not relate to design. During my free time, I took advantage of their training resources and began to explore designing through Figma! I've discovered that I truly have a passion for UX/UI, and even reached out to different departments to see if I could volunteer my skills for any designing projects at hand. So far, I have managed to practice creating, wireframing, and prototyping screens through my training, redesigning logos for an RBC division, and am beginning to take on an extensive platform creation project within a different department where I can leverage my Figma skills. This is all separate from my designated responsibilities, however I am so passionate about product design that I'm ready to help out in any way if it means I can spend my time using hands-on learning methods like follow-along tutorials, playing around with Figma, real-world practice, and exposure to the field. :)"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688521598200},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"happyvpatel12@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Happy","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Patel ","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science and Business Adminstration","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F04cc615a-dfc9-4f40-91e0-34b7c9e1824f?alt=media&token=ad82ca1c-a45c-4a32-9d21-db052759f772","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Recently, I developed a mental wellness web app catered to promote the concept of self-care among youth. Part of the project was to authenticate users so they can create and access their personal profiles. However, the process of sending credentials entered by the user on the frontend (React JS), to the backend (Node.js), by submitting HTTP requests using Axios was quite a challenge for me. I overcame these difficulties by explicitly understanding the relationship between these frameworks and utilizing appropriate debugging methodologies to identify arising issues. For instance, I heavily referenced official documentation to understand how the frontend can interact with the APIs through HTTP requests. This helped me configure the Axios instances and send requests to the backend for further integration with the database. I also tried to troubleshoot issues by logging backend requests and consulting browser developer tools, to seamlessly identify errors and solve them appropriately. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Quite recently, I got the chance to take a trip back home to India, where I was truly disturbed to witness such young children working general labour jobs. During my stay, I was disheartened to meet a young 12-year-old girl named Dipti who was helping her mom with cleaning services, in effort to gain extra income to support her loved ones. Personally, I believe that a family’s financial struggles shouldn’t result in children being forced to work. However, that is the reality of many people in developing countries, causing youngsters to be in environments where their physical and mental health is compromised. According to UNICEF, nearly 1 in 10 children are driven into work for a multitude of reasons, making child labour a persistent global issue. As a result, understanding the struggles of these individuals and seeing such situations first-hand, inspires to contribute towards children just like Dipti and help provide them with the basic rights to education, food, and safety."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Since I was a little girl, I watched my father hustle for everything we have today, so naturally I was inspired by the work he did and wanted to follow in his footsteps by pursuing a career in STEM. Although, after learning more about the industry, I noticed the gender inequality that vividly exists in this space. Hence, as a female who is apart of this community, I believe it is my mission to inspire young girls to proudly take on a career in STEM. Some initiatives I have been a part of include working with organizations who have similar views as me. For instance, I joined Canada Learning Code where I lead a class of young girls to pass on some of the programming knowledge I uphold, in effort to build their interest towards coding. I even enjoy hosting events with such organizations to explain to families how crucial it is to expose their children to the field of STEM. As a result, I believe that these initiatives are going to help level out the playing field within the long-term."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Being a co-op student who recently started working as a software developer, I faced the challenge of adjusting myself in an environment where I had to quickly grasp new skills. Personally, this role was quite important to me because I strive to make myself an asset for any organization I work for, and this drives me to perform at the best of my ability. However, during the beginning of my co-op, I faced the challenge of not being proficient in front-end development. Hence, to acquire these skills, I familiarized myself with JavaScript and HTML/CSS by completing a crash course on Udemy. This helped me to knock down the basics, allowing me to pick up my first ticket which I conquered by breaking it down into smaller goals. I approached each goal by understanding its purpose and referring to the company’s internal documentation or my notes when needed. In the end, this enabled me to further myself as a front-end developer and learn to be an independent employee."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688442797987},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"2anika.kapal@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Anika","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Kapal","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"GBDA","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F057eba93-59e3-461e-bc9b-5b5a1997c8f1?alt=media&token=3663ecb7-6480-4109-85a9-65afcacd8750","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"\tI look for inspiration by learning about different peoples’ perspectives. I am someone who naturally seeks comfort, but I’ve made it my mission to seek unfamiliar situations and new experiences. Whether it’s striking up conversations with random people in the elevator at work or going to frisbee drop-ins for the first time, doing different things has been really rewarding - I love learning about different perspectives than my own. I am often inspired to create based on other peoples’ experiences and perspectives. \n"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://www.anikakapal.com\nI coded this website!","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern time zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is awareness surrounding mental disorders. My closest childhood friend was on the Autism spectrum and was eventually diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome. When we were little, I didn’t notice anything, but in middle school, I noticed a shift in kids’ behaviour towards her. We loved to sing together, and she even took to singing on her own YouTube channel. Some kids at her school found her channel and began to bully her relentlessly in the comments. As her friend, it made me angry. I didn’t know how to stand up to them at the time, but no matter what, I always proudly stood by her side, and as I've grown, I've realized that people are afraid of what they don't understand. It is important to educate. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"\tI am proud to be a member of my student society. It’s given me a great group of friends in my program and the chance to create events for my student body. This year, I created a new event called “GBDA’s Got Talent” - A virtual talent show premiering all of my student body’s best talents. By getting in touch with my peers from each grade and spreading the news, we got 20 submissions and around 50 voters to participate from our program alone. The talent show was a contest with rounds, where the top contestants from each round could keep moving up. My program has lots of talent so I wanted to create something that allowed people to express their respective talents. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A skill I had to learn was adaptability. During my senior year of high school, my family uprooted our life and moved from California to Canada. I had built a life for myself in the states - I had a couple of very close friends, made varsity cheerleading, and was a proud member of my school’s student council. When I moved countries, I didn’t have that. It felt like everyone had their place at my new high school and I didn’t fit in there. I could have retreated, but I made it my goal to be outgoing. I shamelessly reached out to people in my classes who I didn’t know and conversed with teachers as if I’d known them for all of high school. I didn’t have anything to lose and I wanted to have a good year. By the end of it, I had a group of friends who I still spend time with when I go home for the summer, and I had met new teachers who wrote my university recommendation letters. I learned that I get out what I’m willing to put in, and the experience made me resilient. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688616042094},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"nshambal@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Saskia","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Hambali","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Global Business Digital Arts","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F07785236-6c6d-4e79-adfc-e5bc7f56466c?alt=media&token=1f9da6b5-0763-4de6-967e-8a109287389a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I look for inspiration in my daily life whenever I see people interact with something. From very little details to looking around a place when I’m at a restaurant when I see little details that enhances an experience such as distinct aromas or convertible tables that can accommodate to any number of parties. It is designs that enhance a brand or that are flexible to meet the users needs is what inspires me for product design. \n"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1e9QJcRQ5POJ6M3uWEwdzBGDK5rf3xoCQ","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"My methods of expertise are more academic as all my experience in research stems from there. I prefer to use academic sources or from reputable sources. As well to use multiple resources to make sure that the information is accurate and correct. As well as the context behind the information given is important to get a better picture of the situation and scenarios the topic can be present in. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"\nA cause that resonates with me is representation in professional industries. Growing up, I had little to no role models or figures that I could look up that had similar upbringings as I did. I believe that having a representative role model is so important because it gives others, no matter how old they are, a sense of pride and determination that working towards success is a feasible possibility. I hope that one day I will be able to become a role model for others and inspire others to break into tech as well. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Im very proud to be apart of the first generation immigrant children. As a child of immigrants that came all the way from Indonesia, I had to look for ways to educate myself on “basic knowledge” such as finances and how to grow your money, as back in Indonesia the finance system’s are completely different. This inspired me to create an app using Figma aiming to educate youth on their finances and how to be in control of their money. Through this app, it educates and helps users to keep track of their expenses and reach their purchase goals through engaging growth tactics. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Currently, I am building my personal website using HTML and CSS. I know little to nothing about code so this is a challenge for me as I am attempting to accomplish a big project with bling knowledge. However, through the past couple weeks, I am proud to say that within the next week my website will be complete! My motivation to learn is that I am in GBDA so it will be great practice ahead of time when I do have to develop and design websites for clients and class. As well, it gives me an opportunity to really challenge my skills and abilities. My approach to learning is to take it step by step and always look for help when I don’t understand. Google has been my best friend whenever I don’t understand what is happening and by asking others, I can keep continue progressing on to perfect my website!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688594833921},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"s39chen@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Shelley","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Chen","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0845a16d-41db-4d82-8c72-188367fc615a?alt=media&token=49767301-98d2-48fc-b5ee-65a31436bec7","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Referring back to the class profile project, I faced a challenge in dynamically integrating the survey data into the frontend application, so that it would update in real-time on the website as more people responded to the survey. Since the data was stored in a Google Sheet, I wasn’t sure if it was possible to access it dynamically through our web app. To tackle this challenge, I conducted extensive research and experimented with various approaches. Eventually, I landed on an effective solution by writing a Google Apps Script that stitched the data from the Google Sheet into a MongoDB database. Then, I connected the MongoDB database to our Next.js application. By implementing this solution, we enabled the website to update automatically as new survey responses were submitted. This ensured that the charts on the website would always display the most up-to-date data!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that deeply resonates with me is advocating for the rights of underprivileged children. Throughout my life, I have been fortunate enough to witness the transformative power of education in shaping the lives of myself and my peers. Unfortunately, many children around the world are denied basic rights, like education and healthcare, due to circumstances beyond their control. I firmly believe that every child deserves an equal chance to thrive, pursue their dreams, and break free from the cycle of poverty. \n\nThe Children’s Aid Society of Algoma project at Blueprint particularly resonates with me. Their dedication to protecting children and promoting their well-being strongly aligns with my own values. Joining Blueprint would allow me to translate my commitment into action by leveraging my skills and the power of technology to make a meaningful impact on lives. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take pride in being a part of a competitive dance team throughout my youth. I actively contributed by dedicating countless hours to practice, developing my technique, and perfecting complex routines. Together with my teammates, we motivated each other, constantly challenging ourselves to deliver captivating performances that showcased our passion and hard work. Our schedules were demanding, with practices that stretched into the late hours of the night and weekends jam-packed with competitions. \n\nOur collective hard work paid off, as we brought home numerous awards, including the Best Contemporary Group Dance at a regional dance competition a few years ago. Although I am no longer an active member of the dance team, I still cherish the community deeply and occasionally visit to offer guidance and support to current team members. Being a part of this community has not only shaped my work ethic but has also taught me the value of collaboration and afforded me lasting friendships."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Before entering university, I did a lot of research on my program, Systems Design Engineering, and stumbled upon the class profiles created by previous cohorts. Inspired by their creativity, I was motivated to create the class profile for my cohort. Over the past couple of months, I learned how to develop a full stack web application. \n\nI began by immersing myself in online resources and tutorials to familiarize myself with the fundamentals of both frontend and backend technologies. I delved into React, learning fundamental concepts such as components, state, and props. After creating a few small personal projects, I was ready to start on our class profile. I started by developing the frontend using Next.js. Using the Chart.js library, I created reusable chart components to display throughout the website. I compiled the collected data into a MongoDB database, which allowed the website to display dynamic data. Here’s the final result: https://syde27classprofile.ca/ :)"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688074361414},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"j486yu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jenny","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Yu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F08dfc404-9633-48d3-8ab9-abb0da8b1634?alt=media&token=0f3a9a9a-51e2-46fe-ab10-e5923204c6b1","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my last coop term, I was given a task that involved many technologies and tools I had never worked with before, namely time-series databases and Elasticsearch, as well as using Telegraf to monitor CPU and network performance. The biggest challenge for me was getting over the learning curve, as I had never worked with these tools before. To get past this learning curve, I first did a lot of research on my own from various online resources such as articles and YouTube videos, and tutorials. When I faced other challenges, I consulted my team members, who were able to help me with their knowledge and expertise. With these resources, I was able to successfully complete my task, which helped automate processes and reduced manual effort. This experience enhanced my research and problem-solving skills, as well as my ability to adapt to new technologies and collaborate effectively.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"In my daily life, my main source of inspiration is music and theatre. In both art forms, collaboration with other artists is essential, and it is another significant source of inspiration, as it nurtures creativity and fosters a sense of community. As a kid, music really helped me come out of my shell and I have made many lifelong friends through it. Music and theatre ignite my creativity, broaden my artistic horizons, and remind me of the transformative power of storytelling and collaborative creativity. These art forms inspire me to continuously push my own boundaries, learn new skills, and strive for excellence."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"One project I've worked on was the hackathon project where I was first introduced to frontend development and design. Our task was to create a website to display our Python project, which was a careers quiz for high schoolers to help them pick a career path. During this process, I was introduced to Figma, which we used to help us come up with the design for our website, and help us organize our layout for the website and how pages connect. I learned a lot from this project but my experience with product design is still limited. Joining UW Blueprint would provide me with invaluable opportunities to further develop my design skills, learn from more experienced peers, and contribute to meaningful projects that make a positive impact on the community.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability, particularly the effects that plastic pollution can have on the environment and wildlife. Witnessing the devastating impact of plastic waste on ecosystems in Canada and around the world has fueled my passion for making a positive environmental impact. In the past, I have participated in cleanups in my community as well as awareness campaigns. I even participated in a hackathon recently where we made a project to raise awareness about the importance of recycling! By joining UW Blueprint, I hope to use my technical skills to develop innovative solutions that support environmental organizations in their conservation efforts, whether it's through creating platforms for recycling and waste management, developing educational tools, or designing systems to track and reduce carbon footprints."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In high school, I was proud to be a part of VON (Volunteer Now), a club aimed at addressing social issues, supporting marginalized groups, and promoting community engagement. I participated in many events to raise awareness for various issues, such as the Wenjack Walk, where we walked in honour of Chanie Wenjack - a young indigenous boy who lost his life walking home from a residential school - to raise money for the Chanie Wenjack Fund. I also participated in the red dress initiative, where we hung up red dresses throughout the school to educate the student body on the issue of missing and murdered indigenous women. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I helped to organize the first virtual VON fair, an annual event held in our school to promote volunteerism and raise awareness for a variety of issues and organizations. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I attended my first hackathon in high school where I was first introduced to frontend development. My previous experiences with coding had only been from high school courses, but I had never done any frontend, so this was a new challenge that I wanted to take on. At this hackathon, I was exposed to HTML and CSS for the first time through various workshops and tutorials that my team members and I found online. When we faced problems that we didn't know how to solve, we sought out guidance from the mentors as well as resources online. The hackathon environment was the perfect place for me to learn a new skill as I was able to immediately apply what I had learned to make my own project, one that actually won us a prize in the competition. After this experience, I was inspired to continue expanding my knowledge of frontend development, leading me to start learning React and JavaScript."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687923751973},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"k29ferna@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Keegan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Fernandes","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0c03d5da-9818-4d6a-a961-6e6d18eb091f?alt=media&token=b0ba233f-81ea-49ce-a2a7-3824eb43b648","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is the online video-sharing platform YouTube. With it's diverse selection of videos, YouTube users can seek out entertainment, education, and news all on one platform. Furthermore, YouTube is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and does not add barriers to information by charging subscription fees or paywalls. Lastly, YouTube has helped me a lot as a visual learner by providing me with a new medium to digest content as opposed to traditional primary resources."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am really passionate about health and wellness by promoting physical and mental well-being along with raising awareness/financial support for specific diseases."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am a proud member of my Church community where I've helped by donating my time to organize fundraisers for local charities and events for the youth."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my first coop as a data analyst, I had the opportunity to really build upon my communication skills with the help of my mentor/manager. They emphasized to me that it is one thing to collect insights for the business but it is another to effectively communicate your recommendations and the importance of storytelling. When working in cross-functional teams, I needed to be aware that not everyone may have the same technical expertise so I need to change the way I communicate so that everyone is on the same page. My manager supported me to work on this skill by encouraging me to lead meetings and create presentations. From that experience, I gained a deeper and true understanding of what it means to be a good communicator."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688173788089},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"emmahuang.ty@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Emma","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Huang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0cbd71b7-8c06-43ce-8082-5d68908bfba3?alt=media&token=5c6b1c10-2f2b-47d7-9768-df709b9e51cd","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Frontend","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"When developing a workout tracker in 2022, my team mounted an ESP8266 wifi module onto an Arduino to communicate tracked data to the connected wifi server. However, the data would only appear at the expected port 20% of the time. \n\nWe first troubleshooted our hardware configuration by checking over each sensor’s connection and reproducing the issue on different hotspots. While performing isolation testing on each of the sensors, it came to our attention that our system would work reliably with only one sensor attached. This observation suggested system overloading—the large amount of data being sent over was breaking the wifi channel. \n\nTo resolve this issue, we reduced the data size being sent over by grouping chains of data and sending them altogether at the end of each session. We also minimized the unit’s complexity by replacing accelerometers and gyroscopes with a proximity sensor. Altogether, these fixes boosted the consistency in our system’s performance substantially.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST/EDT"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Mental health advocacy is a cause that has always deeply resonated with me. In 2020, the impact of the pandemic on my community opened my eyes to the mental struggles many individuals face. Inspired by these intimate experiences, I was committed to raising awareness about youth mental health. To better understand and support those in need, I immersed myself in books on psychology and online courses on psychological first aid. Combining the cause with my passion for computer science, I took on the role of Technical Operations Department Lead at Race to a Cure, a non-profit that empowers youth through media and research initiatives. My work in managing the organization's website and online outreach has helped the non-profit reach 80,000+ site visitors since 2020. Moreover, our initiatives like the CureTalk podcast and Stories of the Pandemic Youth program provided a supportive network, fostering open discussions and connecting young people as they navigate their mental health battles. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take pride in being a part of Hack the North's organization team, a community that combines my interests in event planning and hackathons. I attended Hack the North as my first hackathon, and I was captivated by its mission in empowering hackers to build whatever they could imagine. Since joining as an organizer and frontend developer in March, I have collaborated with my team to create an interactive static site and dynamic hacker application form using React. Working closely with the other front-end developers, designers, and the backend team, my involvement in Hack the North enriched my understanding of web development. Moreover, it was incredibly fulfilling to receive positive feedback from fellow students on the published site. Besides development work, I enjoyed brainstorming for new designs and activities, hiring volunteer leads, and contributing to the creation of an impactful hackathon experience for thousands of hackers. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Inspired by my passion for entrepreneurship and recognizing the importance of marketing in startups, I sought to develop my marketing management skills. My approach to learn this skill was to push myself out of my comfort zone—by signing myself up for DECA competitions despite having no prior business knowledge. During four months of training, I studied business textbooks, practiced case studies, and analyzed recordings of my own presentations over and over again to identify areas of improvement. As my marketing and presentational skills developed rapidly, I achieved Provincial Champion and International Top 10 Finalist in the competition—milestones I could not have previously imagined reaching. After my journey with DECA ended, I strived to further enrich my understanding of marketing and entrepreneurship by taking on the role of President at my high school’s Business Club and leading workshops that inspired 60 members to explore business innovation. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688606066607},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4B","email":"bill.cui.work@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Bill","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Cui","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0cf8e8fa-56ce-4adb-a201-36949f185861?alt=media&token=57a70a2f-3189-4da7-b5fe-b56a3142c4db","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Last summer my colleague and I created a real-time operating system along with a suite of user tasks completely from scratch to control multiple trains simultaneously as a part of the CS452 Real-time Programming course. \n\nTo manage the project's complexity, we organized our work into two-week sprints. With each of us working on different areas of the project, we coordinated to resolve blockers. Each sprint had a clear and hard deliverable date. We often had to pull all nighters to meet those deadlines! \n\nWhile we were working in our current sprint, we also had to anticipate the challenges of the next. We did so by having dedicated days to spike things out for our next sprint. Additionally, we also had days where we focused on tech debt, like setting up a more intuitive UI framework.\n\nIn the end, we successfully developed a real-time operating system capable of autonomously controlling multiple Märklin trains with collision avoidance. ","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"As backend lead at Tech+, I led my team to release the first iteration of our Portal app. This online platform was designed to pair first-year students with experienced mentors. \n\nAt the start of the term, I had 1 on 1 meetings with each member to learn about their goals. I would then check in on their goals periodically throughout the term.\n\nI also provided technical mentorship through a series of info sessions on technologies like Docker. I made sure to host at least one office hour a week for team members to ask me questions, and they were encouraged to ask me questions asynchronously as well!\n\nI wanted everyone, regardless of their skill level, to be a critical part of the team. Whenever I had an idea in mind, I would get buy in from everyone individually. I would then refine these ideas into proof of concepts for everyone to collaborate and finish together. To help everyone get up to speed, I would scope out each epic so that it had enough information for people to get started. "}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"PST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am deeply passionate about sustainability. This passion led me to create Dropshare (drop-share.netlify.app/), an app that makes recirculating used items easier than ever. Through this platform, people can donate items directly, eliminating the need for intermediary spaces like thrift stores and bypassing related costs such as property expenses.\n\nSimply drop a pin on a map and donate items immediately. It provides more flexibility than traditional donation methods, thereby encouraging people to participate in sustainable practices.\n\nIn addition to providing an easier way to donate, the app allows for user reviews to easily track the impact of donations.\n\nThe app currently enjoys around 50 active users per month in my town of Newmarket, demonstrating the community's interest and commitment to sustainability. This success motivates me to continue developing tools to better serve the community and promote sustainable practices."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Tech+ is a student organization aimed at bridging the technology career gap for underserved communities. I was a backend tech lead for the Portal project, an online platform designed to support first-year students by matching them with experienced mentors.\n\nI led various technical initiatives to ensure the reliability and security of Portal. This included integrating Auth0 for robust site security and endpoint specific authentication. To facilitate efficient development and deployment, I utilized Docker, simplifying the onboarding process for new developers and boosting team productivity. \n\nAt the same time, I provided mentorship for younger developers through 1 on 1's and learning presentations.\n\nOur initiative has made a significant impact, attracting 5,000 students annually, a testament to our work's importance. We are contributing to creating a more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming space in the tech industry, which I am genuinely proud to be a part of."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"For a long time, I relied on Heroku and Netlify to deploy my applications. I felt like I was throwing my apps over the fence to a black box that was managing my infrastructure. I wanted to fully own my applications, and the deployment process was a significant part of that. This motivated me to learn Helm, Kubernetes, and Docker.\n\nMy approach to learning was sequential and hands-on. I started with Docker, understanding the basics of containers. Then Kubernetes, learning how it orchestrates Docker containers. I practiced by containerizing some of my own applications and managing them with Kubernetes.\n\nLastly, I learned how to package my applications into Helm charts and manage releases, providing me the control I was looking for in my deployments.\n\nI loved the nuances of having granular control over deployments. It brings a different level of satisfaction to see your application running smoothly because of the choices you've made, which exactly was what motivated me to learn this skill."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688339004875},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"aungkhant.min@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","firstName":"Aung Khant","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Min","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0e1f0f1a-2cca-47f6-bf0c-2974411d8807?alt=media&token=63e3ec63-3495-41a5-b113-573319374d08","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"- look through the current and prospective projects and determine what kind of project is expected to be the most common for the next year (technology stack, static resources, etc)\n- look through previous projects to determine what could be useful in a standardized code repository: boilerplate code, static resources, metadata like README files and licenses\n- come up with ideas and ask current developers on the team whether they would change anything and if they have any ideas\n- there might be multiple standardized repositories for different technology stacks\n- write documentation detailing how the repositories are meant to be used and any best practices\n- after the standardized repositories are live, ensure that every new project is based on the appropriate repository\n"}],"role":"VP Engineering"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my internship at Verily last term, I was to architect a solution to securely transfer data records from GitHub to a specialized healthcare database. My initial idea was to write a GitHub Action that would write to the database on specific cues. The problem was that we didn't want a GitHub Actions runner to have direct write access to the database. We also wanted more granular control over the kind of GitHub resources that could be pushed to the database: type of file, the user that committed the file, and whether the file has been reviewed.\n\nMy finalized solution was to launch a Cloud Run virtual machine that would check whether the incoming GitHub-to-database-import request is sound based on a configuration file (checking the type of file, who committed the file, etc), pull from the specified repository, and then push to the database. Only the virtual machine that we fully control has write access to the database, and we can make the request checks to be as granular as possible","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Waterloo time (EDT)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The greatest threat we face today is climate change. Temperatures have reached record levels, and most experts say we have reached a point of no return. Despite the availability of greener energy sources, we still use unclean sources to produce most of the world's energy needs. Although many organizations and individuals have made great progress, every industry needs to stand behind the cause to truly resolve the threat."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm interested in intelligence and also have a hobbyist interest in biology. A combination of these two interests is neuroscience. I consider myself to be a part of the global student community learning neuroscience. \n\nI helped Simply Neuroscience, an international non-profit, educate and host opportunities for over 35,000 (at the time) community members worldwide. As the Director of Technology of the non-profit, I led a team of 15 developers to maintain and update the organizational website with over 35,000 monthly viewers. I also built a mobile app for a major online event with 1244 attendees to add interactivity to the event."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In May 2020, I co-founded DoTogether, a social-media startup, with five university students I met online. The social-media website, born amidst the pandemic's initial outbreak, aimed to connect people with similar interests to do online activities together. I solely built the production-ready website while learning the required technologies, which included JavaScript, HTML, CSS, Node.js, Socket.io, and MongoDB.\n\nI learned the technologies under the tight time pressure of frequent feature requests. My approach was to focus on building and to learn along the way. I read just enough documentation to implement the next feature and looked up further documentation only when I encountered problems. My motivation to learn stemmed from believing in our mission and wanting to create the best possible website for the team."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688183126704},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"ksadukia@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Internal Director","firstName":"Khushi","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Adukia","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Honours Mathematics","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F0e9a4bd2-9db9-4b24-a052-b4f4e7512f6a?alt=media&token=6ede13e6-48e4-4074-b1ef-9477db3bdd04","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"An ideal member experience encompasses feeling proud of yourself, personal growth, and building meaningful connections. As the Internal Director, my goal would be to create an environment where members not only feel satisfied with their work but also experience significant personal development. This could involve organizing skill-building workshops, mentoring programs, and providing opportunities for members to take on leadership roles. Additionally, fostering a sense of community and friendship is crucial. I would strive to create spaces for members to connect, by organizing social events, team-building activities, and networking opportunities. After experiencing the transition from remote to in-person university, I would prioritize creating an inclusive and supportive community. As the Internal Director, I would work diligently to create an environment that facilitates these experiences."}],"role":"Internal Director"},{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"I believe Blueprint should organize a technology exhibition, showcasing innovative technologies that have a positive impact on communities and promote public welfare. This event aligns perfectly with Blueprint's mission of making technology more accessible. The exhibition can feature demos and presentations from startups and current Blueprint projects leveraging technology to address social and environmental challenges. It would provide a platform for networking and collaboration, fostering a community of change-makers who utilize technology to create a positive impact. I'd use my experience as an Outreach Coordinator in the Data Science Club to attract impactful exhibitors and sponsors. As External Director, I'm committed to bringing this vision to life, working closely with the team to organize a captivating technology exhibition that embodies Blueprint's mission and values."}],"role":"External Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"External Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am passionate about promoting inclusivity and diversity in all environments, particularly on campus. Having personally experienced the negative impact of feeling undervalued and lacking confidence in expressing my opinions during elementary school, I believe that every individual should be equally valued and allowed to contribute without bias. To address this issue, I actively work towards creating an inclusive atmosphere where everyone feels valued and appreciated, regardless of their background or position. I prioritize including all individuals in group discussions and decision-making processes, ensuring that their voices are heard and respected. By actively involving others and recognizing their contributions, I aim to empower individuals and instill confidence in them. By championing inclusivity and diversity, I aspire to create an environment where every person feels supported, valued, and capable of making meaningful contributions to any cause."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to have been a part of my high school DECA team, where I served as the Vice President. In this role, I organized and conducted one-on-one mock case competitions, evaluated members' oral presentation skills and provided feedback on their written reports. Through this initiative, I contributed to the success of our chapter, with 75% of our members qualifying for the provincial competition. \n\nBeing involved in DECA has been vital in developing my leadership and communication skills while boosting my self-confidence. As the VP, I faced challenging decisions, such as selecting an additional team to qualify for the provincial competition. These experiences taught me the importance of accountability and practical decision-making.\n\nDECA has provided me with numerous opportunities to learn and grow, and I take immense pride in being a part of it. It has not only allowed me to contribute to the success of our chapter but has also fostered personal development and accomplishment."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I take immense pride in self-learning how to ride a bike, even though I acquired the skill later than most people. My motivation stemmed from wanting to become more active and explore new outdoor activities. Initially, I felt nervous about venturing into my neighbourhood, fearing that my friends would witness me struggling. However, I was determined to overcome my fears. Breaking down the learning process into smaller steps helped me focus on mastering one aspect at a time. Once I learned how to balance on the seat and pedal down the street, I felt a surge of motivation from the progress I was making. I started joining my sister on her evening bike rides, discovering the joy and relaxation that cycling brings. This experience has taught me the value of perseverance and self-belief. By only focusing on improving my abilities, I overcame my initial fears and steadily built my skills. Riding my bike has become one of my favourite hobbies, and reassures me to step outside my comfort zone."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688616330036},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"thasin.maisha@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Maisha","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"thasin","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Math","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1111a807-6802-4bba-b6cc-fbe1bd5981a1?alt=media&token=421bb31f-ef83-495f-82e8-54e6f5d8c986","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I was given a task to build a machine learning model for topic extraction from customer support tickets to production, I faced a challenging technical problem. At that point in my career, my knowledge of machine learning was limited. To tackle this, I took a step back and prioritized important features, focusing on creating MVPs. This iterative approach allowed me to learn and adapt quickly, gradually improving the model's performance.\nTo optimize efficiency, I implemented parallel processing techniques and utilized data sampling methods to handle the large dataset effectively. Through experimentation and fine-tuning, I achieved satisfactory results in topic extraction accuracy.\nCollaborating closely with the engineering team, I ensured a smooth deployment of the model into production. Scalability and real-time inference capabilities were prioritized to meet the demands of the customer support system. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The Palestinian crisis holds a profound impact on me as a Muslim student due to its intersection with my religious identity and values. Witnessing the ongoing conflict and the challenges faced by Palestinians in accessing their religious sites and preserving their cultural heritage deeply affects me on a personal and spiritual level.\nFurthermore, the Palestinian crisis is not confined to political or humanitarian dimensions; it encompasses broader issues of social justice and human rights. The injustices faced by Palestinians, including displacement, restricted access to resources, and limited opportunities, go against the principles of fairness and equality that Islam promotes. I feel a strong sense of responsibility to advocate for the rights of the Palestinian people. By partnering with UW Blueprint and local non-profits, I aim to empower Palestinians through education, skill development, and technological innovation."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to have been a part of my high school's government as a charity coordinator. In this role, I took the initiative to organize various events, charity drives, and blood drives for fellow students, with the primary goal of raising funds for charitable causes. Our collective efforts were dedicated to making a positive impact in the community. One of our significant achievements was raising approximately 10,000 CAD to support a school in Malawi, Africa. This endeavour involved mobilizing students, coordinating fundraising activities, and raising awareness about the importance of education. Witnessing the impact of our efforts on the lives of students in need was truly rewarding and solidified my passion for making a difference. Being part of this community allowed me to cultivate leadership skills, foster a spirit of empathy and giving, and instill in me a lifelong commitment to contributing to the betterment of society."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As a first-year student in Math with limited advanced mathematical knowledge, I took on the challenge of learning machine learning My motivation stemmed from the incredible potential of machine learning to revolutionize industries and solve complex problems. With a pragmatic approach, I began by seeking beginner-friendly resources such as online courses and tutorials that focused on practical applications rather than heavy mathematics. After that I took a step back and just built projects, simple projects to advanced projects by reading online, and with each new project I gained a little bit more knowledge.\nThis allowed me to grasp fundamental concepts and gain hands-on experience through coding exercises and projects. I supplemented my learning by actively engaging with the machine learning community, participating in forums etc. Despite the initial difficulties, I maintained a growth mindset, embracing failures as learning opportunities. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688169909781},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"a33srini@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Aditya","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Srinivasan Mani","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computing and Financial Management","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F122e7f37-55d7-4e90-993b-86c427e31891?alt=media&token=a671c3be-f2f4-4168-8c4b-c54c3e8aea3a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Mobile","Fullstack","Other:"],"response-specified":"Data Science","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I would like to share a technical problem that I recently encountered in my Co-op as a Data Scientist. Working in an insurance company, the power that data holds in this industry is pretty obvious. This company is a pretty new one that started in 2018. As of now, they never had a dedicated data team that could help them with their analysis and have accumulated data for the past 4 years. Since there is no existing expertise the goals were very open ended and they were looking for a starting point. I began my planning process by designing a pipeline for the data engineering aspect and I am currently working on developing it so that the data becomes easily accessible for the people working in the future. I have planned out some visualization automations such that every month the data gets pre processed and a report is published that would give insights to the users about the performance. I went about my planning by going through all the datasets, and researching extensively about the data","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"I was a very active member in the student council body in high school. I held the position of Assistant head boy where I organized the volunteering event I mentioned above. I organized this event in collaboration with another organization that I was a part of as they had the connections of the labor camps that we could approach. I prepared a detailed document of the event and presented it in front of my school board to receive approval. We organized a donation of food, fresh water and flasks to about 900 poor labourers during the holy month of Ramadan. I handled the communications part where I was coordinating with outside groups to organize the supplies. The internal organization was delegated among other council students where I had given each person a responsibility and prepared sheets for them to document their progress. This event was a very memorable one where I exercised a lot of leadership skills."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The global cause of sustainability and environmental governance deeply resonates within me as it is known to have a powerful impact that is specially required in today's fast growing world. As a young child, I had been an active member of many sustainable initiatives, educating myself and spreading the word to the masses as I believe to have realize the importance of this concept. I joined environmental clubs, participated in community clean-up campaigns, and engaged in educational programs to deepen my understanding of environmental conservation. An important message I always reflect upon is that sustainability is not just an abstract concept, but in fact a way of living that requires collective efforts. This concept brings together many disciplines that work together to mitigate global issues that can help build the right balance between nature and humans. The problem of sustainability has been well addressed but I believe that it still needs to be resonated on a more personal level."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take immense pride in being a part of volunteering groups and this is not something I am expressing just for this application. As a kid, I was always reminded to be grateful for what I have and always give back to the society in the small ways I can. I have been a part of multiple organizations such as Red Crescent, Sathya Sai International Service Organization, school initiatives etc. and have organized various events to help those in need. The beauty about the volunteering community is the like-minded people who get an opportunity to come together to make a difference. It instills a feeling of purpose among every individual and reminds them about their position in this world. One of the events I take immense pride in is an initiative I organized alongside my student council during the holy month of Ramadan. This event aimed to provide food and fresh water to those in need, particularly the poor labourers who work tirelessly during this fasting season."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"It goes back to my high school days when I first decided to step into the world of technology by making the decision to learn coding. My motivation behind learning this skill is the power the concept of automation holds in today's society. With this skill I realized that I would be able to contribute to any society I wish as technology has a different dimension when it comes to solving problems. My approach was simple as I always enjoyed learning and had/still have a strong belief that learning is a never ending process. I always used to practice my concepts by relating to some real world problems as that helped me appreciate what I learnt."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615311777},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"jaywong2004@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Jay","heardFrom":"Events","lastName":"Wong","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Global Business Digital Arts","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"As a designer, I look for inspiration for new ideas in the things that I personally use and like, and strip it down to specific things that others do that are successful and implement it to my own designs and products. Seeing things from Pinterest and Behance to draw inspiration is nice, but I also draw from the apps and interfaces that I use and like to encourage more user friendly designs. For instance, when creating digital and print graphics for Petite Workshop, I thought of what I do myself as a consumer when I see a poster. From a local lens, I would typically search for more information on the web about the information posted, so I decided to add a QR code to all the print posters to make the user experience more seamless and efficient. This was also proven since the QR code on the poster was used 50 times at a local festival we attended with the posters present. With my experience, I would like to bring more ideas to new projects for social good."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"A project that I am proud of is my recent project submission for TILE 2023. As it was one of my first designations, I was able to create an interface that had the essentials of good design. The process was hard because of the limited knowledge my partner and I had since we were both new to designing interfaces, but we persevered and gained a lot of insight and experience learning from experienced designers and attending workshops. I learned how to use Figma, and got feedback on researching, testing, and developing our idea to enhance and elevate the product. With that in mind, I hope to bring a new perspective and a fresh point of view to the blueprint team.\nhttps://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1BD_7ujfY5kHNNLhLZcSu0WkBkk9IAg1VdiLm-Wu7Z7E/edit?usp=sharing\n","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"With the rapid growth of fast fashion and micro trends, a cause that resonates with me is sustainability, specifically within the fashion industry and consumer lens. I believe that we could reduce our consumerist mindset through empowering consumers, and influencing big business and corporations. In fact, this cause resonated with me throughout high school, which allowed me to spearhead and execute a sustainability workshop dedicated to educating students about the effects of fast fashion with Fashion Takes Action; a non-profit fashion organization committed to advancing sustainability in the fashion system through education, awareness, and collaboration. Another other organization that I’ve collaborated with was 1000 trees, devoted to promoting green areas within the GTA. I was able to leverage the school community and bring awareness to their cause through social media and marketing. I hope to continue educating myself and others about sustainable practices."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be part of my local Chinese community since there is lots of rich cultural heritage and unity within the community. The community is also very big and active, hosting multiple events around the area all year round, and is welcoming to all people. One way I contribute to our community is through volunteering at events hosted by and for our community. For instance, I volunteered at the Canadian National Exhibition’s asian heritage exhibit in which they promoted various small asian owned businesses. I have also attended a Hong Kong Market as a vendor with Petite Workshop, a small clay art studio where we were able to appreciate all Chinese-Canadian immigrants and their hard work contributing to the community in Canada. At the workshop, we celebrate our culture to the community by teaching miniature clay Chinese classic foods like dim sum and Hong Kong street food at our local studio. Finding the community you belong is crucial to motivate and drive us to do good in society."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I started my co-op at an architecture firm, there was a very steep learning curve in the workplace from architecture jargon to industry standard softwares. In order to do anything, I first had to learn how to use Revit; a modeling software, in a short period of time in order to start working on the files. Learning a new software from scratch was not easy, but thanks to the supporting and uplifting environment the firm had, I felt engaged and motivated to keep on learning. I am convinced that having a positive team environment improves the quality of the work and builds a long lasting team. Another motivator for learning was the fast paced environment the office had, since there were many parties involved like developers, head architects, and engineers, I was inspired to produce quality work to increase productivity within the team. Similarly, working with nonprofit partners and a strong project team will create a strong team environment to produce quality work efficiently."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688354679007},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"j744kim@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jonathan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kim","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F13e9d9f2-a315-4bb4-9428-523807483d55?alt=media&token=4edc66f7-f9d6-4279-a4fe-06e2be99473c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"When I was at my last coop at Manulife Financial, I was tasked with learning the company framework and creating a template website in React to display resource optimization recommendations. The problem was that many elements of the framework were not compatible with the Javascript commands for normal HTML. My solution involved finding individual workarounds for specific issues. For instance, if I realized that a button wasn’t able to be clicked because it was an imported element, I would then create an invisible button surrounding that button, which I would be able to manipulate with code. That way, even if the user would seemingly only click on the visible button, it would trigger the button with the actual code. I continued this process of surrounding elements with manipulative functions for the scroll-to-the-top button. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"\nMy favourite product is Google Maps for its utility, efficiency, and innovation. In terms of utility, the product is incredibly useful at providing directions. When taking public transit, I know exactly when to leave the house, instead of shivering in front of the bus stop for 10 minutes. Google maps is also incredibly efficient. When driving, I can trust the product to produce the most optimal route, with respect to any delays like traffic accidents or road congestion. Finally, Google Maps is incredibly innovative, constantly evolving to better integrate itself into our lives. Just yesterday, Google Maps announced a collaboration with Mercedes, forming the first branded navigation process for an automaker. It is with this forward-thinking of partnerships that solidify Google Maps as an industry leader, and one of my most used and favourably viewed products. \n"}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Pacific Time Zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the Engineering Ambassador program. I felt fear in my first year, believing I was weaker in experience and education than my peers. When I approached an upper year, I had no idea why they helped me, for nothing in exchange. It was only when I started talking to more upper years that I began to understand. Engineering scared me because it was impossible on my own. That was the harsh truth, but there was a community willing to help. I became an ambassador because I didn’t want other students to be living in fear. I wanted to be the kind of upper year that reached out first, assuring juniors they weren’t a burden and creating a space for feeling relief rather than shame when asking for help. When I mentor a younger student, I feel like I’m speaking with a younger version of myself. I’ve become kinder, forgiving myself for my past mistakes while passing on a kindness I could never repay to the upperclassmen before me. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I’m proud to be a part of is the SYDE class of 2026. While many aspects of my university life have changed, the people in my classes and social circles have remained constant. I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of a community filled with incredible people who continue to motivate me to strive for greatness. In addition to academic excellence, the students of SYDE have a wide range of personalities, interests, and skills, reflecting the program’s multidisciplinary nature. I created the Discord server for my program, which acts as the main social hub, and was the first point of contact for many in the program. I organized Q&A sessions with upper years, curated lists of resources for students, and gradually built a network with the other programs. I also was a class representative, where organizing social events including campfires and a cohort-wide game (@sydesocial). I also was a product manager of the class profile (https://syde26.life/)\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently started rock climbing, which seems to be a rite of passage at Waterloo. As a chronic sitter, I felt like I wasn’t staying active enough, and rock climbing seemed like a great way to socialize and have fun while exercising. I went with some friends with prior experience, and I started with bouldering, which involved climbing without any harness. At first, I did not have any approach, as I was too afraid of falling and hurting myself. Only after I let myself fall intentionally from the top of the rocks and onto the mat below, did I lose the sense of fear inhibiting me from climbing. When I stopped worrying about falling and failure, climbing became so much easier and more enjoyable. Through experience, I learned proper hand and foot placement, as well as the importance of pacing. I solidified my approach: removing the fear of failure and rapid learning and development through exposure.\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688614777999},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"yrynossi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Yaser","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Nossibeh","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1854f619-45fa-4535-a99f-7042f76b21b1?alt=media&token=643295ea-6f2f-4a69-81ec-7d9bd8b64b74","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I encountered a technical problem during my co-op that required me to integrate a Python script into the company’s Laravel platform. Due to Laravel's PHP foundation, Python integration posed numerous complications such as restricted file access, trouble passing parameters to the script, and various other compatibility issues. \nI first delved into the Laravel documentation, allowing me to gain a deep understanding of the framework's intricacies and identify potential solutions. Additionally, I actively engaged with my colleagues, seeking their expertise and insights. By discussing the problem with experienced developers within the company, I gained valuable insights regarding my issues. Recognizing the importance of external resources, I also explored online communities and forums. I adopted an approach that involved experimenting with different techniques and embracing an adaptive mindset, which allowed me to navigate around the limitations posed by Laravel's compatibility with Python.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is ensuring equal access to sports opportunities for all children. Growing up, sports played a significant role in shaping my character and providing valuable life lessons. I am passionate about ensuring that everyone, regardless of their circumstances, has access to the transformative power of sports. To contribute to this cause, I have dedicated my time to volunteering at sports camps with an organization that provides financial support to children that need it. I also spent time providing free personal training services to teenagers in my community without the burden of high costs, and am developing a platform aimed at making fitness advice accessible to everyone through the use of computer vision. By promoting equal access to sports, I aim to inspire others to discover the joy, discipline, and valuable skills that sports can bring to their lives."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the Tech Under Twenty community, a youth-led organization dedicated to filling the gaps in the education system by providing students with industry-level opportunities. I have been actively involved in TU20 Since 2018, starting as a dedicated member and progressing through various roles as an executive. I spent most of my time leading the TU20 chapter at my high school, where I held weekly meetings, hosted events, and served as a mentor for students in the community. During the pandemic, I helped build and restructure the curriculum used by 11 high schools throughout the region. This involved adapting the curriculum to the virtual learning environment and ensuring that students continued to receive valuable educational opportunities. Being part of TU20 has been an immensely rewarding experience, as it has allowed me to witness the positive impact it has on students’ lives, and I hope to be able to accomplish the same thing at Blueprint."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my current co-op, I took on the challenge of learning web development with PHP and the Laravel framework within a tight timeframe. Motivated by the relevance and demand of these skills in my workplace, I approached this challenge as a learning opportunity. Drawing upon my previous computer science experience, albeit in different languages, I used the transferable skills gained from my prior knowledge to accelerate my understanding of PHP. I supplemented my learning by tapping into the expertise of those around me, seeking guidance from colleagues, and utilizing online resources such as tutorials and documentation. By leveraging my existing understanding of web development, I was able to grasp the core concepts of the Laravel framework very effectively. This multifaceted approach allowed me to swiftly acquire the necessary skills and make meaningful contributions in the workplace."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688610690677},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"a34sun@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Annie","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Sun","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"CS","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F189a19e7-d479-4881-a8b9-7dc1ca809663?alt=media&token=b19bf7b9-52b1-42e1-9b8e-27f2da7ac3f6","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging and intriguing problem, I recently encountered was making an animated border in NextJS. First, I searched for ‘CSS border animations”. I found that the most popular technique required an opaque background, while I had to make mine translucent. I then asked my team, and they sent me resources. One of which talked about CSS masks, so I combined the original technique with masks, and it worked on my local server, but not in production. I did more research and discovered that since NextJS uses PostCSS to make stylesheets backward-compatible, it messes up the animation. I couldn’t remove PostCSS since compatibility is important, and I didn't want to use JS since JS animations are usually slower. I then tried a different approach entirely. I wrote a script that read the CSS file and generated a new modified CSS file which fixed the issue. When I analyzed the bundle size, this method didn’t significantly increase it so I added the script to the build process and it worked!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"7","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://www.behance.net/gallery/135521423/Enzuzo-Graphics\n\nFor this project, I was working as a developer, but I knew the company was doing a rebrand, so on the side, I created some graphics. The team loved it so I made more. The first step in my process was research. I thought of how to make these graphics unique to the company while also matching the quality of competitors. I drew inspiration from the company name, and what keywords the company wanted to convey. I also heavily researched competitors & created a mood board of their branding. I then used Illustrator and PS to create the graphics. The company loved the result, and now they're used all over from the web app to marketing. This project taught me about maintaining consistency & keeping everything centered. If I were to do this project again, though, I would experiment more, keeping the brand intact but also incorporating more eye-catching elements like uneven shapes, and pops of colors to make the brand more personable."}],"role":"Graphic Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Graphic Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"This is cliche, but a cause that resonates with me is poverty. It’s especially jarring knowing what goes on in the “tech bubble”, where so much conversation is surrounding \"TC\"s, and exiting that & seeing how little some people have. I know poverty is a very broad issue of many different magnitudes, but my involvement in this cause mostly involves helping out on a local level. Last year, I volunteered at a food-bank in Toronto through Yonge Street Mission, sorting donations & loading carts, and I thought it was a pretty meaningful experience. In addition, I'm also politically active, which may be a bit of a grey area, but I’m mentioning it since I think it’s a way I can support structural change, even if it’s small. I’ve phone-banked multiple times for my local MP candidate who advocates for more equitable policies, and I also make sure to vote in every election. I try my best to be involved locally, and would love a chance to do more."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"One community I’m proud to be a part of is UW Visual Arts Club. I joined the club last semester to get back into drawing regularly, and I loved it. There are people from all different programs who come and it’s great to have a dedicated space to just draw. I've gotten a lot of great tips, and I always see a piece that inspires me each meeting. This semester, I'm in charge of online events for the club since I'm away from campus, and with the flexibility of online events, I've met people beyond the usual crowd, who have busy lives, but also want to get back into drawing. With my role, I'm trying to create both casual events for people to meet each other, and also more improvement-oriented events to help people along in their journey. I've also dipped my toes into making marketing posts to help out, since officially, only one person is making them. Even though, on paper, UW isn't a very \"art\" focused school, there's still a strong community here, and I've loved contributing to it."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Early last year, I got super into art improvement. I loved drawing when I was younger but I’ve stopped as I’ve gotten older. Deep down though, I've always loved drawing and wanted to be better. One day, I was just thinking, there’s no better time to start than now. My approach was to learn from people I admire and consistently practice. The main thing artists I admired recommended was figure drawing. I had never done figure drawing before, as I used to solely draw portraits so this was very intimidating, but I still hit the ground running. I followed a free online course, to get the basics, and every day, I would pull up my little iPad, and draw figures. I continually did more research and started putting together a little “curriculum” for myself too. I also signed up for a figure painting class, and got to draw from real life. Since then, I've noticed I've gotten a lot better, but still, this is a lifelong journey, and I continue to practice (almost) every day."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688603816360},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4A","email":"priswoode10@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Priscilla","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Woode","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Honours Arts Legal Studies","pronouns":"","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1c8d4d58-6e2a-4ea4-8e49-705f66dab543?alt=media&token=5857185d-9531-4d44-b5c3-82c63d8a1754","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"Depending on the type of project being worked on I like to do user interviews (in depth or more structured) as well as surveys "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"Uw blueprint likes to focus on nonprofits that promote public welfare. It is very community focused and although there are many nonprofits out there, ones that are actively supporting the community and making a direct difference in peoples lives that may not be getting much assistance are ones to focus on. Especially smaller ones.\n"}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I've worked within various capacities that are related to senior independent living and I really enjoy learning about community services and how to better support these communities. Attending intergenerational events also allows me to learn more about them and resonate with the needs that individuals face\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Im apart of this organization called cyberseniors that aims to support seniors in technological learning and one-on-one support. I make calls weekly to seniors to assist them with their tech needs and provide help to them as much as I can\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned how to make candles! I was buying candles from a store at the mall and I remember the three wick candles being very expensive. I told my friend that I could make this and thats how I picked it up as my hobby\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688071166993},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"mramamon@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Matthew","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Ramamonjisoa","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Pure Mathematics","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F1e96af03-2ae4-4c99-8892-a62067e8f81f?alt=media&token=0d8a5322-db2c-4242-9039-5287a70713bf","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem I worked on in the past was during the development of a path tracer as a side project. The specific problem I encountered was related to reducing noise in the rendered images. Path tracing inherently introduces noise due to the stochastic nature of the algorithm. This noise manifests as grainy or speckled patterns in the final image, especially in areas with low light or high variance.\nTo tackle this issue, I implemented a technique called Monte Carlo integration with importance sampling. Traditional path tracing samples rays uniformly across the entire scene, which can result in inefficient sampling of important light sources or other significant regions. Importance sampling involves directing more rays toward areas that contribute the most to the final image, improving the quality of the image. The method was taken from Eric Veach's PHD thesis, but I had to put a lot of work understanding it and adapting it for the project.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"As someone who genuinely enjoys Math, I quite often talk to a lot of people who most definitely do not share those feelings, and I think that can be very unfortunate. I feel very strongly about Math education as a cause because not only do I think of it as a beautiful and intellectually satisfying subject, but also because I realize that I was very lucky to grow up in an environment where my mathematical abilities were allowed to mature, while rarely being forced. I find it really sad when people say \"I liked math until ...\" because it shows that they had potential until the education system forced them to learn things they didn't really understand, without giving them the proper intuition. While this is not a problem with an easy solution, figures like 3blue1brown on YT are a great inspiration for me because they really present math from such a different perspective, and I hope to contribute in a similar way one day."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am proud to be a part of is the Malagasy Sports Association in Ottawa. Every year, Malagasy people from numerous major cities in North America come together for a multi-sport tournament, and Ottawa was chosen to host in 2018. My main role for that year was actually fundraising for the event, and the main source of funds that year was a New Year's party. I was responsible for most of the advertising on Facebook, as well as reaching out to Malagasy performers and influencers to get more attraction for the event. This helped the event become a very successful night, and we were able to raise almost $4000 for the tournament later in the year. I was also part of the Ottawa basketball team, though unfortunately, we did not win that year :("},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I was about to enroll in Waterloo, I wanted to take the advanced courses, however, the requirement was that I complete a pre-assessment where I had to complete proofs in a proof checker. This proved to be very difficult because I had never written proofs before and the software was unforgiving. However, I was very motivated because I had heard many great things from the advanced courses and Professor Jao, so I worked on it day and night, trying to understand the problems. What really helped me is taking time away from the problems, and I realized that my best moments are when I am passively thinking about something. My favorite part of this was connecting with others, and learning how they approached it. Developing the skill to write proofs helped me tremendously in University, and is the main reason I am a Pure Math Major."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615943988},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"iivyleii@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Ivy","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Lei","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F22acb5c7-aff6-4545-b2eb-dc0b4f4eb26c?alt=media&token=611aaaf7-838f-4741-b6d8-29d8be2145f5","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is Discord, the app that I use most frequently. I use Discord primarily for messaging friends, but now my usage of it has diversified, whether it be using it to coordinate internal logistics for clubs, play games and music collaboratively, or host bootcamp events. In contrast to other platforms, Discord provides a unique balance between community-building and private messaging. By introducing servers, its text/voice channels, and threads, groups can easily juggle various topics of discussion with differing levels of importance, which allows for more organized and focused conversations. For an individual, it allows the separation of communities and direct messaging with a double sidebar that is visually simple and easy to navigate, rather than being text-heavy. I also love its emphasis on allowing user activity to be seen through externally connected apps. By avoiding cluttering the interface with advertisements, Discord stays true to enhancing user experience!"}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"Firstly, one of the most important factors would be to assess how impactful the NPO currently is or will be, and how much our team would make a positive social difference if we were able to work with them. Consulting with the “craft team” would be essential to ensure that Blueprint stays on course to fulfilling its mission to serve the community and empower disadvantaged groups of people. Secondly, I believe that it’s also important to assess the projects we would work on with the NPO, like its technological feasibility and how interesting it would be for our developers to work on them. Thirdly, and most critically, I would reach out personally to the heads of the NPO and talk with them through a call or in-person about their vision and goals for the organization. I think it would be a good way to see if the NPO is growing in a positive way and if those leading the cause are passionate about the subject and would be enjoyable to collaborate with."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Local issues have always resonated with me because I feel particularly empowered to do something about it and take action. Although small-scale, something that has struck a personal chord with me is urban pollution. As someone who has lived in KW their entire life, I’m proud of how easy it is for anyone in the city to visit natural areas. However, the consequence of this close relationship is that these areas accumulate litter, often just one throw away from the sidewalk. Not only is it visually unappealing, but it kills suburban wildlife, which I’ve unfortunately seen in my neighbourhood. The most upsetting part is that it all directly connects with actions of single individuals. To combat this, every time I’m on a long walk, I’ll bring a grabber tool, a pair of latex gloves, and garbage bags and pick up any litter I see. If I see litter that is beyond my reach (eg. in a lake), then I make sure to report it online."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I’m proud to be in is the Computer Science Club community. As someone with minimal programming experience prior to university, I felt inadequate compared to my peers. I first joined as a Community Representative to contribute to initiatives such as the CS class profile and swag. Through hanging out at socials and many late nights in the office, I met countless people in all years within the club who made me feel more confident in my abilities and helped me get through tough academic terms and mental burnout. Since my 1B term, I became a team lead and elected as Vice President, where I actively had a hand in facilitating communication between all of the teams and helping the club reach its visions. I spearheaded the 2023 Class Profile project to receive more responses by personally seeing to its marketing, as well as organizing team socials to make every member feel welcomed. I also oversaw critical organizational changes through the introduction of the office team."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One of the sports I love playing is tennis, however my noticeable weakness while playing are my overhead serves. As a competitive person, I wanted to improve my accuracy and speed, since serves are critical to winning games as they put you at an advantage right from the start. Firstly, I practiced consistently by setting up a schedule to play at the Waterloo Tennis Club 1-2 times a week. Next, I knew that mistakes in my serves were not always obvious from the first-person. I asked my friend to film myself from the back and at the sides to get a better perspective on the angle of my serves and I reviewed them after my practice session. My friends, who are better at tennis, also allowed me to record them so I could compare the footage and gauge what needed to be fixed. Over two months, I began to see a noticeable difference in the power of my serves, so I will continue to implement this strategy and get closer to beating my friends in tennis, as well as maintain an active lifestyle!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615896022},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"simritmangat@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Simrit","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Mangat","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F23cbca29-fd5f-4e41-aa07-521fe573894b?alt=media&token=65a129f8-812a-4133-97bf-7ab2e33e1ace","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I faced was when I was a beginner in web development and was attempting to address the lack of mobile responsiveness in a website I developed. Initially, I built the website exclusively for my laptop without considering the need for it to function properly on mobile devices. Realizing this oversight, I conducted research on responsive web development and began by restructuring the layout and content to ensure optimal viewing and usability on smaller screens. I used CSS media queries to apply specific styles and adjust the design based on different screen sizes. I also adjusted font sizes, image dimensions, and navigation menus to ensure a seamless user experience. Through these modifications, I successfully transformed the website to be fully mobile-responsive which deepened my understanding of responsive design principles and highlighted the importance of user-centered design at the onset of projects.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I prefer to utilize a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to gain a comprehensive understanding of a user's needs, behaviors, and preferences. Qualitative methods, such as interviews and ethnographic research, allow me to gather in-depth insights to uncover underlying experiences and the \"why\" behind user behavior. I also use quantitative research techniques to gather data. Surveys and user analysis enable me to quantify user preferences and identify patterns across a larger user base. These methods provide valuable statistical data that can support decisions and validate findings from qualitative research. My main areas of expertise lie in conducting user interviews and synthesizing research findings into actionable recommendations. By combining both qualitative and quantitative methods, I can provide a holistic understanding of users' experiences and contribute to the design and development of user-centered products."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Next term, I will be based out of the eastern time zone. "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Equitable access to education is a cause that deeply resonates with me because of its ability to serve as a powerful tool for social and economic empowerment. However, there are many barriers that impede access to quality education like poverty, gender inequality and limited resources in marginalized communities among many other reasons. As a result, ensuring equitable access to education means addressing these disparities and providing every individual, regardless of their background, with equal opportunities to learn. This involves dismantling systemic barriers, bridging the digital divide and investing in underserved communities. One such project I worked on in this realm was Here to Hear, an AI based platform allowing deaf and hard of hearing children to learn English. Ultimately though, by prioritizing equitable access to education, we can unlock the potential of countless individuals and foster social mobility. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"The hacker community is a vibrant and dynamic community that I am proud to be a part of. As an advocate for technological innovation and collaboration, I have actively contributed to this community by organizing four hackathons while serving as Co-Executive Director of XdHacks Mini Vancouver. These events provided a platform for aspiring developers and enthusiastic hackers to come together and create innovative solutions to real-world problems. By organizing hackathons, I aimed to foster a spirit of creativity, collaboration, and learning within the community. I ensured that the events were inclusive by welcoming participants from diverse backgrounds and skill levels. By contributing to the hacker community in this way, I hope to empower others to pursue their passion for technology while making a positive impact on the world."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I learned a new skill was when I taught myself HTML and CSS. My motivation to learn these programming languages stemmed from my interest in web development and the ability to create what I desired and see my ideas come to life. To begin, I turned to online resources and decided to follow videos on Youtube. I adopted a hands-on approach through a project based learning method. By immersing myself in this project-based learning method, I was able to apply the concepts I learned immediately, reinforcing my understanding and building practical skills. Through trial and error, I gained proficiency in writing HTML and CSS code and crafting visually appealing websites. This experience not only gave me the ability to explore other fields of STEM but also instilled an enduring enthusiasm for online educational resources and furthered my passion for equitable access to education. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688508100422},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"parth.desai@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Parth","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Desai","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F23ed4a0d-874e-48b5-b9e9-2ca3158e3190?alt=media&token=547faf64-9f44-4cbf-adab-b6bde14d3717","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is TikTok. I believe that TikTok has quickly emerged as a leader in the social media industry, surpassing its competitors in providing highly personalized content to its users. The standout feature of TikTok is its algorithmic recommendation system, which continuously analyzes user behavior, such as their video-watching, engagement, and sharing patterns. This analysis enables TikTok to refine and curate the content that appears on users' feeds, ensuring they discover new and captivating videos that align perfectly with their preferences. Consequently, the TikTok experience becomes immensely enjoyable and relevant.\n\nIn the realm of product management, satisfying users is a fundamental guiding principle. TikTok has successfully embraced this principle by implementing an algorithm that caters to users' individual interests and preferences. And I believe this approach has transformed TikTok into a platform that excels at keeping users engaged and captivated.\n"}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time/Mountain Standard Time, but I can make sure to make all meetings regardless of time!"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that truly resonates with me is helping and supporting non-profit organizations. In fact, this is a big reason for my application towards Blueprint. In my opinion, NPO’s are essentially the backbone of societal good. They are able to put the importance of helping others over their own needs and wants. These organizations are dedicated to addressing critical societal issues and making a tangible difference in the lives of individuals and communities. That said, any contribution to these organizations is small in comparison to the work that the NPO’s do, however, being able to help, even in the smallest way, is an incredible opportunity to be part of something greater than ourselves. Supporting non-profit organizations enables us to join hands with like-minded individuals and collectively make a meaningful impact in the world. Every little effort counts and has the potential to create a ripple effect, improving the lives of those in need and fostering a better future for all. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am incredibly proud to be a part of the Indian community in my hometown of Fort McMurray, and my contribution to it through the non-profit organization, \"The Sanatan Mandir Cultural Society,\" has been a meaningful journey. During the 12th grade, I dedicated my weekends to actively volunteering for the construction of the mandir, where I took on tasks like laying tiles, painting, and other physical work.\n\nBy actively participating in the construction process, I played a hands-on role in shaping the physical manifestation of our community's cultural center. It was an opportunity for me to not only contribute my time and effort but also to learn valuable skills and gain a deeper appreciation for the dedication and hard work required to bring such a project to life. Through a strong collective effort and a shared sense of purpose, we were able to create a space that serves as a spiritual hub and cultural beacon for the Indian community in Fort McMurray.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently learned SQL over my last internship. My motivation to learn this skill stemmed from a work-related task that required data analysis and manipulation. \n\nMy approach to learning SQL was characterized by resilience, curiosity, and resourcefulness. Initially, I sought out online resources such as tutorials, video courses, and documentation to grasp the fundamentals and syntax of the language.\n\nAs I delved further into the learning process, I quickly realized that beyond theoretical syntax and documentation, practical application was key to cementing my understanding. I actively sought out opportunities at work to apply my newly acquired SQL skills to real-world tasks. This enabled me to collaborate with people at many levels of the organization and people of different departments. Both the collaboration and the practical experience yielded new learning for me. And as a result of this hands-on experience, I was able to gain confidence and solidify my knowledge in SQL.\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688175845611},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"mairahhashmi@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Mairah","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Hashmi","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F240c6e91-6f3b-40f7-8f71-7ca584d4601c?alt=media&token=20362b69-895a-4b24-896f-6f99d1322acd","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Mobile","Frontend","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"As part of the STEMing Up program at hErVOLUTION, my team and I leveraged the Shopify platform and worked extensively with Shopify's Liquid templating language, along with other Shopify frameworks, to enhance the customer buying experience on Love&Nudes' website. We successfully implemented an interactive modal for size selection, an engaging quiz for color picking, a user-friendly size chart, dropdown tabs for product information, and streamlined product navigation. These additions significantly improved the website's functionality and garnered positive feedback from customers (Project Demo: https://youtu.be/bqTZNBEEzTw). This experience not only honed my problem-solving skills and collaborative abilities as a developer but also deepened my familiarity with Shopify frameworks and other processes commonly used in website development.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"An ideal member experience encompasses a welcoming and inclusive environment where members feel valued and respected, along with opportunities for continuous growth through mentorship, and access to resources. I believe that collaboration is key in such an experience and it can be fostered through cross-functional team projects, transparent communication channels, and active participation in decision-making processes. This experience would involve the initiation of engaging tasks, such as organizing tech-focused events, to enable members to make meaningful connections with the people that they are working alongside. Additionally, regular feedback and recognition reinforce the value of members and their contribution to the organization, creating an empowering atmosphere where members thrive, learn, and drive impactful projects aligned with the broader mission at Blueprint."}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Internal Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"As a first-generation immigrant, I've personally navigated the challenges of language barriers and cultural adaptation. This journey ignited a deep sense of empathy within me. Volunteering at the Centre for Immigrant & Community, I had the privilege of mentoring numerous immigrant families and witnessing their struggles and aspirations firsthand. It was during this time that I co-created Phrase.ly (https://linktr.ee/phrasely), an app specifically designed to empower immigrants by bridging language gaps in Canada. Joining UW Blueprint as a software developer would be an incredible opportunity to further my mission and collaborate with like-minded individuals in creating innovative solutions that address the unique challenges faced by immigrants, and many other marginalized communities. Overall, I hope to make a tangible and lasting impact on the lives of those striving to overcome barriers and create a brighter future, with what skills I can offer."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In the depths of a male-dominated STEM program, I experienced gender-based microaggressions, stereotypes, and imposter syndrome. Motivated by these challenges, I became a passionate advocate for women in STEM. As a previous senior executive of HeforShe, I led initiatives promoting gender equality, such as distributing free hygiene products, providing a platform for victims of harassment, and organizing fundraisers for organizations like HeForShe. Joining UW Blueprint as a software developer would allow me to unite my technical skills with my advocacy, driving innovation to break barriers and create an inclusive future."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, with remote learning in place, I took it upon myself to learn more about the React Native framework. Motivated by my passion for technology and driven to make a positive impact, I embarked on a personal project. Collaborating with a friend, we developed EcoScan (https://youtu.be/U10Paa_e3s8), an app aimed at reducing CO2 emissions by enabling users to track their carbon footprint. This hands-on experience not only allowed me to complete a React Native certification course but also solidified my foundational knowledge of the framework. This experience has empowered me to further contribute my technical skills for social good, as a software developer at UW Blueprint."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687400720161},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"nmenon@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Nihal","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Menon","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F2543791d-b601-4894-89fb-1508ac192be5?alt=media&token=2d2bed8c-7589-425f-9d12-dc76c9add8fb","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I faced a technical challenge when my ultrasonic sensors were damaged just ten days before the deadline for our group project. We aimed to create a website displaying the number of people in the SE lounge, requiring a reliable algorithm with new sensors to accurately track entries and exits.\nTo overcome this, I implemented multiple sensors and devised a Python algorithm that only updated the data when both sensors were triggered, considering scenarios like people pausing or turning around at the doorway. The count data was sent to AWS for integration into our website.\nIntegrating the data posed another hurdle as I had to navigate DynamoDB interactions using NodeJS and seamlessly displaying the data using the Handlebars module.\nTo address these challenges, I meticulously studied documentation, debugged connection issues, and persevered until successful integration. Our team completed the project on time, showcasing my problem-solving, adaptability, and dedication to meeting objectives.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Only as I caught my breath from a fierce game of ping pong with Mr. McGrath did I register what was taking place. Across the room, my buddy Mario was in a passionate conversation with the generally reticent 83 year old Mr. Gonzalez about the Beatles’ genius throughout the 1960s while cheers erupted for Mrs. Garcia as she bowled a spare. I was ecstatic to see that my efforts to set up this event at the Alzheimer’s care center resulted in meaningful experiences for the elderly patients and my peers. While I didn’t quite understand it as a child, Alzheimer’s has impacted my life since I was 6 when I visited my great grandmother who didn’t remember me. What I once found as a mildly confusing circumstance was the result of a debilitating disease. It didn’t seem fair to me that so many people had to part with their identity. This inspired me to establish my own chapter of the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer's, organizing events and fundraisers to improve the lives of those with dementia."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"My identity is shaped by the lessons I learned from my different homes. While I only lived in India for a month after I was born, I have been immersed in Indian culture through the communities of the Indian diaspora that have since adopted me. The people I met helped me grow as a person by influencing me to serve others. Whether it be packing food for those in need or pushing me out of my comfort zone to sing at fundraisers, these communities shaped my identity as an advocate for underserved communities. \nDuring Hurricane Harvey, Houston showcased an inspiring collaborative community as neighbors formed rescue teams and volunteers provided shelter and supplies. It inspired me to help by volunteering at the Houston food bank or fundraising for local Red Cross initiatives. While I don’t always perfectly fit in with my Canadian, Indian, or American communities, I have grown into the conscientious individual I am because of how these cultures empowered me."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Growing up, I was always interested in medicine and gradually, my passion for computer science began to overlap with my interest in learning about pathologies. One summer, I was determined to learn the basics of machine learning in my free time with the goal of eventually creating a diagnostic model. I first went about doing this by reading about types of machine learning models to see which would be applicable to my goal. I then settled on the K-nearest neighbors model before reading and watching videos on creating such a model. When I finally felt prepared, I created a model that deduced whether tumors were malignant or benign based on factors such as cell size. Knowing the difficulty in diagnosing Alzheimer’s, my next model predicted whether patients had shown signs of dementia based on data such as intracranial volume. While I wasn’t quite proficient enough to do much more yet, diving into this topic was incredibly rewarding for me and is something I continue to read about today. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688434245862},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"a69chand@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Aathithan","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Chandrabalan","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F25de46f2-97cd-4124-b47c-16d6a9ff374a?alt=media&token=f5509454-9fe7-4dfc-83eb-b28be3b9d7f2","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"\nIn my previous role as a Software Developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem while working on the FANUC robotic arm software interface. The goal was to establish real-time motion control communication between the robotic arm and a GUI using Python's FANUC.py library.\n\nFirst, I thoroughly studied the FANUC.py library's documentation and explored its capabilities. I gained a deep understanding of its functions and how it could be integrated into our project.\n\nTo solve the problem, I used custom gRPC calls within processes that would send positions and coordinates to the arm and trigger movement. This suite automated the existing manual testing process, saving significant time and effort. Each test cycle, which previously took 30 minutes to complete, was now executed automatically, freeing up 5 developer hours every week. The suite ensured consistent and reliable testing while reducing human error.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Time / Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the Canadian Red Cross. The Red Cross focuses on helping communities during emergencies and natural disasters. Due to the unpredictable nature of these events, local aid may not be prepared for these events. Thus, an organization like the Red Cross has a monumental impact on remote and cities and villages.\nThe organization's commitment to international humanitarian efforts is noteworthy. Regardless of culture or nationality, the Red Cross travels borders to support people in need. Moreover, they are also committed to community development projects. Such as building hospitals and schools. Not only addressing emergencies but also planting the seeds for a brighter future for many communities around the world.\nThe Red Cross embodies values that align with my own, including compassion, resilience and commitment to helping others."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am proud to be a part of is Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE). It is an organization committed to encouraging young students to pursue careers in the automotive sector and developing their skills and enthusiasm for vehicles. They provide teams with a creative outlet to build and compete cars whilst providing them with knowledge and mentorship along the way. Over the last two years, I have been a member of the University of Waterloo FSAE team. I have had the opportunity to mentor first-year students who have joined the team. Sharing my experiences and knowledge with them has been rewarding as I see them grow and because I am able to contribute back to this community."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"\n A time I learned a new skill was when I learned how to solve the Rubik's cube. I had never been able to complete one when I was younger and was eager to solve it. At first, I watched instructional videos to learn various techniques, following step-by-step instructions to reach a solution. However, my interest shifted from simply solving it to learning quicker and more efficient techniques, focusing on understanding the underlying system rather than memorizing patterns.\n\nTo enhance my learning, I spoke with some of my friends that had mastered the Rubik's cube. I shared my current thought process and approach to finding a solution. They provided valuable insights and perspectives, helping me refine my skill and learning new concepts and tricks.\n\nMy motivation to learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube stemmed from an ambition to solve it but my motivation to continue was a combination of personal challenge, curiosity, and a desire to improve my problem-solving abilities.\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688595605068},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"diasnathana@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"VP Finance & Operations","firstName":"Nathan","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Dias","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Accounting and Financial Management","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F26095d1a-885e-41a8-b747-6b2a2d84d6a2?alt=media&token=91cd2c3a-1104-431e-b569-11629cfe5295","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"13","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?","response":"The way I would pitch to external organizations for sponsorships would be to create a well thought and organized presentation with a timetable and contents section so that our potential sponsors will know what to expect. But before that I would start with doing research about the potential sponsor and take in key information that is good to know to keep a conversation with them outside of just requesting a sponsorship, this way we build some connection. Then using the information I would work to create a presentation that will be customized to meet the organizations goals and mission statement while also meeting our desired outcome, and coordinate with the design team to make it stand out. Also, I would coordinate with scoping team to get insight on the organization and if they will resonate with Blueprint. Lastly, practicing the pitch will be top of mind once all of the presentation set up is done, I will try to practice with others to get feedback and will perfect the presentation. "}],"role":"VP Finance & Operations"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"The way I would find that out would be to do some strategic planning. I would start by recognizing the non-profit's objectives and goals they wish to accomplish in their lifetime, and I would either reach out to them or find out from their online website. To me a success of a non-profit is not a deciding factor when it comes to a goal they wish to accomplish, but rather the time and effort spent trying to achieve that goal. If we are able to understand what they have learnt and can relate to their findings and challenges I think it will be a good match, as we will be able to help each other out and grow together to surpass any obstacles. Overall, to me it is about the research, effort and communication the non-profit has, because any goal is meaningful and important but a non-profit that has a goal and has all of the 3 aspects above will be able to resonate with Blueprint because we are all students who are learning and these aspects demonstrate learning and growth for all involved."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Time for the Fall term. However, for the interview I will be on vacation from July 14-24, I will be in Quebec, but I will be able to do a phone interview if that is fine."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"For me a cause I believe in is everyone deserves equal rights and opportunities, because not everyone is gifted with a happy and loving life, and I know from personal experience that society is not always on your side which causes us to falter and fall short from our goals. In the country I was born there was hierarchy and special privilege's to those of a certain religion/faith. That is why my family and I moved to Canada, my parents believed that moving to Canada would be best as it allowed us to grow in a free environment that had no boundaries or hierarchies on how one should behave to the other. While at the time I believed it would be a crazy decision to leave all my friends behind turned in to me appreciating what my parents did and the things they went through to get my siblings and I another opportunity to grow without having to worry about our future. This was all because of the equal opportunity and right we were given when we moved to Canada. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the Accounting & Finance Student Association community because of all the support and activities/events the club does for all students. They are always looking out for the students as they prepare study packages for exams, and social events to take a break and get our minds refreshed, also creating events for charities such as throwing whipped cream at professors, which makes it fun and engaging for all students and faculty involved. I did have the opportunity to contribute to the community as they held a tax clinic for all students and citizens who needed to file their personal income tax return for 2022 year-end. There I was able to meet many different students and couples who had unique interests and situations, and I was able to help them with their taxes and get money back with the help of the professional tax managers and upper year mentors who reviewed my work. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A skill I learnt was playing the drums. I started playing when I was around 12 or 13, I had been interested in instruments and never got the chance to really play any, so I did research and found out about the drums. I told my parents about it and they signed me up for classes at a music centre. There they taught me all the ways to hold a pair of drum sticks, the different beats and rhythms, but I was not able to practice at home because I did not have a drum set. So I would instead take my sticks and practice playing the drums in the air, pretending that I was actually hitting a drum and making noise. My motivation to keep practicing was because of my teacher, he was a nice guy who would always show me new songs he listened to and would try to teach me how to play along to them, and I wanted to catch up to him, to play something that I like. Overtime my parents saw the progress I was making and bought me a drum set, there I was able to hone my skill and find the passion I wanted."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688601821478},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"svalencia@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Finance & Operations","firstName":"Sebastian","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Valencia","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Mathematics ","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F26d4d042-84bc-46ed-8846-062fe4f93ca3?alt=media&token=2a496e01-9e96-4601-9e0e-232787358755","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"13","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?","response":"When pitching to external organizations for sponsorships I would start with introductions, then I would get into what blueprint is and what they stand for. Following that I would show some metrics for example X projects done, helped out X amount of people. Another metric that I think would be good would be the average time to MVP or time to complete projects. Then if the sponsorship is for a specific event/project/reason, I would go more into depth as to what it is. After that, I would talk about how other sponsorships have helped and the results they yielded so long as they were for the same reason. Then I'd go into depth about the amount I am requesting, breaking it down as much as possible. After that, I'd list some benefits that the external organization would receive. Then wrap it up with some sort of chart of the requested amount and also summarizing everything I just talked about."}],"role":"VP Finance & Operations"},{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"I think a cool event would be to host some sort of sports-themed fundraiser and have it be annually or by term. For example, in the Fall it could be a 5k run, where teams are encouraged to raise a certain amount of money. With all proceeds going to a charity that's been chosen beforehand by the blueprint team. In the winter it could be an indoor sport like dodgeball. These could be accompanied by smaller carnival-styled games like bobbing for apples, and bean bag toss. Again all the proceeds for these would go directly to the charity."}],"role":"External Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"External Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is helping lower-income families be able to get all the support they need. I know first-hand the lack of resources but also how hard it is to know of present ones. Most of all I want both parents and children to feel supported in every way possible. Throughout elementary and high school, I kept every aspect of my parent's lower income to myself. Making excuses as to why I had to drop my club sports, why I didn't live in my house anymore and other things. Looking back at it I still find it hard and uncomfortable to speak on. I still don't know exactly how. But I definitely know I want to help lower-income families in one way or another whether it be through volunteering or through the work I do."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I'm proud to be a part of is the Lighthouse Charity in Toronto. Me and my dad started volunteering there in 2019, and I love going back when I'm in Toronto to help out. There we help prepare hot food as well as make food baskets for those in need. My dad usually helps out with cooking, whereas I make food baskets. They've also done a lot for me, someone who volunteers there actually convinced me to apply to Waterloo back in grade 12"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"It's not really a skill, but this term I wanted to improve the organization of my notes and overall note taking workflow. I found during work meetings I would just write a whole lot down, then almost never end up reading it. I came across this video that talked about how to use Notion as your 'second brain'. From that video, I was inspired to make a Notion page that would be able to capture everything and organize it so that everything was documented neatly. If I ever needed to be reminded of something I would know exactly where to look. What I did wasn't complicated whatsoever, I had categories for every person that gave me work and then a document for each task. Each document followed the same format where I had sections like the ask, context, and good links, then jotted down anything else relevant. All in all and after writing this and thinking about it seems simple and it is, but it has helped me tons for staying on top of things."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688615773013},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"nivritibajwa04@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Nivriti","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Bajwa","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F27091fa1-da07-4349-a302-8bee4532ca60?alt=media&token=451ff247-5161-41a8-9700-371045230581","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"As my first coop as a software engineer at PointClickCare, there have been several challenges thus far. I knew nothing about security or code smells when I was first assigned to work with two completely new platforms for me, SonaType and Sonarqube to complete these tasks. I conducted extensive research, collaborated with the development team, and upgraded vulnerable dependencies to ensure security fixes. I sought out information through Confluence Pages and online websites like StackOverflow to assist me in the task. Using Sonarqube, I conducted a thorough analysis of the codebase, examining various metrics such as code duplication, complexity, and maintainability while working closely with the team to refactor and optimize it. I approached each challenge with a problem-solving mindset, continuously learning and refining our processes. This experience honed my skills in security management and code optimization, emphasizing the significance of clean and maintainable code.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"As a co-op myself at PointClickCare, I had the opportunity to take on a leadership role and organize a barbecue and picnic event for all the other co-ops in our organization. The intention was to establish a comfortable atmosphere where everyone could socialize and promote teamwork. I started planning by finding a nice park as the venue and making sure we had all the required equipment, such as grills, and picnic tables. I reached out to the other co-ops in advance and encouraged their active participation. To foster a sense of ownership, I also asked them to suggest activities, games, or food items they would like to see at the event. I also made sure that dietary restrictions and preferences were considered. Throughout the event, I made introductions, encouraged conversations, and ensured that everyone felt included and comfortable. The event also provided an opportunity to learn from one another and it felt great seeing everyone appreciate the hard work put into organizing it. "}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Bridging the digital divide and enabling universal access to technology is a cause that I strongly identify with. Technology has a big impact on many parts of our life in today's world of expanding connectivity, from communication and education to access to vital services and information. But not everyone has access to technology equally, and this difference can worsen social and economic disparities. People still use outdated flip phones in the slums of my home country, India, demonstrating the gap in technology between Western and other countries around the globe. The idea that ensuring everyone has access to necessities, particularly technology, originates from the idea that technology can empower people and communities and enhance their quality of life in a variety of ways. I have always believed that technology can be a vehicle for education, creativity, economic opportunity, and social inclusion when it is widely available and reasonably priced. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As a passionate ambassador for women's empowerment, I am really proud to be a member of the Girls Empowerment Movement (GEMS) as the Programmes & Initiatives Coordinator. Through GEMS, I have helped develop girls' leadership skills and promote gender equality by empowering them through planning workshops, mentorship programmes, and cooperative collaborations with women who are making a difference in our community. I have also increased awareness about menstrual equity, helped lead a campaign where we donated $10000 worth of menstrual supplies, and sparked positive change as a former Regional Ambassador for Girl Up Brampton. Contributing to these communities, where girls thrive, tear down obstacles, and develop into self-assured leaders, is an honour for me. Not only am I proud of my contributions in the past but also hope to be an active participant in the future. I firmly believe that together, we help to create a world that is more diverse and equitable."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I started making my Twitter Bot, I realized Python was the way to go. Although Python was not extensively taught at my school, I recognized its significance for this particular project and was motivated to become proficient in it. I started by setting clear goals as to where I wanted to be in a few weeks. This provided me with a sense of direction and purpose, which motivated me to dive into the learning process. I relied on various online sources like PluralSight, CodeAcademy, and YouTube channels dedicated to teaching Python's fundamentals. Since practical experience is equally important, I started developing my bot on the side having acquired as much knowledge as possible. I committed to consistent practice to reinforce my Python skills on platforms like Leetcode. This experience not only demonstrated my ability to proactively learn new technologies outside of formal education but also showcased my adaptability and determination. I was proud of myself. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687907113317},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"g88lee@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Grace","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Lee","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Global Business and Digital Arts","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F28157750-8578-4199-9a99-1e6acf9ad7ee?alt=media&token=c97c33fb-25cd-47dc-a163-93409db87c72","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"The research method I utilize the most while conducting UX case studies is the A/B testing. The A/B testing is often used in UX research to compare and evaluate two or more variations of a design to determine which one performs better in terms of user engagement, flow, and other functionalities. My main method of expertise as a User Experience Researcher would be utilizing the A/B testing to compare the user engagement between the original/outdated design with a new potential wireframe. I like to take advantage of the direct comparison between the two designs as it helps identify usability issues and validates the design hypothesis."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"As a designer, I notice that inspiration sparks in the most random places, unexpectedly. I don’t often search for inspiration for personal purposes such as clothing, makeup, room decor etc, because I like to change my style gradually. I would say I’m similar when it comes to design work. However, I believe my interest in music influences my art style. I love to watch music videos from the past, and present, reminding myself of the different styles, fonts, colours that have been popular in the past. I also find inspiration while thrifting at stores such as Value Village and Salvation Army. I choose one staple clothing item as the “character piece” and find the rest of the outfit, trying to match the designated item. I find that I incorporate this technique of constructing a “bigger picture” when designing interfaces. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://gracexleex.myportfolio.com/\n","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the role of the United Nations Children’s Fund in addressing climate change by focusing on the impact it has on children, particularly those in vulnerable situations. I spent my early years in South Korea where air pollution has been a growing issue. The impact of living in contaminated air only worsens the quality of children’s lives. I remember having to wear masks to school when I was in kindergarten and not being able to go outside on some days. Air pollution that is correspondent to climate change can leave permanent damages to the human body such as asthma, reducing lung function, respiratory infections and allergies. Growing children are more likely to be affected, and they have to live with these conditions for the remainder of their lives. I believe that we can make changes to adjust to a more eco-friendly life including more child-sensitive climate policies that can ultimately reduct children’s climate risks."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I currently work for the WUSA Used Bookstore on the bottom floor of the Student Life Centre. The Bookstore consigns used textbooks for UW students to help them get 85% of the book’s retail price. Textbooks can get pricey and most students only utilize the textbooks for a semester. I am proud to work for an organization that provides services costumed to University students, especially with the purpose of providing financial support. Ever since COVID-19, the bookstore’s sales have been decreasing. The bookstore was struggling to make a profit as most of it was already going to the student's account. To help increase the profit to maintain the store, I pitched in the idea of selling the used textbooks using Amazon Seller Central. We now send 5-9 boxes to Amazon per week to help sell the books consigned to students’ accounts."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned how to crochet during my first year of University. I had never thought I was a crafty person, but my friend Kevin taught me the basics as I was determined to make a checkered-pattern bag. I had first seen a picture of a pretty green and beige checkered crochet bag on Instagram. Then, I went onto Etsy to see if I could purchase a bag that was similar to the one I saw on Instagram. After finding out that I would have to spend around 60 dollars, I was motivated to dedicate my time into learning how to crochet. I know that it may seem like I now know how to crochet because I wanted to save 60 dollars, but I learned to be patient and to stay keen on details. I spent almost an hour every day for approximately two weeks perfecting the checkered crochet bag I desired. I was lucky to have Youtube and Kevin to guide me along the way, but my dedication contributed to my consistent effort and a cute bag I carry around everywhere."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688364488370},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"saa2baks@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sahl","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Bakshi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F2b36de2f-b374-49fc-bffc-3d305b37f054?alt=media&token=2665f3e1-4b36-425a-9833-75c8c1089b61","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my previous internship, I encountered the challenge of refactoring some parts of the testing code base. This proved difficult due to its complexity and inadequate documentation. I was able to solved this by analyzing each part and writing down what it was responsible for. By doing so I was not only able to make the necessary changes but also decrease the overall running time.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"Nature with its its organic shapes, and efficient functionality. Minimalism with is concept of simplicity and decluttering guides me towards creating clean, streamlined, and intuitive user experiences. Finally I draw inspiration from everyday object that seamlessly integrate functionality and design. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://sahlbakshi.github.io/portfolio/","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT - Eastern Daylight Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Providing orphans and children without parental figures in their lives with an access to education, healthcare, and a positive environment. While we can't replace the role of a parent, we can always make a difference by helping out."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Although I may not be formally involved in a specific community, I had personally dedicated myself to caring for stray kittens and cats until they are ready for adoption, or if they prefer to live independently outdoors."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned some full stack development because I wanted to be able to build web apps that real people use. I adopted a self-directed approach, utilizing a combination of YouTube videos, online forums, and articles to expand my understanding and skills in the field."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687596054506},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4A","email":"m375chen@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Mark","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Chen","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F2ce8e126-f4a5-47ac-bde2-58a39266281c?alt=media&token=ba7443bd-f614-4a48-8bdf-780315c1a470","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product at the moment is GPT's LLMs such as ChatGPT. At heart, the product is just a text based communication platform with someone who seemingly knows everything. It is a faster search engine for learning something new, it is a competent coder to jumpstart annoying tasks (eg. how do I reverse a linked list in C++?), it can embed itself into search engines or APIs, and lastly, it can be an artificial friend when you are lonely. ChatGPT is changing the entire world of technology, and many other industries too. \nIn terms of improvements, as an end user, I would appreciate if ChatGPT could become open source for personal learning. I'm sure within their organization, they are reluctant to do so while many competitors in the same space are trying to catch up. I'm curious to see what improvements will be made over time, and hope they can figure out a way to search the internet using GPT, but without Bing."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Other:"],"response-specified":"Machine Learning / Data Science","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In one of my coop internships, I had to create a matching algorithm that pairs together objects in a manner that maximizes the number of matchings possible. What made this very challenging was that the algorithm had to have a polynomial time complexity, deterministically return the best matching of many possible matchings (numerous matchings with the same number of pairs is possible), and be intuitive. \nIn general, objects have preferences for their match, and when two objects prefer the same third object, there's another set of rules for those tie breakers.\nI created 4 different solutions to the same problem, each less intuitive than the previous, but each becoming more computationally efficient: a brute force solution, tree searching based solutions, and the final solution was a convoluted augmented bipartite matching algorithm. In the end, the faster tree searching solution was used because of a balance of speed and explainability. Fun problem, fun solution!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST, Waterloo time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is WWF (World Wildlife Fund). Once or twice in grade school, my school would collectively fundraise for various charities, and one of them was WWF. Younger me fell in love with the panda logo, and I'd donate out of my small allowance. Older me now still loves the logo, for different reasons - occasionally donating, keeping up to date with documentaries, etc. Did you know WWF works on initiatives beyond just the animal kingdom? I suppose the greater cause that I highly esteem is taking care of the world for the future generations."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Ever since first year, I joined UW's Computer Science Club. I was there when it grew from 50 members to 500 members, and was part of growing CSC to be what it is today. I was an office manager, executive, team lead, developer, moderator, and a normal member (each one during a different term).\nIn terms of relevance to Blueprint, being a team lead taught me leadership. True leadership doesn't mean to just motivate, delegate, and take a larger piece of the pie. It also carries a responsibility to manage relationships within the team and across teams.\nIn coming terms, I'll essentially go back to being a general member because I think I've contributed enough to CSC. A good leader knows when to step down and pass on the baton. It is time to try something new!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"This is probably a weird skill: skimming research papers. Just last week, I wanted to condense a list of almost 3000 research papers down to 30 for personal learning. These papers come from CVPR (Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition) 2023 - likely the most prestigious conference in the machine learning world. Learning this skill was a byproduct of my desire to figure out what to spend my time on reading because there's no way I'm going to read all 3000 abstracts.\nMy approach was using an embedding space to visualize groups of papers, so similar papers would be grouped together. Instead of a simple query or search based on key words, I can now see papers with all their cousins/twins in a 2D space. With this view, finding interesting papers became much easier because the search space could be reduced to any size I want. In the end, I made a list of 40 or so papers I'll eventually read. I'm about 6 papers in so far :)"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687317319680},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"gloria.pan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Gloria","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Pan","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F32dee548-14f3-4c69-a28d-2328eadc4d21?alt=media&token=2a0d706b-8429-4637-8791-a27bfe6bffaf","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"Interviews are my preferred method of UX research as they allow for open-ended questions, detailed answers, and on-the-spot follow-up. When tasked with designing a promotional digital flipbook for a local physiotherapy business, I interviewed the owner to understand their objectives, target audience, accessibility considerations, and design preferences. Additionally, I interviewed community members who fit the target demographic to gather insights into their decision-making process and identify potential barriers they face in accessing physiotherapy services. Throughout the process, I conducted multiple follow-up interviews with the owner, incorporating his feedback promptly to ensure the flipbook met their specific requirements. In the end, he was pleased with my work and proudly featured it on his website. Going forward, I am eager to explore other UX research methods such as focus groups and field studies, as different methods are best suited for different situations."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time - Waterloo, ON"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I'm a firm believer in making education fun and accessible for all kids. While schools strive to create an equitable curriculum, some kids face challenges in accessing the tailored support they need to thrive. While paid tutoring services are an option, the financial barrier makes it inaccessible for many families, widening the gap in income inequality. This is why I strongly support resources that provide free educational support to supplement children's learning.\n\nWhen the pandemic hit and schools transitioned to e-learning, I took it upon myself to host virtual tutoring sessions twice a week for a local homework club, as I noticed that many children were struggling without sufficient academic support. Working with students from diverse backgrounds has been incredibly rewarding, and witnessing their progress and success brings me immeasurable pride. I’m grateful for the opportunity to make a positive impact, and I will continue to help others by spreading knowledge. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Becoming a Waterloo Engineering Ambassador was one of my best decisions; my team is so genuine about their desire to help students. The conversations I had with my ambassador in high school shaped my decision to join this community. I valued his transparency in sharing both the good and bad of his experiences; it went beyond what the university advertised and helped me make a more informed decision. We still keep in touch to this day!\n\nNow, I host EngChats where I share my insights and candidly answer all my students’ questions, happily going beyond the scheduled time if needed, just as my ambassador did for me. I organize Shadow Days, taking students to my classes, introducing them to professors and classmates, and showing them our clubs and design teams to paint a full picture of life here. I encourage my students to reach out beyond their visit if there’s anything I can help with, and I’m so happy to be able to guide high schoolers toward a fulfilling post-secondary education."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A few months ago, I started my UX/UI design journey. I’ve always had a keen eye for digital details and instinctively think of ways to improve interfaces. I want to leverage my empathy, attention to detail, and love for collaboration to bridge the gap between what organizations think users want and what users actually want. \n\nI am currently completing the Google UX Design Certificate and building my portfolio website. I engage with designers on Instagram, join communities like UW UX, and seek advice from upper years. I strive to explore as many resources as I can—even when I’m cycling at the gym, I listen to the UX Narrative podcast for insights from UX designers in different niches. I actively look for opportunities to apply my skills to solve real-world problems, so for my WE Accelerate project, I am redesigning the homepage of a startup’s website to enhance usability. Now, my goal is to apply my skills and passion to optimize the user experience of social good projects at Blueprint."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688613282259},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"rniu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Finance & Operations","firstName":"Rex","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Niu","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Actuarial Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F34b636e8-4303-4f36-9d3a-5ca4f7431970?alt=media&token=b67d723e-e05a-4745-9fb2-fc63871409be","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"13","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?","response":"Dear [External Organization],\n\nI hope this message finds you well. I am writing to introduce [Your Organization] and explore the potential for a meaningful sponsorship partnership with [External Organization].\n\n[Your Organization] is a dynamic and impactful organization committed to [your organization's purpose and activities]. Our mission is to [the core objectives of your organization].\n\nWe firmly believe that partnering with [Organization] can create a mutually beneficial relationship. We have carefully evaluated your organization's goals and objectives and find them closely aligned with our mission. By joining forces, we can work towards [shared goal or initiative], making a significant impact on [target audience or community]. \n\nAttached to this email is our sponsorship package detailing what we offer as an organization, please let us know if this is something that interests you. We would be happy to arrange a meeting to discuss further details.\n\nBest Regards,\n[Insert Name]"}],"role":"VP Finance & Operations"},{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"The ideal member experience to me would be: \n\n1. Inclusive and Supportive Environment: It is essential to create an inclusive and supportive environment where every member feels welcomed, respected, and valued. This would include regular check-ins, team-building activities, and creating opportunities for members to connect on both professional and personal levels.\n\n2. Meaningful Learning and Development: Providing avenues for continuous learning and personal development is crucial. It is important to offer a range of resources, workshops, and training sessions that cater to different skill sets and interests.\n\n3. Impactful Projects: Members should have the chance to work on meaningful projects that have a real-world impact. The organization should strive to provide a diverse range of projects, allowing members to apply their skills and make a difference in the community. "}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Internal Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Savings Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Access to education for all is a cause that deeply resonates with me. Having worked as a math instructor, I witnessed firsthand the transformative power education can have on individuals and their communities. The ability to provide education to everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, is essential for fostering a more equitable and prosperous society. Education is not merely about imparting knowledge; it is a catalyst for personal growth, empowerment, and social progress. By ensuring universal access to education, we enable individuals to acquire essential skills, broaden their horizons, and pursue their aspirations. Education equips individuals with the tools to navigate the complexities of the modern world, make informed decisions, and contribute meaningfully to their communities. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am a replica fashion enthusiast active in subreddits such as r/FashionReps, r/KobeReps and r/DesignerReps. My love for replica fashion comes from my belief that clothing should not be gatekept and that an artist's designs should be enjoyed without the outside influence of scalpers and resellers. I believe that entering the world of replica fashion has a high barrier of entry which keeps many from accessing it. This is due to the complexity of navigating shipping lines, TaoBao/Weidian agents, and middlemen. I have taken it upon myself to assist and educate others about various aspects of replica fashion and helping others discover their passion for clothing just as I did. I have shared insights on how to discover trusted agents who facilitate the purchase and shipping of replica items. This includes sharing information about reliable agents, their reputation within the community, and the services they offer."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As first year was approaching, I embarked on a journey to learn how to cook for living alone. Being assigned a suite-style residence, I opted out of a meal plan, meaning that I had to rely on myself to be fed. My motivation stemmed from the desire to become more self-sufficient and to enjoy healthy and delicious meals without relying on takeout or pre-packaged food. I saw it as an opportunity to develop a new skill that would benefit both my health and my budget. To approach this new skill, I adopted a systematic and gradual approach. I started by researching and gathering information about basic cooking techniques and meal planning. Using Salt, Fat, Heat, Acid as a guideline, I learned the fundamentals. To further enhance my skills, I sought guidance from experienced cooks and home chefs. I reached out to friends or family members who were proficient in cooking and asked for their advice and tips, which I then implemented by cooking one meal per day."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615602034},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"businessmangordon@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Gordon","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Huynh","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Math Economics ","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F35a65048-6a55-4b57-9459-e965f28088b6?alt=media&token=3a7b9d55-53a7-4cbf-a798-40eb2a307f7d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"The project I’m most proud about is my unfinished pokemon group project from gr12 CS.\nThough it doesn’t seem that impressive, I learned A LOT of collaborative experience from it.\nFirstly, none of us knew what we were doing. I knew more things at the time so I started us\noff with Miro and divided who did what, before forming a github. This went well until the 3rd\nmember got sick and didn’t respond to our texts, so we had to change our plans. Next, our\n2nd member had problems committing files, so a lot of troubleshooting. Throughout the\nACTUAL coding, we also ran into issues with the project’s layout, so I then had to both plan\nour next steps and modularize it so we can work without downtime. Near the end, the 3rd\nmember returned and we had to quickly update him. Though we didn’t finish our project, we\nlearnt A LOT, I can tell with the frequent rebuttals. As for me, I learned to make plans\nflexible, account for technical issues, adapt to sudden problems, and to easily explain steps.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"7","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"An example would be from the “Tell us about a new skill you learned” section above.\nThere I learned how design the goofy outfit, add flexible elements so they are more durable,\ncrafting with limited resources, applying paint (mixing colours and design), and dealing with\nfailures before overcoming them."}],"role":"Graphic Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Graphic Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause I believe in is the minimization of wealth inequality and poverty. I believe we fully\nhave the resources to end these problems, however logistical and political barriers prevent\nus from doing this.\nBut they are just that, barriers, which can be overcome by working towards a solution rather\nthan closing your eyes and saying “not my problem”. Any way that contributes to bettering it\nshould be welcomed and praised, especially with how dismissive people are getting of it\nnowadays thinking “that’s just how the world works”.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I’m proud to be a part of is the Pháp Van temple, with whom I’ve contributed to\nin the past in volunteering. I typically helped clean the temple, sometimes listening in on the\nteachings of Buddha. It was a great place as they had fun activities for youth, one which I\nremembered was when we played a sort of duck duck goose but with prizes! They also hold\nfestivals to celebrate holidays like the moon festival.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A skill I learned would be how to design and craft a costume. My main motivation? It was\npretty funny. The goal was to become the sword by creating a makeshift cardboard outfit that\nwould act as the “blade”, whereas the hat + crafts would resemble the handle area. But, I\nhad 2.5 summer courses and a job, so it would be hell. But in the name of funny, I\npreserved.\nI would begin by measuring and designing the cardboard sword. After, I began stabilizing the\nhandle, guard, and ornaments by gluing construction paper on the cap, but it was too rigid\nand easily breakable. That’s when I decided to approach from a point of flexibility, cutting\ncorners of paper and designing so the craft bent but didn’t break. I would incorporate this\nidea throughout the rest of my design, before working on the paint job (who knew mixing\npaint was so hard), and finally finishing it (at 5am :D).\nIt was a challenging yet fun experience designing, and it was worth it, cuz the end result was\nvery goofy."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688507535305},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"h2sharma@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Hiten","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sharma","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F362f9f2d-594c-476b-922f-0de647b6e61f?alt=media&token=b29ddaf2-362a-4b11-b6e5-828ab17b23a7","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile","Other:"],"response-specified":"Fine with anything, but prefer backend","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During a critical project, I encountered a daunting technical problem while optimizing a complex code segment. Despite my efforts in refactoring and utilizing efficient data structures, performance bottlenecks persisted. Realizing the need for external guidance, I proactively sought advice from experienced developers and actively engaged in technical forums. Embracing a growth mindset, I absorbed invaluable insights and diverse strategies. This collaborative approach proved instrumental in overcoming the challenge and optimizing the code effectively. This experience enhanced the project's performance, honed my coding skills, and reinforced the importance of seeking advice and learning from the expertise of others, leading to continuous improvement in my professional journey.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"As a User Experience Researcher, I prefer to employ a mix of qualitative and quantitative research methods to gather comprehensive insights. Qualitative methods such as interviews, observations, and usability testing allow me to understand users' attitudes, behaviors, and pain points. This helps uncover rich, contextual information and provides a deep understanding of user needs. This combination of methods allows for a holistic understanding of the user experience. My main areas of expertise lie in conducting user interviews, facilitating usability testing sessions, and analyzing both qualitative and quantitative data. By employing a multi-method approach, I ensure a robust and well-rounded research process that enables evidence-based design decisions and ultimately leads to creating exceptional user experiences."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Timezone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Harnessing the power of technology for global improvement resonates deeply. There is a profound passion for utilizing technological advancements to address pressing world challenges and uplift human society. This passion revolves around the belief that technology, when thoughtfully and ethically applied, can create transformative solutions for various issues like climate change, health disparities, education inequality, and much more. From developing sustainable energy sources through AI-driven innovations to democratizing education via digital platforms, technology holds immense potential to redefine our future. It’s about bridging the gap between possibility and reality, between what is and what could be. This passion transcends beyond mere fascination; it is a mission, an unyielding commitment to using technology as a tool to create a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world for everyone."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"\nBelonging to a minority community as a person of colour is a source of deep pride. This pride stems from shared experiences, resilience, and unity. The journey, marked by triumphs and struggles, enriches the community fabric, making it more than just an identity - it's a strong bond that binds us together.\n\nMy contributions to the community focus on mentorship and advocacy. By mentoring younger members, I aim to nurture their potential, guided by the understanding and support I received. Advocacy helps combat systemic inequalities and fosters inclusivity. Participation in local organizations, initiatives, and leveraging professional networks enables me to make tangible impacts.\n\nThe aim is not just to ensure equal opportunities for all, but to empower individuals, which strengthens our community. This commitment is a testament to our resilience and vision for a future where diversity is celebrated and every voice counts."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Recognizing communication's importance, I embarked on enhancing this skill. The motivation was dual-faceted: personally, to articulate thoughts clearly and foster stronger relationships; professionally, to lead, inspire, and create more impact.\n\nMy learning approach was a mix of theory, practice, and feedback. Resources like books, workshops, and online content helped grasp theoretical aspects. However, understanding communication as a practical skill, I used daily interactions as practice platforms. This included work meetings, casual conversations, and public speaking engagements.\n\nI also actively sought feedback from peers and mentors to gauge improvement areas. This iterative learn-practice-feedback journey enriched me and has led to personal and professional growth. Understanding communication as an evolving skill, I continue this learning journey."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687321865559},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"asangle@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Advait","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sangle","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F36344971-935b-4df8-8027-9a9f51c93f2e?alt=media&token=7f783e4d-2787-48ca-b39a-3350214cc39a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend","Other:"],"response-specified":"Cyber-security","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In my high school research project on the impact of altering resolution in Virtual Reality (VR) headsets on cyber-sickness, I faced several challenges:\n1) How do you objectively measure cyber-sickness? Without access to physiological monitoring devices, I initially thought I would have to rely on first-hand accounts. However, I was able to find a way to convert these \"subjective reports\" into objective numbers by using the Virtual Reality Simulator Questionnaire, which is an adaptation of an old sickness questionnaire for VR.\n2) How do I analyze my data? As a first-time researcher, I had to learn statistical concepts such as statistical significance and p-value tests. I eventually used a Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test to analyze my data.\n3) What should the independent variable be? I knew that I wanted to work on Virtual Reality and cyber-sickness, but I chose resolution as the independent variable due to a lack of previous research in the area and its significance in everyday VR usage.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"In Waterloo, so EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Months after getting access to the Internet, I discovered a tool called “Google TakeOut”. It promised to download all the data associated with my Google account. I pressed the download button, expecting to derive nothing more than a minute’s novelty.\n\nInstead, the website downloaded gigabytes of personal information - searches, photos, and mails. I was shaken. The following two hours featured me frantically trying to shut off every mode of data collection on my Google account. YouTube search history? Chrome bookmark syncing? No thanks.\n\nToo often, influential platforms are designed with profit the primary concern, humanity and privacy second. As a teenager who grew up on the Internet, my personal mission is to reclaim Computer Science - to add heartfulness, intentionality, and ethics to technology.\n\nExcited by the potential of social entrepreneurship and public advocacy to solve these problems, I look forward to exploring these interests at UW Blueprint."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Set in colonial India, the movie \"Lagaan\" features an Indian village struggling under an agricultural tax that wagers their future on a high-stakes cricket match against their British rulers. We see the villagers struggling to learn a new game, create their own bats, and figure out how to spin a ball.\n\nThis collective spirit of exploration defines the heartbeat of the film and my experience on my high school robotics team. Endless prototypes, failed business pitches, and unanswered cold emails defined the majority of our time, but the hunt for the elusive opportunity kept us going. Thanks to this, we were even able to provide an opportunity: creating a team consisting of underprivileged students from Dharavi.\n\nBut what kept me coming back here wasn't the awards or self-development opportunities; it was the extended family I had formed there—my teammates, the Dharavi team, our coaches. It felt more like a festive family reunion than preparation for a robotics competition."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When New Year's came around, I set myself a target: improving my typing speed, hoping to cross 100 WPM. Let's be honest, part of my motivation was fuelled by a touch of envy. After seeing too many hacker movies with hooded protagonists furiously bashing away on their keyboards, I wanted to experience that same high. Initially, my speeds plummeted as I recalibrated to the whole new system of touch-typing.\n\nBy the year's end, helped along by my part-time obsession with mechanical keyboards, I was able to persevere and can now consistently hit speeds of around 100 WPM (proof: https://data.typeracer.com/pit/profile?user=vitalagendas).\nSomewhere along the way, this challenge became about more than just typing. I found myself celebrating every personal best race and updating the keycaps on my mechanical keyboard. This impromptu challenge became a source of daily joy, and while it's one of the smallest changes I've made over the last year, it's oddly one of the most impactful."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688609376880},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"byhwu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Brian","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Wu","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3752a32a-469b-4ca0-bf56-2c804680e2a1?alt=media&token=2c977ad6-72e1-484a-b6cd-62e58b16ada3","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I encountered a challenging technical problem while working on a feature for Electrium Mobility. The task was to implement a functionality that remembers the user's chosen theme for the website. Initially, this posed a challenge for me since my familiarity with front-end development was limited. I believed that the JavaScript file gets reloaded every time the user refreshes the website, which complicated the implementation. To overcome this challenge, I reached out to my teammates for assistance. They suggested exploring the use of cookies as a potential solution. Intrigued by their suggestion, I delved into researching cookies and their capabilities. Upon understanding how cookies work, I realized that they provided a perfect solution for achieving the desired functionality, and by utilizing cookies, I could store and retrieve the user's preferred theme information, ensuring that it remains consistent across website visits.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Firstly, being part of this non-profit organization allows me to contribute my skills and efforts towards helping others, creating a positive impact on the community and making a difference in people's lives. Moreover, it’s an ideal environment to connect with remarkable individuals who share a common passion for the project's objectives, fostering a collaborative and inspiring atmosphere that encourages growth and personal development. Additionally, being part of a project team provides an opportunity to learn and explore new technologies, expanding my knowledge base and gaining exposure to various roles beyond my current expertise, such as product management. This exposure would enable me to acquire a well-rounded skill set and enhance my understanding of the project lifecycle. Finally, joining a project team allows me to gain invaluable experience through hands-on involvement in projects, further honing my skills, problem-solving abilities, and decision-making capabilities. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in being a member of Electrium Mobility, the design team I am joining this semester. This team was founded by a group of friends from high school who share a common goal: to create sustainable and affordable transportation through Personal Electric Vehicles. Within this team, I specifically contribute to the web development aspect, where my responsibilities involve website maintenance and the migration of the website to TypeScript and Next.js. Joining this design team was motivated by my recognition of my limited skill set and experience in front-end development. I saw this as an opportunity to expand my knowledge and gain exposure to popular front-end technologies. The collaborative nature of our community is something I greatly value, as it allows us to work together seamlessly. Additionally, being part of the web development team has provided me with a valuable learning experience, as we continually learn from one another and enhance our skills collectively."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my previous work term, I had the role of a backend developer. The primary technologies utilized by our team included Spring Boot and PostgreSQL. While I didn't have prior experience with Spring Boot, I approached the opportunity with great enthusiasm for learning. In addition to watching YouTube videos to familiarize myself with the framework, I proactively enrolled in a comprehensive Udemy course on Spring Boot. To further solidify my understanding, I embarked on a personal project where I built an application utilizing Spring Boot, thus gaining practical, hands-on experience. By embracing various learning resources and undertaking practical projects, I endeavoured to make a valuable impact within the team and enhance my proficiency with Spring Boot."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687317368341},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"lvgratch@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Leon","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Gratch","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3757323a-0d49-430a-b978-b5fd321b763f?alt=media&token=23e766e2-8586-4952-8d36-914e6f097d13","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"One of my favourite products that immediately comes to mind has got to be the chip powering the computer next to me as I type this - the Apple M1 was an absolute game changer that to me made Macs incredibly compelling even though I formerly wouldn't be caught dead with one. The engineering that went behind it is incredibly impressive with how its been able to increase performance, efficiency, and be seamlessly integrated with the hardware. I also believe that such an innovation will pave the way for the industry and possibly influence more computer manufacturers to use ARM based technologies in their computers. Overall, the M1 is the reason I switched to Mac and I must say it is an incredibly impressive product that has made for a very smooth computing experience allowing me to get my work done with little distractions caused by hardware or performance issues."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"While developing my Hangman game, I faced two challenging technical issues. Firstly, the word API returned the word with additional characters like [\"WORD\"]. To resolve this, I used regular expressions to remove unwanted characters. Debugging with console.log helped identify the issue.\n\nSecondly, there was a discrepancy in capitalization between the word container and user input. I used console.log for debugging and applied the .toUpperCase() function to both elements to ensure consistent capitalization. This allowed for accurate comparison and gameplay.\n\nUsing debugging techniques and regular expressions, I successfully resolved these challenges, ensuring the smooth functionality and user experience of the Hangman game.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that's always resonated with me is the prevention of using technology to exploit others. This interest was prompted by a discussion in my ARTS 190 class, almost 1 year ago when I first started Computer Engineering in my 1A term. We talked about how algorithms control so many aspects of peoples lives, especially on social media. The reason this resonated with me, is because growing up in highschool and in my own family, I've observed many absorbed by their phone wasting hours per day, and realized these algorithms are meant to get the most value out of their product - people. This is even worse when it comes to things like online gambling, which uses technology to try to make it as addictive as possible, keeping people throwing money away and destroying lives. As such, I feel \"tech for good\" is incredibly important, it should be a common occurence that someone will develop technology not to exploit others, but to help them, which is why blueprint is so important."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Since coming to Waterloo, I have been welcomed by open arms. My engineering orientation gave me the opportunity to make many friends at Waterloo and \"find myself\", so to speak. Throughout the year, I have also been very active in EngSoc going to many of theirs. Due to this, I decided I want to contribute. I applied to a few engsoc directorships, and am going to be both in charge of facilitating the programming competition for WEC next term as well as running the EngSoc website. I believe this will give me a good opportunity to give back to EngSoc, as well as get more involved in my campus community. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently learned web development properly. At first, I had always struggled with understanding code used in this field. My coop term allowed me to get some foundation in React and Express, and I decided to make a hangman project to get the hang of it. I split the project into several React components (main, hanger, previous guess container, and word) to handle various elements of displaying the stage of the game (incorrect or correct guesses, dynamically updated hangman stick figure, and progress made on the word). I struggled alot with visualizing the look and feel of the site, so I drew a mockup on my iPad, and then put it into words. From then, I looked at the relevant CSS properties to style my code. When I came across errors, I used console.log to identify what was going wrong, and through this have become more comfortable with javascript and react. Now, that I am done this project, I will be revamping a website for a startup - Cyberworks Robotics, working with the CEO."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688614145151},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"climtung@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Cynthia","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Lim","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F37e1c521-0061-4f40-9613-053950baa6e0?alt=media&token=5ee9d47f-9ca2-43f9-8d5e-f711ca068a01","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"While working on my personal website, I wanted to add a hamburger menu for navigation on smaller screen sizes. I first turned to YouTube for a quick-fix tutorial, but after completing a few steps, I realized that I’d have to take the custom route to have control over my design and ensure that the integration was flush with what I had already coded. I later stumbled across an example of JavaScript’s event listeners. Upon seeing how they worked, I applied this solution and broke down my problem into simple steps to code: listen for when the menu button is clicked, then open/close it by showing/hiding a section of my website. Interestingly, the YouTube video had taught me something crucial, which was how to display content on top of the rest of my website. By taking what I learned from my initial “failed” solution and simplifying the problem, I managed to implement onClick JavaScript events that would change the classes of my HTML sections to show or hide the menu and its buttons.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"7","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1reUfARjYegHdOmMDWMIAEwswv0Az1H3X/view?usp=sharing\n\nAs a self-taught graphic designer, I've found myself in multiple unique experiences where I've had the opportunity to grow and challenge my designing skills. I created captivating social media posts as the Communications Director for the BlackBerry Student Social Committee (BSSC) during my previous co-op, I designed the logo for Scholar-ship, a hackathon project that helps students apply for the numerous scholarships that are often unclaimed, and assisted with the mockup of Quarantine Quarters, an app inspired by \"Text for Humanity\" that would incentivize users to provide an activity and receive one in return to help combat loneliness during the pandemic.\n\nI have experience with Figma and AdobeXD, and recently, while designing my personal website, have come to learn much more about responsive design, user experience, and the importance of design concepts like colour, spacing, balance, and contrast. \n"}],"role":"Graphic Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Graphic Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time Zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the lack of access to education for those in developing countries, mainly due to poverty. With immigrant parents myself and having many friends in various countries, I have come to recognize how fortunate and privileged I am to have an upbringing in a safe environment. It’s unfortunate that many individuals my age and younger are stuck having to focus on their survival rather than having the opportunity and space to thrive and flourish. Of course, this stems from a large cycle of deeply rooted issues that are passed from one generation to the next, but after recently discovering how much I enjoy teaching others, I hope to contribute to a solution where everyone will have a chance to experience the joys of learning. I wish to see a world where we all have equal access to career and education opportunities and I will continue to help others to the best of my abilities until we can all reach our potentials."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m proud to be a part of the gaming community. As a female, I find pride in entering male-dominated spaces and proving that women are just as deserving of a spot. After I was unsatisfied with how current teams were run, I took the initiative to lead my own competitive team. I built a supportive team in an optimal environment where players could foster their skills. After many victories, I moved on to joining a female-only team where we quickly grew to dominate the North American region. Throughout our hours of practice and hanging out, I realized that it was our close-knit bond that allowed us to communicate and grow so successfully. This is what I love most about the gaming community - the support that we have for each other, and the continuous learning involved. Daily, I get to analyze, teach, and grow with the help of others. I hope to continue inspiring girls to find confidence and friendship in gaming and help them realize that they are just as capable of achieving great things."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As I’m interested in full stack development, I decided that building a personal website would serve as a good portfolio while also learning about frontend and backend. I began by referring to a Dummies book that covered the best approach to a web development project. After also consulting YouTube videos about design principles, I sketched the wireframe in my notebook and then created multiple iterations in Figma to experiment with colours, structuring, and various screen sizes. I then dived right into coding, starting with an initial structure, and then adding styling. Throughout this project, I also turned to a series of websites for inspiration and often inspected them to analyze their code and see how I could add similar features to my website. Once I hosted my website with GitHub Pages, I looked for feedback from both a user’s and developer’s perspective to ensure that my website met my goal of being simple and easy to use, while ensuring that it was coded in the most optimal way."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688577612446},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B ( going to 3A in Fall 2023) ","email":"s2kaisth@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Shriya","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kaistha","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38aa825a-ef9c-452a-a733-2573767ce670?alt=media&token=2d64adf3-e9f1-476d-b095-d0dc89ac5bf5","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Other:"],"response-specified":"Cloud, DevOps","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my coop, I was given the challenging task of setting up a bastion server on AWS, which was daunting as I don’t have a lot of experience with cloud. However, I took this as an opportunity to learn and started exploring the core of this problem: what is a bastion server and why do we need it? I also dove deep into researching and familiarising myself with related concepts like VPCs and EC2. Once I felt more ready, I adopted agile principles and created a roadmap. This involved breaking down the project into manageable chunks and seeking regular feedback from my mentor. This roadmap proved invaluable when I was testing my code, which worked for all cases except one. Although it was saddening to face defeat, I started from scratch, which allowed me to look at things from a new perspective. \nEventually, on my 2nd try I was able to get the task done! Overall, this experience provided me an opportunity to grow and highlighted the importance of embracing challenges with a zeal to learn!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"A hackathon related to a social cause could be a good event to run. This idea is inspired by the TILE designation organized last fall. This would be a chance for people to creatively express themselves for the causes that matter to them - maybe through Figma designs or coded apps! This would also be a learning opportunity for us as we would get the chance to spot creative new ways to help our society with tech.\n\nAnother event that would be cool to have is organizing an in-person volunteering day with the NPO’s that Blueprint is partnered with. For example, helping ‘Feeding Canadian Kids’ with day-to-day activities of delivering food, or even organizing a super fun Math Workshop for children with ‘Jump Math’! This way we will not only be contributing to the community but will also be connecting and building bonds with the people that Blueprint has worked for. It would be a way for people to truly experience and understand what we do and why we build projects in the first place"}],"role":"External Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"External Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Something significant to me is helping others and contributing to people’s lives. It might sound vague, but it holds so much beauty in it, as ‘help’ can come in all shapes and sizes. It could range from toasting bread for your roommate to make their morning easier or taking time out one weekend to volunteer at an animal shelter. \n\nHonestly, the best part is the satisfaction you feel, knowing you made a difference. I’ve had my own small and big moments, from teaching long division to underprivileged children in rural schools to trying to build a mental health service for my first hackathon – all are wonderful experiences that I hope to cherish for life. \n\nI am excited to apply to blueprint as I know I’ll meet like-minded individuals and genuinely make an impact. \nI am truly passionate about learning and applying my skills to support others in any way I can. After all, it’s the working for a cause bigger than yourself, that means everything. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Over the last two terms, I have been on WiCS and everyday I’m grateful to be a part of this team. Being the only female developer in my team during my first coop was what drove me to apply to WiCS. While my mentors were supportive, I would still feel out of place there. \nIf I felt that way, there must be other women who feel the same. \nAs an executive for the committee, I help run and lead events and ensuring we reach out to a wider audience about our cause. While the events are great, personally, I’ve also seen a big impact by just talking to people. During office hours, I was able to create a safe space for students to talk about their rankings/grades and I could let them know they were not alone in their feelings. While volunteering for an event, I talked to a high school professor about making his CS class more inclusive. \nThrough WiCS I feel like I have successfully made a small impact on the community and now I still work towards fostering a more inclusive environment in STEM."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"The piano has been one of my greatest obsessions since childhood. The melody that comes from the tapping of the keys, feels almost surreal to me. Nonetheless, I never had an opportunity to really quench this thirst due to personal reasons.\nI had mentioned this story to my boyfriend, who then got a keyboard for my birthday, thus kickstarting my journey into learning how to play the piano. \nI started off by scouring the internet for resources, eventually landing on an app called “Simply Piano”. Onwards I went, scheduling a 30 minute block every day to begin producing off-tune music with the hopes to be Beethoven someday. Often times I would get stuck, generally while trying to read the notes. However, my motivation would ensure that my next go at it was supplemented by better techniques I learnt through various resources. Eventually, I was glad that I showed up every day as by Christmas, the first 10 seconds of jingle bells was a euphonious melody played from my keyboard"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688611590942},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"t.tang.janessa@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Janessa ","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Tang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Honours Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38be6996-b320-4f5a-9e77-ac5224716a38?alt=media&token=18e2f4de-df03-489f-b958-f34771e31bd1","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I have experience conducting literature reviews, summarizing and synthesizing research papers, and writing research protocols to outline the goal and process of the study. I believe it is important to conduct secondary research because it places primary research in its context and helps one better understand the problem space and current solutions. This allows me to see how the solution I am developing addresses shortcomings and gaps in the user experience. However, I also thoroughly enjoy conducting primary research and collecting qualitative data through interviews and surveys because I can truly get to know the users and stakeholders along with the motivation and thinking process behind their actions. These rewarding conversations provide new perspectives on how existing touchpoints can be improved."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"With the smoky, hazardous air conditions that pose a health risk, we are told to stay at home. But where do people go if they have no home? Homelessness is highlighted in Toronto with its stark contrast between the privileged and the marginalized. The poor air quality only exacerbates current issues for those unhoused. These individuals are left with no options: homeless shelters have no space and long waitlists, public spaces eventually close, and tent encampments are cleared without much notice. Furthermore, homelessness is often perceived as a visibility issue. Unhoused individuals are not welcomed in public spaces to seek respite because it makes people “uncomfortable.” But why should the comfort of specific groups be placed over others? The glaring clusters of tent encampments are a reminder of the city’s failing bandaid solutions to homelessness, and its unrealistic solutions to the poor air quality that ignore the existing conditions for those without homes."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Fashion for Change (FC) is a community I am proud to contribute to. Every member brings their unique background and experiences to the table and works diligently to put together our annual fashion show in March. The proceeds of this fashion show are donated to a selected charity of the year. FC prides itself on providing a space for artists to make an impact globally by starting locally. As the PR Director of FC, I have the privilege of promoting the FC brand by establishing relationships with charity partners, sponsors, vendors, internal partners such as other school clubs and campus news outlets, and external media partners like radio stations and newspapers. In addition, I help manage FC’s social media platforms and lead content creation and branding strategy in collaboration with our marketing team while emphasizing transparency and empathy. I also help foster a sense of community at FC, where everyone feels safe and supported."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One summer, I decided to try and learn Mandarin to accommodate the population of Chinese patients at the pharmacy I worked at. Many of these patients were unable to communicate in English and understand their medications. I learned common phrases and names for medications, chronic diseases, and pharmacy processes through online videos, learning platforms, and reference books. Each week, I added new vocabulary based on the patient interactions, and I consistently practiced what I had learned. I also immersed myself in Chinese media to improve my pronunciation. This was extremely beneficial as I was able to break down language barriers and improve the patient experience. I am a firm believer in learning languages because it allows one to understand the world from a different lens and develop cultural awareness. Moreover, I can create a safer space and build rapport with patients by using familiar words while ensuring crucial information is communicated."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688525473640},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"tyhan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","firstName":"Tong Yin","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Han","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38e8e1ea-9d7c-4464-9e7f-81e0203aca4b?alt=media&token=e7887d97-6c47-4874-bf3c-8ae350fd5585","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"I’d start off by researching the respective NPO. I’m mainly looking to understand their mission, values and the work they do. It’s important to gauge whether their values align with our own. \n\nNext, we can analyze their core values and identify commonalities. We can layer in research centered around their approach to social good and causes they support to see if their methods align with Blueprint’s values. This research will come in the form of examining their previous projects and partnerships as well as interviewing with members of the NPO.\n\nThe final step is focused on assessing potential impact. Understanding whether they have the capacity to create meaningful change is crucial to ensure a positive partnership. Things to keep in mind for this step are the scale of their operations, communities they serve and the impact they’ve already achieved.\n\nUltimately, the alignment in mission, values and impact potential of the NPO are necessary to ensure a successful collaboration."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I encountered a technical problem while working on the user authentication for Missions: Cure. When users exited the app and rejoined a few seconds later, they had to log in again. As a user I found this frustrating so I wanted to solve this problem. I first started by looking at a high level overview of the system and architecture. I looked at the current user flow, how authentication and authorization worked, and researched potential solutions to this as well as discussing with mentors and peers. I determined that we could implement sessions to keep users logged in. Learning about how authentication systems worked allowed me to break down big tasks into smaller ones and analyze smaller issues. I started by implementing a sessions library, ensuring that session was active and had the correct information and then implementing this into the authentication system.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is fast fashion. Fast fashion refers to a marketing and manufacturing process in the fashion industry honed in on quickly churning out large volumes of clothes. It leverages low quality materials and, often times, child labour. This movement is extremely detrimental to the environment in large due to its production and disposal methods. Often, people who partake in fast fashion will regularly discard their clothes. Upon discarding greenhouse gas emissions are produced and toxic chemicals and dyes are released into the soil. I am personally scared for the next generations and how fast fashion can lead to plummets in quality of life in the future. My philosophy about buying clothes is that I have to love it before I buy it and continue to wear it in the long run. I strive to educate those around me who might be unaware of the long term downsides, which are temporarily circumvented by short term gratification. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I’m proud to be a part of is the Develop for Good and specifically helping Mission: Cure, a non-profit organization. Their goal is to develop therapeutic strategies and care pathways to improve the outcomes for individuals suffering with pancreatitis. We helped this non-profit organization by building a mobile app that acted as a pancreatitis patient care notebook. As a lead, I contributed in four big ways. First, I collaborated with the devs to streamline internal processes. Second, I led meetings with members of Mission: Cure to ideate and continuously align on project work. These meeting topics were taken internally and I discussed with the designers and PM regarding future steps for the application. From there, we were able to refine the user profile page and implement a user authentication system."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As a developer at Thomson Reuters, I had to quickly learn about the application that my team was building. This is because I heard about the refactoring process in the app and I wanted to be a part of the discussion. My first challenge was learning the code base as I have never worked with Node.js or Express.js. I reviewed the documentation and learned about the high level architecture. I absorbed the content quickly by asking my mentors and coworkers questions. In addition, I took on more tasks such as developing a feature in the frontend and backend of the app. At that point, I was confident and understood how to use it, I then tried implementing it in my own projects. For my Spotify project, I used React, and Node.js to understand the language better. After successfully doing so, I was confident to participate and contribute in the meetings. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688613827885},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B ","email":"r29zhang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Richard","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Zhang","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F38eac667-1363-4272-8c21-809c042e1a37?alt=media&token=fb744586-f453-43b3-bd12-dc3c624788a4","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"For my Mentor/mentee matching app, a problem I faced was trying to improve upon the algorithm which would generate matched from 2 groups (A,B). In order to run this algorithm, each person in group A needs to have a 'preference list', which is their preference of all the people in group B, and vice versa. The current method to create this list was to answer alot of MC questions, and based on those results, assign every person a score. Then all the people with similar scores would be in that preference list. How I solved this was using artificial intelligence text embeddings to create a smoother UX. Rather than answering MC questions, users could just type out their answer. A Large language model would embed their text, and store it in a vector database. After storing every persons response, I used vector search to group similar people together and intelligently create the preference list. This results in increased accuracy, as the list is based on understanding, not multiple choice.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST (Toronto time)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Growing up, I was an outdoorsy, nature loving kid who loved activities like hiking through trails, scaling mountains, or even just running through the forest outside my house. Living near a rural area, I was fortunate enough to have access to trails, lakes and ponds near me. Growing up, I was a volunteer in an outdoors summer camp that provided activities such as canoeing, archery, and swimming to children still in elementary school. Despite always ending the day hot and sweaty, being immersed within nature and sharing it with other kids was an incomparable feeling. Unfortunately it appears that there is a prevailing trend of youth becoming increasingly focused on a digitized world, and neglecting the value of nature. Ironically, I've become more immersed in the digital world ever since arriving at Waterloo, however I strive to live a life connected with Nature. I'm passionate about using my technical skills to advocate for the importance of nature to the development of youth."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm extremely proud to be part of the Systems Design Engineering community here at Waterloo. The anxiousness and fear that I wasn't going to fit in was very quickly replaced with excitement and an eagerness to be part of the SYDE community. The inclusive and friendly nature of the community is what made me fall in love with SYDE. There was an ongoing mentor / mentee matching initiative that the upper years were facilitating. Upon hearing that the process was being performed manually, me and a team of friends decided to create a proper platform to facilitate this initiative. We called it Athena, named after the waterloo Aphrodite program. I'm collaboratively building this project to give back to the SYDE community that welcomed me so warmly in first year. We are utilizing AI-powered language models to analyze and match mentees with their best suited mentors. I'm building this tech in hopes that it will continue the welcoming and inclusive tradition that the SYDE community is known for."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I was motivated to learn about blockchain and cryptocurrency because I saw the potential for it to revolutionize the way we do digital banking. I used to play a character called 'Jett' in a game called Valorant, only for the company to release updates that significantly worsened her abilities. This experience made me realise first hand the dangers of giving power to a centralized figure (the game company in this case) which made me interested in forms of decentralized computing. After my first co-op, I felt that I had a strong enough grasp of web-2 knowledge to move on to learning about blockchain and cryptocurrency, namely the Ethereum ecosystem. My approach involved taking an online course to gain the basics down, and then mercilessly working on developing my own decentralized applications and writing my own smart contracts to apply my knowledge. I greatly utilized the Alchemy University community's discord server to seek out help when needed."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688001115346},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"eokooboh@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Nehita","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Oko-Oboh","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Chemical Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3d6a8423-6586-45c0-be1d-fe17ee406554?alt=media&token=fdbe29fc-7a38-426c-bf10-3fc9eb9e13ad","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Being a self-taught coder, I have had to learn multiple languages such as Python, Javascript, CSS, React, PHP, and so on from scratch. The most recent skill I am learning is machine learning. With the rise of AI (mostly ChatGPT), I have taken an interest in how these algorithms work, and one of the techniques utilized in AI is machine learning. The idea that machines could learn from mistakes or data much faster than we can and use that data to adapt for future scenarios was very intriguing. Doing this can have a lot of benefits, such as improving processing times and just overall efficiency depending on the situation it is applied to. Obviously, being in school and balancing learning a new complex skill is hard, but I try to make time to review and learn at least one new thing a day on the topic, even if it's for an hour, because time adds up.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Access to high-quality education, especially in the technology field, and hands-on practice and development in third-world countries is an issue that resonates with me. Growing up in Nigeria and coming to Canada for education purposes at 13, I could witness firsthand the stark difference in access to quality education, especially in the development field. Simple things such as a computer or wifi, which we take for granted here, are sparse in Nigeria. People growing up in less privileged conditions barely even have access to electricity, and most times, their parents cannot even afford for them to go to school. Most of the time, women especially end up getting neglected, being told that their place is not found in technology spaces but instead in making a family. This idealogy causes them to never try for anything else. The inability to access and motivate women to pursue technology jobs and school, in general, is a subsidiary of the issue of lack of access to education."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), and in previous years I held the position of events lead. This position was very integral, as during covid, there was an abundance of people entering universities at home, leaving them with minimal ability to connect with people. At NSBE, there is importance to developing connections with black engineers in the program since there is a small population of us at the university. As an events lead, I created multiple events such as financial literacy; to develop an understanding of investing and saving as a college student and games nights over Zoom that saw over 50 people in attendance. These events allowed students to gain not only transferable knowledge and skills that would be useful in their everyday activities but also make meaningful connections and friendships that could carry them through university."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Being a self-taught coder, I have had to learn multiple languages such as Python, Javascript, CSS, React, PHP, and so on from scratch. The most recent skill I am learning is machine learning. With the rise of AI (mostly ChatGPT), I have taken an interest in how these algorithms work, and one of the techniques utilized in AI is machine learning. The idea that machines could learn from mistakes or data much faster than we can and use that data to adapt for future scenarios was very intriguing. Doing this can have a lot of benefits, such as improving processing times and just overall efficiency depending on the situation it is applied to. Obviously, being in school and balancing learning a new complex skill is hard, but I try to make time to review and learn at least one new thing a day on the topic, even if it's for an hour, because time adds up."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688572001502},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A (Fall '23)","email":"aaotakyi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Alexis","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Takyi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Biology","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3dbe16b5-29e3-45a0-b064-5abb1daec976?alt=media&token=ecb8c675-a3cc-492a-b5e5-ac7adf892edc","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"Based on my experiences, I would be most skilled at experimental and literature review based research but would be willing to use other methods to collect and organize data. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"When working with a team, it is important that each person feels respected, valued, supported, and unrestricted. To me, this looks like having your ideas heard and considered, being showed respect no matter what, being appreciated for your work and given credit where due, given understanding should problems arise in your life, and overall being shown that you matter to the group. A leader should insure that all members feel that way but also the entire team should work to make sure everyone is included."}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Internal Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (Toronto/Waterloo timezone - the two cities I will be frequenting)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that truly resonates with me is the mission and efforts behind jack.org. The origin story of the organization and the chapters they use in schools to spread awareness amongst young people is commendable to say the least.\nOften, sometimes surprisingly, educating people about mental health can be an unnecessarily tough battle. The stigma held against those impacted by mental illness or struggling with their mental health can be deadly, leaving those who are in pain to feel as if they are alone in this world with no one support them. Any organization willing to put in the work to combat this will garner my support and jack.org has. I was an active member in my high school's chapter called WAVE, and I will never forget how deeply that experience sat with me as I went through school. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I'm proud to be a part of is, of course, women in STEM, especially racialized women in STEM. In a space like this it is hard not to feel inadequate when compared to your peers. Comparing myself was common practice to me from a young age and I always felt like there was someone to beat or competition to win even if no one explicitly challenged me. It took me a while to realize that I felt this way because I was an outlier in a room of people that didn't relate to me on many different levels (racial, cultural, socioeconomical, etc.) Finally understanding this, I aimed to make sure that I knew my worth and that everyone in a similar position to me knew theirs too. I am a woman in STEM and no one can rob me of that so I will always be proud to claim it. Through my work as a marketing lead with an organization called Girls System and as a marketing coordinator with UW WiSTEM, I spend a lot of time promoting STEM to girls who might shy away from it. No one should feel excluded."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Though I am still a beginner, a new skill I have been working on is coding, specifically in Python, HTML, and CSS. While these are great skills to have in our ever evolving technological world, that is not the only reason I chose to learn. Once introduced to proper coding in high school, I was instantly hooked. I loved the idea that I could recreate some of the applications I use on a daily basis using simple languages. I didn't fully understand it but I was beyond curious and eager to learn by any means necessary. Since then, I have putting my free time to good use and conjuring up mini projects using tutorials from sites like W3 schools. I'm basically homeschooling my self in a way (with a lot of help from the internet). Something that also pulls me towards coding, which is also why I'm so drawn to the sciences, is the fact that the learning never stops. There will always be a different project I could develop and that is what makes it so exciting. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687336725760},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"j636yang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Judy ","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Yang","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"CS ","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3e28728e-36ba-4d8f-b65c-713571345395?alt=media&token=86be66d2-0a04-445c-bef2-6822fd1d10f6","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favorite product is the grocery sorting robot I got to work on in my last coop. The collaboration and engineering behind the scenes of making the robot meet requirements is truly remarkable and I got to work on a team directly responsible for ensuring the quality and functionality of the product.\nEach detail is functionally tweaked, tested and continuously improved upon and I got to analyze both hardware and software iterations/changes before releases into production. \n"}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"10","role":"VP Product"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Product","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Children's literacy. \nMy elementary years were spent at family housing for students as my parents completed additional schooling in Canada. Books were my babysitters, fictional characters, my friends and the library - a place of comfort.\nI have been volunteering at the Calgary Public Library since the 7th grade, tutoring kids in language arts and leading summer camps. I have also been involved with Calgary Reads, helping them distribute books in lower income neighborhoods and helped organize the Big Book Sale each year collecting ~150 000 books and fundraising ~$475 000 back into the community. Had it not been for all of the resources/support available to my family, I would not be the person I am today. Helping more children experience the life-changing joy of reading is something that I will be involved in for a lifetime. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"The women in the computer science community is something I am incredibly proud to be a part of. Having attended numerous events in my first year, volunteering in workshops for WiCS Con this January and receiving a scholarship for the 2023 Grace Hopper Celebration for this September. \nI’ve contributed to this community beyond UW through a YouTube channel, initially started as a creative outlet. Recently it has grown slightly with 41.9k more views than usual and a 73.5% female audience interested in my journey as a student in computer science. I will continue being genuine and show an authentic behind-the-scenes of university, balance between school, life and internships and all the possibilities and space there is for women, men - humans in technology. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Photoshop was a skill I wanted to learn but always put off. After relying on a combination of Canva, Procreate and iPhone photo tools they release with each update, I wanted to take my digital imaging skills to the next level and produce more professional looking photographs. Tutorials were not the most helpful as I found project based learning significantly more engaging. It took me a couple of weeks to get use to the interface and tools which was the initial friction or “valley of disappointment”. I didn’t have an artistic background so learning about the concepts of design, color theory and power of composition, has led to greater appreciation for the people who achieve pixel perfection in visual imaging. \nI have been allocating time each week to creating my own images, my most recent one being a visual paradox of a volcano eruption with giant hands popping it like a pimple. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688345171530},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"Nicole.qian.qjr@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Jirui","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Qian","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3e2bc7ae-582b-4a02-a52a-cdaf1cd2fe9f?alt=media&token=7ff82322-104e-4f50-bb98-84a08efda530","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I use Pinterest, Behance, and Colorhunt. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://nicoleqian2001.github.io/My-website/\nClick on “UX Design” and then one of the image covers on the left side to enter one project. \n","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I prefer to use unmoderated interviews. I chose the unmoderated interview method since it is less prone to bias, and the observer effect--individuals acting differently when they are aware that they are being watched--does not apply. My main methods of expertise are interviews and surveys. I have experience conducting unmoderated interviews with users from various backgrounds and creating surveys. \n"}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT (Toronto)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is designing software/products that promote sustainability. I care deeply about recycling and I always classify waste before disposal. As our world faces increasing environmental challenges, it is crucial to recycle and reduce waste. I would like to create products that raise waste classification and recycling awareness, improve recycling efficiency, or educate companies to create more sustainable products. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I was on Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at the University of Waterloo for 8 months. I volunteered as a Frontend Developer to redevelop Uganda's Center for Media Literacy and Community Development (CEMCOD)’s website using React.js from May-August 2022. I volunteered as a Lead Web Developer to implement some features (a map, some texts) using Wix.com. I'm proud to be part of EWB because it is a non-profit humanitarian organization. I got to help people from developing countries by improving their living standards and making education more accessible for them.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I discovered that my passion lay in the field of design after I took CS449-Human-Computer Interaction. From then on, I proceeded to complete Coursera's \"Google UX Design Certificate\" to learn systematically about UX design and research. This certificate contains 7 courses and it usually takes 6 months, 10 hours each week, to complete. I had determined that I was to complete it in 3 months, so I studied 20 hours each week. I made a study plan listing which chapters to finish each week. For each week of study, I watched lecture videos and took notes on the important concepts. At the end of each chapter, I took a quiz and passed it with a high ninety. I completed 3 projects to practice the concepts learned. \n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688182591226},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"amanda.yu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Amanda","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Yu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3eb274ff-8dc5-4e35-a9d8-f4bd78a3a783?alt=media&token=768291e8-6d4e-4148-8b7f-490741119354","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"Cultural and social context greatly inspire product designers in their design process. By understanding the cultural values, social behaviors, and aspirations of the target users, designers can create products that are more relevant and meaningful. Cultural identity plays a significant role in shaping design decisions, as different cultures have unique aesthetics, symbolism, and preferences. Designers take into account the cultural nuances and adapt their designs to resonate with specific cultural backgrounds. Additionally, cultural and social context inspire designers to prioritize diversity and inclusivity in their designs. They consider factors such as age, gender, disabilities, and cultural backgrounds to create products that cater to a broader range of users. Moreover, cultural and social context encourage designers to consider sustainability and ethical considerations. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"A notable project I worked on was a side project called SplitPeas, which is a mobile app designed to keep track of grocery trips and bill splitting within a group. The process I took for Split Peas was first to conduct market research in order to find a niche, define the primary/ secondary market and user personas. Then, conduct user research to figure out user pain points. After the first iteration of the design. Another set of user research interviews would be conducted so that feedback can be given in an iterative design process. I considered brand image, pain points, and user persona when selecting colour palette, typography, consistent style, and easy user flows. I contributed to the design and user research portion of this project. Other people researched the market, wrote the business plan, and helped develop the app.\n\nPlease view the Presentation Deck and Project Proposal.\nLinks in the github: https://github.com/traopand/split-peas\nWebsite: http://amandayu.tech/ ","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"PST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Social justice, equity, and social change are topics that resonate with me. In particular, gender inequality. Having privileged upbringing in Canada, I hope other girls worldwide can also have the same privileges and rights as me. It saddens me that this isn’t the case, as most people living in extreme poverty are girls. Too many communities have to face massive gender inequality, discrimination, and unequal access to resources. This is why I led Oxfam, a charity tackling global poverty. I proposed a new initiative there, a hygiene drive. I led the logistics with 3 others and tallied a total of over 500+ hygiene items in the end. I drove down to Covenant House Toronto to donate everything. The next week, I was surprised that they gifted us a letter of gratitude. They were in need of hygiene items this past winter. They awarded us a certificate of appreciation for supporting the homeless. I’d love to help women in need, like Blueprint’s Shoe Project helping immigrant and refugee women."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m proud to be in the Music community. The people I’ve met while part of Music Council, Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band, String Orchestra, and University Jazz Band have been such an integral part of my life since gr 5. These are the people I grew up with, I’m still friends with them today. As we started to choose career paths, I noticed that students pursuing the arts were dissuaded from doing so. Growing up where this stigma was so strictly prevalent in my Asian-dominant school, I felt the need to join together people with multi-field interests. This is why I was inspired to lead a youth non-profit of my own, STREAM Syndicate. It provides a platform of career related events and leadership opportunities in arts and STEM. When I was Co-director, I led nation-wide projects including: an art gala, in light of art education cuts, having 100+ attendees and was recognized in local Markham news; a bi-monthly magazine featuring writers, poets, artists, and a 10.4k member FB community group.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"This summer I wanted to learn about Machine learning. I had no idea anything about it before. It seemed like a mystery to me and I was curious. My general process was that after work, I’d learn about the topic from broad to narrow. What even is machine learning, what scope does it entail, and where can it be used? After I gained context on that, I’d answer more specific questions like what tools are commonly used and what should I learn? I used resources like a Linkedin Learning course, medium articles, and Youtube videos. I also completed an NLP side project at a Hackathon which converted bullet points into a email. I completed an MIT Intro to Machine Learning course, finished all their labs, and final project. After this, I felt like I had a good understanding of the theory of basic models and methods used, but not application. So, I joined Waterloo’s Aerial Robotics Group as a ML dev on their Computer Vision Team."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688615997085},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"t2nigam@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Talent","firstName":"Tanisha","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Nigam","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3f37b321-df5d-4e71-8e6c-e641ce8b38ec?alt=media&token=22628cd1-b232-4927-943f-69ed5495f361","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"When determining if a nonprofit's goals align with Blueprint, several factors should be considered. It starts with mission alignment, ensuring that both organizations share a focus on technology for social good, as such, assessing the potential impact of the nonprofit's work and its feasibility for technological solutions is important. In addition, collaboration is essential to drive meaningful change, thus evaluating the nonprofit's openness and willingness to work with Blueprint is crucial. Moreover, the local community impact and long-term sustainability plans are also factors to consider. Furthermore, factors like capacity for change, stakeholder alignment, organizational readiness, measurable outcomes, and potential for a long-term relationship play a role. Considering these factors ensures a strong resonance between Blueprint and the nonprofit's goals, values, and capacity to make a meaningful social impact."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I'll be based out of the EST timezone next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is promoting the conservation and protection of pollinators, such as bees, butterflies, and other insects. Pollinators play a crucial role in ecosystems by facilitating the reproduction of plants and ensuring biodiversity, however, they are facing numerous threats to their long-term survival, including habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. As a result, I believe in supporting initiatives that create pollinator-friendly habitats, advocating for responsible pesticide practices, and raising awareness about the importance of pollinators in food systems. These initiatives include promoting the planting of native flowering plants, supporting local beekeeping efforts, and encouraging sustainable agriculture practices that prioritize pollinator health. By protecting pollinators, society can preserve the delicate balance of ecosystems, enhance crop yields, and also ensure the long-term sustainability of the natural environment."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m a part of the Vaughan Community Gardens group, a community dedicated to sustainable food production and urban farming. We transform unused spaces into gardens, grow organic produce, and educate others about sustainable agriculture. As a member, I actively participate in community gardening projects, volunteering my time to plant seeds, tend to plants, and harvest produce. Additionally, I engage in advocacy efforts to promote urban farming and sustainable food practices within the community. I also encourage community members to buy locally grown produce by raising awareness about the benefits of urban agriculture. By fostering self-sufficiency, reducing our ecological footprint, and promoting a resilient local food system, we are working towards a greener, healthier, and more sustainable community. Through hands-on involvement, education, and advocacy, we strive to empower individuals to connect with nature, make conscious food choices, and contribute to a more sustainable future."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As someone who struggles with anxiety, I was seeking an outlet for my racing thoughts and overwhelming emotions, and as a result, I turned to writing poetry as a means of self-expression and catharsis. My motivation to learn the skill of writing poetry stemmed from a deep desire to find solace and understanding while also being able to transform my anxious thoughts and emotions into artful language. My approach to learning to write poetry was centered around vulnerability and introspection—I would dedicate regular time to writing, to create a safe space where I could confront my fears and uncertainties. My approach also involved immersing myself in poetry books and experimenting with different poetic forms to help hone my skills using imagery, metaphors, and rhythm to convey the depth of my experiences. Writing poetry soon became my sanctuary, offering a sense of release and empowerment and helped me find comfort in crafting verses that encapsulates my struggles."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615866580},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"n22sivak@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Nishan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Sivakumar","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering ","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F3f86a881-ba9f-4873-af0c-3d3ae7227d20?alt=media&token=c67460b6-25dd-4a0f-bf6a-a01c7fdf24f2","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Frontend","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In a previous role, an application I was working on faced slow load times. Using performance profiling tools, I identified database queries as the bottleneck. I optimized these queries, rewrote some for efficiency, and eliminated others through denormalization. Additionally, I implemented a caching strategy for frequently accessed data. These measures significantly improved application performance, enhancing user experience and engagement. Despite the complex codebase, systematic analysis and problem-solving helped overcome the challenge.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is promoting sustainability in engineering. I believe it's crucial for engineers to consider environmental impacts in their design and implementation processes, not only to protect our planet but also to create efficient and durable solutions."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am incredibly proud to be part of the vibrant and diverse community of Brampton. My contributions to this city go beyond being an active resident; I have volunteered in various community events, worked on local environmental initiatives, and advocated for tech education in our local schools. As an engineering student, I've also applied my skills in local projects, contributing to the city's technological growth and sustainability."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently learned Python as part of a Machine Learning course. I was motivated to learn it because of its versatility in different fields, especially in data analysis and AI. I began with online tutorials for basics, then moved onto more complex tasks. I supplemented this by working on mini-projects to apply what I learned, facilitating practical understanding of the language."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688182804758},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"maithily.kadam@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Internal Director","firstName":"Maithily","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kadam","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4027b32d-b425-4f5b-aaa1-27625dcca149?alt=media&token=c0e1a5eb-ab04-4f09-8081-8080aec9584c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"In my vision of an ideal member experience, strong camaraderie among team members is a cornerstone. This camaraderie is fostered through team-bonding events that create opportunities for deeper connections and understanding. When team members genuinely get along, it becomes easier to seek help and guidance from one another, which is another crucial aspect of my ideal member experience. I firmly believe that asking questions and acquiring knowledge is the best way to learn and grow. When everyone feels comfortable reaching out for assistance, any problem can be overcome, leading to a thriving and successful environment!"}],"role":"Internal Director"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"My inspiration flows from various sources, with one significant outlet being the dynamic app and website known as Pinterest. I perceive Pinterest as an infinite canvas perfectly tailored to my needs at any given moment. It has proven exceptionally valuable when seeking inspiration for personal projects and exploring captivating color schemes. Whenever I require ideas or visualizations, Pinterest serves as my trusted companion, consistently delivering productive and inspiring content."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"My portfolio is on my website: maithilykadam.com","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in Eastern Standard Time (EST) as I will be in my first academic term!"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am passionate about promoting sports as a tool for youth development. Growing up playing sports, I learned valuable life skills, especially resilience. Through challenges in competitive volleyball, I learned to look forward, use past mistakes as motivation, and strive for the best. I want future generations to experience the transformative benefits of sports, empowering them to become well-rounded individuals."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Being part of the coaching community in volleyball and gymnastics fills me with pride. My coaches not only shaped my athletic abilities but also taught me resilience and self-improvement. Inspired by their impact, I chose to coach and provide young girls with positive role models. Guiding their growth and witnessing their achievements brings me immense joy. Together, we create a legacy of mentorship, fostering confident and well-rounded athletes and leaders who will make a positive impact in sports and beyond."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my high school years, I had a transformative experience when I discovered the Adobe Creative Suite, igniting my passion for Design. While my teacher introduced the class to the basics of a few software tools within the Suite, I was determined to explore and master additional tools to enhance my school and personal projects. Recognizing the long-term benefits of acquiring these extra skills in line with my future aspirations, I was motivated to excel by starting early. I embraced the understanding that achieving proficiency would require time, dedication, and practice. Thus, I committed myself to working on my projects daily, investing the necessary effort until I became adept and eventually an expert in utilizing the suite's diverse tools."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687907105887},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"s23mahmu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Shezan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Mahmud","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F42683822-18d8-4549-83aa-b3c5676e8836?alt=media&token=0725e946-7e3b-43f6-9679-0f373f9e165f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One technical problem I faced was when I was developing an app that required data from Uber Eats, DoorDash, and SkipTheDishes. However, a significant roadblock was their lack of a public API, which made accessing their data directly impossible.\n\nTo tackle this, I taught myself web scraping using Selenium and Scrapy in Python. I wrote scripts to navigate these platforms' websites and programmatically collect the necessary data. It was a complex task that required understanding the DOM, XPath structure of these websites and handling dynamically loaded content.\n\nThen I set up a pipeline to push this data into MongoDB. This involved cleansing and structuring the data before storage. I also automated the scraping process to keep the data in our app up-to-date, using cron jobs to run the scripts at regular intervals.\n\nThis has taught me the value of resourcefulness when faced with obstacles. I look forward to bringing these learnings to my work as a Project Developer at UW Blueprint.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am deeply passionate about environmental sustainability, driven by my experiences living in areas of natural beauty. I firmly believe in the potential of technology to promote sustainability and mitigate climate change. However, I am also aware of the environmental challenges posed by the tech industry itself. As a developer, I strive to ensure that our innovations are both groundbreaking and sustainable. The project with Plastics for Change, which streamlined operations while promoting transparency and accountability in the recycling process, is a prime example of the kind of impactful and environmentally conscious tech solutions I am drawn to. I am excited about the opportunity to work on projects that push technological boundaries while considering the environment. Joining UW Blueprint will allow me to contribute my skills, learn from my peers, and develop tech solutions for social good with a strong emphasis on environmental sustainability."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As a member of the Ontario Science Centre, I take pride in my contributions over the years. Starting as a student, I volunteered at various workshops, aiding in the planning and execution of educational programs that sparked curiosity and fostered a love for science among visitors of all ages.\nMy most impactful contribution is my work with the Youth for Youth Innovation program this summer. As a volunteer, I collaborate closely with young innovators, providing mentorship and guidance as they turn their brilliant ideas into tangible projects. I assist in brainstorming sessions, give feedback on their proposals, and help facilitate workshops on various topics, such as design and prototyping.\nBy engaging directly with these bright youths, I aim to cultivate an environment that encourages creativity, critical thinking, and a spirit of curiosity. Being a part of this community has allowed me to give back while further enhancing my skills in communication, leadership, and team collaboration."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently learned React Native because I like making apps that are accessible. My previous developer experience was on the web which has the limitation of always needing to be online. To overcome this, I decided to create an offline-first app that simplifies practicing LeetCode problems on-the-go.\nMy approach to learning React Native was learning by doing. I started by creating simple applications, heavily relying on official documentation for understanding the basics. Recognizing that my desired app required features such as local storage, gestures, database handling, and authentication, I devoted time to practice these on simpler applications before moving on to the actual app.\nThis approach of breaking down the learning process into digestible parts and building up skills progressively proved effective. It not only helped me build a comprehensive understanding of React Native but also equipped me with the confidence to tackle new technological challenges."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1687481231810},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"hargun.bhalla1@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Hargun","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Bhalla","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4375b5ad-beab-4124-be8d-44d59cf40625?alt=media&token=227595d3-ff2d-4809-ae37-cf8b7c2c7762","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I am most proud of a software program I developed at SpaceApps 2018, an international competition organized by NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Developed a biomedical software program for astronauts aboard the International Space Station to monitor their health vitals. These features included the following: SPO2 levels, heart rate, blood pressure, fatigue, and exercise activity. In addition, our tech stack included Python, machine learning libraries, Java, Typescript, SQL, and frontend frameworks, where I worked with a group of developers, product managers, and designers. It was rewarding to develop this project over the course of a weekend and have it be a learning opportunity, but we were able to solve problems through consulting mentors, referencing documentation, pair programming, and countless cups of coffee! Our team won this competition by presenting the solution to Canadian Space Agency engineers and was awarded an interview with Canadian Astronaut Jeremy Hansen. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"In between the years 2016 and 2022, I was actively involved with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets program through various activities focused on aviation, citizenship, and leadership. At the squadron level, I have been appointed to the Warrant Officer position, and was responsible for co-leading a squadron of 150 cadets and delivering frequent lectures on aviation, technology, and aerospace. I was also continuously engaged in community-centred activities through parades and fundraising events (e.g. tagging shifts and squadron fly-ins). At the national level, I was selected for the competitive Advanced Aerospace Course and earned the Glider and Power Pilot Scholarships. Through this program, I gained a wide range of life-long skills including leadership, effective speaking, communication, adaptability to change, and teamwork, which I believe would be effective if given the chance to carry them forward while being a member on the UW Blueprint team. "}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"In order to find technological and social solutions to pressing international problems, it is imperative for fellow youth leaders to solve these problems through effective collaborations by sharing one another's skills, experiences, and knowledge. In addition, if selected to be a member part of UWBlueprint, I would have the opportunity to work towards this mission, through building features for impactful projects. Through my previous experiences within hackathons and internships/co-ops, I connected with fellow women in technology and learned about their experiences while working in the field of technology. I also learned how they overcame adversity and challenges by having a strong support system, which caused in me being inspired by their journeys for my future endeavours and being a resonating cause. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I had the opportunity to attend a wide range of summer enrichment programs, which were focused on technology and entrepreneurship, that helped me discover my passions outside of the classroom. I attended SHAD in the summer of 2019, which is a highly competitive entrepreneurship program intended for high school students. At the SHAD design challenge, I won the Best Application of Scientific Principles Award, where I developed a solution that regulated Canadian textile waste, which was accompanied with a project website, business report, and presentation in front of a panel of judges. Through this community, I was able to give back through attending alumni and community events, encouraging potential SHAD's to apply, and spreading the word about the program. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I was a scholar at Google's Computer Science Summer Institute, where I learned an intensive project-based JavaScript curriculum taught by Google engineers through code-alongs, technical interview sessions, and developmental workshops. I developed a multiplayer human gesture recognition game using p5 machine learning libraries and image recognition. I was also a panellist at the Google Student Technology and Entrepreneurship Talk, where I discussed my experience with creating my SHAD Design Challenge business. Through this program, I learned a wide range of skills, including communication, demo, networking and presentation skills, as I had to present my final project to an audience of 500+ people at the showcase, which included practice sessions, being receptive to feedback, and completing testing, with communication being the most important skill as it resulted in numerous learning opportunities along the way."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615749376},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"harshils2340@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Harshil","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Shah","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4376f1bc-2802-4333-8165-886bd9d9de42?alt=media&token=8621e099-8f34-49fe-8142-37b01326c604","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend","Other:"],"response-specified":"AI/ML","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During the Toyota competition, my team and I were tasked to develop an automated machine learning sticker inspection system. One of the major challenges we encountered was ensuring accurate hole detection and classification.\n\nFirst, we faced the issue of limited annotated data for training the model. To address this, we implemented data augmentation techniques such as rotation, scaling, and flipping to artificially increase the size and diversity of the training dataset. \n\nSecondly, we encountered difficulties in optimizing the model's performance and reducing false positives. We tackled this challenge by fine-tuning the model's hyperparameters and adjusting the decision threshold. Through iterative experimentation and analysis of the model's performance metrics, we were able to achieve a 90% accuracy rate.\n\nOverall, despite the challenges we faced, our team's effective teamwork and problem-solving skills enabled us to overcome these obstacles and achieve our end goal.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is promoting first aid education and equipping individuals with life-saving skills.\n\nTo further this cause, my friends and I initiated the Heal-A-Kit project, which served as both a mobile application and a Discord bot. Through an interactive platform inspired by Akinator, users could input symptoms, and the system would provide personalized first aid recommendations. It also featured a database of common injuries and health issues, enabling anyone with zero first aid experience to assist a victim before medical help arrives.\n\nGoing forward, my plan is twofold: to continue creating innovative projects for first aid education and collaborate with nonprofit organizations in the healthcare sector. Joining UW Blueprint presents a perfect pathway to pursue this passion, as I will be surrounded by a community of like-minded individuals who are committed to leveraging technology for social impact."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I founded SmartSteps Tutoring - a non-profit organization with the goal of making a positive impact on students' education. With a dedicated team of three tutors, we have successfully provided tutoring services to over 20 students in grades 4 to 12, focusing primarily on Math, English, and Science. \n\nThe inspiration for SmartSteps Tutoring arose from the recognition that many students were facing academic challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, our tutoring community has grown significantly, encompassing additional subjects, tutors, and students. As a result, we have been able to expand our reach and provide support to more individuals in need.\n\nCurrently, my role has shifted from teaching to organizing engaging monthly games and activities for our students in an online setting. These activities aim to foster a friendly and stimulating environment that extends beyond traditional academics."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Motivated by cutting my dad's hair, I developed a strong interest in haircutting. I used YouTube tutorials to learn fundamental techniques and discover the right equipment to invest in.\n\nTo gain practical experience, I offered complimentary haircuts to friends, refining my skills and boosting my confidence. Recognizing the value of professional guidance, I sought free training opportunities at local barber shops, honing my abilities in a real-world environment.\n\nLearning this valuable skill not only helps me save money by cutting my own hair but also brings me great satisfaction in providing free haircuts to friends and family. Above all, witnessing the joy and increased confidence after giving a haircut serves as a constant source of motivation.\n\nNow that I have gained some experience cutting hair, I plan on teaching my friend who also wants to learn this valuable skill."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687931654092},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"pmbhulla@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Puneet","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Bhullar","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F43fbb0d3-1662-4286-a1e0-a733f32b5beb?alt=media&token=dadc859b-9047-4fb3-9eea-4cc22237ddb7","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"The iPad is my favorite product for product managers due to its versatility, innovation, user-centric design, robust ecosystem, and impact on various industries. Its adaptability caters to diverse customer segments, while its innovative features and user-friendly design embody forward-thinking product development. The iPad's ecosystem, including the App Store and seamless integration with other Apple devices, enhances the user experience. Its transformative influence in education, healthcare, and retail demonstrates its value in different industries. Furthermore, the iPad's enduring popularity and brand loyalty make it an attractive choice for students seeking to build upon a strong foundation."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my time at Interac, we faced the challenge of implementing a news feed that required an expensive monthly fee from the API provider. As a team, we spent considerable time deliberating and contemplating the best approach to deliver a high standard of quality to our client within budget constraints. We conducted brainstorming sessions to generate creative ideas and devised a comprehensive plan to implement the updates, effectively communicating our approach and progress to the client throughout the process. Eventually, we decided to develop a web scraper to overcome this hurdle. This innovative solution allowed us to gather the necessary data without relying on the costly API. As a result, we successfully implemented the news feed in the alpha release, meeting our client's expectations and demonstrating our resourcefulness as a team.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"As the President of the ECE Society, I demonstrated leadership by fostering a collaborative environment and empowering team members to contribute their best. I facilitated regular meetings, set clear goals, and delegated tasks based on individuals' strengths. Through effective communication and active involvement, we organized successful events, promoted professional development, and enhanced the sense of community within our society. During the COVID-19 pandemic, I had to think creatively and adapt our activities to the virtual realm, organizing an engaging online scavenger hunt and hosting virtual resume reviews to ensure our members continued to benefit from valuable experiences and networking opportunities."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time – EST Time Zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The cause that resonates deeply is supporting individuals and families affected by leukemia. Having experienced firsthand the impact of this disease on my sister and our family, I understand the emotional, physical, and financial challenges it brings. Witnessing the tireless efforts of organizations like CHEO (Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario), Ronald McDonald Houses, Candlelighters, and Campfire Circle in providing crucial support and resources has inspired me to help those facing leukemia. Since then I have volunteered at two hospitals, Bruyere and Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa. I initiated and organized a food drive for Ronald Mcdonald House Ottawa which collected over 300 items to donate. Whether it is volunteering at hospitals, participating in fundraisers, or sharing my personal journey, I am dedicated to making a difference and ensuring that no one facing any illness feels alone in their battle."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As the president of the ECE society and a proud member of the ECE community at the University of Waterloo, I have the privilege of witnessing the incredible impact we have on our students and the broader field of electrical and computer engineering. I, along with the team, conceived and initiated helpful events such as resume workshops, resume critics, social gatherings, and technology discussions. The benefit is we empower our fellow students to develop essential skills, connect with fellow students and industry professionals, and expand their knowledge in their chosen fields. Together, we create an inclusive and vibrant environment that fosters collaboration, innovation, and a shared passion for engineering."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During the pandemic when the world was on a stay-at-home order, I wanted to do something that could keep me active while enjoying the outdoors. I decided to try my hand at growing a garden. My first step was to search Google and YouTube which helped with general requirements. I asked my family, I received a few practical tips and a wag of the finger to not destroy the backyard. I called garden centers, which were helpful in letting me know what grows well in the Ottawa climate. I mentioned my green thumb ambitions to friends who had no idea where to start but would ask their families who had gardens. I had the network growing and from one of those it was suggested I join the Facebook “Edible Ottawa Garden Group.” Local gardeners whose knowledge is unsurpassed and had answers for all my unresolved questions. I made a list of things to do. Purchased what was required. I, with help from my family, built garden beds, added soil, fertilized, planted, watered, and watched the garden grow."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688179114533},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4B","email":"z952zhan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"George","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Zhang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"CS BBA","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F45c1aa50-ad81-4c02-affd-9a5017b402f9?alt=media&token=e8a033bd-6d2f-4819-9e4d-29fe8ff6f420","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I've worked on in the past was in my most recent coop term at Verkada. I worked as a computer vision engineer given the challenge to train and demo a person re-identification model for use in security footage. The goal was very simple: train an ML model that can re-identify individuals with high precision. The data collection, model training, and parameter tuning were all very complicated. While Verkada had proprietary datasets, they were used for object tracking models and had no information about individuals appearing in multiple videos. Since the purpose of the model was to identify people across different backgrounds, this was the most crucial information. However, labelling this data is very time intensive due to the need to check every person that comes across a video. As such, we ran an off the shelf model first to gather some results before sending suggestions to labellers to annotate. We also iteratively did this for testing data. ","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"My current project at Roblox is very self-coordinated and requires a high degree of leadership. As the sole developer on a customer facing feature, I work with a product designer and manager to deliver the feature. While all three parties in this feature have fair say, I am most heavily involved in this project as the sole developer. \nThis situation is unique because as an intern, I have the opportunity to take ownership over the project. I've demonstrated strong leadership in the time that I've been here by being the one to present problems, organize meetings, and establish business needs for the future of the project. l also coordinate responsibilities and areas of ownership for each party, for example deciding whether problems should fall under engineering, product, or design's jurisdiction when it belongs under a gray area. I've become a much better communicator during my time here and really enjoy the responsibility!"}],"role":"Project Lead"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"There are so many products I really enjoy, but if I had to pick one to write about for a thousand characters it would be the Android weather app. There are so many choices involved in making a good weather app and I think that the Android one gets a lot of these choices right. First, there's the problem of choosing what information to display. You can't simply put everything on the screen, because the abundance of information would overwhelm the user and create an unintuitive UI. The Android app solves this by putting hiding detailed information behind dropdowns and icons. At a glance, the app has a pleasant design and answers all the pressing questions, which for me is the current temperature, hourly forecast, and a weekly forecast that splits up the day by morning, day, and night (this may be different for each user). \nThis seems so mundane but I've seen so many apps that get this wrong! While it's already great, it could definitely add a fully customizable experience."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is urban planning! I feel like this isn't the most glorious or perhaps even pressing cause, but I strongly support urban planning that caters towards all forms of transportation and not just cars :) \nThis is important to me because I believe that the design of the places we live has such a big impact on the way that we live. You see car-centric infrastructure everywhere: from the excitement surrounding one's \"first car\" to the quiet playgrounds and empty streets of suburban neighborhoods. I believe that city planning should promote human interaction and a sense of community, which is unfortunately failing in many North American cities. This includes the one I grew up in (Toronto), and is why I am so passionate about it!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be a part of the UW Computer Science club community! The club (and it's affiliates) have been an important part of my undergraduate experience and I'm proud of my contributions to date. I began as a mentee gathering knowledge from upper years, but slowly transitioned to a mentor and a regular resume / mock interview critiquer. I've been doing the bootcamp for the last three terms as a mentor and I really enjoy helping others just like the community has helped me. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I listened to a lot of music over the pandemic and felt inspired to sing. At that time I had already played guitar for a few years and felt that I could make some really cool sounds if I was a competent singer. It ended up being a really fun way to pass the time outside of the typically Waterloo school/co-op cycle!\nI bring up singing as an example because the skills required for singing are really different than typical skills that can be mastered through repetition. I believe that singing is more like a series of \"Aha!\" moments rather than a gradual slope of improvement. I adjusted my approach to this skill by keeping this in mind, preventing frustration and understanding the nature of the problem. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688021891435},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"kkabdi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Khali","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Abdi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Chemical Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F460de780-658b-444b-838a-c09e22e61450?alt=media&token=40ef8ce2-e29d-40e8-bd9e-dbc12d8d12c2","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I prefer to use research methods such as user interviews, surveys and questionnaires, card sorting, diary studies, and user persona creation. I would say my main methods of expertise are user persona creation, surveys, and user interviews. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"Right now I would say my favorite product is Miro. During my last coop, I worked as an internal consultant focused on a Voice of the Customer project. I conducted UX research and interviews through that tool and during meetings it increased productivity by a vast amount. The tool made it easy to identify potential trigger points and apply solutions. It was also a great tool for customer and user journey mapping. "}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I think with the pandemic and the current recession going on, lack of equal employment and educational opportunities for marginalized groups. Students in low-income areas have a very low chance of getting into top schools that provide great opportunities. It's not that their they don't have the skills, the playing field isn't leveled from the start. Coming into the school the lack of representation of various ethnic groups is evident every day. Today, especially with the recent decision of affirmative action made by the U.S supreme court, it's important to find ways to combat this issue. Representation matters, as serve as a beacon of hope and encouragement for individuals who aspire to follow in the same footsteps. I currently assist in expanding the school's outreach and I stumbled on BP's Project READ Literacy Network, which aims to streamline outreach and operations for the project. I want to work to strengthen this function on a larger scale because of the multiple applications.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am the President of our school's National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter. I joined during my first term on campus, my 2A term and I enjoyed that from the start I knew and felt I had a place there. Our vision statement promotes the academic, professional, and wellness of aspiring young black engineers. Currently, I am working on expanding our reach to young black STEM-based students as they could benefit from what's provided to our members. A few initiatives I've worked on during my tenure include sponsorship events (collaboration with Toyota, Google, and Bloomberg), mentorship opportunities, and first-year wellness events. I am proud to be a part of NSBE because I truly believe representation matters at all levels of academia. The percentage of graduating black students in the faculty is approximately 2% and the work done in the society hopes to change that. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my third coop term, I worked as a Software Engineering Research Assistant working to develop a web application used by high-emitting oil and gas to track their carbon emissions. Since the company was a startup, we were tasked with picking up on any skill sets needed to facilitate a successful project kickoff. Here, I was exposed to UX/UI tasks that I completed and had the chance to explore. When learning UX/UI principles I tried to understand the theory without a specific industry in mind to strengthen my understanding and application. I practiced creating mockups and user interviews for side projects I was interested in and pursued coop placements in this field after that. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688145311687},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"a26su@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Adeline","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Su","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science Business Administration Double Degree","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F486af2ac-117e-4426-920e-6c61ca79efe1?alt=media&token=966015d8-1371-4039-baf4-910c680c8138","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"response-specified":"","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my job as a Data Engineer and BI intern, I was tasked with creating a Pipeline Forecasting report which involved the field Renewal AcceptedDate from the business stakeholders. This proved to be difficult since I needed to draw data from the Audit Trail, which was a huge historical database and was largely unorganized. I first approached this issue by meeting with the business analyst and senior data engineer on my team who were more experience working with the vSQL09 database on a CTC business level. After gathering the specific technical requirements such as documentation on metadata, I started investigating the existing code to modify. I ended up learning more about advanced SQL functions like pivoting, partitioning, and the row_number() function by exploring existing code written by principal data engineer and implementing it. I created test cases individually, then with team members to validate my data. Finally the production report was shared and approved by stakeholders.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"I have co-founded a youth organization, Project Terra, to battle fast fashion consumption and textile waste by educating youth and adolescents in middle to highschool on the impact of fast fashion on the environment, and innovative ways to stay stylish. This two year long endeavour involved four major events held at local schools. At first, I endeavoured to organize the executive team of 10 other students to gather research, resources, and a social media presence (@project__terra). For the first event, we emphasized reaching out to sponsors, and got a $200 sponsorship from Plato’s Closet, as well as discounts from local bubble tea stores. I reached out to the principal at St. Justin Martyr CES to coordinate a time, location, and duration of the assembly with photographers. In the end, we reached out to 450 students and reduced short term textile waste by 34%. In the long term, we started a clothing donation event tradition at Bayview Secondary School, where each class donates clothing."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Toronto EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Mental Health support is a cause that resonated with me. Being in a strict academic environment, mental health is an element of everyday life that often gets overlooked with heavy stigma and a general lack of understanding. I believe providing awareness is the first step towards addressing these deeply rooted issues. From 2019 to 2022, I was a member of my highschool's Mental Health Club executive team, and was the President in my graduating year. Together with the team, we put on fun yet informative events to provide support while working with school administration (for example, Mystery of the Mummy, Break the Stigma, Bell Let's Talk Day, Therapy Dogs). These events got positive turnout, which made me proud to support a cause that resonated with me so much."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am part of is Women in STEM. My friends and I had noticed that, as we began searching for summer internships, our weekends have been spent exploring the workforce and scouring for the faintest information on a company’s culture. Despiting seeing plenty about work hours and the overall atmosphere, there is little shared about the unique experiences and challenges women face while being a minority within STEM-based industries. Our team recognized the lack of female-oriented resources for women entering STEM-based industries which is why we created WiSdom, a platform allowing Women in STEM to gain wisdom and confidence in their career choices. Our frontend was developed using React.js, HTML and CSS, with the backend in Python, using webscraped data (using Beautiful Soup and Requests) connecting to Google Firebase.\nI believe this supported female students as they made the transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic and into a new chapter in the workforce."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"After the pandemic, I was inspired by the widespread travel trends to create a web application that my fellow students could use. “That-Vacay” is a side project done in ReactJS and Python, with Bootstrap and Flask which tracks expenses and optimizes money transfer routes between a group of users while keeping track of transactions and user balances. My team also built a RESTful API to handle transactions, transfers, and spendings to a SQL database.\nThe project had a steep learning curve – I taught myself how to code in React and Python, how to build APIs and how to work with frameworks and libraries like Flask, Bootstrap, and Postman. I found working as a team member to be deeply satisfying; I enjoyed the process of bouncing ideas off of each other, and seeing our joint ideas come to life together! Most of all, I am proud of the project, I surprised myself in that I wanted to keep working on it, extending and improving it beyond its completion!\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688616155268},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"ah4ahmed@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Ahmed","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ahmed","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F494d0e98-c1dc-4629-a8fc-ae0a4a304151?alt=media&token=2ebf8ab9-c1ef-4c70-b6c9-a5ef3664ffa5","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"To be honest, my favorite product is not just a single product, it is the Apple ecosystem, all of Apple's products. The way Apple designs all its products and gives users the ability to fully integrate their whole life within this system is amazing. The ability to access all or most of your data from any Apple device that you own makes their products that much better. Furthermore, apple has very minimalistic designs that grab the user's attention, ranging from the UI of their apps to the hardware design for all their products it is just an overall great user experience. If I had to choose one product it would also have to be the MacOS. the Mac operating system in my opinion is miles ahead of Windows. Ranging from user experience to security and privacy, to developer-friendly environment, and integration with the ecosystem. It's an amazing product as a whole, that from my experience has its users yearning for more products like MacOS and not willing to switch from the ecosystem."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Optimization is key when developing industry-level software. throughout my current co-op, a colleague and I had to develop a page to showcase many photos in an organized manner, with many links that route to the task pages that the photos were part of. We first ran into an issue where the data being fetched from the database was very slow as too many calls were made every time the page was loaded. So to first approach this problem we talked amongst each other while researching and using resources such as reading documentation, StackOverflow, etc. When we reached a dead end we reached out to the developer who developed all the code for querying through the data, to help us better understand his thought process when he wrote the code. This talk gave us a better understanding of the code base and a better idea of where to start. After having the talk we were able to optimize the code to better grab data from the database through information from online resources and the senior developers.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Imagine growing old and finding yourself in a poorly kept long-term care home with horrible living conditions. That is the reality of many older adults in Ontario. I have volunteered at Schlegel villages, a long-term care home in waterloo. I've had the great opportunity of spending a lot of time with the residents there and they have been blessed with great living conditions and many staff and volunteers. Since working there I've heard many stories from the staff there about other long-term care homes in the province and how they are not well run. Many older adults specifically ones with dementia struggle a lot in such places. This really intrigued me and I really wanted to pinpoint the cause of this as it was a great learning opportunity. I was able to attend the \"Living the dementia journey\" event as this would help me dig deeper within this realm and maybe even be more helpful to the adults I interact with that do have dementia.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"\"Every journey begins with a single step. One act of service, one encouraging word, one gift of generosity is often all it takes to bring hope where it’s needed most. (Lions Club)\" Being part of Kitchener Leo's club in high school and the Lions Club for my first year of University really taught me what being part of a community is. The leo's gave me the ability to volunteer and serve my community in many different events such as setting up and running Kitchener's annual Santa parade, where I was able to see many families come out after being locked inside for covid and enjoy time with their families. It really showed me the power of community. We also volunteered for the Nutrition for Learning program, serving 23,000 lunches daily throughout schools in the WRDSB region. So being part of Leo's community redefined what community is to me and that if we all work together we can make a difference."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently really got into bouldering during my past two co-ops. It was a completely different sport than the ones I've been part of throughout my life and required much more problem-solving than expected. It really combined my love for sports and exercise with problem-solving, as every time I attempt a route (also known as a problem) I have to think about my approach before giving it a go. My approach to properly learning how to boulder and understanding the different techniques was exactly how I approach a lot of problems or new things in my life. Firstly, I went and learned from my friends who have been climbing for years. I also did research online and watched many professionals on youtube. Finally, I went to a beginner's lesson when I first started so that I can have the basics down and build more on the fundamentals as I became more experienced. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688615455627},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"otychan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"External Director","firstName":"Olivia","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Chan","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science(UW) and Business (WLU)","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4a15c806-0bf1-4df8-aba9-f14950456e93?alt=media&token=47a617bf-33bc-4bcf-b214-df0a1dbad9bf","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"I think Blueprint should create a 2-week bootcamp for students before they enter their first year of university to help them understand their potential in technology and how achievable their goals can be. It’s frustrating to have the vision for change without the means to do so but with this event, Blueprint could help navigate future leaders and accelerate their journey towards success. When Blueprint helps more people become capable of creating solutions, more solutions are created with an even wider impact. The first year of university can be demoralizing for many students leading them to lose their initial interest but with this bootcamp you can help students have a stronger start to their term. This event aligns with Blueprint’s other goals of encouraging learning and promoting a team culture as students would receive support before they even set foot on campus. As it easily aligns with Blueprint’s goals I believe this is a promising event.\n"}],"role":"External Director"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"At the beginning of the term I would have a discussion with the VP Trifecta to gain a solid understanding of what the group is currently capable of and what individuals are looking to grow upon from past experiences. Through this discussion I would be able to gauge how realistically a non-profit's goal may be fulfilled and if it is beneficial for the group to pursue. Next, I would speak with the co-Presidents to ensure I understand Blueprint's overarching goals for the term and from these discussions I would have gained the most important information needed to inform my decisions and any gaps left behind should be small enough to be filled with my judgement. I would chose NPO’s that reflect needs that are most urgent at the time. Projects chosen by Blueprint reflect the organisation’s values to the public eye and if the organisation is to maintain its reputation as being reliable at times of need we can not turn a blind eye to the largest issues which stand directly in front of us. "}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based out of EST."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"hEr VOLUTION is a Toronto-Based organisation that strives to create opportunities in STEM-related fields for young women and gender non-conforming youth in underserved communities. As a woman of colour pursuing a career in STEM I understand the struggles that accompany my background. In just my first year of university I distinctly remember being the only girl in group projects for male-dominated classes several times and constantly having to work harder to be taken seriously. These experiences among many others lead me to support groups like hEr VOLUTION as they effortlessly resonate with my personal story. Doina Oncel, the founder of this cause, comes from a family of immigrants and grew up in a low-income household; despite all of this she leads a successful career and has opened pathways for millions like herself. She represents who I would want to be in the future keeping in mind that irrespective of personal success I must strive to be the change I wish to see in the world. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the City of Markham community. Markham is a vibrant city with a diverse population, constantly striving to be a more inclusive environment for its ever-growing population. When I was 12 I joined my first youth council and discovered community leaders who created noticeable impact against issues concerning youth which sparked my passion for social change. The following year I joined the Markham Mayor’s Youth Council (MMYC), an official advisory committee of Markham’s municipal government. I dedicated every free hour of my time for the next 5 years of my life to this committee, actively planning events that tackled community issues, speaking at conferences, and meeting with city officials in an advocacy role. Later I became co-chair and was able to steer MMYC and its divisions toward my vision of change throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I hope that with Blueprint I will be able to generate even more social good for an even larger community. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I was 5 I was interested in piano and started taking classes. They taught me technique and discipline but when coupled with curiosity, ignited a passion in music. Wanting to direct my ambitions I regularly participated in competitions from which I gained confidence in public settings, the ability to work under pressure, and deep creativity all of which positively impacted other aspects of my life. When I am passionate about a topic I focus all my energy on the cause. As such, every summer I spent at least 5 hours a day preparing for exams but eventually, I started burning out. I connected with other musicians and gained new perspectives allowing me to quickly overcome my struggles. My spark reignited and I can now play piano at the highest level (ARCT) along with other instruments, even gaining experience in conducting. I dedicate myself to a wide range of interests with accompanying skills but with anything I pick up, I make sure to achieve its fullest potential. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688613962359},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"a3hadi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Abdullah","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Hadi","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4b2227a6-5a9a-4405-b92c-17aa25de0f6a?alt=media&token=89189385-678b-4ed1-ade4-511505682013","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"An interesting technical problem I have worked on was during one of my past co-op placements. The platform I was working on is for secure file sharing, and so all generated files are encrypted. However, upon monitoring the celery logs while exporting a pdf I recognized that the compute_hash function on the file was being called twice instead of just once. Originally, my approach involved adding a new field to the files model and manipulating it in the relevant functions. However since it’s a huge table it requires about 20 minutes to copy over which was inefficient. After some deliberation I decided instead to use the python client for redis. This was my first time using it and my approach was to store the slug as a key and the hashed id as the associated value, and to delete it once the task was finished running. Overall, it was very interesting to see how much faster an in-memory data structure was then traditional SQL for updating real-time data. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Causes and organizations that truly resonate with me are ones that aim to give opportunities to individuals who come from less fortunate circumstances. Whether this be scholarships or tutoring sessions, I think that providing these opportunities is crucial in helping people develop skills and learn new things that they may otherwise never have had the chance to. Personally, coming from a low income background, I know first hand that if it were not for the mentorship and chances provided to me through these types of organizations, I wouldn’t be where I am today. As a result, ever since high school I have always tried to volunteer for organizations with goals that are in line with these principles of giving back. These would range from food drives to programming workshops. I recently became aware of UW Blueprint, and its goal of using technology to promote public welfare is something that I really believe in, and hope to continue to do long after I have graduated. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am proud to be a part of is the muslim community. Growing up in a muslim household, it is a community that I have learned a lot from and formed some of my closest friendships in. Over the years, volunteering at the local mosque, fundraising for the humanitarian crises in Yemen and Syria, and playing soccer and attending BBQs with the muslim youth group, have all contributed to some of my fondest memories. The recent surge in islamophobia, only serves to strengthen the sense of community I feel as I know that one way we can combat these types of systemic issues is through solidarity, much like many of the others we face to this day such as racism, homophobia, and transphobia. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time where I learned a new skill was in my first year of university, two weeks before my first co-op placement would begin. Although I had received the job offer, there were some parts of the tech stack of which I was unfamiliar with. Thus, before my internship began, I asked for some review material from my supervisor. My motivation to learn was to be more prepared for when I started and to just overall feel somewhat comfortable with the technologies I would be using for the next several months. My approach was to review a bit of information pertaining to the technology I was unfamiliar with everyday for the first week, and then to do a mini project with the technology for the second week. Overall, this process resulted in me being a little more confident on my first day. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1687801274906},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"a735sing@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Amya","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Singhal","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4be2467d-2757-47a1-92cc-d3cf5e5b40a8?alt=media&token=e6edc897-02e1-400d-a27b-f78ae7ed5822","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"One of my leadership experiences have been working at Wat AI, one of the design teams in the University of Waterloo as the Technical Product Manager and Machine Learning Developer. I led a team of 6 people to build the project Reinforcement Learning Chess Engine. I was responsible for the following tasks there:\n1. Creating a detailed plan for the project\n2. Organising weekly meetings\n3. Assigning tasks and reviewing their work/code before merging into main codebase\n4. Dealing with conflicts within the team\n5. Helping with concepts they felt stuck on and providing useful resources to learn\nHere, I was able to combine my technical and leadership skills to complete the task with a hardworking team. If given the opportunity, I want to do the same at Blueprint."}],"role":"Project Lead"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"While working at Geotab, I had one technical challenge where my ticket was giving error on the integration tests when all the unit tests were passing. The method I implemented(C) was using 2 other methods(A, B) which had database calls, and C was using the data and manipulating it to give the expected result. \nMy approach:\n1. Go on tack overflow and other online resources to figure out what the error was, but that didn’t help much\n2. Then I tried to backtrack my git commits to see if I could catch where exactly the issue was happening. \n3. Then I tried to use the debugging tool in the rider IDE which one of the senior developers explained me how to use in one of our pair programming sessions. This helped me realise that the order I was trying to make the database calls was incorrect which was then an easy fix.\nIf I still didn't find the solution, I would have texted the team group chat to ask if anyone else knew that error and could help.\nThis is how I deal with a technical problem.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"As a girl born and brought up in India, I have gone through the emotions of feeling unsafe while walking alone in public spaces, with people staring at me. \nJoining the Girl-Up Faridabad NGO as the Head of Initiatives team, I got an opportunity to be around other people who had a will to stand against gender discrimination. We as a team used to organise sanitary pad distribution drives, menstrual health awareness talks, and many more. After that, I co-founded the Women in Tech club in my high school where my team and I organised tech events including Ideation Hackathons, Networking events with school alumni working in big tech companies, and providing constant support for girls wanting to choose Tech-based fields as their career path.\nAll these experiences are valuable for me because I could stand for the cause of having equal opportunities for women. And, this is the cause I resonate with. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"One community that I have been a part of for the past one year in the gym community. I decided to do this when I was in the bad vicious cycle of eating unhealthy, no physical exercise, body dysmorphia, and feeling sad. But once, I got out of my house and took that step to be consistent no matter what, it turned from a pain to the fun part of my day. This was possible because of the friends I found in the gym who motivated me just by being present. This also pushed me to start other physical activities like rock climbing, going on runs, playing badminton. The way I try to contribute to the gym community is just by being a positive person not making anyone feel uncomfortable, and motivating my friends to get in the habit of gym or any form of exercise. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"The skill I learned in Machine Learning and Computer Vision. I started out by extensively studying relevant online resources and watching youtube videos.\nAfter that, I started learning the programming perspective of the concept. I did the courses Python, Intro to Machine Learning, and Pandas from Kaggle ands Neural Networks and Deep Learning Specialisation by Deep Learning.ai. After having a proper understanding of the concepts, I worked on a few side projects like ice-skating predictive model and a human emotion object detection model. I also worked at Watonomous and Wat A.I on different Machine Learning and Computer Vision projects.\nMy learning approach can be summarised in three steps: 1) Familiarise myself with the skill by reading articles and watching youtube videos 2) Completing courses on Coursera, Linkedin, Udemy, Kaggle 3) Working on a real-life project to apply the skill I learned/ find other people with same passion for that skill and work and learn with them"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688087282148},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"patrick.huynh@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Patrick","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Huynh","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4c94be41-e1e2-4535-886f-958048ae0519?alt=media&token=58163cba-6bd4-4bb5-8d8a-af067c36a4fd","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In my most recent work term, I was tasked with completing a computer vision problem that involved a self driving robot. The goal was to make the robot remember where objects were, even when something blocks it. This was an incredibly hard task that required an in-house solution considering the hardware and capabilities of the robot. To solve the problem, I needed a fundamental understanding of how depth cameras interpret a 3D environment. After a lot of research, a solution was carefully crafted by breaking the initial problem into a series of subproblems. Solving each one individually allowed me to conquer the task more effectively as it allowed me to focus on one thing at a time. Collectively combining the solutions of the subproblems and integrating it with the robot took some time but it eventually worked out and allowed me to successfully complete the task. Solving the problem and seeing its immediate impact is so rewarding and that is what drives me to become a better developer.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is my pair of AirPods. I cannot go anywhere without them because they completely change the experience of my day-to-day life. The convenience they offer allows me to disconnect from the outside world and listen to music that completely changes my mood. Although it is the music that is the most impactful, it is AirPods that enable me to bridge the connection to my music which goes a long way in influencing the outcome of my day. In the absence of this product, it would be tremendously hard to go about my day because they offer so much value in what they do."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"This non-profit organization utilizes the power of technology to create products and services purely for the benefit of social good. This might sound familiar because that organization is actually Blueprint. This cause has put in tremendous efforts to develop creative tech solutions in order to promote social welfare. What captivates me most is that Blueprint offers benefits for all the parties involved. They enable students to learn, connect, and grow and the projects being worked on go a long way in benefitting the clients. Learning about this recently is a big reason why I’m applying to Blueprint now, had I known it existed earlier, I would have applied. It’s truly amazing to see a platform where both parties can benefit in this symbiosis relationship to create exceptional products and services. I feel that Blueprint’s goals and values align perfectly with mine and I hope that I’m able to join and make a meaningful and everlasting impact."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I was an executive of the Senior Programming Club (SPC) that aimed to teach and mentor individuals that wanted to learn more about programming principles and concepts. The club consisted of weekly meetings that introduced fun and exciting programming concepts that featured explanations, real-life examples, sample code, and practice exercises that would challenge all levels of difficulty. My role as a part of SPC was to facilitate the weekly events by coming up with new ideas for programming topics and finalizing content prior to the meetings. Being a part of this club was really nice because it allowed for a lot of flexibility of what content was being presented and it allowed me to deliver to an audience that may not be well versed in programming. It's truly amazing to see individuals come in with minimal knowledge and leave with an improved or new understanding of programming concepts that they didn't have before."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In my most previous work term, my supervisor was having a very tedious time going through all the resumes that were submitted as a part of their recruitment process. The problem was that there were too many junk resumes in the sense that they did not have any relevant experience for the position. As such, I set out to find an automated solution that would essentially reduce the number of resumes that my supervisor would have to review. As a part of this endeavor, I learned Python through a series of online courses and external resources to create a script that would parse resumes and filter them out if they did not meet a certain criteria. I presented the final program to my supervisor and we both worked together to get it setup and ran it through the first batch of resumes. It successfully filtered out the junk resumes and left only the ones that were relevant for the position. It was incredible to see how such a simple program can make someone's life tremendously easier."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688523928160},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"souryapenneru@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sourya","heardFrom":"Events","lastName":"Penneru","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4ccba80e-0542-48a6-86b4-9432fc683c5f?alt=media&token=000ef5c1-3395-4128-8d36-88ee1398e9a6","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my co-op which I am currently on here at Manulife, I was immediately introduced to the concept of policies which are company-defined notions that are in place whenever cyberattacks or violations occur. During a power outage at the Toronto office, there was a communication mishap with the Cloud Engineering and Cloud Security (my team) teams as the Cloud Source platform we share, Prisma Palo Alto Networks was not registered for offline mobile data usage and we did not have a policy set in place. Being largely unfamiliar with the new environment, the ticketing process, and company communication guidelines, I found myself looking for help, with minimal sources. With not many choices left, I was able to quickly learn KQL and familiarize with Terraform to deploy a mobile network connection policy that would see past a given GCZ firewall to accept mobile connections for our Prisma subscription. Although my solution was not immediate, it impressed my colleagues and definitely myself!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"In addition to my leadership initiatives as mentioned above, I interned as a Project Coordinator for a private pharmaceutical company in Mississauga known as Pharmaline Inc. With many of the hires being international Indian students on a study VISA permit, there were many communication challenges and cultural shifts in the workplace. Although me, being an intern, not having the authority to directly lead them, I consistently was on the floor of the plant and shipment operations vocally encouraging and leading them in their daily packing work. I was able to bridge the gap between these new student workers and the current colleagues to motivate and gauge a strong and uplifting work environment, in addition the reporting, business, and technical work I was already doing within the position. This experience really benefitted me as it helped me realize how to be adaptable and step up in unchartered settings, especially corporate ones."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I have most recently had a lot of connection with Parkinson's disease and other medical complications throughout my family that resulted in my grandfather and several other family members passing away over the last several years. Coming from a family in India, with not much knowledge and experience with advancing technical aid and medical expertise, it is becoming increasingly harder to communicate with my extended family especially when it comes to trying to inform them on guidance to stay healthy and safe. Whether it be a language barrier, poor connection, or the divide in medical understanding, there are many unwarranted issues that are present that damage the simple and loving process of taking care of your loved ones, and I can only imagine the situation for those at UW with me with their families across the world. As such, medically communicative initiatives are those I really resonate with and am strongly passionate about creating a change for. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I really cherish the time I spend with the Hindu Heritage Disability community back home in Mississauga. Being a religious Hindu myself, it pains me to see people with anything from physical disabilities and chronic illness to mental health and depression scale issues, not being able to pray, attend the temple, or question their faith. My motivation to contribute to this community was to enable everyone to feel the blessing that is religion, especially the Hindu religion, and so have contributed with my advocacy and luckily technical expertise to raise more awareness for these people. From simply developing the extension of the Temple's site to follow-through instructions for disabilities, engage in online and real-time marketing with district wards, and being active in aiding physically incapable devotees at the temple site, I am truly proud to be giving back to the Hindu community at home!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"While I could mention my journey in learning the technical skills I faced challenges with, one that has taught me more than what I could ever learn from coding is the adaptability of conflict resolution, something I have done fairly recently. As an intern on my first co-op term, I was always seen to be quiet and a head-down-do-work type of employee. I of course am not as respected in the regards of my seniors and thus am not leading meetings and such as much. However, I always wanted to be more outgoing in the workplace to see if I can learn more from speaking and communicating with others. Thus, after reaching out to my manager, I was given a co-lead access to hold \"conflict resolution\" meetings with my cloud team. Even though I most definitely did not have the technical expertise as much as they did to understand the depths of the meetings, I served as a leader and intermediary for my team to express their thoughts and concerns in the workplace, really expanding my collaboration. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687901410410},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2A","email":"a4haque@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Mohammad Ahrazul","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Haque","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Mathematics","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F4f303b7a-72d1-4dd9-9b63-12473ffaad25?alt=media&token=284b063e-0f2e-445b-8b34-4995926a2893","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Recently I worked on a collaborative project using Swift, Solidity, JavaScript, HTML, and CSS in a blockchain hackathon. The project was to create an application where the user would be able to mine cryptocurrency through exercising (walking, jogging, or cycling) on a specific route determined by the ad-spend of the retail presences on that path. This was challenging to us as we had never worked on blockchain and web3 and solidity were completely new to us. We learned the concepts of web3 development by talking to the sponsors and ended up implementing a solution for our idea which did not lead us to a win but took us through an amazing learning experience. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"The form of research that I find myself using the most is experimental research. I prefer delving deep into the topic that I am researching and making sure that I have a very deep understanding of it. The method I find most effective in achieving this is experimental research as it enables me to get hands-on experience with the topic of research which helps in building up an intuition about it. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Time (Time in Waterloo Regional Municipality)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Being brought up in Bangladesh, a current world problem that bothers me is overpopulation, and with it comes a cause that I strive to solve. While it may not seem like much of a problem in Canada, it is a significant issue in third-world countries and this was one of the first problems that my best friend from high school and I promised each other to solve together when we grew up. While our paths have deviated quite a lot (residing on different continents currently), my affinity toward solving this problem still persists. Although ambitious, the way my friend and I dreamed of tackling this issue was to make interplanetary explorations a feasible reality. It might be a solution far away in the future or not but I promised someone very important to be part of that journey and that will always power me through whatever hurdles I face on my way to achieve that goal. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As an event manager for the Green World Earth Club (GWEC), I was able to facilitate campaigns to promote the cleanliness of our environment and surroundings in general. As a club, we held cleaning campaigns for the roads of Bangladesh and educated the young minds and general population to be more aware of our duties to the environment as human beings. This is definitely a movement I am proud to be a part of and it shows in the fact that I remain active as an alumni advisor although my high school days are well past. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"The earliest skill I learned completely on my own was solving the Rubik's cube. It may not be a groundbreaking skill but was definitely helpful in teaching me how to learn something by myself. My motivation to learn to solve the Rubik's cube was to participate in a fast-cubing competition in my high school as I was trying to join the mathematics club there. Although the cause might not seem disruptive, it did motivate me quite a bit and powered me through hours of content on youtube until I was finally able to get my time consistently under 30 seconds. To put the cherry on top, I did become an executive at the mathematics club in the later years of high school."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687150201540},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"s46hasan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Shaheer","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Hasan","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F50390329-c497-4e86-b523-0520f0fecffa?alt=media&token=a26c721f-832f-4776-85e6-a51bbe9e317b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Other:","Mobile"],"response-specified":"Cloud/Infrastructure (falls under backend)","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem I faced was optimizing a slow mobile application with high message load during usage. I analyzed performance, identified the bugs (or potential problems), and then brainstormed potential solutions (while comparing their pros and cons). Eventually, I reduced network requests through creating a new message routing scheme in the backend. I also refactored code to improve the readability from previous iteration, as well as implemented efficient algorithms to perform message handling. I also made sure to extensively test my solution with many edge cases to ensure I did indeed solve the original technical problem. This experience highlighted the importance of a systematic approach, collaboration, and continuous monitoring for sustainable performance improvements. Through my experiences, I have learned a lot on how to debug a problem and backtrace it to find the root cause of the issue. From there, I am able to assess the problem further & create a solution!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be working in EST (local) timezone. Thus, there should be no issue when it comes to that :)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates deeply with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. As our world faces pressing challenges such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity, it is crucial for us to take action to protect and restore our environment. Growing up in this society, I have been able to witness the fast deterioration of the climate (ex. the mass wildfires polluting the air). I want to find a way to use my technical skillset to help combat this, so that future generations can live in a stable environment they can strive in. A project that caught my eye is Plastic for Change, I truly admired how we were able to combine data engineering and development to help solve pollution. This relates with the cause I mentioned, and further inspires me to join Blueprint where we have already achieved solutions similar to what I would like to do. It is astonishing to see how we've used software to innovate solutions to social causes and I'd love to help!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Being a second-generation Canadian, I grew up immersed in a multi-cultural environment. I am proud of my Pakistani heritage and have grown up going to local markets owned by fellow immigrants. However, during the pandemic I could not along with many others and as a result, these small businesses suffered heavily. I was indirectly affected by this as I care for the owners of these businesses and wanted to help somehow. To help alleviate the pressure placed upon them, I co-founded a startup which bought product off of them then revamped it into mystery boxes which we would sell and distribute to our own customer-base. It was a win-win situation as we helped these businesses make profit in a rough time while making some profit ourselves. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and how to run a business from end-to-end while feeling good about being able to help my community. Blueprint will enable me to be in a similar win-win situation where we grow while contributing to a good cause."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Although technical skills are always great to learn, soft-skills are equally important (IMO). A time I learned a new skill is back in high school when I played competitive soccer. I used to play up top and would love to just what I was comfortable with. However, there were times my coaches would need me to drop back and play different positions for the team to succeed. I really disliked doing it at the start but by the end I gained a lot of invaluable perspective. I learned how to be adaptable and be able to sacrifice your own needs in order for the team to succeed. Since then, I have carried this mentality into other ventures such as my co-ops, clubs, and other team settings in general. It has enabled a growth mindset within me which in turn has helped me become a great leader, and an overall asset in any team that I have been a part of. I hope to carry this leadership trait with me at Blueprint as we are continuously working with others. Hence, I know it will be beneficial for us!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688099251695},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"jvekariy@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Janavi","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Vekariya","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5225b076-a964-45bb-a89a-542f5682c04a?alt=media&token=a33a7d81-815b-4caa-aba0-c45063a6d36b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During the development of the Bookpedia app, I faced the challenge of working with rate-limited APIs. I reached out to my mentors and discussed to get a solution for the challenge I was facing. So, to overcome this, I implemented throttling to control the request rate, caching for faster responses, background updates to keep data fresh, error handling with retry logic, and performance optimizations for efficient search functionality. This ensured compliance with API limits and a smooth user experience.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that deeply resonates with me is assisting individuals in need. I have had the privilege of being part of an organization dedicated to supporting underprivileged individuals by providing them with essential resources such as food, clothing, and education. The experience has been incredibly rewarding, and I hold the moments spent helping others close to my heart. I cherish the opportunity to make a positive impact on their lives, and I am committed to continuing my involvement in similar initiatives in the future."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"\nI'm proud to be a part of the Donate4Needy community, an organization that I initiated during a hackathon. I took the opportunity to build the website for Donate4Needy during the event and continued refining it afterward. Within the community, we have organized numerous donation drives to provide essential items such as food and clothing to those in need. Additionally, we conducted a basic Python coding workshop for children, empowering them with foundational coding skills. Being able to contribute to Donate4Needy has been a fulfilling experience, as it allows me to make a tangible difference in the lives of individuals who require support and also provides opportunities for personal growth and skill development."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I wanted to build a entire web app myself. Java Script was the building block for achieving that goal because it can be used for both frontend and backend. Motivated by its widespread use and ability to run on multiple platforms, I embarked on learning JavaScript to bring interactivity and functionality to web pages. With a hands-on approach, I immersed myself in understanding JavaScript's syntax, data types, and control flow. Through practice and experimentation, I gained proficiency in manipulating the Document Object Model (DOM), handling events, and making asynchronous requests with AJAX and Fetch API. JavaScript's versatility extends beyond web development, allowing me to build cross-platform mobile applications using frameworks like React Native or create server-side applications with Node.js. Its flexibility and extensive library ecosystem continue to inspire me as I explore new horizons in the world of coding."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688582969086},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"e5kwon@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Ethan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kwon","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F52631954-abbf-4c74-947c-2d1141fdbe6d?alt=media&token=df8fdfd1-9cf9-43d9-bb52-0f962423d682","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During a hackathon, my team and I developed a web application that takes Spotify song links and places the user in a chat room based off of the link. During this project, I was having difficulty connecting our Google Firestore database with our chat box. After researching the problem online and looking at other examples, I was still unable to figure out the error. I decided to ask a mentor within the hackathon to help me with this and clearly defined the problem to him. With his assistance, I was able to solve the issue, however, it was not efficiently solved. When many messages were sent to the database, the chat feature would slow down and eventually break. Unfortunately, due to the time constraints, we were forced to use the inefficient solution in our project submission. After the hackathon, I reviewed my code and searched the internet to try to see a more efficient version of the chat feature and eventually found a better solution.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based out of the Central European timezone "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Many years ago, my grandmother experienced a life-altering car accident that inflicted lasting mental and physical trauma upon her. I have observed firsthand the immense anxiety she experiences when travelling in vehicles, as well as the persistent pain and injuries that continue to hinder her quality of life. This personal experience has deeply resonated with me and motivated my passion for researching artificial intelligence. My goal is to contribute to the development of a dependable automated driving system that can effectively prevent car accidents and provide assistance to individuals who face challenges in commuting. By leveraging the power of AI, I aspire to make a meaningful difference in enhancing road safety and improving accessibility for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in being a part of the University of Waterloo's Computer Science Club. As a remote student, I initially felt disconnected, but the club warmly embraced me. Transitioning from a member to a Community Representative, I actively fostered a positive atmosphere. My involvement in projects like the Internship Repository and club merchandise boosted engagement and fostered unity. Through active participation, I formed strong bonds and experienced a genuine sense of belonging. The club's unwavering support and inclusivity significantly enriched my university experience, igniting a passion within me to make meaningful contributions to communities. I am immensely grateful for the vibrant and supportive community I am fortunate to be a part of, and it continues to inspire me to create a positive impact wherever I find myself."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In high school, communication gaps plagued our student body due to missed morning announcements. To tackle this, my classmates and I aimed to develop an app that would display announcements and offer additional features. Recognizing our lack of app design expertise, I took it upon myself to learn graphic design software. Using online resources like YouTube tutorials, I acquired the necessary skills to contribute effectively. After months of dedicated work, I designed an app that was well-received by students, greatly improving communication. Learning a new skill enabled me to play a crucial role in our project, bridging the design gap and enhancing our high school community's connectivity."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688598550815},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"yy8wu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Roni","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Wu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F53068c17-8c4d-4031-bd9d-4c3372b0b7ab?alt=media&token=87196514-b432-49b8-a323-7cc3c15f252b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I get a lot of my inspiration from design websites like Dribbble, Pinterest, and Behance. Dribbble is particularly resourceful since I work on a variety of page types from blog posts to website front pages to class profile pages and there are a ton of modern designs on the platform for any design or page type to reference and take inspiration from. I also take feedback from other designers as useful sources of information to improve on my designs, as we all think differently and they may have useful advice from their perspectives that I haven't thought of. In addition, well-designed websites on the Internet are also great inspiration sources. For instance, I referenced 'azuki.com' (for the landing page) and 'deepmind.com' (for the blog page) as inspo when leading WATonomous' website redesign as we wanted a design that resonated with tech and an innovative design, one with an image of the WATO car as the front page and a transparent navigation bar."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Portfolio Link: https://snowy-juice-6d3.notion.site/Roni-s-portfolio-4827cccf39404cd0a1a65ffddcd09f40\n\nI recommend checking out my StudyBase and DrinkUp projects as I go through the whole UX design process for both of them. StudyBase is my most recent personal project and it was a rewarding, enriching learning experience. It's an app that allows students at the University of Waterloo to find study partners that suit their personal study habits/preferences. It was my second UX project and I learned a lot about the design process and relating pain points to features - designing an actual solution. I describe the process in detail in my portfolio.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Timezone: EDT"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the cause to increase arts integration in schools (especially elementary/middle school). I think art can play a positive part in everyone's life, since there's so many art topics - music, visual arts, dance, drama. Art also exercises creativity, which is essential. I find art to be a refreshing concept in this world, since we're moving towards a tech-dominated era that promotes more logical, analytical topics like math and software engineering. So it seems that art is getting forgotten along the way in newer generations. My brother, who's 8 years younger than me and in middle school right now, doesn't have a music class at school and receives fewer art assignments in art class. Thus, I strongly resonate with increasing the presence of art courses at schools, so children have the opportunity to explore these creative areas and potentially unlock new interests and hobbies."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I'm proud to be a part of is WATonomous. I've been the lead designer on the team since 2021 and have made pivotal contributions in the form of design, such as redesigning their color scheme, leading the redesign of the website, and creating multiple graphic design assets such as a banner, brochure, and sponsorship package. I'm really proud of being there since WATonomous prospered in the past due to constantly participating in competitions. However, there aren't that many competitions nowadays to participate in, but we're still going strong in new directions, like research projects and finding new, innovative ways to improve autonomous vehicle capabilities. I'm glad I can contribute to this exceptional cause and work alongside perseverant and intelligent peers, as they inspire me to grow as an individual. Being a part of a team that revolves around a car that's continuously improving is also like raising a child, which I'm proud of."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I learned a new skill was learning how to use Adobe Illustrator to create a vector art design for a T-Shirt contest. My approach was to first sketch out my design using pencil and paper and assign colors to different parts. Then, I watched an intro Illustrator tutorial to learn the basics and started using the app. When I got to a part of the design that was difficult to create using my current Illustrator knowledge, I swapped over to googling and watching videos. Examples of such challenges would be cutting shapes and connecting pen tool lines. Then, I tried to create those parts myself, and further research if necessary. My general approach is to use the knowledge I have from previous foundations. If I get stuck, do research and repeat applying new knowledge until the desired result is achieved."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688146936658},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"pexie@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Eric","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Xie","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5488af2b-d32e-42fc-9544-91e5372b138f?alt=media&token=9b7c85df-ea21-46ac-9ae4-cf3dc079f7a0","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my previous co-op experiences, I encountered a significant technical problem related to dependency issues in our Python programs. The program was not running consistently on different machines due to variations in the versions of the packages and libraries it relied upon. \n\nTo address this problem, I realized that a standardized approach to managing dependencies was crucial. Everyone on the team needed to work in the same development environment to ensure consistency across machines. \n\nAfter conducting thorough research, I determined that implementing Anaconda would be the most effective solution to address the issues. Anaconda offers a comprehensive package and environment management system that allows developers to create isolated and reproducible environments. I was able to create a standardized development environment that included all the required dependencies and their versions. As a result, we're able to ensure that every machine is able to successfully run the program.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is promoting financial education for all individuals, regardless of their background, gender, or income level. I firmly believe that financial literacy is a fundamental life skill that empowers individuals to make informed decisions about their money, build a secure future, and break the cycle of financial vulnerability.\n\nAccess to financial education has long been a gatekept knowledge, often favouring those who are already privileged or have access to resources. This inequality perpetuates existing socio-economic disparities and hinders the financial well-being of marginalized communities.\n\nAs an inspiring software engineer, I believe that the intersection of technology and social impact is a powerful force for positive change. Through innovative platforms, mobile applications, and online resources, we can make financial literacy more engaging, accessible, and tailored to different audiences. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the ECE engineering community at the University of Waterloo. Being surrounded by like-minded individuals who share a passion for engineering and technology has had a profound impact on my personal and academic growth.\n\nOne way I have contributed to the ECE engineering community is by organizing study sessions before exams. Recognizing the challenges and pressures that come with rigorous coursework, I took the initiative to bring students together to support one another. These study sessions provided a collaborative and supportive environment for students to review challenging topics, clarify doubts, and share study resources.\n\nAdditionally, I organized social gatherings like movie nights in lecture halls that provided opportunities for students to connect, unwind, and build meaningful relationships. Through these social gatherings, I aimed to foster a supportive and inclusive environment where students could forge friendships and find a sense of belonging."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A skill that I recently picked up is web development. Websites play a crucial role in shaping user perceptions, and I wanted to develop the skills to help organizations enhance their online presence. Additionally, I was drawn to the design aspect and the ability to bring my imaginative ideas to life through digital products.\n\nMy approach involves a hands-on, project-based approach. Instead of relying solely on textbooks or tutorials, I sought out real-world problems and turned them into project ideas. This approach provided me with tangible goals, which fueled my eagerness to learn. I identified the specific technologies needed and then utilized online resources, documentation, and developer communities to learn the necessary concepts and techniques.\n\nThrough trial and error, I accumulated a wide range of web development skills and knowledge. This project-based learning approach not only enhanced my proficiency in the desired technologies but also provided me with hands-on experience."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687985485323},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"1yanjac@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jacob","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Yan","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F56a0f6fc-6c46-4c9f-82d5-7c935984f029?alt=media&token=b6c7b796-c881-422a-9aa4-0b27bb7439fa","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging problem that I have worked on involved modelling and predicting the behaviour of a stock using time series analysis. This was our project for a hackathon, developed in a team of 4. I was responsible for creating the algorithmic portion of the backend that would predict the future behaviour of the stock. The problem was difficult because it involved a lot of self-learning in math and statistics because of the unfamiliar methods used. I solved the problem using machine learning and the Fast Fourier Transform to model the stock and predict its behaviour. Our success in creating the project has inspired me to continue pursuing machine learning and artificial intelligence. \n\nOn a side note, I know Python, Java, C++, HTML, CSS, and am currently learning JavaScript and React.js.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT (GMT-4)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"In my senior year of high school, I was a Partnerships Executive for the Tech Under Twenty organization. We provided opportunities in technology for underrepresented communities, including hosting tech conferences, competitions, and creating a tech scholarship for BIPOC students historically underrepresented in the technological industry. This cause resonated with me because I had experienced cases where I witnessed my friends being discriminated by teachers in STEM classes based on their race. I joined Tech Under Twenty because I wanted to help students in similar situations break racial barriers and have access to more opportunities. I was primarily involved with contacting and maintaining relations with corporate sponsors, and coordinating guest speakers and judges for competitions and conferences. I believe that I have not only contributed to the community, but I have also helped myself in developing critical communication and leadership skills."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Throughout high school, I was a part of my school's mathematics club. In grade 10, I became an executive, and in grade 12, I became a co-president of the club. I am proud to be a part of the math club because of the community it brought me. Every Monday I would be looking forward to school ending so that I could be solving math problems together with the community. I contributed to the math club as an executive by creating weekly lessons, mock contests, and lesson outlines to help younger students develop problem solving skills. I also cofounded an in-school and a province-wide math contest, the latter of which had around 200 participants this year. Through my math club, I was able to meet many senior students whom I now look up to for inspiration and advice. I hope that UW Blueprint will bring me a similar community of peers and mentors as I begin my university education."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A new skill that I recently learned was cooking. Although there is not a very definitive ending for \"knowing\" cooking, I learned and practiced a plethora of dishes that would allow me to make my own food next year in university. My motivation for learning cooking is a bit comical- my (hopefully) roommate and I put suites with kitchens for our top 3 residence choices, but I don't like any of the dishes he knows how to cook :)\n\nMy approach for learning how to cook was to first observe how my parents cooked various dishes. I remembered a couple of dishes that I liked and asked my dad to teach me how to cook those dishes. Then, after guiding me through how to cook it once, I would practice cooking the dishes. I believe that my approach for learning how to cook could be applicable to learning computer science, and I believe that UW Blueprint would provide me with the perfect environment to do so. While learning from mentors, I could practice and develop my skills by working on a project."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688181850268},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"balnavsingh@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Navraj","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Bal","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F57ec0c2f-0b3b-4947-97ed-548159221408?alt=media&token=488230b2-a5a5-4cd8-aa57-2dbe5bd9cbe3","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In Hack The North 2021, my team and I built LINK UP, a 3D multiplayer office simulation with integrated voice and video chat. Built using Unity, Express.JS, Socket.io, and WebRTC, the project was an intricate blend of 3D gaming and real-time communication.\n\nThe primary challenge was ensuring real-time game state synchronization and chat functionality across multiple users. To solve this, we developed an Express.JS backend using Socket.io, ensuring all users experienced the same real-time game state. Additionally, we implemented peer-to-peer communication channels using WebRTC for the chat features.\n\nUltimately, we successfully delivered a real-time multiplayer experience, overcoming the challenge with effective problem-solving and teamwork. This project was a complex but rewarding journey into the convergence of gaming and real-time communication technologies.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I've always been a big fan of movies, and they're actually a massive source of daily inspiration for me. It's not just about the plot or the characters, but all those tiny details that most people might not notice. You know, things like camera angles, lighting, transitions, and even the background music - they all come together to tell a story in a way words alone can't. It's sort of like piecing together a puzzle, and that's what I find really inspiring. Every time I watch a film, I find something new that helps inspire my desings."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://navrajbal.netlify.app/","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time in the Waterloo Region."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I’m passionate about Mental Health - both raising awareness and creating tools to help others cope with their struggles better. Throughout highschool, I was a part of WAYVE which is an initiative to raise awareness about Mental Health to youth in the KW region. I helped out by doing research and giving presentations/talks at schools and conferences in the region. This was important to me as it helped me learn about how mental health affects everyone and I got to teach others. I think especially in recent times, we’ve all realized how important it is to take care of our mental health but sometimes even if someone knows this, it can be difficult to take action when we are in a rough time. That's why this cause thoroughly resonates with me- it's so important to not only raise awareness but also create spaces where people feel safe being vulnerable so they can grow from their situation."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm really proud to of my time as part of the SVP Teens community, a youth-led organization that fundraises for local charities. As a Web Developer, I contributed significantly by transforming our online presence. I collaborated with a team to design a user-friendly and visually appealing website, streamlining our fundraising efforts and enhancing our outreach. Beyond coding, I played a pivotal role in organizing events, bringing in more than 100 participants each time, and raising over $6,500 in donations. My time at SVP Teens combined tech skills with community service, making it a truly rewarding experience and fostering a deep sense of shared purpose."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I started learning web development at the start of quarantine in 2020. I wanted to learn a skill in technology to build applications that could be used by others and a website can be used by many people regardless of their operating system. This meant that learning web development could have a large impact which really excited me and I got started by going through a web development crash course on youtube. This taught me the basics and I ended up making a full stack project by the end of the course. Then I decided to apply what I learned by building something on my own. I made a habit tracking website using a similar tech stack and since this was different from the project if I got stuck I would just find the answers along the way. This helped me not only develop my skills but also made me better at finding available answers to common questions."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688175721240},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A (Fall 2023)","email":"lirosati@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Lorena","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Rosati","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5826a2b5-a6fa-4d9c-a64c-66c8d179712b?alt=media&token=a8ffd8bc-0471-49ea-b2bf-3aa20de21d32","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In May, I worked on automating the validation process for ensuring the completeness of math question translations, a challenging task due to the need to independently comprehend the codebase and the website’s functions (my boss is non-technical) and the inconsistencies present in the intern-maintained codebase. I first decided to eliminate the database table containing translation completeness information, as it was unnecessary considering the amount of data and involved extra steps. I overcame the challenge of irregular file naming/structures by employing a regex pattern in PHP to identify the question type based on its text contents. Then, I created a JSON file to map translation files to contest question types, as they were not previously linked in any way. The function retrieves this information and analyzes the corresponding translation file for completeness. This approach proved to be successful despite the inconsistent file structures, eliminating all manual translation checks.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is the app Notion, a virtual workspace which has transformed my approach to organizing and collaborating on projects. What sets Notion apart is its customizability, allowing me to structure tasks, notes, and documents to match my workflow and aesthetic seamlessly. Similarly, the user-friendly interface makes it an attractive product for users of our generation, who greatly value aesthetic appeal and ease-of-use. In my experience, its integration of various functionalities into one platform makes it an extremely attractive product and has made it my go-to app; I have used it for every function imaginable, from creating trip packing lists and creating daily to-do lists to keeping track of homework and noting down code snippets, all of which is accessible from my customized “personal homepage.” Its versatility, user-friendly design, and ability to adapt to individual needs make it an excellent product in the realm of productivity and organization.\n"}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in the Eastern Standard Time (EST) zone, as I will be completing an academic term in Waterloo.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Period poverty is a worldwide health problem, significant enough that even in Canada, 1 in 5 menstruators struggle to afford period products. This issue is exacerbated in low-income and Indigenous communities, where a box of tampons can cost upwards of $45. It is unjustifiable when roughly half of the population are menstruators that they cannot afford basic necessities in order to maintain their health and comfort. This cause resonates with me greatly because, while I don’t think twice about buying period products, the joy conveyed to me when donating to shelters was utterly moving and a reminder that this access is a right for all menstruators. I focused on solving this disparity as a leader with PERIOD Ontario by spearheading the execution of three initiatives, allowing me to donate 3500+ menstrual products to various shelters, raise $1900+ for Indigenous youth (and then buy and send them products), and aid YRDSB trustees in implementing free menstrual products in schools.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Many women in STEM relate to feeling like they don’t belong upon entering tech spaces. It is the resilience and passion that they portray in breaking the societal barriers causing these feelings that makes me feel proud to be part of the community of women pursuing a career in STEM. Empowered by these experiences, I volunteered as an organizer for hErVOLUTION’s program focused on educating girls in STEM (for which I was a past participant) and quickly rose to a leadership role. Working with the CEO, I created program challenges for the students to solve and worked with program partners, such as Shopify. I was later hired to run the program and created program materials, ran all speaker sessions with students and dealt directly with them, and managed the 25+ coaches/trainers involved in the program. My participation in the program was inspiring and a catalyst for my pursuit of engineering, which is why it was so important for me to extend this impact to other girls.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"While I’ve worked with React in the past, seeking a deeper understanding of it has been central to my learning goals as a developer, as it’s a dynamic and popular front-end library. I’ve worked extensively with JS, HTML & CSS, but wanted to further explore front-end development as a career path. To achieve this, I created a comprehensive plan which began with acquiring the fundamentals through tutorials and external resources. The most important step of my learning process was acquiring the understanding required to apply my knowledge, which I tested by completing exercises and quizzes. I practiced verbalizing my learning to assess if I demonstrated fluency enough to explain topics. Once I attained a level of mastery, I applied my learning and created a website without assistance, and am now planning a full-stack application involving React. When learning this skill, it was crucial to focus on outlining actionable steps and to seek out resources when needed in order to achieve my goal."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688591233896},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"a7yin@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Allan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Yin","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science ","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F587ed2b4-f08c-4491-87ca-0db6f5d40614?alt=media&token=85418c43-d6c2-4b8b-9c7b-abf641ae412d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my first co-op, I worked as a full-stack developer at RBC. For one of my tasks, I was writing component and End-to-End test scripts with Cypress (a frontend testing tool for web applications). Essentially, Cypress is able to mock \"clicks\" on a screen. My team was working with Microsoft Azure for OAuth, in which the user would be redirected to an RBC Azure page to login. Cypress states that it is ill-advised to use click on buttons that would redirect the page in testing. Unfortunately, past scripts didn’t adhere to this and there was very little documentation on this topic. As my co-workers also had no experience, I reached out to certain members within Microsoft who provided me with a list of resources. \n\nIn the end, after hours of scarping through documentation, I learned that I could bypass the login redirection by directly authenticating with Microsoft Online API. After this discovery, I swiftly developed my code, and once it was checked, eventually pushed to production. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A particular cause that resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. To be completely honest, this is a social cause that has only recently deeply resonated with me. While in the past, I have always known and recognized the importance of protecting the environment, I don't think this issue has really stuck my heart. \n\nA couple months ago, I was messaging my cousin who lives in China. During our conversation, we reminisced about some of the places we would play at when we were kids. I asked her if one of small parks was still around, and how it was holding up. As a child, it was a lively place, a hotspot for exercising. With a sad look, she lamented that the park had degraded into a gloomy thing of the past, with plastic litter and no visitors. Seeing the pictures was shocking, especially compared to my memories. \n\nExperiencing the impacts of poor environment protection has changed my view of this particular cause, especially due to its personal relationship."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I am proud to be apart of is my local hockey community. Every time I walk through those arenas, a wave of nostalgia hits me, as I remember my hockey career. Throughout my life, I have interacted in a multitude of ways with every local hockey community I have been apart of. In grade 12, I volunteered as an assistant coach at a summer camp for new kids learning to play hockey. In the beginning, I was eager to interact with enthusiastic kids who wanted to play hockey. However, to my dismay, when I walked into the dressing room on the first day, all I heard were kids complaining to their parents about how they would rather stay at home playing Fortnite. \n\nThat summer, I made it my goal to ignite a passion for the game of hockey in those kids. After suggesting creative drills and exercises, I finally began to see smiles. At the end of camp, I felt proud to high five each kid, and see them tell their parents all the fun they had, and how eager they were play more."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"This past year, I have been learning to play tennis. After seeing some friends play, I was inspired to start playing. To learn, there were 2 steps to my learning journey.\n\nFirst, I looked up online YouTube tutorials that taught how to hit. During my co-op term in Fall 2022, I resolved to wake up everyday at 7, and practice hitting the ball 200 times before I left for work. By repeating this process, I was able to establish a foundation to build upon. I took the same approach to learning how to serve. \n\nNext, I reached out to friends and family who played, and booked time with them to practice. I would always ask questions to understand where I was making mistakes. While in the begging, I was somewhat of an eyesore, as I improved, these sessions became more and more interactive. \n\nThrough a combination of continuous repetition as well raising questions, I learned how to play tennis. Now, I play with others I've met at the club, and am continuing to improve myself as a player. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688611098253},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2A","email":"gsvaraic@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","firstName":"Gurshabd","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Varaich","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F593b75d1-68a3-4692-a029-68335d84d188?alt=media&token=a6853091-b60b-4bb9-a66c-807bfac9b0f0","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"1) Start off by communicating the reason and benefits of establishing the code repository in a clear manner\n3) Engaging in constructive discussions with all members about the introduction of the repository. Create platform where members can share their opinions and potential issues. \n4) Involved all projects leads and developers in decision-making process while encouraging active participation and seeking consensus among things whenever possible. \n5) Highlight success stories from other organizations/teams who have done this and what positive outcomes were achieved. \n6) Be clear that training and support would be provided to address the concern of a learning curve. Also be clear that the implementation would be gradual so that necessary adjustments could be made. \n7) Establish that this initiative would be run with continuous improvement meaning members could continuously offer suggestions\n8) Recognize the achievements and positive outcomes resulting from the creation of the repository"}],"role":"VP Engineering"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my last year of high school and first two terms of University, I was working part-time with a start-up company that specialized in autonomous vehicle cybersecurity. A challenging technical problem I faced was developing software for a vehicle's infotainment system. In particular, I was having trouble ensuring compatibility and optimal performance across various vehicle models and hardware configurations. To solve this problem I started off by thoroughly researching the intricacies of developing applications for vehicle infotainment systems (ie. specifications, guidelines from manufacturers, best practices, etc.). I also worked very closely with colleagues on the hardware team to gain a better understanding of the applications' possibilities and limitations. I developed an exhaustive testing process that involved extensive device-specific testing, different hardware setups, etc. Throughout this process, I continuously sought feedback and incorporated improvements into the app. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will based out of the Eastern Time Zone (ET)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is leveraging technology for social impact. I strongly believe technology has the power to create a positive change in the world by addressing pressing global issues. One recent example where technology played a significant role is the farmers' protest in India. This movement was very close to my heart as both of my immigrant parents grew up in farming families in India, and I had witnessed and heard stories about the challenges faced by farmers. The farmers' protest witnessed the widespread use of technology to mobilize, organize, and raise awareness about these issues. This was done by sharing information and updates through social media platforms, citizen journalism in the form of live streaming, online fundraising, data visualizations, etc. creating a global impact. This made me realize how technology can play a transformative role in social justice by facilitating communication, organizing resources, and raising awareness on a massive scale."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As an alumni part of my high school community, and recognizing the power of technology and the opportunities it presents, I wanted to contribute to the growth and interest of current students in the field of computer science, especially since my high school did not offer very many opportunities for students to explore the realm of technology. In order to do this, some of my friends and I decided to organize a hackathon at my old high school to spark an interest among current high school students. We planned events, mentorship programs, and workshops where students could collaborate and showcase their skills while being guided and supported by experienced university students and industry professionals. Through our event, I hoped that it would ignite students' curiosity, create a community, and foster their passion for technology. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my senior year of high school, the pandemic made moving around my high school with little contact with other individuals difficult due to the large population. To solve this issue I decided to create \"Class-To-Class\", an app to help new staff and students navigate through my high school by showing the shortest paths from one class to another. To do this I had to learn React Native, a framework that enabled the creation of cross-platform mobile apps. I started by researching React Native to gain an understanding of its purpose, benefits, and how it differed from other frameworks. As I was already familiar with JavaScript, I did not need to spend too much time learning the basics. While learning, I did as much hands-on practice as I could and made sure to seek guidance from more experienced developers by participating in online discussions and forums. Throughout this process, I also documented my progress, challenges faced, and solutions discovered to reinforce my understanding. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688600564976},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"jalshiha@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Jane","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Al-Shihabi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F594dc854-358f-462c-983e-ed12479a128e?alt=media&token=68370079-4889-4d39-9fc1-2033bd9d80de","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I am interested in how design decisions affect peoples’ lives. I listen to podcasts such as 99% Invisible, and I follow its projects and interviewees. I also keep a sketchbook where I draw interesting people and urban scenes. I enjoy talking to people of all ages, especially my grandmother, to hear about their struggles and aspirations. My ultimate goal personally and career-wise is to use my skills to make a positive impact on the lives of people in my community. In this, my older brother is my role model. He also studied SYDE, and used his design and development background to start a project called PalOpenMaps.org, which is a collection of archival maps that he and his team compiled and turned into a huge slippy map. He also ran “mapathons” to extract data out of the maps in collaborative ways. He combined technical and social knowledge to advance the documentation of Palestinian history, making me appreciate the power of multi-disciplinary work for community projects."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"bit.ly/blueprint-jane This project was my submission for a 2021 hackathon facilitated by Kurius. My partner and I designed an app that allows a user to explore their region’s indigenous history using a map. We used user personas to determine the app’s goal. We looked at similar applications for inspiration on UI/UX and sketched interface concepts using Procreate. We then refined the concept sketches and prototyped a UI in Figma based on mentor feedback. We worked together closely, giving each other suggestions on improvements. Initially, I was worried about potential team conflict, but by being open to suggestions and constructive criticism, teamwork can produce more interesting results than solo work since different people contribute unique perspectives and ideas. I also learned the importance of deep research; for example, I researched not only UI/UX, but also indigenous communities to appropriately incorporate them into the app’s content.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I’ll be based in Waterloo, so EDT/EST."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am interested in questions around mental health, specifically in immigrant/refugee communities. Last year, I was tasked with writing a 4000-word research paper about any subject of my choice, and I settled on intergenerational trauma in immigrant/refugee families. Part of the reason why I chose this subject was because I personally experience its effects within my family and community, and I noticed many people were not aware of its impact. I compiled a large set of academic journals, news articles, and expert interviews and filtered it into a 20-page paper. This only increased my interest in the cause. I know Blueprint has a new project relating to this called Haven where newcomers are matched with Canadians who help them adapt to their new society. There are also other projects that focus on the refugee/immigrant side such as The Shoe Project, which makes me appreciate Blueprint’s selection of partner organizations."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m proud to be part of the Middle-Eastern/Syrian community as a second-generation immigrant. Following the surge of Syrian refugees from the war starting in 2011, both my brother and mother’s work has centred around refugee support. My mother is an employment counsellor, and my brother specializes in mental health counselling. Hearing their experiences in this field has made me especially aware of the hard work of these Syrian refugees despite the difficulties they face. In 2021, I was asked to work on a project by the The Working Centre in Kitchener to help assess hidden homelessness in Waterloo region. I agreed to take on the project despite my heavy load in grade 12 IB because I was uniquely positioned as a trilingual speaker to help my community of Arabic-speaking newcomers. In this role I conducted semi-structured phone interviews with members of the Syrian community. The research provided the Region with information to improve housing support programs."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Towards the end of my last co-op term, I realized I wanted to position myself better for future work terms by building a personal website to present myself, my skills, and a portfolio. I recognized it was going to be a steep learning curve despite having a background in programming. I also knew, however, that it would not only result in a useful end product but, equally importantly, it would help me learn how to design a UI and implement it in CSS, HTML, and Markdown, as well as how to structure a project for deployment. I researched how personal websites design patterns and settled on customizable open-source templates. I then researched the right framework, experimenting with Wordpress and Hugo, and started development, getting occasional support from my brother when needed. I was not used to front-end coding, but I knew that my brother is very knowledgeable, so he gave me valuable tips; getting feedback from someone more experienced was very important."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615840839},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"m7sivaku@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Mayuri","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sivakumaran","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Urban Planning","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F59df9f2b-35aa-42e0-ac73-710b7e8fd785?alt=media&token=6fbc0465-65a3-48f4-880c-14c20d6fed7e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I look for inspiration on Pinterest or any social media that includes anything relevant to the product and its topic. I also get inspired by other people, their work, and what they want to communicate to the world."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://maygirl1555.wixsite.com/mayuri/task-butler\n\nI worked on an app prototype called Task Butler. If you scroll down, you can see the process and details of the project.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"7","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://maygirl1555.wixsite.com/mayuri/logo-designs\n\nThese logos were made for my spiritual community centre. If you scroll down, you can see the process and details of the project. I learned how to make transparent backgrounds for logos and how to save colour libraries in Adobe Illustrator which was quite interesting. It was challenging to choose colours that would work well together while being easy to read/identify by people who are colourblind."}],"role":"Graphic Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Graphic Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Representation is a cause that truly resonates with me because I'm a Tamil Canadian with immigrant parents and our community, our culture, and our history isn't represented well in current media and products compared to other highly-represented communities. I share this cause with many others from other communities and it truly shows the issue of low representation of diverse communities."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be a part of the Sai community which is a spiritual community led by various spiritual leaders. The community focuses on serving others in various ways, such as through donation projects to charities, spirituality, Hindu celebrations and rituals, as well as various other community initiatives. I contributed to the community by teaching spiritual classes to elementary school kids, being the coordinator of the ladies wing of my spiritual community centre, and participating in weekly spiritual group singing events."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned how to prototype in my 3A term for my BET 350 course and I was very motivated to learn it from my classmate so that I could use the skill in my future work related to UX design and graphic design. I also knew it was a very basic skill for me to learn to become a UX designer. My approach was to ask my friend to explain the process to me through Figma and then I wrote a list of questions to ask based on how I understood the prototyping process. After asking the questions and clearing my doubts, I helped create a prototype for a group assignment which helped me understand prototyping on a higher and clearer level."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687296843861},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"a7kapur@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Aarushi","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kapur","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Financial Analysis and Risk Management ","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5b44e6ae-d9b4-45b4-a66f-9eb8780faa33?alt=media&token=9e3e84dd-47a5-40ac-a398-86a6b2920542","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"Although it may appear that observation is a straightforward talent, everyone has unconscious biases that might skew their judgment.\n\n\nTo conduct research, we must first develop our observational skills.\n\nDesign researchers must comprehend the mental models of the subjects they test or interview.\n\nEven though research on its own can be useful, it must be processed and ultimately given to a wider team in order to apply the insights to guide design."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"As I am on an academic term during Fall '23, I will be based out of Waterloo itself. "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Nearly 500,000 working Canadians cannot go to work each week due to mental illness, which is a major contributor to disability in this nation. All in all, it is estimated that the financial impact of mental illness in Canada totals $51 billion annually, including medical expenses, missed productivity, and declines in quality of life associated with one's physical condition.\nPersonally for me, I realized the importance of mental well being during lockdown back in India. It was a cause of hindrance back then and to some extent, after moving to a new country; still is. The mind-body connection is well documented, which is why it is so important to be mindful of mental health issues."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I joined The Women's Network somewhat during this time last year. It happens to be the largest collegiate network for Women Identifying individuals in all of the United States. As they launched their chapter here at our university, I was intrigued. \nBack in India, women were married off at a young age back in the 1900's. My grandmother too got married off when she was merely 18 and got widowed at the age of 27. She had to start her life from scratch with minimum educational background. She is now leading the most comfortable life and I too have been raised with this ideology of being financially independent and making the best of each situation no matter what. Hence this network was something that greatly resonated with me. There is nothing more I want than to be a part of a platform for women, to whom networking might or might not come as easily, where starting out within a strong female support group at work can help!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During the start of university I had to take mandatory Computer Science courses. This led to me developing an interest in programming languages and how they work. Since I am currently pursuing a degree in FARM, I found it more interesting to look into languages that allowed me to visualize and analyze data. So, I decided to learn R. Apart from the content provided by my university, I also took up online courses to do the same. When I was on co-op, I was allowed access to multiple libraries through which I expanded my knowledge. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688615959021},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"sunnyzhang904@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Sunny","heardFrom":"Events","lastName":"Zhang","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5bc592ca-2742-4a6c-92ea-f59f5d4624e6?alt=media&token=fed96e91-14bb-4b7f-aff5-e0e41adcc5a7","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"For me, seeking inspiration is paramount. I find immense value in connecting with people and drawing inspiration from their boundless ideas. Listening to their stories, and engaging with individuals from diverse backgrounds allow me to empathize and gain insights into their lives. This fuels my passion for creativity, driving me to design products that truly make a meaningful impact on users. In addition, I thrive on free exploration. Whether it's participating in BrainStation design events + showcases in Toronto, I constantly aim to expand my horizons and embrace new ideas to not only improve as a designer, but also as an individual. Moreover, personal reflection holds significant importance as a source of inspiration. Taking moments of solitude, I tap into my inner creativity, allowing ideas to flow and finding clarity with solutions. It is during moments like these where new ideas emerge and find the anticipation to share with a team, ultimately making an impact. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://sunnyzhang.webflow.io/","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is Headspace, the meditation app. In today's digital age, where the importance of digital detox often gets overlooked, I have personally experienced the transformative power of mindfulness. Headspace has played a significant role in my journey. I vividly remember the instant sense of familiarity and connection upon first exploration. Now, the app has been an integral part in my engineering life: the guided meditation sessions and personalized recommendations have made it a truly invaluable tool in my well-being. It hand in hand guides me through the journey, making me feel supported in every step of the way. This is what a successful and valuable product should look like: consistent and undivided purpose to enhance our experience. The app goes beyond being a meditation app. As a PM, I’m inspired by how it has harnessed the power of technology to address demanding needs in today's society. I, too, aspire to create impactful products that address real human needs. "}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am passionate about providing support to health organizations dedicated to Alzheimer's care. My ultimate goal is to contribute to the improvement of the quality of life for individuals facing this disease and to advocate for greater awareness and understanding of brain health. This stems from the profound influence of my role model, my grandmother. Her unwavering belief in the power of helping others left an indelible mark on me. Witnessing her resilience in the face of Alzheimer's changed my perspective on life. She continues to bring smiles to people's faces. Inspired by her, I actively volunteer at local nursing homes, hoping to provide comfort and companionship to individuals. The fulfillment from striving to make the world a better place fuels my desire to continually grow as an individual. Knowing that students at UW Blueprint share the same drive for social good is extremely inspiring, and I want to be a part of it. Together, we can make a difference and bring positive change."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in being a member of the Asian ballet community, as it has played a significant role in shaping my character and growth. Initially introduced to ballet for pure enjoyment, little did I know that it would shape me into the person I am today, equipping me with invaluable skills. From devoting 8 hours/week to classes to leading a mentorship program for young dancers, these opportunities instilled in me a strong sense of dedication and commitment. I’ve made enduring friendships, teaching me the importance of teamwork and compromise. The pinnacle of our journey came when we were given the privilege to perform on national television at the Sony Center for Chinese New Year. This experience bolstered my confidence in ways I had never experienced before ballet. Ballet became more than just a form of self-expression. The lessons and skills I have acquired from ballet have empowered me to confidently embrace adversities beyond the stage with a growth mindset and resilience."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my time on the yearbook committee in high school, I had the opportunity to learn a new skill that deeply resonated with me: UX/UI Design. Motivated by my desire to be “resourceful” and find ways to achieve my creative vision, I delved into this field. I allowed my creativity to flow freely while adhering to the constraints within our project. To me, being resourceful means being able to envision multiple paths to achieve a desired outcome, optimizing efficiency along the way. I believe that every problem has a solution, even if it requires a change in direction. As the Senior Designer, I know we had limitations in terms of the platform we used, namely Josten's. However, we maximized our resources, such as utilizing creating our own layouts and graphics on Figma, Adobe Sketch. Through our teamwork, we successfully brought our envisioned yearbook to life. I know that Blueprint advocates the same, and I'm beyond excited to let off my creative steam with the team!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688415458432},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"jsahu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Jagan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sahu","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5da23e43-6a7b-4381-abe4-89fa02b68ba3?alt=media&token=f1356250-3b4c-47c6-9f7e-6f8128837957","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"The specific methods would be guided by the nature & timeframe of the project & the stage of the product development process. At the early stages of a project, where exploration is key, I would lean towards detailed interviews & surveys. These strategies allow me to delve into the user's habits, requirements, usage context & challenges. They offer a qualitative, in-depth insight into the user experience, forming an essential base for the design decisions to follow. As the design of the product progresses, I would shift my focus towards methodologies like usability & A/B testing. These techniques are crucial in revealing insights about how users interact with the product & assist in identifying any potential usability barriers. I would say my strengths lie in conducting thorough interviews, performing research related to the goal at hand & carrying out usability testing. When these methods are used correctly, they provide comprehensive data & insights to design an amazing product."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I get inspired by the most random things whether it ranges from a complicated European name from a math theorem or a wave rippling down the ocean. More specifically, I also find designs from other designers and developers on Medium and social media platforms inspiring for my own innovative designs and solutions. Sometimes, even a post for a piece of clothing related to fashion or an ad from a thrift store strikes me in different ways which gets me thinking about different ways to create designs myself."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"For my CS492 class I took last term, I was tasked with creating a design(using Figma) for a website aimed at providing easy accessibility to restaurants catering to disabled people. Given the niche target group, the project posed some unique challenges. I started by conducting detailed user research to understand the needs of disabled individuals when they navigate websites and when they seek information about restaurants. My research included interviews, and observations of people using existing platforms. This initial research helped us to identify several key needs. These included a simple, uncluttered interface, easy-to-read fonts, high contrast colors for those with visual impairments, and the need for detailed information about restaurant accessibility features. This project taught me the importance of user-centric design in UX. It underlined the significance of designing for accessibility, and creating an easy to use and beautiful design that anyone can use.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Something I’m deeply passionate about is providing access to good quality education and educational opportunities to students in under served communities. Coming from an under served community myself, I had no idea of the vast amount of opportunities that are accessible and can be created through good quality education in the field of STEM. I’m very committed to addressing this issue by advocating for more educational opportunities and facilitating STEM-based workshops and programs in these communities."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be apart of the volunteers for the Macaulay Child Development Center in Toronto. We provide resources and workshops by teaching young girls how to code. I was the first person to lead the first ever workshop when I was in high school. As the leader of the inaugural workshop, I had the privilege of creating a curriculum that was not only educational, but also engaging and fun for the girls. This role not only honed my leadership skills but also made me appreciate the power of user experience research. I understood that to create an effective learning environment, it's essential to understand the students' needs, interests, and the challenges they face."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I’ve been working as a software engineer for all my coops but have always been passionate about art and music so I thought I’d give product design a shot as it was something that always caught my eye but never committed to because I was already so deep into software engineering. I’m also an iOS engineer so I often use Figma at work as a guide to build features and user interfaces and I’ve always wanted to learn how to use Figma myself.\nBecause of this, I recently learned how to use Figma. I started with online tutorials and courses that explained the tool's functionalities and features. This gave me a solid foundation on how to use different elements within Figma to create mock designs/wireframes for apps I’m actually planning on creating! This experience has taught me very important product design skills which I’m planning to continue doing."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688111798002},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"jesshuang5733@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jesse","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Huang","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5e20e093-9990-403c-aa24-500ea09fb24f?alt=media&token=ea6c5793-6445-4b5b-bff5-a6bc27188612","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In the stressful buildup to a deadline, I found the best solutions come through collaborative efforts. This occurred during ETHGlobal Waterloo, where our inexperience in Web3 proved to be our greatest challenge.\n\nI was tasked with building the front-end, but still had to implement NFTs and authenticator APIs, of which I had zero experience. It was similar to my cluelessness when I started web development, but I have grown as both a developer and an individual taking on challenges.\n\nI knew how to connect wallets and REST APIs prior to the hackathon, which laid the foundation together with ETHGlobal mentors and teammates. There is a surreal feeling of staying up at 3 AM in E7, working tirelessly towards fixing a seemingly unfixable error. Our perspectives ranged from \"This is impossible\" to \"I can feel the prize”, which could only end with a four-line change to fix it all. Although ironic, these painful, yet satisfying solutions work as the best motivator to continue working for more.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"My dog is the source of my ideas. In particular, it is when we go for walks where I find the most inspiration for UI/UX design.\n\nOn our walks, my dog sometimes goes completely off road to chase squirrels or admire plants. As exhausting it may be, it allows me to follow along and admire the outside. Just as nature is observed in aerodynamics, UI/UX shares a similar reliance on nature, where I like to observe different patterns and implement them to create different emotions.\n\nIn addition, he serves as a reminder to approach UI/UX with a sense of enthusiasm. Just as my dog explores the world with joy and curiosity, I strive to infuse my designs with elements of excitement and provide an interactive experience.\n\nBy the end, my best friend is still ready for the next walk, expressing the importance of resilience in the field of UI/UX design. Despite any challenges or setbacks encountered during the design process, it is fundamental to remain eager to learn and adapt from each experience."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"jeessh.site\nethglobal.com/showcase/art-io-w71ef\n\nMy dream was to be an architect. To construct the anatomy of buildings in which families will reside for decades. However, it was already a new story once I began to explore UI/UX.\n\nArt.io was an art and NFT investment platform created at ETHGlobal Waterloo. As the front-end developer, my role involved crafting an engaging UI for artists and investors. The platform itself was the main challenge as the two distinct endeavours needed to be mixed. As a solution, I gathered samples of artistic and investment websites before combining the standout elements into our final project.\n\nThis experience taught me that my passion for design extends beyond traditional architecture, overlapping with adaptability and embracing new opportunities. In some ways, I am still pursuing my dream of being an architect as I blend my architectural mindset with UI/UX design, reminding me that the journey towards our dreams can take unexpected, yet fulfilling paths.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The difficulty of combatting poverty stems from its multifaceted nature, where households experience a wide range of setbacks. Despite genuine community initiatives, areas such as healthcare, education, and financial literacy are handled by inefficient, passive governments. \n\nI understand the hardships that disadvantaged households face, which is what inspired me to organize fundraising events to provide resources during the winter. I am privileged and grateful to have had opportunities to contribute back, and I hope to reach further outwards with UW Blueprint in alleviating poverty. \n\nBy building public web apps, it can provide direct access to resources, job/financial literacy hotspots, and donation platforms. As much as this is done through the technical aspect, it is the perseverance and commitment I strive to bring that will aid those in need. The war to combat poverty needs resilience, but just as it is like a war, it must be conquered one battle at a time."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am grateful to have been at the high school I attended, where I met the most spectacular group of classmates. Although we are now all off to explore our individual paths, we are still connected by the values that group us together as a community.\n\nWe all share a passion for making an impact within and outside of our community. Act4Impact was founded in 2019, where throughout high school we hosted fundraising events to support various causes. In particular, I led \"Frost Fest\": a winter carnival event dedicated to supplying homeless women across Canada with care packages together with sponsors. \n\nEven in a personal sense, my community brought me to where I am today. My first publicly-used project was to provide an eco-friendly solution to wasting raffle tickets, where I developed scripts to move the fun event to phones, which inspired me to continue pursuing CS. As such, given the opportunity with UW Blueprint, I hope to inspire more communities as my community has kickstarted me. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Jump roping was my most difficult endeavour that ironically began out of wanting simplicity. When I began fitness during COVID, I wanted a simple, yet efficient way to burn calories. 7 Google searches later and I had a rope from Amazon sent for delivery.\n\nMy mindset prior to physical trials was pure confidence, as I thought previous experience on the playground could prepare me. Unfortunately, a decade long hiatus proved to be a little too much. Nevertheless, I knew with dedication, any attempt could lead to a breakthrough, so I broke down routines into sections. Once the rope was separated from the jumps, I analyzed every movement, recording myself to view my faults to find a solution.\n\nAfter 3 years of jump roping, I learned that every trip up that whipped my back, shins, or face were not steps to success, but rather just failures. However, with every stumble came the test of my perseverance, where my motivation to learn, adapt, and try again would determine my path to success."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688182097444},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"emily.nieu@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Emily","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Nie","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F5ee24eed-7fbe-4331-bafe-bbff7b6191a6?alt=media&token=80b7eb61-6da3-466a-a610-0b64e37627c1","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A recent project I worked on was called SusFashion, which lets you upload an image of clothing you like and find sustainable alternatives online. I worked on this with a team of 4 for a hackathon, so needless to say it was a time crunch. One technical problem we ran into was transferring image files from the frontend to the backend for analysis, since it would involve setting up a database and transferring large files. At that point, we only had a bit of time left. We settled with simplifying the frontend by requesting an image URL from the user rather than an entire file. This saved us a lot of time and let us get the basic functionality of the program to work. I’ve come to realize that one of the biggest decisions you have to make in programming is looking at the cost and return of a feature you want to implement. In this case, the cost would have been the little time we had left to refine our project for submission, and the return would be minimal from a presentation’s perspective.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based out of EST next term, though my sleep schedule sometimes makes me feel like I'm on the other side of the world."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I have never been a healthy child. I would somehow always end up in a walk-in clinic or emergency waiting room, wondering what I did to be a returning customer at a healthcare facility. However, no matter what problem I had and how long I had to wait, I always got treatment. There was always a doctor available to see me, and I always got the most patient people working with me to make sure I left with the right treatment. There is a startling amount of people that don’t get this. Life already throws hundreds of obstacles at each individual, and if you’re not in good health you’re stuck at obstacles that others can easily jump over. It’s nice to see charities raising money and traveling to less privileged areas to help residents with basic medical needs. I hope to be able to contribute to that once I have the money, or even use my technical skills to directly help. Healthcare should be free and accessible for everyone, and the cause to provide it resonates deeply with me."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Entering university was one of the worst moments of my life. I still remember crying my eyes out on a random bench next to CMH simply because I felt so alone - I had no sense of belonging. In my second term, I decided to join a performance team at uwhiphop. Initially, I still felt no sense of belonging and quietly left practices as soon as they were done. However, over time I found myself socializing more, and by the end of the term, I was friends with everyone. It makes me really proud to be a part of a community where everyone is so welcoming and down to make new friends regardless if they’re in first or fifth year. For that reason, I decided to join as an executive member for the current term. I am a videographer, and I help film and edit all the sessions they hold over the term. I’m proud that I can use my own skillset to contribute back to this community, and want to continue putting effort into this community for the rest of my undergrad years."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I was never particularly extraordinary at anything. I always envied those people who were sent to classes at an early age for one particular skill. I envied those that practiced until they were so well-versed in their trade that everyone knew them for it. When I was 17, I watched a couple of Youtube videos and somehow fell in love with dance. At the back of my mind, I knew that I couldn’t compare to those that started dancing when they were 5 years old, but that was also part of my motivation. I knew that if I didn’t start practicing when I was 17, I would be crying about those people that did start at 17 when I was 27. I didn’t expect to get good right away. I watched a lot of different tutorials and I practiced a lot in my living room. It was a slow process, but one thing that motivated me was taking videos of my progress. I cannot stress enough how important it is to only compare to yourself. When I need a motivation boost, I will look at my past videos to see how far I’ve come. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615925415},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"ajtbilon@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Aidan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Bilon","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Mechanical Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F615045ed-2213-4865-953f-0026d15c954f?alt=media&token=404e7efd-cef6-4cd3-ae9c-ef3441b5e96c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"When I first encounter a challenging technical problem, I tend to stop for a second and think about what is causing the error and if I know how to fix it with my prior knowledge. One challenging problem I tackled before when building my website portfolio was an issue with deploying and hosting the site. I used Next.Js so Vercel was my friend in the deploy implementation, but when I initially made my website I wasn't as well versed as I am today in hosting sites. The errors that the hosting service was providing me were foreign to my previous minor knowledge of hosting which made me go back to my original methodology of thinking rather than going straight to Stack Overflow or ChatGPT since I wanted to learn what was causing the problem for future issues that could have the same problem. Reading the prompts and error messages, I was able to find that I had errors in porting some of my webpage links. These pages on my site worked in developer mode, but not running the site.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based in eastern standard time (EST), residing in Waterloo during the Fall term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Sustainable practices and the environment have deeply resonated with me during the latter half of the decade. During high school, I was the sitting chair for the City of Niagara Falls MYAC Green Sub-committee. Having firsthand experience with the political side of a sustainable future for our planet and the grave importance it has on our society. I was also appointed a spot on the Recreation Committee at City Council where other government employees discussed pressing issues at hand and ways to encourage the general population to do their part in making the Niagara Region and more defined member in the green space. Witnessing the importance of creating a healthier and more sustainable future for our planet has continued to deeply impact my outlook on the world while trying to make it a better place."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I have always found interest in envigorating those around me, which typically came in the form of volunteering. With everything from my high school with student council, my school board being a student senator, or my city and region being a city employee, I've been proud to say I was a part of and made an impact on every team.\nDuring my time in student council, I was an executive for 3/4 years, ending as prime minister and head of social media promotion in the previous 3 years.\nAs a student senator, I attended board meetings and voted on behalf of the whole secondary student body for the District School Board of Niagara on pressing issues that affect the daily academic environment of all secondary students within the board.\nSome of my other contributions to the City of Niagara Falls were also highlighted in the previous response."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"The most recent time I learned a new skill, which happens to be what I'm currently working on, is social media app dev. After finishing some projects using Swift I was interested in working on an app that could be published and even used widely by actual daily users. My motivation for creating this kind of project was to learn about algorithmic recommendation, the use of APIs, and to learn yet another app dev framework of Flutter this time.\nI typically like to keep myself busy throughout co-op terms which was an ulterior motive for creating this app. I also find creating hands-on, real-life applications with everything integrated into it helps me not just create a project, but hardens my knowledge in a framework or language."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688130128455},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"chrisss.pannn@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Chris","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Pan","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Global Business and Digital Arts","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F62d9cfd2-31c3-4f3d-aae8-84b6894ef83f?alt=media&token=9d663c5c-385f-45b1-b3c1-8a0164dd8e69","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"As a product designer, I look for inspiration from other designers and their experiences. From exploring and discovering designers on Behance, Dribble, and LinkedIn, I’m constantly exposed to a diverse and innovative range of styles, techniques and approaches. I’m able to learn things I never knew were possible and wonder how I could incorporate it into my own work. This way I've been able to learn new techniques, ideas, and even softwares that can help me in my future work. By pulling from so many designers and their perspectives, I’m able to better solidify my own design strategies, push the boundaries of my creativity and enhance the overall quality of my work. \n"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"I am currently working on a new portfolio, so some projects may redirect you! Sorry for the inconvenience! https://www.behance.net/chris_pan","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in Waterloo and based in Eastern Time zone."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is combating climate change and pollution. As a global crisis, it threatens the well-being of future generations and our ecosystem and it’s so important for us to break the cycle of “leaving it for the next generation”. I like to advocate for sustainable practices, renewable energy adoption, and raise awareness by using the design and digital media skills I learn from my projects and other experiences. As an example I recently experimented with animation motion graphics for the first time and created a short graphic video for vertical scroll social media platforms. The goal was to hopefully initiate real-world action and provide societal value to a real problem. The video’s topic surrounds the impacts of human pollution in our oceans. Feel free to take a look --> https://www.youtube.com/shorts/mfho8CBlXpc \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m really proud to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community and live as my authentic self. I strive to promote inclusivity and diversity anywhere I can, especially in design where multiple perspectives are vital to a successful and accessible product. Similar to the previous question, the safety and rights of LGBTQ+ individuals is also a cause that resonates with me, especially now, and one of the best ways I can contribute is through my designs and digital media skills. Many queer youth face the challenge of living in an unaccepting and dangerous household, and being close with some who have experienced this first-hand, I wanted to explore a potential solution. For a designathon, I was able to lead the UX for a team of 4, and design a homestay app for LGBTQ+ youth and land a first place title. In the future I would love for this project to be developed and potentially launched to give those in need somewhere to turn to and even save lives.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I remember a new skill that I really enjoyed learning was interface animation using Figma, because I really wanted to give my designs more life. By creating moving designs, it helped me convey them better to other people and helped to get them excited. It also brought my designs closer to the real product and got more buy in. I started from simply wanting more from my designs. I discovered YouTube videos that showed me how to create small micro-interactions and from there I was able to teach myself more complex movements and timing through trial and error. I was able to hone my skills enough to the point of being able to create full app trailers using purely Figma animation!\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688181174659},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"t49zhang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Internal Director","firstName":"Teresa","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Zhang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science & Business Administration","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F634f7a85-b73c-4b12-b887-4a6d91bdc58f?alt=media&token=2c707888-4408-44ef-851b-c78d45e25290","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"In general, an ideal experience is one where the members feel as though they have made meaningful contributions, and have also received something meaningful from the experience-whether that is technical experience, or networking, or a sense of fulfillment from working for a non-profit. For myself specifically, I would hope to meet interesting and knowledgeable people and learn from them, as well as get valuable transferable skills. "}],"role":"Internal Director"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Frankly, I haven't had much technical experience, which is why I want to apply to Blueprint. In terms of technical challenges, I can't think of any that couldn't be solved by consulting someone more knowledgeable (a professor or a friend, usually) or searching online for similar problems and solutions. So I suppose that would be my answer; don't re-invent the wheel, just find someone who knows the solution. If there was really nothing that mapped one-to-one to my problem, then I would usually take the problem apart into smaller problems that answers did exist for and hopefully, the whole would be at least equal to the sum of the parts.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the underrepresentation of women in data. For instance, phones, keyboards, and cars are all sized for a standard male body. And on the technological side, male bias can be perpetuated invisibly: biased training sets for AI algorithms can lead to biased outputs, like associating women with kitchens to the point of labeling a bald man in a kitchen as a woman. This can have real consequences: in medical contexts, lack of data on heart attacks in women means they are deadlier in women, and more likely to be misdiagnosed, and if this biased data is used for medical diagnostic algorithms, the problem compounds. (Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Perez). As such, I think it’s important for projects, even those that are seemingly gender-neutral, to integrate as many possible points of view-including female perspectives-in order to recognise these biases and remove them from the product."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m proud to be part of the LGBT+ community. In terms of contributing, I mostly focus on the individual level, providing a safe space for people I know to come out and be supported-more or less, giving them a space to be gay. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Recently, I have been learning how to make vector graphics. This was for a side project, to add icons into a mobile app. I did some preliminary research on what vector graphics are and how to use them, but mostly, I just messed around until I learned by doing. For other, more complex graphics, I supplement with looking up tutorials, but mostly I use trial and error, which has had serviceable results thus far. \n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688604837367},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4A","email":"sharujan.sreekaran@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sharujan ","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sreekaran","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F63c83be9-8866-47da-82c4-030cdcf3f879?alt=media&token=6bafedf3-7a89-49bb-92a3-2ddda10186e9","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my previous internship at Penfield.AI, a small cyber security startup, I was in charge of creating a framework that tested the core services of our company software. When working on the framework, I ran into a number of issues regarding data going missing within our system. This really puzzled me, as the issues that were coming up in many different ways, so it was hard to pinpoint the issue. To solve this problem I simplified a test that caused issues into its smallest failing component, and looked at the services that this data point ran through. I found the first instance in which the data went missing, and noticed in it that a lot of error handling wasn’t considered in our code base. I repeated this process of looking at individual data loss errors and updated the code base to properly handle them. This cycle was long and arduous but I believe that solving these technical problems may save many of our team's engineers a lot of pain in the future.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates strongly with me is the refugee crisis, specifically the Ukraine refugee crisis. War devastates billions of lives, and my family is no stranger to the pain it brings. My parents grew up in Sri Lanka during their civil war, and were forced to immigrate to Canada to save themselves from the brutality they faced. My father in particular was a refugee, and came here with almost nothing, relying mainly on the aid the Canadian government gave him as well as the kindness he found from the Canadian people to start a life. This simple act of support allowed my father to build a starting place for the rest of my family to come to Canada and is the reason I was born here to begin with. When I see the millions of Ukrainians seeking asylum from this terrible war, I see people just like my father trying to create a space where their families can live in peace, and I can’t help but wanting nothing more than to support them, just like how my father was all those years ago."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I’m proud to be a part of is my local youth coding community. I am a part of a program called coding buddies where once a week, I mentor local middle school students, teaching them about the fundamentals of programming as well as the wonders of what computer science can do. During this time I learned about how complicated even simple topics of computer science can be to those who haven’t worked with code before, as programming can require a very unique way of thinking. At first during these meetings, I struggled to get my ideas across, but I gradually learned that I needed to slow down and connect the concepts I taught to real ideas that the students can relate to. Throughout these experiences, both my students and I grew in various ways, and even though I was the one who mentored them, they will be the ones who pave the way for the next generation of technological advances, and I am very proud to have played my part."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One and a half years ago I started learning how to do long distance running. When I started learning I did it because I wanted to improve my overall health, and I had an unused treadmill at home, but now I do it because I enjoy running and want to improve myself. I started running rather spontaneously, and so I didn’t have much of an approach at first, and instead just simply ran every couple of days. However, once I started getting into the groove of things, I decided to take a much more formulaic approach to running, as I wanted to spend my time efficiently and didn’t want to injure myself. I watched a lot of videos discussing the proper running form as well as the various different exercises you can train to get better at running, beyond just turning on the treadmill. From this I built a flexible training schedule that accommodated the various exercises needed to improve your base long distance running ability, and have been using it ever since. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688067677680},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4A","email":"eric.yam02@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Eric","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Yam","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Global Business and Digital Art","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6413c269-2779-4353-8c32-7b30ec2c3cfc?alt=media&token=f8c904ba-4997-4d34-9fb3-d52ec2d0c50a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"In my daily life as a product designer, I find inspiration by immersing myself in the digital spaces that showcase design excellence and innovation. Platforms like Dribbble and Mobbin provide a wealth of curated designs, allowing me to analyze and appreciate the thoughtfulness and creativity behind them. I actively seek out conferences and industry events like Config 2023 to stay updated with the latest trends, emerging technologies, and design methodologies. The opportunity to learn from industry leaders and engage in discussions with fellow designers is a constant source of inspiration and motivation. I consider it a privilege to have access to these tools and resources in today's world, as they enable me to continuously learn, evolve, and contribute to the ever-changing landscape of digital design."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"My portfolio is outdated from 3 months and within that timespan, I have started my co-op and won a designation competition category with 300+ participants. If you want to learn more about these, here are the links provided below, and ask away if you are curious about the designation win.\n\ntablz (co-op) project:\nhttps://www.figma.com/file/GTE65v8owoCltYxuaALtSG/event-component---Tablz?type=design&node-id=0%3A1&mode=design&t=5YZT4P4NGiICg8ep-1 \n\n(outdated) website:\nhttps://www.ericyam.ca/\n","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"As a product designer, I have come to understand the transformative power of well-crafted and user-friendly interactions. I firmly believe that technology should be inclusive, regardless of one's level of expertise. By translating complex concepts into intuitive interfaces, I aim to provide novices with the tools and confidence to fully embrace the digital world. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in my contribution to the community through the development of impactful products and ideas. One significant project I have undertaken is a self-inspired product aimed at addressing the challenges faced by Chinese students transitioning from China to Canada, particularly concerning language barriers and social integration. This product is designed to improve their overall experience by creating a community where they can connect, share their goals, and celebrate their achievements. Through features that facilitate language learning, cultural exchange, and mentorship, this platform offers valuable resources and support, empowering students to navigate their educational journey and social interactions with greater ease and confidence. I am thrilled to have created a solution that helps bridge the gap and enhances the experiences of individuals within this community, fostering a sense of belonging and personal growth."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I have a strong passion for participating in designathons, as they provide an invaluable opportunity to improve my skills in presentation, communication, and teamwork within a dynamic and collaborative environment. Engaging in these intense design challenges fuels my desire to become a well-rounded and versatile designer, pushing me to think creatively, adapt quickly, and learn from diverse perspectives so I can be a strong designer for my future."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688613991453},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A ","email":"v8nguyen@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Finance & Operations","firstName":"Victoria ","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Nguyen ","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Accounting and Financial Management ","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6413cf3e-e0de-4129-8eac-d1ff4eb87145?alt=media&token=89cdef9c-7f33-41df-9216-cb53e9c867a0","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"13","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?","response":"Pitching to external organizations for sponsorship requires careful planning and a persuasive approach to convince the organizations. Firstly, I would comprehend the organization by looking into its beliefs, purposes, and goals to identify its interests and determine a sponsorship that is advantageous to both parties. Next, I will outline the reason for this sponsorship: money or materials for a particular project. Then, we use the value proposition, the target audience, past success, and potential future success to construct the sponsorship application. We can see the advantages of sponsorship, such as brand visibility throughout all our postings and the placement of logos. Then, I provide different levels of sponsorship so that sponsors can select a level that fits their needs in terms of spending and amount of involvement. To establish a relationship for future sponsorship, we will follow up after the event. I propose that we maintain a list of sponsors for various project types."}],"role":"VP Finance & Operations"},{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Talent","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I care a lot about environmental sustainability, and it's a cause that resonates with me. Growing up in a country with 90% of the population using motors, I witnessed the impact of air pollution on the environment and people' health. This experience instilled in me a deep sense of responsibility to protect and preserve our planet from not only air pollution, also climate change. I have actively participated in some volunteering activities from local organizations including collecting garbage on the beach, planting trees for a greener future, and raising recycling awareness in my community. From my personal experience, the cause of environmental sustainability is important because of its wide-ranging global repercussions. In addition to endangering ecosystems and species, climate change, deforestation, and pollution have an effect on vulnerable communities all over the world. We can provide everyone with a better and more sustainable future by solving these problems. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be a part of Fridge Rage - integrated with generative AI helping people create healthy recipes by using leftover food. The app’s mission is to reduce global food waste and its environmental impacts. My role in the team is content creator, and I am responsible for creating weekly posts about the environment and introducing our app to followers. Even though my team and I just started the progress in a month, we have put all our efforts to promote our app to more people. Being part of Fridge Rage has not only allowed me to make a positive impact on the environment, but it has also enriched my own life. Through this experience, I have developed my communication skills and learned how to apply technology to make the work easier. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Last month, I made the decision to take image design classes in order to expand my knowledge and be more creative. I was motivated by the growing need for aesthetically appealing content, and I thought that it is time for me to develop my skills and reach more people with more powerful information. I made the decision to learn these new talents by investigating online programs and enlisting in a self-paced course that specialized in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. For real-world tasks, I also enlisted the aid of my friends who were taking graphic design courses so I could benefit from their expertise. I gained a strong foundation in graphic design through the combination of organized online classes and independent study. Even though I'm not an expert in picture design, I can now create a straightforward internet image for my project and any upcoming presentations to increase the visualization for my work. \n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688094669160},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"h27javed@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Humdaan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Javed","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Biomedical Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F65a2d0bf-2563-46fd-a061-f44a96000193?alt=media&token=26ff2618-7c47-42fc-8614-365d555e772a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I faced came up during my current co-op term as a full-stack developer. For this problem, I was tasked with optimizing the runtime performance of a financial web application which was used internally by over 10,000 employees globally. The problem dealt with a refactor of one of the most complex aspects of the application, tracking vendor costs. This problem was extremely challenging given the complexity of business rules associated with the feature. The solution to the problem involved refactoring a Java Spring Boot service to remove legacy logic and update the rules of the feature to reflect the current requirements of the business. The result of this refactor was a 10% increase in on-boarding of vendor contracts by technical product managers of the company. In solving this problem, I got the opportunity to work with a new programming language, have my code reviewed by senior engineers, and unit test the feature to ensure its robustness. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Inaccessible healthcare in various regions of Pakistan, especially rural villages, has deeply affected me ever since I was in middle school. Each summer growing up, I would visit the remote village in the Punjab province where my dad spent the first 20+ years of his life. During every single trip, I noticed how the availability of crucial medical equipment such as heart rate monitors, ventilators, and oxygen masks was severely limited, if not completely absent. I personally witnessed how this lack of essential healthcare resources resulted in the tragic loss of children and teenagers. Realizing that such deaths were avoidable with just better access to medical supplies influenced my perspective on global healthcare. Enhancing medical device accessibility is a big reason why I chose to study Biomedical Engineering at UW. Living in Canada and visiting these villages, I realized my goal of wanting to play a part in ensuring healthcare is a right for all and not a privilege for some. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Over the past 5 years, I have proudly been an integral part of the Muslim community at my local mosque in Mississauga. This involvement has strengthened my faith as a practicing Muslim while fostering a strong sense of social responsibility and community welfare. My contributions to this mosque include youth programs and fundraising for underprivileged communities. The youth programs entail leading weekly sessions aimed at teaching kids crucial life lessons from the holy book, connecting these teachings to personal experiences. Moreover, I take great pride in my role of fundraising for oppressed Uighur Muslims globally. Through initiatives like bake sales, organizing community sports competitions, and sponsor outreach, my team and I have raised over $2500 this past year. The highlight is our monthly visit to Islamic Relief’s office (a well-renowned non-profit charity) in Burlington, where we personally deliver the check and discuss the potential impact of this contribution."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Last summer, I took on a fascinating challenge of learning to speak French. Despite having studied French in high school for a year, I found myself struggling to engage in basic conversations. As someone aspiring to work in the federal government after graduation, French proficiency offers the opportunity for better job placements and further career advancements. Moreover, my twin sister already being fluent in French added an element of pride and extra motivation to succeed. For the first two weeks of summer, I focused on learning the fundamentals of the language, which included vocabulary and grammar rules. Following this, I leveraged Duolingo and immersed myself in the language through French music and TV shows. I realized that consistency with study routine and persevering were crucial. Towards the end of the summer when I felt more confident, I practiced actively by communicating with my sister in only French which overtime improved pronunciation and facilitated faster learning."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688615252481},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"dtodi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Debanshi","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Todi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computational Mathematics","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F66399ac0-61da-4b63-8fa8-9c25147d9d42?alt=media&token=4ee94b06-53f5-422d-a8ed-8dfb57da1ff8","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I encountered a challenge while integrating a complex third-party API for secure payment processing in a web development project. The API documentation lacked clarity, making it difficult to understand the implementation steps.\n\nTo overcome this, I conducted extensive research, reaching out to the API provider for clarification and gathering insights from developer communities. This helped me gain a clearer understanding of the API.\n\nI then designed a robust architecture, carefully planning endpoints, data flows, and error handling mechanisms to ensure seamless communication between our system and the API. During implementation, I faced compatibility issues with my existing technology stack, requiring debugging and troubleshooting. I sought advice from experienced developers to address these challenges effectively.\n\nTo ensure stability and security, I tested the payment processing feature in various scenarios. Ultimately, perseverance and collaborative problem-solving did the trick.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Promoting access to quality education for underprivileged communities is a cause that deeply resonates with me. I believe education is transformative in empowering individuals and breaking the cycle of poverty.\n\nWitnessing the disparities in educational opportunities based on socioeconomic backgrounds early-on in life, motivated me to bridge this gap. I strongly advocate for equal access to education, regardless of one's background.\n\nThrough volunteer work and mentorship programs at AASRA trust in India, I've seen firsthand how education can positively impact individuals and communities. Guiding students from disadvantaged backgrounds has shown me their incredible growth and achievements.\n\nJoining Blueprint Waterloo presents a remarkable opportunity to contribute meaningfully to this cause, and the like."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of AASRA Trust, a non-profit organization in India where I taught underprivileged students subjects like math, science, and English.\n\nAs a volunteer teacher, my aim was to empower these students by providing knowledge and skills that could positively impact their lives. I conducted regular classes, developed interactive lesson plans, and witnessed their progress and growing confidence.\n\nI also mentored and guided the students, encouraging them to pursue higher education and explore career opportunities. Additionally, I organized extracurricular activities (like theater, painting, etc) to foster a sense of community and showcase their talents.\n\nBeing part of AASRA taught me the importance of empathy, compassion, and the transformative power of education. Witnessing the students' resilience inspired me to continue making a positive impact in creating a more inclusive and equitable society\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning classical music was a significant milestone in my personal and musical growth. Motivated by a deep love for its emotional depth and connection to Indian culture, I embarked on a journey to explore this rich art form.\n\nMy approach to learning classical music involved soughting out a knowledgeable and experienced teacher who could guide me through the intricacies of this genre. Under their guidance, I focused on building a strong foundation by studying music theory, and exploring various classical compositions. \n\nI devoted consistent time each day to practice scales, technical exercises, and specific pieces. Moreover, I embraced the iterative process of learning, embracing the notion that mistakes and challenges were opportunities for for growth.\n\nMy motivation to learn classical music was driven by a desire to connect with its rich cultural heritage, express myself through its profound emotional language, and develop a deep appreciation for the complexities of this art form. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688613132690},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"j88fu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jefferson","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Fu","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F66bd41f3-106f-445d-aebd-97c347c97599?alt=media&token=b65ab046-f60f-4660-a7fc-4b2d0939272c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I've faced in the past was trying to implement a poorly documented third party application into our product back in my second co-op at TradeRev. The instructions weren't exactly clear how I was supposed to go at the task but in order to solve it, I first tried to use everything that I was given. However little documentation was provided, I made sure to make good use of the information and attempt to piece whatever I could together. As the problem was not solved, I did what I could to reference other resources, I looked to other similar applications who may have had better documentation and surely, this was just enough to allow me to complete the task at hand. Similar to other challenging problems, my approach was to first ensure that I understood what I had to do, utilize all the resources around me until I am done, and then make sure I can solve the same problem quicker in the future.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in EST next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is fighting racism. Growing up as an asian kid, I've faced a few times of racial discrimination here and there and while it always made me feel bad, I understood that there were always many more kids who saw and experienced much worse. Over time I began to learn more about the history of my background and I always have been more appreciative and proud of where I come from and I believe that this feeling should be something that everyone in the world should feel."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"While I'm not in too many communities as of the moment, a community I used to be a part of was my school's student run philantrophic council. Within this council, we would reach outside organizations and find ways to raise awareness for social issues as well as encourage getting involved within the community. My main contributions were creating numerous volunteering opportunities that would help others with a wide range of activites."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Playing guitar was always something that I thought was really cool and I thought it would be even better if I could play along to the rock songs that I was really getting into at the time. When I got my first guitar, I really just had fun with the guitar and let my curiousity run loose, it didn't really matter if it sounded bad but on the slight chance it sounded good I would be more excited to continue playing. I leveraged resources online to try and learn more and more and when I decided I wanted to continue learning even quicker, I chose to start taking lessons. Taking formal teachings and taught me fine details that I skipped over and may have never knew otherwise. Overall, improving my abilities at the guitar, like any other skill, was a matter of how much time and effort I put in as well as how many resources around me I could leverage."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688609304641},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"etin@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Finance & Operations","firstName":"Enoch","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Tin","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Bachelor of Accounting and Finance, Honours, Co-op","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F690b66e9-971b-4916-8cf2-4f6ff354b499?alt=media&token=57cebf49-7441-45f5-be60-425a2fa9543e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"13","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?","response":"For external organizations, I assume it implies firms, unaffiliated with UW.\n\n1. I would develop a sponsorship package that communicates who we are as a student-led initiative, our ongoing projects, future roadmap, and the benefits we can offer to them. This would include a clear table outlining different sponsorship tiers and a compelling call to action with contact information.\n\n2. I would conduct thorough research to identify potential sponsors who align with our goals and values. This research would identify organizations that may be interested in providing in-kind sponsorships, such as materials or licenses, or direct funding. Hence, I would tailor personalized emails to each potential sponsor, highlighting how their support can create a mutually beneficial partnership and emphasizing the marketing impact we can generate.\n\n3. I would explore alternatives such as cold calling or arranging meetings to discuss sponsorship details in further depth and potentially signing a contract."}],"role":"VP Finance & Operations"},{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Talent","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Food scarcity.\n\nDuring my time in high school, I participated in a two-week service trip aimed at distributing food supplies and constructing toilets in a developing country. This experience instilled in me a profound understanding of the detrimental effects of food scarcity on ones' physical health and its hindrance to personal growth. \nHence, I took up the position of Research and Donations Executive for the W23 term at WUSA Food Support Service.\n\nAs part of my role, I coordinated food donations with external parties such as food banks and United College. I also managed the scheduling of donation box pick-ups for volunteers and collaborated with various WUSA clubs to enhance the donation volume for the creation of food and hygiene hampers. \n\nThese hampers were made available for anyone in need to conveniently pick up at the Turnkey desk.\n\nI aim to create a meaningful impact by utilizing my expertise in finance to support Blueprint in your diverse range of causes."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Electrium Mobility, Finance Lead.\n\nIt is a recently established student design team comprising 90 members and 3 parallel projects, each with 3 sub-teams. It develops a wide variety of electric vehicles, including electric bikes, Onewheels, skateboards, go-karts...\n\nIn my role as Finance Lead, I have made the following contributions:\n\n1. Effectively set and managed the term budget for all 9 tech-teams and 3 business teams using Google Sheets. I ensure every purchase is eligible for reimbursement or can be covered through SDC work orders.\n\n2. Designed an Internal Reimbursement System and led a team of developers to automate the reimbursement process for all endowment funds' reimbursement forms.\n\n3. Drafted sponsorship package and emails, used in outreaches to firm sponsors;\nDrafted endowment fund proposals, slides, scripts for ENGSOC, WEEF and more.\n\n4. Held meetings with SDC Finance administrator to clarify SDC finance logistics and legistrations\n\n5. Recruited and trained a team of 6"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Utilization of Figma for Marketing Design\n\nMotivation:\nWhen I was accepted as the first Director of Marketing for the Poker Studies Club, I was informed that our design tool is Figma, replacing my previously used Canvas. \n\nGiven the absence of established design standards, templates, and cross-promotion, in order to boost Poker Club's presence within the UW community, I needed to surpass expectations. To achieve this, I committed myself to leveraging my network with other clubs, diligently studying and refining my design skills.\n\nApproach:\nTo ensure success, I watched YouTube tutorials, thoroughly studied Figma's guides, reviewed award-winning posters and IG posts, and sought guidance from marketing experts within my other club affiliations. \n\nEventually, I successfully set design standards, created design assets and IG post templates, and produced 7 impactful posters. \n\nThese efforts yielded remarkable results, with a membership increase of 400 within a span of 1.5 terms."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687926058449},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"pmmansha@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Pravesh","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Mansharamani","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Honours Mathematics ","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6941ee7d-bd0f-407b-a5ed-532e1dd5de29?alt=media&token=19a65367-334c-45ba-be03-a595a21c32fa","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Frontend","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem I tackled was creating an AI chatbot for my company's website to handle HR and payroll inquiries. To solve this, I embarked on thorough research to determine the best approach. I started by designing the system, considering the chatbot's functionality and integration with our existing systems.\n\nAfter careful planning, I implemented the solution using OpenAI's Language Model (LLM) and utilized embeddings to enhance its understanding and response generation capabilities. I trained the chatbot on relevant HR and payroll data to ensure accurate and informative responses. Through iterative testing and refinement, I fine-tuned the chatbot's performance, addressing potential bottlenecks and improving its ability to handle a wide range of user inquiries effectively. Ultimately, the chatbot became a valuable resource for our website visitors, providing prompt and accurate HR and payroll assistance.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":" My preference lies in employing a variety of research methods that allow me to gather comprehensive and reliable data. I prioritize using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a deep understanding of user needs, behaviors, and preferences. Qualitative methods such as interviews, usability testing, and field studies help me gather rich insights and capture the subjective experiences of users. On the other hand, quantitative methods such as surveys, analytics data, and A/B testing provide me with measurable and statistically significant data to validate findings and make data-driven decisions. These methods enable me to gather both qualitative and quantitative insights, ensuring a holistic understanding of user experiences.\n\n"}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern time (ET)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. The state of our planet and the urgent need to address issues such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity have become increasingly evident.\n\nI believe that we have a collective responsibility to protect and preserve our natural environment for future generations. The Earth provides us with invaluable resources, sustains all forms of life, and offers breathtaking beauty. It is crucial that we take proactive measures to ensure its longevity."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be part of the blockchain community for the past two years. I contribute by participating in events, being one of the Exec at Waterloo Blockchain's marketing team, and sharing my knowledge. I aim to foster a thriving and inclusive community that promotes innovation and adoption of blockchain technology."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently learned React, a JavaScript library, for my job. My motivation was its popularity and relevance to my role. I took a hands-on approach, focusing on practical application and real-world projects. I sought solutions from online resources and communities, continuously practiced, and built projects to strengthen my skills. This approach allowed me to quickly acquire React proficiency and apply it effectively in my job."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687387315186},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"nrpatel@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Nivid Rakeshbhai ","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Patel","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6a631a40-b428-4a00-9b3b-9567459f10f5?alt=media&token=602e045d-fc3e-4dd8-8b66-0e842aeb4021","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Mobile","Other:"],"response-specified":"Data Science","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One of the challenging technical problems I encountered was during the development of the UW Chat app. The issue arose when I faced difficulties in deploying the site online through Firebase. Despite initial setbacks, I approached the problem with a determined mindset and a willingness to learn. I began by thoroughly reading the Firebase documentation and exploring various online resources, including tutorials and forums. Through this process, I identified a crucial mistake in the configuration and deployment settings. By rectifying the error and following the correct procedures, I was able to successfully deploy the UW Chat app online. This experience taught me the importance of thorough research, resourcefulness, and the value of learning from mistakes. It reinforced my understanding that technical challenges are opportunities for growth, and with perseverance and a proactive approach to problem-solving, I can overcome any obstacles that come my way.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"I absolutely love the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones. The audio quality is exceptional, delivering rich and detailed sound across a wide range of genres. The noise cancellation is simply outstanding, effortlessly blocking out external noise and creating a serene listening environment. The Adaptive Sound Control feature is a game-changer, automatically adjusting the noise cancellation settings to match my surroundings, whether I'm in a busy café or on a crowded train. The comfort level is excellent too, with plush earpads that provide a snug fit for long listening sessions. The battery life is impressive, lasting for hours on end, and the touch controls on the earcups make it easy to adjust volume, skip tracks, and answer calls. Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM5 headphones have exceeded my expectations, delivering an unparalleled listening experience that truly elevates my music enjoyment."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be present in the EDT (US & Canada) = GMT - 4 for the next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Tech for Good: Bridging the digital divide, empowering communities. Technology has the power to transform lives, uplift communities, and address pressing challenges. I advocate for initiatives that provide equal access to technology and the internet, reducing disparities in education, employment, and opportunities. By leveraging the potential of technology, we can create a more inclusive and equitable future for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I feel a sense of pride for the community of international students since I am a part of it. It brings together people from various cultural origins who are all motivated by the desire to further their studies in a foreign country. I have given back to this community by taking part in cultural exchange activities, planning seminars to share ideas about my own culture, and providing help and direction to other international students. I aim to create a friendly, accepting environment through my participation that encourages interpersonal development."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning to swim was a transformative experience for me, driven by my eagerness to acquire a vital life skill and conquer my fear of water. Motivated by the desire to become more confident in aquatic environments, I approached the learning process with enthusiasm and a growth mindset. Recognizing that mistakes were an essential part of the learning journey, I embraced each challenge as an opportunity for growth. With the guidance of a patient and experienced swim instructor, I started with basic techniques, gradually progressing to more advanced skills. I remained open to feedback, constantly seeking areas for improvement and refining my strokes. Despite initial setbacks and moments of frustration, my determination and willingness to learn from my mistakes propelled me forward. Through perseverance and a positive mindset, I eventually overcame my fear and developed a strong foundation in swimming. This experience taught me the value of embracing challenges and being resilient. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688156228135},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"y372kim@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Iris","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kim","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Statistics","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6a6d0253-280d-47e9-afe1-a67e9f780a25?alt=media&token=27762230-5a21-4c62-a7bf-293744b14862","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is Tesla's electric vehicles. Tesla has revolutionized the automotive industry by combining cutting-edge technology with sustainability. I admire how Tesla's products have transformed the perception of electric vehicles, making them sleek, powerful, and desirable. The company's commitment to innovation, user experience, and environmental consciousness is truly inspiring. "}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I prefer using a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to gain comprehensive insights into user experiences. Qualitative methods like surveys and interviews allow me to understand user perspectives and pain points. These methods provide valuable insights that inform product improvements and feature prioritization.\n\nIn addition, I have expertise in quantitative research methods, particularly in data analysis and visualization. I leverage quantitative methods such as surveys and data analytics to validate and complement qualitative findings. By collecting and analyzing large-scale user data, I can identify patterns, trends, and user behaviours that provide a broader understanding of the user base."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that deeply resonates with me is improving access to education for underprivileged communities. I believe that everyone deserves equal access to quality education, regardless of their financial circumstances. By leveraging technology, we can create innovative solutions that enhance educational opportunities for marginalized communities. By partnering with organizations like Blueprint, I aim to contribute my technical skills to develop user-friendly learning platforms, tools for remote education, and data-driven strategies to identify educational gaps. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I founded a student multicultural club in high school to support international students facing language and cultural barriers. As an international student myself, I empathized with their experiences. Drawing from my volunteer work at organizations like YMCA Immigrant Service, Frontier College, and New Canadian Centre, I realized the need for a support system tailored specifically to the students at my school. \n\nThrough weekly meetings, we created a safe and inclusive space for international students to come together, share their experiences, and support one another. As the club's leader, I facilitated meetings, organized events, and ensured a welcoming environment. Witnessing the positive impact on students' confidence, language skills, and friendships was fulfilling. This experience taught me empathy, inclusivity, and the power of collective support in breaking down cultural barriers."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I was drawn to coding because of its ability to create practical tools from scratch. I began by taking computer science classes and joining the coding club in high school. During my free time, I learned more advanced skills like web development and building automation tools by watching YouTube tutorials. As my knowledge grew, I participated in hackathons to gain real-life experience and build interesting projects. The collaborative nature of hackathons, working with like-minded individuals, was inspiring and motivating. It fueled my passion for coding and showed me the impact technology can have. I'm excited to continue learning and contributing to the club's projects. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688431416889},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"jasmine.sun@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jasmine","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sun","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6ab1041b-eac7-428e-95a9-90e26d27a8a8?alt=media&token=6a9004cd-b647-41a6-ad29-c9b9cc1bf16d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my internship at Xero, I encountered a significant technical challenge involving one of our bank statement extractors. The extractor had a low success rate, often failing to extract PDFs correctly or failing to extract them at all. This posed a critical issue as the product's beta launch was scheduled in just two days, and we needed a success rate of over 80% to proceed with its development. To address this challenge, I devised a systematic approach. I handpicked a set of 25 e-statements and meticulously validated the extracted data against the original documents. Next, I tackled the most critical issues first to ensure a significant improvement in the success rate within the limited timeframe. Through these efforts, in just two days, I managed to increase the extraction success rate from 15% to 85%. Not only did we meet the required success rate for the product's beta launch, but we also gained invaluable insights and improvements for future iterations.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is supporting and helping community/stray cats. I firmly believe in creating a nurturing and safe environment where these cats can thrive and receive the essential medical attention they deserve. It's disheartening to learn that the statistics paint a grim picture, with a staggering 75% of feral kittens not surviving beyond six months, and adult cats having an average life expectancy of just two years. These cats face numerous challenges, including contagious diseases and abuse, which I am determined to shed light on and address. It's also unfair that cats often don't receive the same legal rights as many other animals, which contributes to the prevailing attitude that they are somehow less important. Did you know that in the UK, under the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is obligated to stop and provide their details if they injure a dog, sheep, pig, or goat, but not if they injure a cat? It is crucial to raise awareness about these disparities."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the vibrant gardening community, where I contribute by supporting local community gardens, planting bee-friendly flowers, and sharing my knowledge with others. Through volunteering, I help maintain and nurture green spaces for everyone to enjoy. Additionally, I actively seek out and plant bee-friendly flowers, recognizing the vital role these pollinators play in our ecosystem. Through this conscious choice, I hope to help preserve biodiversity and foster a healthier environment. I also actively engage with beginner gardeners, providing guidance, tips, and assistance to help them start their own gardening journeys. My involvement in the gardening community aims to create a positive impact, fostering a deeper appreciation for nature and empowering others to cultivate their own green spaces."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning to crochet was an exciting journey for me, driven by my desire to surprise my piano teacher, who was expecting a baby girl, with homemade crochet toys. To approach this new skill, I began by searching for crochet patterns that aligned with my vision. Once I had a pattern in mind, I promptly gathered the necessary materials and dove right in. Whenever I encountered unfamiliar stitches, I turned to instructional videos or sought guidance from my talented grandmother, a true crochet wizard. I also learned the importance of perseverance and iteration. For example, in my initial attempts, the spacing of the stitches appeared uneven and untidy. However, I embraced the challenge and remade the toys, ensuring tighter and more consistent stitches. Through practice and dedication, I gradually improved my crocheting technique, ultimately gaining confidence in my newfound skill."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687284359662},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"c9peng@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Chen","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Peng","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6be7cb95-f4de-45e6-aea9-08c840ddbb39?alt=media&token=1fc3c3b8-e387-4399-a50b-01f71c48bd3a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem I encountered in a ReactJS environment was optimizing the rendering performance of a complex web application. The application had a large number of components and extensive data manipulation, resulting in slow rendering and decreased user responsiveness.\n\nTo solve this, I employed various strategies and techniques. First, I conducted a detailed performance analysis using React DevTools and browser profiling tools to identify performance bottlenecks. I discovered that unnecessary re-renders and inefficient component updates were major contributors to the performance issues.\n\nTo address this, I implemented React's memoization techniques, utilizing React.memo and useMemo hooks to memoize and optimize component rendering. By memoizing components and selectively updating only when necessary, I reduced unnecessary re-renders and improved overall rendering performance.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Cause: Teaching and Guiding Others' Passions\n\nDescription: I am passionate about empowering individuals to discover and pursue their passions. As a mentor, I strive to provide guidance and support to help others explore their interests and unlock their full potential.\n\nApproach:\n1. Founding a Chess Team: Established and led a chess team, organizing meetings, preparing lessons, and fostering a love for the game.\n2. Coaching and Achievements: Mentored team members to excel, leading to qualifying for city finals and winning accolades.\n3. Volunteering: Devoted time to help aspiring chess players, organizing intra-school tournaments, and securing funding.\n4. Individualized Guidance: Tailored my teaching approach to each person's learning style, encouraging growth and self-expression.\n5. Inspiring Others: Motivated individuals to pursue their passions by sharing success stories and providing mentorship.\n\nImpact: Empowering others to develop skills, build confidence, and pursue their passions"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Community: High School Program (TOPS)\n\nContribution:\n\nWebsite Management: Oversaw development and maintenance of the program's website, ensuring seamless functionality.\nContent Optimization: Updated and optimized website content, enhancing user experience and engagement.\nTechnical Problem Solving: Resolved website issues promptly, ensuring uninterrupted access for students and parents.\nMentorship: Guided fellow students in web development, fostering a culture of learning and growth.\nCollaborative Teamwork: Collaborated with team members to create innovative solutions and improve the program's online presence.\nImpact:\n\nEnhanced User Experience: Improved website layout and functionality, providing a user-friendly interface.\nIncreased Program Visibility: A well-maintained website contributed to greater awareness and enrollment in TOPS.\nEmpowered Students: Enabled fellow students to develop web development skills and pursue their passions.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Motivation: Embracing the demand for cloud computing skills and expanding my technical expertise.\n\nApproach:\n\nResearch and Planning: Understanding AWS services and setting clear learning objectives.\nOnline Learning Resources: Leveraging platforms like AWS Training, A Cloud Guru, and free resources.\nHands-on Projects: Creating virtual environments and utilizing services like EC2, S3, Lambda, and DynamoDB.\nCommunity Engagement: Active participation in online forums and AWS user groups for knowledge sharing.\nCertification Preparation: Studying exam guides, taking practice tests, and achieving AWS certification.\nOutcome: Comprehensive understanding of AWS, proficiency in deploying scalable applications, and contribution to cloud-based projects.\n\nImpact: Expanding career opportunities and demonstrating versatility as a technical professional."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688063643515},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"jessica2003mail@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jessica","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ding","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6d17112e-9f2b-4c7a-b5b1-df191d61298c?alt=media&token=38984cc8-0fa1-497b-b40c-276312d19e4d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"While creating my first ever React project, a CV builder, I encountered a challenging issue. I wanted users to be able to personalize their CV by adding, editing, and deleting sections of experiences. However, adding a new experience would reset all the other experiences in the same section. Being new to React, I had no clue what the problem might be. First I printed all the intermediary steps to the console. Next I tried to Google my problem, but I didn’t know what exactly I was looking for, so no solutions appeared. Finally, I turned to my last resource: a discord server meant for programmers to help each other. Someone told me to try moving my data to a separate file - an idea I had never heard of before. With some research, I finally made it work. After spending countless hours on this issue, solving it felt like a huge success. I learned the important lesson that it’s okay to ask others for help when feeling overwhelmed, and I hope to help someone else similarly in the future!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"My preferred method of research is gathering both quantitative and qualitative data through surveys. I believe this is a simple and cost effective way of obtaining primary data from large samples. Since most surveys can be completed online, it is also easily controlled. For example, with properly written questions, it could reduce biases that humans present when asking questions in-person. Responses could also remain completely anonymous. Thus it provides the most accurate results compared to other research methods. Since I have created surveys for class projects and for friends before, I am also personally most confident in using this method of research."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in Waterloo next term, so EST!"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Growing up, my parents always taught me to help others whenever possible. Over the years, I have internalized this, and it is now one of my life goals. Ever since high school, I have been volunteering with various non-profit organizations in an effort to contribute to the community I live in. Upon graduating, I had accumulated over 400 hours volunteering at summer camps, the senior home, food bank, hospital, just to name a few. Through visiting seniors who don’t often see their loved ones, giving directions to anxious visitors of the hospital, and preparing food for those in need, I have personally seen the impact kindness can have on others. Seeing a smile on someone else’s face, knowing I was able to do something small for them, provides me with personal fulfillment. I truly believe that if everyone helped each other out, the world could be a much better place. Since Blueprint also strives to help communities in need, I would love to join and continue supporting a cause I believe in!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"FIRST Robotics is a community I am proud to be in. When I first joined in grade 10, I was a curious, albeit clueless, student enthralled by the shiny robot at the club fair. Over the next 4 months, the seniors transformed us into engineers from the ground up. We had a lot of fun, working late into the night together to complete a competitive robot within a tight deadline. Unfortunately, the day before our competition, the lockdown ensued and our team came to a halt. When meetings finally resumed a full year later, I realized I had become the experienced senior I had once looked up to. I wanted to provide the new students with the same guidance I had received when I first joined. As the programming lead, I mentored those interested in learning code and made them feel welcome. We learned a lot together and battled our way through a tough competition. Although we didn’t win, I contributed to our team as a leader, and I hope to have encouraged another generation of students to do the same."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A couple summers ago, Instagram mysteriously started showing me skateboarding videos. I was immediately captivated. Skating a bowl had never looked more exciting, and I really wanted to learn it myself. Thus began my journey of learning to skateboard. To become a good skateboarder, I knew I needed to develop a strong foundational understanding first. I slowly learned the proper footing, balance, and method of moving forwards. I spent a few weeks simply skating in my neighborhood. Once I felt ready, I went to the skatepark for the first time. Again, I started with the smallest ramps possible. I made sure to be confident in one skill before moving on to the next. It wasn’t easy, but after consistent training on incrementally harder paths, I eventually made it to the bowl! Retrospectively, my strategy was simple: solidify one skill before learning another. I also utilize this strategy in my academics, and it has proven to be a beneficial long-term approach to learning new concepts."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688079365822},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"jasmine.sun@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jasmine","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sun","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6d180119-7835-4d5b-9479-39343922d0d9?alt=media&token=61221e21-eab8-4ab8-b6b4-f77c23b7ea64","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my internship at Xero, I encountered a significant technical challenge involving one of our bank statement extractors. The extractor had a low success rate, often failing to extract PDFs correctly or failing to extract them at all. This posed a critical issue as the product's beta launch was scheduled in just two days, and we needed a success rate of over 80% to proceed with its development. To address this challenge, I devised a systematic approach. I handpicked a set of 25 e-statements and meticulously validated the extracted data against the original documents. Next, I tackled the most critical issues first to ensure a significant improvement in the success rate within the limited timeframe. Through these efforts, in just two days, I managed to increase the extraction success rate from 15% to 85%. Not only did we meet the required success rate for the product's beta launch, but we also gained invaluable insights and improvements for future iterations.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is supporting and helping community/stray cats. I firmly believe in creating a nurturing and safe environment where these cats can thrive and receive the essential medical attention they deserve. It's disheartening to learn that the statistics paint a grim picture, with a staggering 75% of feral kittens not surviving beyond six months, and adult cats having an average life expectancy of just two years. These cats face numerous challenges, including contagious diseases and abuse, which I am determined to shed light on and address. It's also unfair that cats often don't receive the same legal rights as many other animals, which contributes to the prevailing attitude that they are somehow less important. Did you know that in the UK, under the Road Traffic Act 1988, a driver is obligated to stop and provide their details if they injure a dog, sheep, pig, or goat, but not if they injure a cat? It is crucial to raise awareness about these disparities."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the vibrant gardening community, where I contribute by supporting local community gardens, planting bee-friendly flowers, and sharing my knowledge with others. Through volunteering, I help maintain and nurture green spaces for everyone to enjoy. Additionally, I actively seek out and plant bee-friendly flowers, recognizing the vital role these pollinators play in our ecosystem. Through this conscious choice, I hope to help preserve biodiversity and foster a healthier environment. I also actively engage with beginner gardeners, providing guidance, tips, and assistance to help them start their own gardening journeys. My involvement in the gardening community aims to create a positive impact, fostering a deeper appreciation for nature and empowering others to cultivate their own green spaces."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning to crochet was an exciting journey for me, driven by my desire to surprise my piano teacher, who was expecting a baby girl, with homemade crochet toys. To approach this new skill, I began by searching for crochet patterns that aligned with my vision. Once I had a pattern in mind, I promptly gathered the necessary materials and dove right in. Whenever I encountered unfamiliar stitches, I turned to quick instructional videos or sought guidance from my talented grandmother, a true crochet wizard. I also learned the importance of perseverance and iteration. For example, in my initial attempts, the spacing of the stitches appeared uneven and untidy. However, I embraced the challenge and remade the toys, ensuring tighter and more consistent stitches. Through practice and dedication, I gradually improved my crocheting technique, ultimately gaining confidence in my newfound skill."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688350200333},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"n247shar@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Nandini","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sharma","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Global Business and Digital Arts","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F6d8fba58-d250-42bc-89d5-5bb8e264cc9e?alt=media&token=467fa545-a096-47ec-aebc-0f84fed74791","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"As a product designer, I am constantly on the lookout for how I can make life easier for myself and others. I pay attention to how people interact with products and services in their daily lives. Observe their frustrations, needs, and desires. By empathizing with users, I identify opportunities for improvement and innovative solutions. I look for challenges that I see in my daily life and identify pain points and patterns of inefficiency. Then, by closely examining and empathizing with these problems, I create solutions."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://nsharma31g.wixsite.com/website/general-8","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"As a User Experience Researcher, I use a variety of research methods to conduct data including both qualitative and quantitative methods. However, if I were to choose one method that I was to consider my main method of expertise, I would have to say I do enjoy conducting qualitative research such as interviews and field studies. I think these forms of research methods are quite fascinating as it allows us to discover and understand the route of the problem and what causes one's motivations and behaviours. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that genuinely resonates and aligns with my values and interests is mental health awareness and support."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am a proud member of HER campus community, an online magazine website targeting at female college student demographic. As a part of the community, I wrote engaging and informative articles on a variety of topics related to campus life, including student wellness, career advice, fashion, and lifestyle in hopes to inspire young women around the world. I researched trending topics and pitched fresh article ideas to the editorial team, demonstrating creativity and ensuring adherence to brand guidelines and maintaining a consistent tone throughout the publication.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Motivated by my commitment to combat bullying, I learned Adobe After Effects for a school project. Immersed in tutorials on YouTube, I mastered the software to create a powerful animation that I can call my own. The result was a captivating animation that sparked conversations and raised awareness among my peers. This experience made me believe even more strongly in the ability of creativity to make a difference in society and fueled my passion to use my skills to tackle important problems in the future."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687325501043},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A ","email":"g28chen@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Guo","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Chen","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"CS/BBA","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7307b365-f506-46c9-8783-32af6262fe00?alt=media&token=26f0445d-90bc-4505-b8b9-fc8702717c5d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"Speechtopia.club - A website designed and used at debate education ecosystem that I found myself working with a few years ago. Even though \"gamification\" has become an overused buzzword, this is a case where I saw an effective implementation of gamified learning. The website mimics a lot of online learning tools like D2L, but it fully tailors to debate education with built-in timers, feedback and ranking systems, which are all -unfortunately- a huge quality of life revolution in the sphere. More importantly, it built in an entire competition system that is integrated into the user's identity and account. This allowed it to overcome the pitfalls of gamification becoming a negligible chore in learning, and instead fit cohesively into the way student users interacted with their learning progress, teachers, and peers."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"To me, in an ideal team experience, the members should feel the way you may feel around your annoying sibling. This is because these people will simultaneously be your most straightforward critics, but you also never doubt they have your back. I think that proactive team-building experiences paired with encouraging authentic and casual connections between team members lead to a good team. Through these experiences, I hope members get to know their teammates and trust each other that they are on the same front, which is the foundation of a functional and efficient team. Furthermore, along with that comes being comfortable with feedback and an openness to learn from others who you work with. For members to be able to not hold back and instead appreciate all the knowledge they can share and learn from each other means that communication and efficiency undoubtedly won't be a barrier in their work."}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Internal Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Quality education in rural regions. Having led the volunteer English teaching initiative at a rural Chinese elementary and middle school, I saw firsthand the impact that education and knowledge can have on students. I was deeply influenced by the spark and excitement that I saw in each student when they mastered a sentence structure, discovered a new word, and saw that they could do a lot more than they imagined. I made it a mission to learn about them, their goals, and how I could help them with not only English education but also discovering what they want out of their lives. I saw the lack of opportunities available to them, which was striking against privileged students from Beijing whom I also taught. But with emerging technological tools and online learning materials, we saw that gap slowly being bridged. To this day, I continue to look for ways in which education can become democratized through technological avenues. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"The university debate circuit is a bit of a niche now, but it has become one of my core identities. Despite a reputation for being gatekept and pretentious, I found myself welcomed into UW's debate community and the larger Canadian circuit last year with open arms. Within a short couple tournaments, I found that even the most revered top debaters were just another political science nerd like me. I am proud of the fact that debate is one of the only activities in which any area of niche knowledge is accepted and cherished. In addition, seeing the passion for a sport that is dying down motivated me to channel that energy into my teaching, learning tabluation the night before a tournament, skipping class to run tournament logistics, reaching out to and encouraging past debaters to rejoin a space that has become more and more friendly. I am certain that this is a safe space for all interests, and I want to ensure that it thrives."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Starting last summer, I learned how to crochet. Like any skill I've learned on my own, it was motivated by wanting to create something, and picking up the necessary skills along the way until I become an expert from experience. \nThis time, it started with seeing pictures of completed projects that I loved and wanted to recreate myself. If I wanted a Harry Styles cardigan, no use trying to search for the perfect one- I can make one myself with my favourite colours. There seemed like no better way to learn than to pick up a hook and yarn and just start. I was searching around for tutorials that I didn't understand at first, and then scouring YouTube for super specific guides on some specific skill so that I can actually understand the tutorial, and falling down that rabbit hole and eventually being able to finish that cardigan with sheer intuition and conviction. My next project is more than likely to be an animal plush - courtesy of expert crocheter friends who make giant bumble bees."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615751607},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"sophian3105@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sophia","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Nguyen","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F730ba892-17c3-4ef1-b5e1-0d82e76284a0?alt=media&token=d583332b-1e8f-4d12-b24a-7ca07d844274","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A technical problem that I’ve encountered was working with Java Swing for my culminating cs project. We were tasked with creating tools that would be beneficial for students studying for final exams so my group decided to create flashcards that would auto generate after you pass in a text file. For the backend side, it was just the simple task of getting the program to read the file, place the questions and answers in an array, and store it into a CSV for retrieval of information. However the front end was a struggle as we have never worked with GUIs so we had a lot to learn in a short amount of time . Our teacher was also the type to throw us into the problem and let us figure it out by ourselves. To solve this, we did what every coder has done: watch tutorials and go on stack overflow. Initially, it was overwhelming, however, this gave us firsthand experience of being a programmer where we had to work out a difficult task in a short time while working with a group. \n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"The inspiration to my life are my parents (cliché, I know). My parents were Vietnamese immigrant boat people and growing up, they always used the Vietnamese phrase “giúp đỡ mọi người và có ích cho xã hội”. This means to be useful to society and to help people, similarly to how people helped them when they first arrived. My parents are my foundation and inspiration for everything I do. I am grateful for them because they adopted me from Vietnam and took me to another country so that I could receive a better education and overall, a better quality of life. \nHowever, I perceive “helping the community” as making a lasting impact and not just volunteering for the sake of it. To me, long-term impact must be meaningful and transformational, simply put, something that can bring about a positive change for generations to come. In addition to volunteering, my jobs also reflect my desire for change. For example, at ExplorerHop, I work to improve the school curriculum for students. \n"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"One of the projects that I worked on was when I volunteered for a youth organization where the task was to solve problems that youth face. My team decided to create a website that would be able to reverse search recipes using ingredients. The idea was that youth have unhealthy eating habits and this is due to their inexperience in recipes. I had stepped up to help code the website because most of my team members have never coded before. I also pitched our business at the final competition to business owners and members of Parliament and our team ended up winning first place. Through this, I learned how to persevere when discouraged and conflict management. The resources that I took advantage of were my team. I strongly believe that we won because we were able to organize ourselves well from day one and worked to our strengths to overcome adversities. \nhttp://inmykitchn.com/ or https://replit.com/@kimchiloof/InMyKitchn \n","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I volunteer for the Asian Passion Program and their cause of closing the gap between Asian students and English by connecting them with English-speaking tutors. As someone who came from a developing country, I know firsthand the aspirations of going to a different country to pursue a better education and a better life. Many Vietnamese struggle to make ends meet so sending their children to extra English classes is out of the question as these tutoring sessions can get really expensive. I am so lucky that I am able to speak English and receive a good education so by volunteering for programs like the Asian Passion Program, I will be able to give back and provide opportunities for other individuals who are struggling. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am proud to be a part of is the international baccalaureate community that I am in at my high school. Being a new school to IB, the community only consists of 60 or so students in my year which has fostered strong connections and support systems in the cohort as well, IB has provided support on an international scale. Because of this, I try to encourage younger students to join the program. That is why I started the IB club. Students would come in with any questions they have about the program and also to get any help on math. Through this, I was able to help future IB students to understand the program better especially with limited communications from admin. The first few meetings were admittedly intimidating as not many students showed up but as more people started to learn about our club, that number is steadily increasing as students refer their friends as well to come and study so we really hope to make a big impact with this club.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A new skill that I have recently picked up is the skill of self-discipline. Self-discipline is what pushes people forward and is a much more useful skill than motivation when one needs to get tasks done. One of my greatest weaknesses is procrastination and I have been wanting to overcome it for a while, especially since it is summer and I do not want to lie around doing nothing. My motivation to learn this skill has come in the form of Instagram reels that illustrate the lifestyle that I want of working hard to achieve goals. My approach to learning this goal was to fix my mindset and prepare better schedules that I could follow. Before this, I always had the mindset that I would always have tomorrow to do something and that kept going on and on which led to me doing things late. I have also built a good morning routine which consists of praying and reflection which has helped me hone in on what I need to accomplish that day and helps me stay on top of things. \n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688184031939},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"d27kim@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Donghwui","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Kim","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F734cab5f-7c73-48de-8492-dfb0d0960f1f?alt=media&token=f8557439-5c53-4b73-bce4-ce799b112f8d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I had the opportunity to work on an environmental challenge during a program called SHAD last summer. I have worked with a team of five and identified a problem of water illiteracy. 56% of young Canadians aged 18-34 were unaware of how they acquire their drinking water, which stemmed from a lack of education about Canada’s freshwater resources and their sustainable usage. I tackled this issue by collaborating with others and utilizing the strengths of each member. As a result, my team successfully created a rough app prototype called “Hydrolife” that features short podcast episodes, habit trackers, water bill trackers and community comparisons to educate new homeowners. HydroLife would not only effectively reduce the frequency of making destructive habits but would also lead to a whole new generation of environmentally conscious homeowners through an intergenerational aspect of users’ new habits.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"As a class representative for software engineering in Math Soc, Engineering Soc, and SE Soc, I fully embraced my leadership role, recognizing that leadership is not a position of power but a position of empowerment. Attending biweekly meetings allowed me to stay updated on the concerns, ideas, and suggestions of my classmates. By being present and actively engaged, I became a bridge between their voices and the school administration. This role enabled me to effectively communicate student perspectives, ensuring that their needs were met. In addition to my involvement in meetings, I took on the responsibility of leading social events like mentor coffee chats, resume critique and the end-of-term social event. These events provided opportunities for students to connect, network, and learn from experienced professionals and workshop speakers. By organizing and facilitating these events, I aimed to inspire and motivate students, showing them they have the potential to make a difference."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"My timezone will be based in Waterloo, Ontario (EST)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me the most is promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion as it has always been an essential topic of my life. It is something that profoundly expresses my spirit and genuine passion. I firmly believe that building stronger connections within society is extremely crucial to the growth of us all. Having been deeply involved in my community, I saw systemic barriers that immigrant students faced daily in the Canadian school system. These barriers, both linguistic and cultural, spawned a variety of mental health problems, feelings of alienation, and social disconnection. Therefore, I want to interweave social ethics and my technical skills to create innovative solutions that dismantle structures of social oppression and global problems. At Blueprint, I aspire to become a collaborative and enthusiastic thinker, surrounded by brilliant people that I share core passions with. Bringing my collective-minded spirit, I am thrilled to take creative approaches."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be part of my Korean culture and ethnic community. I strongly believe in the power of sharing one’s culture with others and the fact that multiculturalism can lead to new innovations in terms of prosperous cultural vitality. The first step of my contribution was to build a diverse, spiritual and international network. I have been involved in numerous clubs that support diversity such as culture club at my high school and the EDI youth initiative at Leadership Niagara. I was responsible for planning and managing social events with activities like playing board games from other countries, teaching languages and presenting ways to eliminate systemic barriers through the lens of the student perspective. Being part of my community, I have set a goal to create new forms of inclusion, connection and joy, which help reshape cultural identity. The impact that they had on me has been immense, shaping the path of my life toward the joy of the collective."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I first attended high school, I struggled to socialize with other people due to lack of confidence and public speaking experiences. I was motivated to learn public speaking skills when I watched inspirational speeches from Barack Obama and Martin Luther King. I realized that they shared common characteristics: they exuded confidence and were passionate about what they were talking about. After watching these videos, I wanted to turn my weakness into strengths and become like these role models. After a fair amount of practicing public speaking in front of my friends and some teachers, I started to manufacture the mysterious and miraculous power known as confidence. With this newly cultivated confidence, I started to get involved in leadership organizations such as student council, city youth advisory council, and Waterloo engineering society. These valuable experiences taught me that I could be a leader who influences the audience with meaning and vitality."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688444987252},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B (incoming)","email":"sophiecliu@pm.me","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Sophie","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Liu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7373e227-1663-456c-bc94-295bcb77761c?alt=media&token=5e954921-38bd-411c-93f3-90cd5a44be5f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"Lately I've been obsessed with the idea of a softer, more independent internet inspired by its early days — I've been curating lists of personal sites that include funky community concepts (like a \"secret theatre\"), gloriously maximalist Neocities archives, and tender, uniquely detailed experiences (like a skeumorphic display of public letters, an endlessly looping 3d dive, etc...) I look for moments of grace and ease in my physical, non-internet life, trying to replicate that and to be inspired by the niche wacky creativity on the web that isn't easily found in corporate design styles.\n\nOf course, I'm inspired by sensible products too — I often take note of careful design affordances in everyday products I love (the Arc browser, my desk lamp) as well as products that are both creative and endlessly practical (like the website same.energy)."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"sofei.notion.site\n\nThough I've done a fair bit of product design work in my internships, I would love the chance to be part of the process with an experienced mentor as so far I've always been the only designer :)","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I would love to do more user interviews and data analysis! I'm a skilled writer and communicator, and I'm able to effectively parse and condense a lot of information into insights or organize data into an accessible format. I have experience with writing complex queries in Metabase to understand user behaviour, and I've learned a bit about the UX process from mentors at work (and am interested in learning more!)"}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Greenwich Mean Time as I'm aiming to go on exchange to Liverpool in the UK, though if I end up staying in Waterloo I'll be in Eastern Time."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I'm super passionate about freely accessible educational resources and have been working in related tech roles for the past year! I grew up using Khan Academy for learning and test prep, and as a tutor myself I've experienced firsthand the joy and empowerment that I can impart through understanding.\n\nI'm currently working on product design and engineering for schoolhouse.world, a free peer-to-peer tutoring platform by Sal Khan. Engaging with the dedicated volunteer tutors and amazing learner community has been incredibly rewarding, and I'm loving the feeling of genuine intrinsic motivation to build new tools to help them reach more people. In the future I'm looking to work for more orgs/companies in the field, such as Khan Academy or Duolingo :)"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"All my life I've found myself planning events for the communities I'm in, and right now I'm proud to be a part of the Software Engineering Society at UW. There's a lot of freedom in my role as president to put on creative events (speed-friending, talent shows) and respond to student needs with ad-hoc programs (mentorship, advice sessions, and resume reviews), which is great because I get to provide a space where my peers can always feel like they belong. This is my favourite iteration so far of being a vibe-curator, and I love watching people make genuine connections and destress for some magical moments at the events we create from scratch."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Some time ago I was applying to become a media designer for a local mental health nonprofit, and had no experience or portfolio to speak of — and so I was determined to \"learn graphic design\"! Up until that point, I had mostly been creating art and illustrations by hand or with raster tools like Photoshop. \n\nI started small, learning tips and tricks for creating basic vector art in Illustrator from Youtube videos. I continued to challenge myself by finding reference posters I vibed with online, then attempting to recreate them and looking up tutorials for any techniques I didn't know. I continued to learn by doing, by contributing to several orgs as a graphic designer and asking \"why/what's the best way to do this\" questions of my mentors! In this way I developed a solid workflow and style, and passed on my knowledge in workshops while building on it by reading related literature."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688118908641},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"j44zhu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Julia","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Zhu","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F77820ec3-8b87-4e3e-8a96-d9427a956c43?alt=media&token=b5583cd2-3c8b-4cc9-992c-9d17bd28f03b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A project that I worked on involves implementing custom tasks into the CBC Alexa skill, which allows users to add specific actions to their Alexa routines. I began by reading through the documentation but quickly ran into problems. Despite trying all the provided methods, my task wasn’t getting deployed to the skill that I had in development. Given the niche field of VP products and the recency of the feature (released last year and was still in public beta testing), I exhausted all of the resources that I could scavenge online and nothing seemed to be working. My technical mentor was also inexperienced in this feature, so I connected with the CBC Amazon representative to inquire about the issue. After a lot of back and forth, a consensus was established that there was unclarity in the documentation and my skill had to be published for the task to deploy. We figured it was best to test the task on the production skill’s development version, which successfully solved the issue.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Two years ago, after witnessing countless comments on the COVID-19 vaccine when browsing social media, I learned what “misinformation spreads like wildfire” meant – derogatory comments stemming from mere ignorance, and personal attacks to the posters. Agitated by the increasingly widespread misinformation, I knew I had to do something about it, and simply arguing in comment sections was not enough. I reached out to NGOs across Canada and secured partnerships with shelters and food banks, delivered information packages to the partners, and conducted workshops to better equip my community, especially the underprivileged, with accurate, digestible information. As the pandemic died down, I shifted my gears to general health advocacy, initiating and directing a Student Ambassador program to involve students at a grassroots level. These experiences didn’t simply teach me about health literacy but made me an advocate who contributes to my community and fights against pressing issues of today."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Music is a realm where my creativity runs wild. A community that I am involved in is the classical music community. Over the past three years, I served as the Program Director of the BAMA International Piano Festival. With a smoothly executed music festival comes hours of meticulous planning, night after night of emails, phone calls, and typing into spreadsheets. I quickly learned that individually emailing 60 participants and manually updating classes with nine different teachers was about as exciting as watching wheat grow. In response, I proposed the idea of automating the scheduling system. Hours of JavaScript crash courses and loads of error messages later, I became the proud mother of a website that provided students access to all they needed – their own personalized schedule, which auto-updated when a change was made on a master schedule from the organizer's end - which despite being met with skepticism at first, increased satisfaction of over 75% of students.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As a child, I embraced dance, but recently I had to get comfortable calling myself a dancer again – a title that I let get stripped away from me. \n\nAs I was roaming the club fair last year, I stood in front of the stands for Jianyi, Waterloo’s Chinese dance club, reminded of the person my twelve-year-old self aspired to me. \n\nI was a little terrified and intimidated by the people around me who were national champions, but slowly I realized that everyone was there to learn and I had nothing to be embarrassed about. My friends and I established a routine where every night we would go to the PAC studios and learn a new dance cover, and psychoanalyzing every detail of dance practice videos became part of my daily life.I experienced dance styles that ranged from classical Chinese dance focused on elegance, to hip-hop. \n\nI’m grateful to have rekindled the dancer that I was and to be able to experience the liberation and overwhelming joy of music flowing in my veins and moving my body to it."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688616803169},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"jjmenon@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Talent","firstName":"Janaki","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Menon","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Mathematics (Possibly Computational Mathematics Major)","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F78fea009-9b3c-4753-b4cc-92816573267d?alt=media&token=cd471846-53e1-466c-9a00-f891d379ce58","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"To determine if a non-profit organization's goals resonate with those of Blueprint, I would start by conducting thorough research on its website. Examining their mission statement and exploring their previous projects would offer valuable insights into their areas of focus and supported causes.\n\nI would take the initiative to have a conversation with a member from the non-profit to discuss our objectives and the necessity of implementing technological advancements within the organization. I would also inquire about the ongoing or upcoming projects that resonate with our mission of making technology accessible. By highlighting our intention to work together as a team, we can ensure a relationship based on equal partnership, rather than imposing our goals on the organization."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be working in Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EST)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is making education accessible for all. Having grown up in India and getting to see the lack of proper education in many rural areas, I am passionate about bringing about a change. Establishing an accessible education platform for underprivileged children, utilising the power of technology, holds immense potential to make a positive impact on countless lives. I strongly believe that every child deserves equal opportunities to receive good quality education. By addressing this cause, we can empower many students to create a more equitable society."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in being a part of the Rotary Club of Cochin Technopolis community. Since 2014, I have been actively volunteering with the club, contributing to various initiatives aimed at making a positive impact. I have played a key role in organizing events such as blood donation camps and arranging flood relief camps throughout Kerala, India. These experiences have not only enhanced my humanitarian values but have also sharpened my communication skills.\n\nI have also had the privilege of working together with some local children's homes and non-profit organizations to address their and the community’s needs. Being part of this community has provided me with a platform to serve others, fostering a sense of fulfillment. I am proud to have made meaningful contributions within the club and look forward to continuing the same to create a positive impact."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In my current co-op role as a Digital Analyst at Maple Leaf Foods, I learned the skill of recruitment. Transitioning from being an interviewee to an interviewer was a new experience for me. I was motivated to learn this skill to make valuable contributions to the hiring process and identify top candidates for the company.\n\nTo develop this skill, I conducted thorough research and critiqued resumes to create a set of excellent, role-specific interview questions. This process not only enhanced my ability to evaluate candidates but also provided insights into what the corporate world seeks in potential interns. Consequently, I improved my own interview skills by understanding the desired qualities and competencies employers look for."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688612298978},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4B","email":"janie.ong@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Janie","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Ong","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Science and Business, Co-op","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7901089b-5572-469a-a82d-74d0f7b06cab?alt=media&token=4c7a78c2-2644-4977-ad11-18dbf9f13a03","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I seek my daily inspiration from design exhibitions and communities. Recently, I virtually attended Figma's Annual Conference, Config, which further fueled my passion for pursuing a career in product design. The conference introduced me to Figma's latest features and creative concepts, expanding my perspective on visual storytelling. Engaging with inspirational speakers motivated me to adopt a design-oriented mindset. Additionally, the design community present at the event was also extremely inspiring. Witnessing how design brings everyone together and hearing the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd when new functionalities were introduced, reminded me of the excitement of product design. Moreover, my friends who are involved in product design serve as a constant source of inspiration, reinforcing my belief that I can also succeed. The social interactions and connections I establish with fellow designers drive me to continuously challenge myself and grow as a product designer."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1drlF_sNLRcq8hKw7g12mDvLNDSFj978G/view?usp=sharing","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern time in Waterloo."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is guiding younger students throughout their career journeys, as I’ve personally faced challenges and uncertainty when switching universities and programs. The pressure to find a dream career weighs heavily on many of us, especially for those without a clear plan. I empathize with the pressure to find a dream career and the feeling of defeat when options seem exhausted. I want to help students navigate these struggles and assure them that ups and downs are part of the process. Only recently have I realized that I want to become more involved in product design and UI/UX with guidance from one of my mentors. It was a truly transformative moment for me because it was the first time I felt like I had found something truly fulfilling for me. I want to offer this same reassurance to students, letting them know it's okay not to have everything figured out. With proper guidance, they can achieve success and find a fulfilling career (or careers!) that suits them"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am part of a community of unconventional tech students who have successfully entered the tech industry. I initially thought I wanted to pursue a traditional role in the healthcare industry. However, during my university journey, I discovered a growing interest in tech and a desire to explore it further. Over the past two years, I have actively participated in Tech+ in 3 roles: Co-Director, Lead Video Editor, and Internal Culture Manager. Within this organization, I have organized events, created digestible video content, and most importantly, motivated students in and outside of tech programs to engage with the tech industry. A significant experience for me was serving as the Lead Video Editor for the 16 Weeks of Internships YouTube channel. I contributed to the creation of 16 videos that aimed to educate students about tech industry internships. Achieving over 100,000 views, our team successfully impacted several students to feel motivated to break into the tech industry."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned a new skill during my current co-op term as a UX Researcher at Hoffmann-La Roche. The flexibility of my job has enabled me to choose projects aligned to my interests. The opportunity that aligned most with my interests was a project that involved learning about usability testing. My motivation to learn more about UI/UX was when I realized that to break into the industry, I need to search for my own opportunities. First, I arranged coffee chats with UI/UX employees, aiming to learn about their projects and explore possibilities for shadowing. Subsequently, I discussed my reasons for getting involved with my manager. As a result, I joined 2 project teams where I could learn from experienced UX researchers, gaining valuable insights into UI/UX. These projects involve various tasks such as usability testing, wireframe creation, and process flow mapping. Through these hands-on experiences, I have successfully taken the first steps towards expanding my knowledge in UI/UX."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688105713441},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"saa2baks@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sahl","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Bakshi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7b647847-cbf1-401d-9024-e600f790b962?alt=media&token=ee53c7c1-c99f-4508-b741-83b4716f9c7e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my previous internship, I encountered the challenge of refactoring some parts of the testing code base. This proved difficult due to its complexity and inadequate documentation. I was able to solved this by analyzing each part and writing down what it was responsible for. By doing so I was not only able to make the necessary changes.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"Honestly, I can get inspired by nature for the way it integrates form and function. For example, an engineer took inspiration from the kingfisher, to redesign the nose of the Shinkansen Bullet Train which reduced power use and enabled faster speeds. Moreover, observing everyday objects that seamlessly blend clean looks with functionality are where I derive ideas from."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://sahlbakshi.github.io/portfolio/\nI don't have specific link for product design but I am deeply interested in it.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Time, EDT"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The cause of supporting orphans resonates with me. Every child deserves to have access to food, clothing, shelter, and a nurturing environment to grow and realize their full potential."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I wasn't particularly a part of a community but I hoped take care of stray kittens and cats until they were old enough to get adopted or wander outside safely after being vaccinated."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I wanted to be able to develop web applications. To acquire this skill, I utilized various learning resources such as YouTube videos, online articles, and sought guidance from friends whenever necessary. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687943944024},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B/2A","email":"brenda.li@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Brenda ","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Li","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Financial Analysis & Risk Management","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7be7c003-934e-403e-9056-b978c54db0cd?alt=media&token=1e1a7de4-cead-41c7-9d33-429cb915d648","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I would break research in several stages. Initially, prior to a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter, I will often use an internet-based and heuristics approach. This would include seeking the people that are knowledgeable in the domain and learning key aspects and areas from them, including what we often recognize as research as well as thought-behaviours and obscure information. Crucially, I prefer to preform literature reviews & meta-analysis, media analysis and perhaps a population or social-behaviour (cultural) analysis. This step crystallizes the problem definition, importance, scope, and viability.\n\nThe second step comprises first-hand research and meta-analysis of situation, solutions, and key stakeholders, including current options and competitors. Via: people, books, and conducting studies and comparison/contrast situations and placing myself in daily situations that perhaps extend beyond any one particular scope or situation, + graphing, data analysis. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Mobile","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I’ll admit that CS 135 and CS 136 serve as my introductory courses to CS; hence, during my prior study terms, the technical challenges have been largely corroborated with academics. One such challenge was to implement transformations on vectors with matrices in Racket without prior knowledge in linear algebra nor any understanding of a matrix. Specifically, matrix multiplication was an iconic example of using Racket to, essentially, learn linear algebra. First, the challenge was to use the examples they give in CS135 assignments and thereby extend by hand and create my own tests, formally coded into the design recipe: \"black box\" testing in Racket. Secondly, to identify and understand mathematical notation used to represent matrices (from a subpar mathematical background). 1) & 2) combined created a visualization of matrix multiplication that was transcribed into code. From thereon, further testing and different methods (efficiency) was done, in addition to teaching peers & extension.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST. Should situation change, I may be in CST.\n\nMy apologies--since I began in Winter, I have co-op in next Winter and have yet to formalize a UWaterloo-format PDF resume. Currently, would a Notion-linked resume be acceptable for this occurrence?\n\nLink: https://www.notion.so/Brenda-Li-Product-Designer-3756a26388e14773a2e0935906e68800?pvs=4 "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"What brings me excitement, passion and drive is helping others through comprehensive, valuable and creative ways. The bigger picture of things, and issues with both large or wide-ranging challenges resonate clearly within myself since earlier years. \n\nI think a particular interest of mine is health-technology innovation/improvement in products, services, and legislation for wellbeing of society or as human beings. For the last term(s) at UW, I cofound a biotechnology startup and assist as VP Finance & Logistics for a UW startup that aims to make cell-growth serums more accessible, sustainable and affordable. It pertains to several areas of passion, including global food, health, and sustainability. I wish to use science, learning, and community to improve global growth. One area that I am particularly keen in is the way these technologies may save or improve lives, such as with organ donation and eliminating wait time or wasted rss. Thus, I joined the Velocity Health Challenge et. al."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm a part of a community in UW, comprised of Waterloo students striving for greater done deeds. Let me explain. The most wonderful appeal about UW I have learnt is its student body: ambitious, humble, beyond-friendly (and genuine), and creative. Aside from this superset, I'm a part of student residence, UW Velocity (startups), EA and Greenhouse communities. I have gone to CUMC, WCC @ Western, in addition to speaking with professors and lecturers (both current & with prior experience in UW) and graduate students (UofT, etc). Time and time I realize the inventive genius and academic and personable (d.t.e.) characteristics that blend into the soul of UW students. (Similar characteristics befall several clubs, hence I'll explain holistically.) Personally, I contribute towards this network through connecting nodes of students together & integrating areas learnt from one to another; this includes inspiring & supporting students ment./socially, creating a product to aid medical research, et."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During a summer prior to high school, I decided to travel to the Shaolin Monastery in China to learn the beginnings of wushu, kungfu, and san-da kickboxing and to immerse myself within the daily regiments and training in the temples for my 14th birthday. High school was about to begin, and I knew I would visit my extended family in China prior and therefore be blessed to be able to live and learn with the best-in-class within the province and perhaps in all of China, and so I enrolled. I believe that anything we learn has a lasting and potentially beneficial impact on ourselves and those we may impact in the future, and I wished to learn martial arts, different ways of thought and behaviour, and take on a challenge in a foreign and immersed environment. With me were four other internationals (adults), with whom I stayed and conversed/befriended. I generally approach all situations with an inquisitive, open, and deterministic approach. Hence, daily tens miles ran & martial arts learnt."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615174268},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"manallkhann.03@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Manal","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Khan","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Global Business and Digital Arts","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7bfac982-09ba-4360-b7bf-303bf9b5318f?alt=media&token=223dd11f-4256-4978-9f42-ae3b9433f3b6","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"As a product designer, I seek inspiration from various sources in my daily life. One significant source is observing human behavior and interactions. By paying attention to how people navigate their surroundings and engage with products and services, I gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points. This observation allows me to design with empathy and create meaningful solutions that enhance user experiences. Additionally, I find inspiration in exploring different cultures and their unique aesthetics. By immersing myself in diverse traditions, art forms, and lifestyles, I can infuse my designs with cultural elements that resonate with specific communities. Moreover, I actively engage with online design communities, attend industry events, and collaborate with fellow designers. These interactions foster a vibrant exchange of ideas, providing fresh perspectives and pushing me to continually evolve as a product designer."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://manalkhan.webflow.io/","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"As a User Experience Researcher, I specialize in conducting interviews and surveys to gather valuable insights. Through one-on-one interviews, I delve deep into users' perspectives, motivations, and pain points, uncovering rich qualitative data. Additionally, I design and administer surveys to reach a larger user base, collecting quantitative feedback on a broader scale. These research methods allow me to understand user needs, preferences, and challenges, complementing each other to provide a comprehensive understanding of the user experience. By combining interviews and surveys, I ensure a well-rounded approach to research that informs user-centered design decisions."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time(EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"From a young age, I became acquainted with the educational challenges faced by children in my home country of Pakistan. This early exposure inspired me to seize an opportunity at the age of 15: teaching English and Math to underprivileged students. Throughout my two-month teaching experience, I witnessed the sheer passion and excitement that these students exhibited when learning something as simple as colors or shapes. This eye-opening encounter made me reflect on how often we take our education for granted and fail to appreciate the opportunities we have.\n\nMotivated by this realization, I embarked on a journey to support students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these children were unable to afford an education due to their parents' job loss. Engaging in this cause deeply resonated with me because observing the genuine passion that individuals can have for their studies fills me with an immense sense of gratitude."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be a part of a community centered around a recycled book library, an initiative that my younger brother and I collaborated on. Recognizing the value of books and the importance of promoting literacy, we came up with the idea to create a space where people could access and exchange books while also promoting sustainable practices\n\nTo bring this idea to life, we first reached out to our friends, family, and neighbors, asking for book donations. We were overwhelmed by the positive response and received a wide variety of books, spanning different genres and age groups.\n\nWe transformed a small room in our neighborhood into a cozy and inviting library. We gathered recycled materials to furnish the space, ensuring that our initiative aligned with our commitment to environmental sustainability. We invited local residents, schools, and community organizations, emphasizing the benefits of reading and the importance of reusing and recycling books."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"This summer, I embarked on a journey to learn photography driven by a passion for visual storytelling and a desire to capture all types of scenery around me. I researched technical aspects, practiced regularly, and sought feedback from a friend studying film to learn more about important elements to focus on when taking pictures. Sharing my work through social media connected me with a lot of my friends who have the same passion. Learning photography provided a new perspective on details, light, and emotions. It has been a rewarding journey of expressing creativity and capturing moments in a meaningful way.\n\n\n\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688592241224},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"dh25nguy@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Duc Huu","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Nguyen","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7d2c1445-794b-4ee5-b6cd-9997545a2357?alt=media&token=d01d6075-9526-4639-88ea-39b629cfc1d0","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"When I was working contract for Minecraft servers, I faced a really challenging problem in incorporating custom models into the game. While developing a racing minigame, I was asked to use a model engine to integrate custom car models into the game, which our 3D modeler also used. No matter how much I tried, the cars wouldn't align with player models in movement.\n\nAfter digging deep into the engine's obfuscated code and messaging the original developer on Discord, it appeared that this bug was considered expected behaviour within the engine itself: it did not support vehicle mounting. I had to implement my own custom movement behaviour, which clashed with existing animation code, so I needed to recreate that as well by learning how Minecraft's engine handled animations.\n\nI considered this the most challenging technical problem I have faced because it involved a lot of different sides to development: communication, codebase exploration and ultimately implementation of complex logic.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The fight for green energy is a cause that deeply resonates with me. The reality is that our world is experiencing increasing pollution each day, with no signs of slowing down. Growing up in a third-world country, I have personally witnessed the destruction of beautiful natural landscapes in favor of industrial complexes. Moreover, over the years, I have learned about the unsustainability of our current energy usage and the impending consequences that future generations will face. This cause has struck a chord with me because I believe engineers and programmers have the potential to lead the way in creating a greener Earth. A prime example is the advent of electric cars, which hold the promise of significantly reducing pollution in the future—a revolution spearheaded by the very group I mentioned earlier."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In high school, I participated in programming classes and took interest in the Minecraft development community. I ran my own Minecraft server and developed plugins to add custom features to the base game. Thanks to many people that I met in the community, I was able to get my start in the world of real software development. I learnt OOP concepts such as classes, interfaces, dependency injection all from interacting with the community, concepts that my high school class doesn’t teach. Throughout high school, I contributed back to the community by offering my development services to the people who needed it. Overall, I’m proud to be a part of this community, and I’m thankful for all the things I’ve learnt while I was in it."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I ran my own Minecraft server, I noticed that many servers had their own forums made from Xenforo. So I was motivated to make my server a forum as well. I downloaded a cracked version of Xenforo and tinkered with its internal code for some time, trying to make the forum themed after my server as much as possible by changing colors, backgrounds and textures. This experience got me familiar with Javascript, HTML, CSS and jQuery, which are all technologies used by Xenforo. I also learnt some MySQL while digging to understand how the forum posts were being stored. I felt like the approach of having an end goal already set and learning everything on the way works out the best for me, and this is one of the best examples."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615270857},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"n8choudh@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"External Director","firstName":"Nitya","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Choudhary","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Economics","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7d723c97-60a4-43bd-99ec-be92718ab28e?alt=media&token=b006ceb6-8a2f-49f9-8e45-e7bba3c8f4ec","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"An event idea that aligns with Blueprint’s mission as the External Director could be a \"Tech Career Transition Workshop.\" This event would be focused on empowering individuals with non-traditional backgrounds. Whether it be an economics student like myself seeking an alternative path beyond finance or a fourth-year psychology student taking a computer science course for the first time and discovering they want to learn more about tech, resources in place for students with these stories should be available. The workshop would feature industry professionals who have successfully made career transitions into the tech industry. This event would embody Blueprint's mission of making technology more accessible and useful for those who create communities and promote public welfare. By offering practical guidance, resources, and networking opportunities, Blueprint can foster inclusivity and help expand the talent pool in the tech industry to ensure diversity is present in this thriving field!\n"}],"role":"External Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time - Living in Waterloo"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is promoting mental health awareness. As a student in an academically rigorous environment like the University of Waterloo, I have witnessed and experienced first hand the toll that stress and pressure can take on individuals' mental health. It is critical to prioritize mental well-being and continue working on establishing a culture that encourages open conversations. My passion for this cause stems from belonging to a culture where mental health is not taken seriously. With this, it is in my hands to break this generational trend and contribute my time towards accomplishing this goal. Blueprints's dedication to using technology for social impact aligns perfectly with my passion for leveraging digital solutions to promote mental health. Let us foster a community that values mental health, breaks down stigma, and ensures that everyone can thrive both academically and personally."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I am incredibly proud to be part of is the University of Waterloo as an Orientation Leader. This coming September will be my first time being an active member of this community and I am thrilled to bring my experiences from high school where I thrived as an orientation leader. Being in a position to provide mentorship and support to incoming students is something that truly motivates me. I highly valued my orientation leaders who helped me through my transition to university life and I want to give back to my community by doing the same for incoming students. I will be there to listen, offer advice, and address any concerns they may have, ensuring they feel supported and connected within the UWaterloo community. Through my role as a Waterloo Orientation Leader, I am confident that I will make a positive impact on the experiences of new students, providing mentorship and support as they embark on their university journey!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During the COVID-19 pandemic, I dedicated my spare time to learning the skill of coding and web development. Motivated by my curiosity and the increasing demand for technological proficiency, I explored coding through various free online resources and enrolling in a bootcamp, with a focus on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. During my learning process, I developed a passion for front-end development and made sure to learn more about user experience principles and graphic design concepts. To put my skills to the test and gain practical experience, I attended hackathons where I collaborated with individuals from around the world to create innovative web-based solutions. Through being authentic and showing genuine passion for my projects, I was also able to win some awards at hackathons. The skill of coding not only complements my future economics courses with heavy coding components but also opens doors towards exciting opportunities in the tech industry."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688603976528},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"kevin.2005.ge@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Kevin","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ge","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F7e3142e3-878a-44cf-96f2-0231ec3264f1?alt=media&token=d00aa35f-0c88-469a-913d-af0650061e74","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In my experience at the Canadian Youth Champion's fall 2021 competition, after a few days of working, it became increasingly harder to navigate our code. Having several people working on different parts of the program without documentation quickly became a nightmare to untangle. Thus, as the STEM director and lead of our coding group, I worked with the other coders to agree to add comments throughout. We decided to add comments on new sections of our website, helping identify what a new div would do, or what for and where a function would be called. We also agreed on a single variable naming pattern, so it would be quick and easy to identify different variables and their purposes. Overall, after having learned the hard way, we managed to clean up our code and work more efficiently the rest of the way. Although we had some minor bumps in the rest of the road, the cleaner code made trouble shooting much easier than it had once been.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in Waterloo (I'm also flexible in working in-person or virtually if need be) (EDT/GMT-4)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Since the start of the pandemic, I have always been keen on staying safe especially as I currently live with my grandparents. When the pandemic started becoming more severe in 2021, I volunteered to be a LinkedIn specialist for the organization Project Northern Lights. I found the feats that the organization was able to accomplish as a non-profit was astounding, as they delivered tens of thousands of units of PPE to communities in need. Thinking of my grandparents and the many other groups of people at higher risk to the pandemic has made Project Northern Light's cause truly resonate with me and my goal of helping others be aware of the risks the pandemic brings. As a LinkedIn specialist volunteer, I am happy to have been able to expand the organization's reach on the platform and inform viewers of recent news on the pandemic."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Also in 2021, I joined the Canadian Youth Champion's fall 2021 competition to work on a two-month long design and coding project. As a team, we sought guidance from the organization's mentors and learned a lot from them and each other. With their support, my team managed to win first place! After the competition, I opted to stay with the organization for the winter 2022 session as a mentor myself. It was very rewarding having gone through the program to see other student's project grow and mature. I was able to use my experiences coding and my experiences with the program in the previous term to help guide a team of 10 through their own project! Additionally, my role as a mentor expanded into an organizer, where I helped plan and run the final 300-person event of the winter 2022 term. Seeing the program grow from its humble beginnings of ~100 members to 300 attending that event and how many people the program and my work is able to help was eye-opening!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Last year, I applied to the Global Youth Challenge, a competition that has students present their opinions on a divisive issue through an artwork or essay, and a video. Although I had made several small videos for projects before, I had never used advanced video editing software before, solely relying on Windows Movie Maker. Even though I could have gone with a basic video with Windows Movie Maker, I wanted to try and put in my all. As such, I decided to use the weeks until the deadline to learn as much as I could about DaVinci Resolve. I usually find that tutorials and online documentation are how I learn best, so I looked to find those resources online. I quickly found the beginner's guide as well as videos that go through basic tasks in DaVinci, helping me get a sense of what videos I could make with the software. I ultimately created a short video which helped me get a spot at the finals, where I won a tied third place!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688180305629},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"ssathish@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Sriram","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Sathish","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F80ff73c5-5009-4751-aa6f-ace4b42fadc3?alt=media&token=b04e653e-b485-485e-b7dc-12fa5413e7d7","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"In my second co-op in Winter '22, I worked for a cybersecurity startup that had a couple of pilot programs that were scheduled to be launched in the summer. They had a couple of applications that required extensive improvements and one of them was an Admin panel that helps the end-user control the entire suite of products. In my second week, I took on the initiative of completing all improvements to the portal and collaborated extensively with the UI designers and the product manager to build a solid application before the end of my work term. As a result of this, the company was able to launch its programs well before the scheduled start date."}],"role":"Project Lead"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Mobile","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In my current co-op, at a pre-fab housing startup, I had to come up with a solution to build the shortest possible electrical routing network for any given floor plan. Firstly, I made sure to identify the different building panels where the outlets and wires can be attached. This was done so that the generated network does not violate the structural integrity of the building in any way. After this, I generated all possible wire paths for each panel and used a well-known algorithm to generate the shortest network possible. \n\nOverall, I broke down this complex task into shorter bite-sized tasks and completed a few of them in short two-day sprints. Breaking down the complexity certainly helped a lot in identifying potential edge cases and helped me deliver the project well within the deadline.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that deeply resonates with me is environmental sustainability. I grew up in two cities where pollution is commonplace and access to clean air is limited. This has had a profound impact on me growing up and has fueled my passion for addressing this critical issue. I had the opportunity to take part in several clean-up drives and environmental campaigns in high school where I helped raise awareness about the need for urgent collective action. These experiences helped solidify my commitment to making the planet a better place to live for everyone."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"One community that has helped me grow immensely has to be my cricket club back home. This club allowed me to get out of my comfort zone and has played a huge role in defining me as a person today. Being part of this community has taught me the value of being a team player and how collective efforts can achieve remarkable results, even in the face of daunting challenges. My biggest contribution was when I captained our side to victory in an under-13 tournament. My job was made much easier due to my amazing team who showed resilience in the face of adversity."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Before joining UWaterloo, I had very limited technical experience and I wanted to do summer internships to become better at web development. However, opportunities were very limited due to the pandemic and I was forced to gain that experience on my own. It was during this time when hospital equipment was limited and I got the idea to build a chat application, similar to Facebook marketplace, where clinics can request equipment from the public. I used this project-based approach to learn new technical skills. This opportunity to truly make an impact gave me the motivation to learn the ins and outs of full-stack development and geared me up for my academic and professional career."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1687923943454},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"olivia.h.honsinger@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Olivia","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Honsinger","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8207a889-c139-487a-b89f-3796137775ca?alt=media&token=f9ed823a-f60e-46fc-9c4c-0a5da9131967","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile","Other:"],"response-specified":"Anything that would be a good technical learning experience! I want to look back at the end of the year and be proud of what new things I've learned since F23.","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem that I've worked on in the past was the SE Booking Bot, which was used by Fall 2021 students in Software Engineering to schedule the use of on-campus study spaces amidst COVID restrictions. Some of my teammates were experienced web developers, but it was my first project, and given that I was unfamiliar with any of the technologies, I felt overwhelmed and behind. I had a hard time grasping the concept of Mongoose schemas and models, understanding the different types of HTTP requests, and struggled to understand interfacing with an API. I was able to slowly wade through by exploring different internet resources (W3Schools, official documentation, and conceptual videos) along with asking for help from my teammates to guide me through one of the provided examples, so I could learn hands-on. I learn best when I can work through an example with someone, and I applied what I learned (with help) in order to make a simple REST API for the SE Booking Bot project.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"One of my favourite products is Timepage by Moleskine. Although they're generally known for physical notebooks and planners, they have a subscription-based calendar app for iOS. Despite the initial learning curve, the features it provides has made it impossible for me to use any other calendar. My favourite thing that they do differently from the big-name calendar apps (like Google calendar, Apple's default calendar) is a monthly heatmap overview for displaying the density of certain days (or weeks) at a glance. I find this much more intuitive, since it saves the effort of counting events per day. They also allow you to filter based on certain calendars (such as school, personal, appointments, etc) so you can get a quick glance at each of those categories. They also have an interactive monthly calendar widget for iOS that allows you to check any day's events without needing to open the app. I haven't found any other calendar app that does it as smoothly or intuitively as Timepage does."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"ET (in Collingwood, same as Waterloo)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The SASC (Sexual Assault Support Centre for the Waterloo Region) provides supports that are vital to addressing mental health concerns faced by sexual assault survivors. Their cause resonates with me because SASC's values and approach to healing from sexual violence (and its related traumas) have measurably impacted me by teaching various coping strategies, providing group-based and individual support, learning resources, legal advocacy, and 24-hour support lines. There's no discrimination based on background or situation. SASC is also a sex worker-friendly resource that emphasizes safety and empowerment for workers. SASC also provides resources for victims of sexual assault and human trafficking. For those unaffected directly by sexual assault, SASC offers learning workshops on how to foster stronger allyship. They recognize obstacles faced by people of various backgrounds, and work with the SVPRO on-campus to facilitate accessible campus-based resources focused on student support."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I'm proud to be part of is the Software Engineering community here on campus. I do a lot of event organizing as one of the VP’s for the Software Engineering Society (SE Soc). Before starting my first term, I independently organized a chess tournament in the Waterloo Park, followed by an informal campus tour and class campfire. While serving in SE Soc, I’ve continued to organize a couple events like resume critiques, class dinners, and coffeehouses with usually over 100+ student turnout. I'm currently finalizing the biggest recorded WiSE (Women in Software Engineering) event since SE Soc's inception, with over 50% of the WiSE population on-campus this term attending. As the longest serving Academic rep for SE '26, I work closely with our program directors to reform our curriculum by soliciting student feedback. I'm in charge of helping re-design the CS 247 \"Software Engineering Principles\" course to be more reflective of modern-day Software Engineering industry practices."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I started trying to bike leisurely this summer. I knew how to ride a bike, but riding leisurely didn't seem very appealing to me. My motivation to start biking stemmed from physical health concerns, along with the frequent need for alone time. I found whenever I would stay in my room, I would derive little joy from playing video games to unwind, and I'd end up wasting a lot of time stressing out about being unproductive. I also had trouble switching gears to study after taking a break to watch Netflix or play games. My approach was to examine why I found biking challenging. I pinpointed that the challenge for me wasn't the physical exertion, but the mental effort required to start a route. I thought of small-step approaches that wouldn't demotivate or overwhelm me. I forced myself to have accountability by committing to bike with my partner, even when I didn't feel like getting out of bed. Having external supports helped me build more willpower and mental fortitude to start each day."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688153112251},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"2krothapasam@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sami ","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Krothapalli","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Mathamatics","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8333af9a-46b1-4b27-b683-1ce3d67fdd0c?alt=media&token=c0395c6d-beb8-4319-b9c3-61819afed9cd","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One of the technical problems was in my co op I had to refactor dead code that wasn't being used at all and do a dependency injection to put all common classes and files in a different project the only problem with that is that there were thousands of lines of code that needed to be done so a simple fix I found was to create a python script to get all common classes and then from there move them to a different project which then I can simply do a dependency injection so that those classes can be implemented to the rest of the project. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"7","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"if you go to the Wwaterloo data science club Instagram page you are able to see some of the Instagram posts I created for the club. Recently I designed and implemented the creation of the Canadian young investors society website https://www.cyis.info/ the website is right here. "}],"role":"Graphic Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Graphic Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. As the world faces various environmental challenges such as climate change, deforestation, species extinction, and pollution, it has become increasingly important to take action to protect our planet and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be one of the executives in the Cybersecurity Club I the VP of Outreach and I believe I have contributed by reaching out to experts in the field to offer expertise and educate club members of advice in the field of cybersecurity. I also created a terminology page for beginners in the field so that they have resources to educate themselves and improve since there isn't much resources on it that is free. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Recently I took a course on full stack development and I had a lot of struggle understanding JavaScript Arrays and the overall concept of inheritance luckily I was able to learn from others and use projects to help me learn the concept better. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688615707614},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"madhav.malik@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Madhav","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Malik","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F844011bb-458f-4962-8869-2ba938aec61a?alt=media&token=c547bf8b-1ba2-4aa3-ba5f-bbb6e096cd57","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"While creating the HearMate project that could convert speech to sign-language in real-time, I struggled to find a dataset for American Sign Language. It was nearly impossible to build the project without having a list of all the signs and their corresponding words/phrases. \n\nI realised that the only solution was to come up with a dataset, but that too seemed like a very difficult and time-consuming task. It was then that I built a background support system that could record hand gestures in a video and then label them with the corresponding phrase. The background algorithm noted the positions of joints and edges to build the dataset. This was only possible with the support from Suniye NGO in New Delhi, who had a network of sign language instructors. \n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be pursuing my undergraduate studies at the University of Waterloo in Honours Computer Science, with co-op, starting in Fall 2023. I will be present at the University before the start of the semester and will be in the EDT zone (GMT -4). \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Living with Haemophilia forced me to confront the challenges of a disorder that caused internal bleeding in my joints. My life was irrevocably changed as frequent hospital visits for Factor VIII injections stalled my academic progress and stunted my personal growth.\n\nHowever, the day I discovered coding and began learning Python and C++, my life immeasurably improved. At school, when I used my wheelchair, I explored the marvels of coding by building projects in the lab and used yoga and physiotherapy to enhance my quality of life. However, the watershed moment in my healing journey was learning self-infusion, which empowered me to visit the Kennedy Space Center, NASA while managing my condition independently, a previously implausible feat. \n\nMy lifelong challenges with Haemophilia and accessing timely medical care inspired the Haemophilia App, an application that connects patients with doctors while offering online consults, trackers and physiotherapy exercises online."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Being the Head Boy of my school, it was my responsibility to cross-check if anyone was facing any issues in the online mode during the pandemic and resolve it or raise issues to the concerned authorities. It was then that I got to know about one of the junior students, Krish Tyagi who suffered from a hearing disability. Interacting with him further made me realize that he was unable to comprehend lessons during online classes and was being left behind. This led me to think of ways in which I could ease his trouble. I looked for a technical solution at hand and started working on a project which could potentially help people with hearing disabilities. HearMate is an AI-based model that would automatically convert audio to sign language in real-time. It could be used to understand online lectures and YouTube videos. I implemented it at my school to help Krish and then collaborated with the Suniye NGO, New Delhi to make it accessible to other children."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"“Design and programming are human activities, forget that and all is lost.”\nDanish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup perfectly encapsulates my learnings from my experience in software engineering.\nDuring my internship at IBM, I was mentored by software engineers. Upon working closely with them, I was in awe of their problem-solving skills and more so their attitude of chasing solutions until they found one.\nAt times they would give me wicked problems and ask to come up with a few solutions. Slowly I learned the art of design thinking and my perspective was molded towards adopting a human-centered approach. I then learned about building empathy maps and mental models, to understand the user better. The skill of design thinking completely engrossed me and I went ahead to think about how its principles could be used in the projects I had already built.\nI would like to join the UW Blueprint team in a bid to help specially-abled and promote inclusion, using my technical and design skills"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688632786495},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"y598sun@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Yiran","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Sun","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8719d151-8151-4a7e-975a-71fe5deef6de?alt=media&token=691a8c51-09e1-44bb-9cc2-a46bf0d504b9","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During the previous term, I had the opportunity to work as an intern in the role of a compiler engineer. One of my main responsibilities involved linking IR files in a desired manner to optimize performance. However, I encountered a few challenges along the way. Initially, I found that the LLVM documentation was not very beginner-friendly. Additionally, since I was working with SPIR-V files, I encountered several GPU-related concepts that I hadn't previously learned.\nTo overcome these hurdles, I adopted a proactive approach. Firstly, I sought out helpful blogs and online resources related to LLVM. I also conducted targeted searches within the GPU team's manual to familiarize myself with the specific concepts I needed to understand.\nIn addition to my research, I took the initiative to design several different approaches to tackling the task, then sought guidance and feedback from my manager. With the guidance and feedback received, the task was done within a week.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern time "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that deeply resonates with me is addressing the large income difference and promoting economic equality. I believe that everyone should have equal opportunities and access to resources regardless of their socioeconomic background.\nThe staggering income inequality we see in our society not only perpetuates systemic injustices but also hinders social progress. It creates barriers to education, healthcare, and basic necessities for many individuals and communities. In my personal life, I actively seek opportunities to volunteer and contribute to organizations that address income disparity.\nI believe in the power of education as a means to break the cycle of poverty. By supporting initiatives that promote equal access to quality education, we can empower individuals to improve their economic prospects and contribute to the growth and development of their communities."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in being a part of my vibrant living community in Montréal, and I have made significant contributions through active volunteering across multiple spheres. One of my notable contributions has been organizing fundraising events to support diverse community initiatives. In a particular instance, I played a crucial role in organizing a fundraising campaign to support our volunteer team's trip to Peru, where we built schools for underprivileged communities. Additionally, I have been actively involved in assisting the local library through organizing events like book sales and managing book collections."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":" Firstly, I embarked on finding the most effective learning resources by exploring various video platforms like Udemy and YouTube, seeking courses or tutorials that offered comprehensive learning roadmaps. This allowed me to gather a solid foundation of knowledge.\nNext, I applied my learning practically by utilizing my local machine to engage in quick exercises and hands-on practice with Kubernetes. This hands-on experience helped me deepen my understanding of the concepts and functionality of Kubernetes.\nIn instances where I encountered confusion or challenges, I referred to the official documentation for guidance and clarification.\nFinally, I actively sought opportunities to apply my newly acquired knowledge in a real-world setting and I applied to a company where I could leverage my Kubernetes expertise within a production environment. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687585173045},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"aj3wang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Anthony","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Wang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"MATH/BBA","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F87a52037-e502-4af6-88c5-0b23eadac117?alt=media&token=ab508afc-5e19-4bae-99f0-9b9ea922b18d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my time as a front-end developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem while integrating a complex data visualization component into our web application. To efficiently display and interact with large datasets, I followed a systematic approach.\n\nI analyzed the data structure, identified crucial information, and researched data visualization libraries. Choosing a React-based library, I focused on rendering performance. Virtualization rendered only visible data, reducing the rendering load. I implemented caching to avoid redundant computations and unnecessary re-renders, leveraging React's state management and memoization.\n\nContinuous testing and user feedback refined the implementation. The integrated data visualization component provided users with a powerful tool for analyzing large datasets. Optimized rendering ensured a smooth and responsive interface.\n\nThis experience enhanced my problem-solving skills and deepened my understanding of data visualization techniques. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One particular subject that I am passionate about is empowering poor youngsters through technology education. I am convinced that access to high-quality education and technology skills may alter the lives of young people experiencing economic or social issues. We can provide them with the tools they need to succeed in the modern world and open doors to a brighter future by giving them with opportunities to learn coding, programming, and other digital skills. We can bridge the educational gap and empower these young people to thrive, pursue meaningful careers, and become agents of positive change in their communities through mentorship programmes, interactive workshops, and strategic partnerships with organisations dedicated to serving disadvantaged youth. By fostering their digital literacy and fostering their passion for technology, we can inspire them to become innovators, problem solvers, and future leaders, ultimately creating a more inclusive and equitable society for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am extremely proud to be a member of the Tech Plus club at UW, where we are dedicated to supporting diversity, inclusion, and equity in the tech industry. I have made major contributions as an active member by organising and implementing events that provide essential chances and resources to underrepresented individuals in the world of technology. The AI x ML event, in which I worked as a Resources Organiser, was an example of an event in which I played a critical part.\n\nIn my role, I worked closely with the event's organising staff to ensure its success. My duties included discovering and obtaining prestigious guest speakers, conducting engaging workshops and panel discussions, and managing logistics, such as venue arrangements and marketing initiatives. Through this event, we aimed to bring together individuals from diverse backgrounds and provide them with insights, knowledge, and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving fields of artificial intelligence and ML."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning Chinese has been life-changing for me. I took a multifaceted approach to reconnect with my cultural heritage and deepen my relationship with family. Enrolling in formal classes, which focused on vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation, gave structure. Self-study utilising textbooks, online courses, and apps helped me remember what I had studied. Conversations with native speakers and immersion in Chinese media were essential. My desire to speak with relatives and appreciate my background remained a driving force in my determination. Setting attainable goals and recognising major accomplishments kept me motivated. The help of family and friends was vital. Learning Chinese has strengthened my relationships and personal development by transcending cultural divides and providing a profound sense of connectedness. It taught me tenacity, dedication, and the value of accepting difficulties. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688177138957},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"kd3tran@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Kent","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Tran","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Mechatronics Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F882144e7-569c-424a-ad8e-5eeae0935474?alt=media&token=e579997e-9288-4505-bd99-8fb7730dbbbc","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Other:"],"response-specified":"Infrastructure or System Design","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One of the most difficult technical issues I faced was during our initial collaboration when we were working on a project using Luxonis cameras and machine learning models. The challenge was to develop software that would allow the user to control the camera and detect the presence of specific parts. The issue occurred when using the Fetch API in JavaScript, where the connection bandwidth was limited and requests had to be sent at a rate of 0.3 frames per second in order to get the latest frame that is generated by the computer vision program and render it to the client side. After weeks of deliberation, I came up with a solution with the lead developer's guidance. Decoding the image into bytes and sending them in packets every 0.3 seconds overcomes bandwidth limitations and ensures smooth data transmission. This experience has taught me the importance of seeking advice and working with experienced professionals to effectively solve complex challenges. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"- Address the purpose of this projects as well as the reason why creating this code repository: We can do this by articulating the need for a standardized code repository and the benefits it brings to project consistency, collaboration, and scalability. \n- Address the concerns by the detractors: I think this is one of the most important element, before we can analyze of any ideas from the supporters, we first need to understand the viewpoints from the detractors. We can address these concerns by providing relevant information, examples, and case studies demonstrating the positive impact of standardized repositories. \n- Organizing workshop or meetings to analyze the breakdown of the code repository or having discussions to around the proposed standardized code repository, allowing developers in the team to provide input, ask questions, and express their thoughts.\n- Provide developers with training and support to guarantee a smooth transition to the code. Provide resources and documents\n"}],"role":"VP Engineering"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"The timezone that I will be based out of next term is GMT-4. my co-op would be in Waterloo."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"What really draws me to the Software Developer position at UW Blueprint is the opportunity to use my technical skills and passion for software development to make a positive impact on the community. Having expertise in Python, Java, C++, JavaScript, TypeScript, HTML, CSS, Rest APIs, GraphQL APIs, I am excited to join the UW Blueprint community after seeing the amazing projects they are working on. These projects not only inspired me as a software developer, they demonstrated the potential for meaningful change through technology. Beyond the technical side, I want to be part of a community where I can have fun, make new friends, and continuously learn and develop new skills. I want to use my skills and work with like-minded people to create innovative software solutions that meet community needs and have a lasting, positive impact. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm excited to work in a collaborative and agile atmosphere where developers promote a supportive environment by aiding one another in problem-solving and strive for superior solutions. I see myself prospering on a team that values open communication, supports information exchange, and embraces a welcoming environment. This could be a place where we - (as each of us is a part of this University of Waterloo community) can face obstacles together, consistently enhance our skills, and foster a happy and productive work atmosphere that fosters both personal and professional development."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During the creation of my own side project, StudyHub, I went on a path to learn a new skill: AWS Cloud Computing. The reason for learning this skill was the conviction that StudyHub might tremendously aid students like me who were eager to connect and make new acquaintances. To learn AWS Cloud Computing Services (including both APIs and SDKs), I relied on self-study, reading AWS material extensively to obtain a thorough understanding of the platform. In addition, I actively sought advice and instruction from the helpful AWS Developers community, leveraging their skills to solve problems and deepen my understanding. This learning experience not only enabled me to contribute effectively to StudyHub, but it also cultivated my love for continual learning and creating solutions that have a great influence on others."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687112973156},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"aarav8304@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Aarav","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Jain","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F882b9496-a861-4f97-b32f-99b463ac86a9?alt=media&token=f34cc8b4-b11d-4e21-9531-a7c182609be9","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my current internship at Bharti Axa Life Insurance, the backend service that I was developing was primarily tasked to be a backend for the frontend - its main job was to aggregate multiple responses from different microservices and send it back to the frontend. However, due to the current synchronous implementation of this layer, whenever new code changes were pushed as part of the deployment process, the backend suffered from long planned downtimes. Therefore, by integrating AWS Simple Queue Service, I was able to move this service to an ansynchronous implementation that not only increased the throughput of the backend, but also reduced these API downtimes by 21%. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Local Waterloo Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am particularly passionate about environmental conservation and sustainable economical progress that preserves nature. This matter is especially prevalent with the rate of economical growth that we are witnessing around the world, and implementing smart solutions by harnessing the power of technology and software could help us growth sustainably, make economical progress and enjoy nature."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of a community of problem solvers: people who implement their thought provoking ideas to build solutions to real world problems. To extend this spirit and enable others to be influenced by the ideas of inspiring yet unorthodox individuals, I took on the role of being an Executive Producer for my school's TEDx event during the summer before coming to Waterloo. Over this past year, I still mentor my juniors, who are part of the our high school's TEDx, to enable our audience to think different."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Given my love of building new software, I kept producing new side projects consistently. However, I noticed a pattern: most of my side projects were full stack web based apps. Therefore, this summer, I wanted to try something new; therefore, I challenged myself to build a ray tracing engine, which combined math and low-level C++ programming to make something new. I did this by reading up on \"Effective Modern C++\" by Scott Meyers and some linear algebra. The main motivation was to keep pushing the boundaries of what I currently know and what I can currently build, so that I can keep improving my skills as a software engineer."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687943786727},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A in Fall 2023","email":"smurawal@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Shashwat","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Murawala","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F88d6cee8-7bd1-4e12-ade4-e3b3f349f5dc?alt=media&token=42dbbc07-338f-4ee7-b182-75b81ff8db49","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A technical problem that I worked on in the past was for a gender and age detection software. A challenge I encountered was optimizing the accuracy and efficiency of my software when it was given a large database. As I increased the size of the database, the program had to process a larger number of images causing it to become slow and have low levels of accuracy. In order to solve this, I used 2 main solutions. First, I went through the code and analyzed the existing algorithms and identified areas of improvement. My main goal for this step was to minimize the running time of my program. Second, I was able to optimize the algorithms by improving the machine learning models. I accomplished this by training the model on a diverse dataset, before adding additional pictures into the database. As a result, I saw an improvement in the accuracy and efficiency of my program. The time for processing the database was reduced by over 50% and the accuracy which was at around 60% went to 90%.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Talent","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause which resonates with me is health care. Specifically, I am passionate about improving access to healthcare services for underserved populations. Healthcare is a fundamental human right, and it is essential that everyone has equal access to quality medical care regardless of their socioeconomic status, race, gender, geographical location, etc. Many people face challenges that prevent them from receiving proper health care such as language barriers or limited transportation. This can lead to major disparities in the quality of healthcare between the two populations. Technology can play a vital role in improving our healthcare access. In modern times, Telemedicine is a great example, as it allows remote consultations and medical services. This is a game changer for people living in rural areas and ones with limited mobility as it doesn't require you to be in person. All in all, leveraging technology can help bridge the gap between underserved populations and healthcare resources."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the Future Possibilities for Kids(FPK) community. I have contributed to this community by volunteering at a summer called Camp Contribution. It is a camp which empowers kids to make an impact in their community by igniting the belief that they can make a difference. I was able to guide them in their project of making a difference in their community. An example of this was when the children chose to help out local birds. They made bird feeders out of recyclable material. I was able to mentor them in making that project a success. This camp also enables children to develop their leadership skills, allowing them to create and develop projects with their peers which benefit the world around them. Having the power to shape children into future leaders is an important one and should be handled carefully. All in all, I was able to aid young children make a difference in their community and develop their leadership skills to become leaders in their community."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A new skill that I learned in the past is photo editing. Photography has always been a passion of mine, and I wanted to enhance my ability to create visually appealing and captivating images. I was motivated by the desire to take my photography to the next level and to have more creative control over the final output. I followed a basic 5 step process: Exploration, Learning, Practice, Feedback, Continued Learning. I started off with trying out different photo editing software to see which one I liked best. I ended up choosing Adobe Photoshop. I then learnt how to use the basics from different tutorials and courses online. Next, I did some practice by editing some of my pictures. Then, I asked professional photographers I knew for any sort of feedback they could give me. Finally, after deciding that Adobe Photoshop was the best software for me, I continued learning more advanced features and photo editing techniques to make my photographs the best versions of themselves."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688045259831},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"l5mckay@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Lana ","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"McKay","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F892650f8-82f9-4eb3-b557-b53b9a7a06e5?alt=media&token=5dbe6dca-db01-442a-99f4-6d42916d6e6c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is Spotify. The reason I chose Spotify as my top pick is because of how it has completely transformed the way we listen to and explore music. I use Spotify all the time in my daily life, whether I'm studying, working out, walking to class, or even cooking. It's just so convenient! One thing I really appreciate about Spotify is the ability to curate my own study playlists based on different moods and genres. It has been a game-changer for me when it comes to maintaining focus and concentration. I can create the perfect playlist that suits my current study vibe, whether I need something calming and instrumental or upbeat and energetic. It's like having a personal DJ at my fingertips. Spotify has become an integral part of my routine, accompanying me through all kinds of activities."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"As a Project Lead, I faced the challenging task of optimizing the performance of a web application during peak usage. Slow response times due to high traffic were impacting user experience. To tackle this, I analyzed the bottlenecks, monitored performance, optimized database queries, improved code efficiency, and implemented caching mechanisms. Through load testing, scalability improvements, and continuous monitoring, we successfully enhanced the application's performance. Users enjoyed faster response times and a smoother experience, making all the effort worthwhile.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"As a Product Manager, I demonstrated leadership by taking charge of the complete redesign of a user-friendly website. I provided clear direction and guidance to the cross-functional teams involved in the project, ensuring that everyone understood the goals and objectives. I actively facilitated meetings, such as stand-ups, retrospectives, and story acceptance sessions, creating a space for open communication and collaboration. By actively listening to team members' ideas and perspectives, I encouraged a sense of ownership and fostered an inclusive environment where everyone felt valued. I also took the initiative to conduct comprehensive market research and analysis to deeply understand user needs. This research served as a foundation for developing product roadmaps that aligned with our business objectives. "}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Education equality is a cause that deeply resonates with me. I believe that every individual, regardless of their background or circumstances, deserves access to quality education. Education is not only a fundamental right but also a powerful tool for empowering individuals, promoting social mobility, and fostering a more equitable society. I strongly believe in advocating for inclusive educational policies, reducing educational barriers, and providing equal opportunities for all students. By investing in education, we can unlock the potential of countless individuals and pave the way for a brighter future for generations to come."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am incredibly proud to be a part of the Loyola Catholic Secondary School Engineering Club, which I founded during my time in high school. It has been a fulfilling journey to witness the growth and impact of this community. As the founder, I initiated the club to provide a platform for students who shared a passion for engineering and innovation to come together, learn, and collaborate. We organized various workshops, guest lectures, and hands-on projects to foster practical skills and promote creativity in engineering. Even after graduating, I still make it a point to go back and visit the club, offering guidance and support to the new generation of students. Being a part of this community and contributing to its development has not only been personally fulfilling but has also allowed me to inspire aspiring engineers."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Last year, I decided to learn React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces. I was motivated by the demand for web development skills and the desire to create interactive web applications. I started by reading documentation and tutorials to understand React's core concepts. Then, I worked on small coding projects and used online resources like exercises and videos to reinforce my learning. Engaging with the React community also helped me gain insights and guidance. With practice, I became proficient in React, and landed my first co-op job working with react, allowing me to build dynamic web applications and stay current in the web development field."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1687883261535},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2A","email":"c2zheng@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Chunxin","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Zheng","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8a0552f1-c753-4699-96eb-ed75fb2ba496?alt=media&token=890c48d1-0436-4a6c-bc3b-00549c2a39dd","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my 1B study term I took CS146. There were several questions related to assembler and compiler.\nI rarely work on relatively large questions in a short amount of time before, so the main problem was to plan the structure of soling problems ahead.\nI worked on the problems with my partner, we discussed ideas to design the implementation of stack pointers and frame pointers in advance, and created documents to keep track of the ideas.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"When I was in grade 8, I joined the class drama club. We were going to put on a show in front of the whole grade and I was in charge of writing the play and directing it. According to the given theme, I designed the plot of one person passing through different dynasties of ancient China and learning about the importance of academic performance. I also instructed actors and actresses to understand deeper to the ideas, so that they could immerge themselves deeply to the scenarios. I managed the whole rehearsal including the costumes, light and sound. It was the first time I showed my leadership in drama performance and I directed several other shows successfully after that."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Life is about experiencing, what are gained through the process is more important than the sole result."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be a part of UW faculty of Mathematics community. I've been an artist last term and a writer this term at MathSoc to demonstrate concepts of Math and CS using comics. I've also been a voluntary note taker for UW accessibility services least term and this term."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my 1A term I participated a side project program held by the CS club with some of my friends.\nMy teammates used python, so I learned python by myself within two weeks and completed the projects. We eventually won the third place for the showcase.\nI mainly watched tutorials on YouTube to learn python. Meanwhile, I was tutoring a first year cs student at u of t about concepts in cryptography using python, which helped me get familiar to python in a very short period of time through teaching."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687283992548},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"whoque@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Wasitul","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Hoque","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8bea73d7-38e4-426e-8854-df3c5ca52e82?alt=media&token=b2ef1e74-63bc-4bed-a76f-5606e340aa2b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile","Other:"],"response-specified":"UI/UX design","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A few days back I started a project called Earthquakes that shows users live earthquake data. The application also allows the user to donate food and other necessities by travelling to the location or donate money to the affected people using Apple Pay. While making this project I stumbled across a problem. I was not able to give accurate directions to the user from their current location to their desired destination. After hours spending on it, I deleted the file and started to code the algorithm from scratch. With a few help from online resources such as StackOverflow, I was able to find a proper solution. I realised, that I had to take care of the fact that before using users location, I have to update the privacy section of my code so that users can choose whether they want the app to use their location or not. Moreover, I used the Binding property in Swift to help transfer data between files, which helped my code to look clean, concise and easy to debug.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I spend a lot of my free time in YouTube. YouTube acts as a huge inspiration source for me. There are several videos of students of my age eagerly looking for internships and providing valuable opinions about resume and projects. Moreover, there are videos that shows how someone dealt with failures and managed to achieve their dreams. Lastly, a lot of vides in YouTube provides good projects and ideas that inspires me to work on them and create something new with the knowledge that I gained."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Earthqakes: https://github.com/was1509/Earthquakes\nRecognize: https://github.com/was1509/Recognize\nTic Tac Toe: https://github.com/was1509/TicTacToe\nCryptoStride: An application built in HTML, CSS, Javascript, React, Swift and Solidity that we built on OlympiHacks 2023. It encouraged users to walk as they could earn ethereum for waking to their destination by a route provided by the app. They would walk around certain stores and shops. Those shops would be our app's sponsor and hence, would provide us with the money that we can use to reward our users for walking. ","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern time zone."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the need for privacy and data protection. I believe, today it is super important to prioritise privacy and security of user data. I would like to dive more into cybersecurity and aid in enhancing the privacy of users by mitigating potential security risks."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be in the University of Waterloo student community. There were a lot of times I felt overwhelmed by studies especially during exams. However, the fact that all my classmates were going through the same thing and were trying their best to become successful motivated me to continue working hard. Similarly, when a classmate of mine is going through some hardships, my friends and I help them to overcome their challenges and offer support."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As a Computer Science student, I am passionate about coding and developing mobile/web applications. However, recently I am diving deep into machine learning and neural networks. Being relatively new to the topic it was hard to understand it at first. However, with the help of my brother and a few online tutorials I was able to get a grasp of the fundamentals of machine learning and generative AI. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687155224832},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"oadeel@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Omer","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Adeel","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8bf08636-d457-4b6d-be6d-b472975d9e65?alt=media&token=7e668636-bab7-42c0-bea7-1d6f250bfc1c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Mobile","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my first co-op term, I was tasked with implementing the state management of a web app. This task was technically challenging because I had zero experience using the React Context API and the initial poor app structure. First, I wanted to identify the different types of API calls and group them separately so they could be called from within the state management system. After this, I determined how to separate the different areas of concern including user authentication, user state management, and external API usage. Once I learned the Context documentation, I executed my plan and was able to create an initial version of the project. Through discussions with my supervisor, I obtained feedback regarding file and component structure and implemented them into the work I had completed. In the end, I reduced the total API calls by 15, increased the user registration flow speed by 50%, and overhauled the overall app structure leading to improvement in app scalability down the line. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time Zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Wheelchair accessibility holds immense significance for me. It all started three years ago when a dear family member was unexpectedly diagnosed with a physical disability, compelling them to rely on a wheelchair. Until then, I was unaware of the challenges faced by wheelchair users, including the lack of accessibility, societal stigmas, and lack of awareness. This propelled me to join Accesso Canada, a student-run NPO that focuses on expanding the accessibility of wheelchair users in the Greater Toronto Area. I started off by beginning development on their website, where I actively published accessibility reviews, improved user accessibility, and performed active maintenance. Every day, I saw the real impact of the work I was doing on those in the community which motivated me further. By joining the organization, my passion for the cause grew and I had the opportunity to leverage my technological skills as CTO to impact hundreds of wheelchair users in the community."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I had a strong passion for volunteering and community work in high school. As a volunteer, I always noticed a lack of involvement in philanthropic actions from youth age groups. This motivated me to found 'PRVD', a platform dedicated to making youth philanthropy widely accessible. I enlisted multiple friends to help launch and build the platform. Through this journey, we met with many local charities in the community who expressed their need for the platform and how beneficial it would be for youth looking to get involved philanthropically. Through making inroads into the non-profit community, we were able to build a strong and close-connected network of charities. I am particularly proud of the community as we all shared a common goal of social betterment. In the end, through our propriety platform, I registered over 10 local charities and 50+ users on the platform, thus helping to bring the community closer together. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Being in quarantine, I had plenty of free time on my hands and nothing to do with it. I wanted to challenge myself by picking up a new and beneficial skill. While brainstorming, I recalled my active fascination with websites, including how they were built, and all my ideas for different websites. I finally decided to learn web development. I created a road plan on what I would achieve over the next 4 months. First, I would master Vanilla HTML, CSS & JavaScript. I began using W3 Schools and started off by making small projects such as a static webpage for a mock storefront and a basic calculator. My confidence grew, and I wanted to test my abilities by enrolling in my first hackathon. After a grueling 24 hours, I created a platform for gardeners to advertise on. I was finally ready for learning the different web-dev frameworks. After putting myself through multiple online courses, I mastered frameworks such as React, Node, and Flask. At last, I had achieved my goal of learning web dev!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688181764980},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"ashnoor697@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Ashnoor","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Randhawa","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8e08282a-03b1-4096-847e-ecd20a3a5283?alt=media&token=fa62dc59-2b0c-4700-85c0-b991edf8536e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my experience as a project developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem while working on a project called SkillScan. The objective of this project was to create a Google HR ATS (Applicant Tracking System) platform. To implement it, I decided to utilize Firebase as the backend and Python with Flask for the development. One of the most challenging aspects was parsing the information from the uploaded resumes and returning the relevant data to the user. I faced difficulty in finding a PDF API that could effectively extract the contents from PDF documents. Another struggle was dealing with the matched output. I realized that I had not used the full potential of Firebase Database and Storage together, which affected the proper handling of the matched data. I also did extensive testing and experimented with different APIs and techniques. By reevaluating and ensuring the proper integration of these Firebase components, I was able to enhance the overall functionality.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"To create an ideal member experience, my focus as the Internal Director would be on fostering an inclusive community that values skill development and appreciation. I would prioritize organizing networking events and knowledge-sharing sessions to encourage active participation and engagement. Regular team meetings and constructive conversations in a welcoming environment would promote creative problem-solving and provide opportunities for constructive criticism. Showcasing the meaningful impact of our work to members would help cultivate their interest and enthusiasm. Ultimately, I aim to ensure that every member feels engaged within the Blueprint community, knowing they are making a positive impact."}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Internal Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Advocating for social justice and fighting against discrimination has always been a passion of mine. Growing up in a culture that was filled with prejudice and harsh judgments towards outsiders, I have witnessed firsthand the need for change. My advocacy stems from a deep desire to create a society that embraces diversity without stereotypes or imposed limitations on individuals for simply being themselves.\n\nWithin my own family, I have observed how judgments based on people's backgrounds have unfairly affected my friends. This personal experience fuels my determination to advocate for a shift in this mindset. Furthermore, I have personally encountered instances of racism while spending time with both friends and family, which has reinforced my commitment to driving change. I believe that we can question and break down long-held preconceptions by encouraging empathy, creating understanding, starting open discussions and educating individuals about race and racism. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take pride in being a woman in STEM. Despite not having many female role models within my family in the field of technology, I initially found myself questioning my choices. However, I have now embraced the career path I have chosen. The challenges I have encountered along the way have only helped my personal growth.\n\nAs a computer science major, I actively engage with the Women in Computer Science (WiCS) community. I've been able to meet others who share my interests and benefit from their experiences. I have the chance to connect with communities and schools in my current job. Collaborating with my team, we lead STEM workshops with the aim of inspiring children to consider future careers in STEM. As the sole woman on the tech team, I believe I can serve as a powerful example for young girls. I hope to encourage their interest, challenge societal norms, and pave the way for a more equitable future. Through my efforts, I strive to demonstrate that women can excel in technology."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"While working on a project my primary focus was on enhancing my technical skills. To achieve this, I decided to improve my front-end skills and gain a better understanding of React.js. My motivation was a desire to grow personally and contribute more effectively to a project I had planned with my friends.\n\nTo begin my learning, I used YouTube videos as educational resources. Additionally, I worked on small projects that allowed me to learn the fundamentals through hands-on practice. Throughout this process, I followed tutorials that provided step-by-step instructions, allowing me to slowly build my skills. With a solid foundation, I was able to apply my skills to a project alongside my friends. This hands-on experience allowed me to put theory into practice and collaborate with others. Working collaboratively not only strengthened my technical abilities but also fostered teamwork and problem-solving skills. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687823129366},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"n3mehrot@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Nandini","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Mehrotra","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8e4f506e-2f8c-4d5e-b9d1-0990f89e309b?alt=media&token=15b00971-3ae6-45ef-84fa-2f40e9729fe2","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Frontend","Mobile","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"As part of my previous internship at the Royal Bank of Canada, I led a project on concatenation and display of numerous company documents when requested by a user via a button click on their client credit management system software.\n\nThe primary hurdle was managing file concatenation, retrieved via RESTful API calls from the server. This task was tedious on the frontend, so I collaborated with the backend team to develop an endpoint which processed this before reaching the user interface.\n\nHowever, during the testing phase, we encountered security concerns. Users had the ability to save and distribute these documents, posing a security threat. To counter this, I implemented a timeout function that would automatically remove the document from the server after a certain time, preventing its access from the UI for sharing purposes.\n\nThrough persistent testing and exploratory solutions, I successfully came up with a strategy that worked and fulfilled the client's needs.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"As a student researcher in the Global Research and Immersion Programme at NUS and NTU Singapore, I had the opportunity to lead a project with three high-school students. We were on a mission to dig into the causes and effects of traffic in Dubai, find a solution using design thinking ideologies, and discuss the feasibility of our ideas with professors in Singapore. The most exciting part? We presented our solution to the decision-makers at the Dubai Road and Transport Authority.\n\nThis project brought together diverse fields – psychology, cognitive science, human-computer interaction, and design. As the team lead, I learned how to effectively communicate and share information in this cross-functional environment. Along the way, I sharpened my organization, prioritization, and presentation skills, and got better at juggling multiple tasks at once. It was like a masterclass in multitasking!"}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST, UTC -5) "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Standing up for more diversity and representation of women of colour in tech, with the aim to build a strong and empowering community, is something that's lit a fire in me ever since I stepped into this field. As we push to build this supportive space, we're also creating a tech world where everyone can see someone who has had similar experiences as them, and that's a mission that lights up my spirit every day. As an Indian woman navigating the world of tech myself, I have had first had experienced the myriad of challenges faced by underrepresented communities within the world of tech.\n\nI've been on the move - mentoring, engaging in diversity discussions, and aligning with organizations that share the vision. The aim? Leveling the playing field in tech for everyone. I'm totally committed to this mission, because I'm convinced - it's the diverse voices that will propel tech forward.\n\nI strongly believe that to create groundbreaking tech, we need diverse minds at the table."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Being a part of the RBC CSter mentoring program for the global intern squad in QTS Capital Markets is something I’m pretty excited about. As a current and previous intern at RBC, I’ve had the cool opportunity to play the role of mentor, kick back with interns over coffee chats, and lend my advice. What makes it even better is that I get to share my knowledge with interns not just in the tech field, but also those who are trying to dip their toes in it. Talking to these students about their doubts and fears when it comes to tech, and offering a listening ear, some advice and loads of support is something I find super meaningful. \n\nIn my role, I'm sort of a go-to person for all things tech, computer science studies, and the ins and outs of the tech industry. My main goal is to create a chill and welcoming space where they can openly share their thoughts or worries."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Right after high school, I decided it was time to conquer a skill that had eluded me as a child: riding a bicycle. I knew college was around the corner, and places like Waterloo and Toronto practically scream \"bike-friendly.\" So, I figured, why not give it a shot?\n\nTo learn, I kept things simple. I would go to the park every morning, starting slowly. I lost count of how many times I fell, but I refused to let that deter me. I reminded myself to relax, not overthink, and focus on the essentials: balance, smooth peddling, and steering with confidence. Slowly but surely, I started finding my rhythm. \n\nEventually, my persistence paid off. I can't express the rush of empowerment I felt when I finally conquered the art of riding a bike. Learning to cycle at that point in my life taught me that embracing the unknown and staying determined can unlock endless possibilities and reveal our true potential."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688095270480},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"aaryan.shroff@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Aaryan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Shroff","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F8fb42e4e-51e9-4fb1-9801-6c8a30aa6c82?alt=media&token=db4e9e21-8699-4a5e-a1dd-359373eda1b4","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"One of my favourite books is The Design of Everyday Things, which examines the psychology of design. I learned a lot of design principles that I now see in everyday consumer objects, even though most of the things I've designed are graphics or UIs. For example, the E7 front doors are a great bad example of an unintuitive interface: I never know whether to push or pull b/c it has handles on both sides. This translates to having UX that is very clear on what each element does or what the next step in a flow is. I've seen so many buttons that look _cool_ but really hard to tell that they're actually clickable. Another example are elevators which if well designed, provide feedback through touch or sound and indicate progress, which are also important w/ UX design. It's also important when UIs to signal constraints, what actions _cannot_ be taken. Everyday objects like ethernet cables (that only insert one way) are good at this but USB connectors (I always insert them wrong at first) arent."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GIM33Bt2k2f3N3IhJLJMx4V0Di_lf_bU?usp=sharing\n\nThe EdTech app under the UIs folder is something I built with friends in high school, it was my first time both designing and developing a mobile app in collaboration with others and iterating based on user feedback. We first sought to understand what the typical user would look like (ideally we should've done surveys or interviews), and putting ourselves in the shoes of that user, what we would like the app to look/feel like: what components should be on the home page (for easy access), what would the ideal length of onboarding flow be, etc. We made a prototype in Figma then, ran it through some accessibility checks (e.g.. WCAG contrast), then programmed, and gathered feedback from third parties. And then once we felt like we had the essentials covered, we added glitter like the fancy nav bar (which we realized made the background much more expansive and open!).","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"7","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GIM33Bt2k2f3N3IhJLJMx4V0Di_lf_bU?usp=sharing\n\nThe EdTech app under the UIs folder is something I built with friends in high school, it was my first time both designing and developing a mobile app in collaboration with others and iterating based on user feedback. We first sought to understand what the typical user would look like (ideally we should've done surveys or interviews), and putting ourselves in the shoes of that user, what we would like the app to look/feel like: what components should be on the home page (for easy access), what would the ideal length of onboarding flow be, etc. We made a prototype in Figma then, ran it through some accessibility checks (e.g.. WCAG contrast), then programmed, and gathered feedback from third parties. And then once we felt like we had the essentials covered, we added glitter like the fancy nav bar (which we realized made the background much more expansive and open!)."}],"role":"Graphic Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Graphic Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is advocating for the safety and reasonable working conditions of doctors and nurses. My parents are medical professionals and growing up in India (which has a severely strained public healthcare system), I've seen them work exhausting and prolonged shifts with lack of adequate rest periods, and often compromise their physical/mental health, time with family and personal interests. Furthermore, often understated, is the risk they consistently face (at least in India) of physical assault, verbal abuse, and harassment from their patients or their attendants. The Indian Medical Association found that more than **75%** of doctors have seen violence at work. Even in Canada, budget is not properly allocated to healthcare which leads to overworked doctors and nurses, and incredibly long waiting times for patients. Championing more resources for healthcare, and stricter regulations for working conditions is something everyone needs todo"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I'm proud to be a part of is the Computer Science Club at UWaterloo. As an international student, who didn't have any friends from high school who were going to Waterloo, CSC was my avenue for meeting new people and making friends. Additionally, events like Bootcamp have been immensely helpful in getting me my first co-op. I joined as a graphic designer and stayed on three terms, eventually taking on the role of Design Lead. I've helped create promotional graphics, designs for the office door, merch and more. I've also been a Bootcamp mentor for two terms now, and given a workshop at a CSC hackathon. The club has given me a lot in terms of social outlets, academic/career support, and I try to give back as much as I can!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I am a big fan of electronic music, what appeals to me about it is that a lot of it is made by artists that are not classically trained with nothing more than a laptop and a pair of headphones. The modesty of how it's produced makes it feel more heartfelt. So I wanted to learn how to make it myself. Thankfully there were a lot of resources online that taught you the intricacies of music software, and large communities on Facebook and Reddit that you could go to for help. But right from the bat, it was much harder than I had imagined. Knowing how all the knobs worked turned out to be not enough, and when it came to actually writing a piece of music, \"practice\" didn't cut it. If you're learning to play a piece, you could just rehearse everyday. But I feel with any creative hobby (music composition, graphic design, fiction writing) the learning happens when you're not actively doing it, so the approach that worked for me was working on it when inspiration struck and not forcing output."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615346142},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"r5mehta@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Raghav","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Mehta","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F90423210-6004-4fd8-a5b7-efa6c6f586f9?alt=media&token=cca60752-b8ab-4039-8df9-ac1fcda0d130","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"response-specified":"Artificial Intelligence","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During the Covid 19, social distancing in confined spaces like elevator was a problem. So I thought of creating a device to count the number of people in the elevator at any time. If there were more than four people in the elevator then the device would set off an alarm to inform that the permissible count has been breached. There were several ideas in my mind to develop the work like using an ultrasound or computer vision software. But, after consideration ultrasound would not have worked because the device would have counted other objects like bags, strollers or other inanimate objects. Then I went on to choose the computer vision in which I used raspberry pi with a camera to count the moving objects and track the direction of their movement. Then I researched and watched online tutorials to develop a work plan. I learnt how to code raspberry pi and use python libraries work to create the program. Then I also built in optimizations to ensure that only humans (not pets) are counted.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"The mission of Blueprint is to \"make technology more accessible and useful for those who create communities and promote public welfare\". To check whether a non-profit organization has a goal that resonates with Blueprint I would first check the organizations website to understand their work and their impact on the community. I would check their technology needs and how it would improve their operations' effectiveness or efficiency. This would help me understand the impact the technology would have for the community. I would then review if Blueprint can help develop the required technologies. I would see the skills available and the proficiency levels in the team at Blueprint. I will also understand the timeline in which the NPO wants the project delivered and if Blueprint has the resources to deliver it. \n"}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"In the next term fall 2023, I will be in my study term(2A) so I will on campus so my timezone will be EST."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I believe that proper education is the way to empower people. To me education is not just about academics but also the ability to think, understand and take action. I believe proper education can help alleviate poverty in the world. I have previously organized a read-a-thons in collaboration with Simbi foundation to create audio books. I have also taught Python to middle schoolers in my high school. Helping others learn is a cause that resonates with me. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In high school, I was part of the Cyfemat club which was a Maths club. Every year this would organize the Julia Math Robinson Festival. As part of this club, we would solve puzzles, maths problems and every Rubik's cube. The aim of the festival was to promote interest in maths among middle & high school students. In 2020, I was part of the organizing team. The challenge was that it was going to be virtual. As part of the organizing team, I worked with the other members to develop the format, researched several puzzles and games and conducted training for volunteers. I was also the game presenter (table lead) for this event. It required a lot of planning and preparation we were able to conduct the event. It was an amazing opportunity and we got great response from the students. I truly felt as a part of that community and when the event ran smoothly the feeling of satisfaction was amazing."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"For my current coop, I had to learn React and Java to make the frontend of dashboard and related APIs. However, I had no prior knowledge of React or experience about frontend development. I found online tutorials and practiced creating small projects with different styles to learn the css tags and alignments of objects on the screen. I also learned how to do animations for my personal website (In progress). I also went through the Business Requirement Document (BRD) to understand the context of my co-op project. It helped me understand what and how I need to focus on. I learn best by applying concepts that I learn. \nIn less than 2 weeks I learned enough to be able to create the frontend of the dashboard and collaborate with professionals to be able to develop the related APIs."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688493191530},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"amuralee@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Aaran","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Muraleetharan","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Electrical Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F92777fd1-14d0-4b6f-b357-b9d093e236a8?alt=media&token=201c5b52-f228-4650-a67f-df8ccb926402","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my first co-op term as a QA analyst, I faced a significant technical challenge: implementing a reusable export verification test using Java and Selenium. The main hurdle was handling the verification of the most recent file while managing outdated files to avoid long-term storage issues. To overcome this, I delved into sorting algorithms and devised an efficient solution to identify the most recent file based on its last modified time. By implementing a sorting mechanism, I successfully pinpointed the latest export and performed the necessary verifications. To optimize performance and prevent unnecessary file accumulation, I also leveraged a file deletion mechanism built into Java's \"File\" library. After completing the verification test, this mechanism promptly removed the files from the system. This proactive approach minimized storage concerns and enabled efficient management of exported files. This experience taught me crucial techniques to solve further technical problems!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based out of the Eastern Standard Time Zone (EST) next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Having a younger brother with autism has deeply influenced my perspective and fuels my passion for to advocate for developmental disability awareness and acceptance. Witnessing his daily struggles, whether it be in school or in public, has heavily driven my commitment to promoting understanding and inclusivity in society, ensuring that individuals on the spectrum receive the support and opportunities they deserve. Recently, I was fortunate enough to deliver a speech at my high school, challenging autism stigmas during Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. It deepened my commitment to advocate for understanding and acceptance. Through my advocacy work, I aim to challenge misconceptions, raise awareness, and foster an environment of empathy and acceptance. I firmly believe in the importance of creating a world where individuals with autism are celebrated for their unique abilities and contributions."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a member of Guruvayurappan Temple in the Brampton area. As an active participant, I have spent over 250 hours volunteering, donating my time and skills to various projects. Though I started off rinsing dishes in the temple's kitchen, I was able to leverage my technical skills to improve and maintain the temple’s website. Notably, I am ecstatic to have been part of the website's Pooja emailing list feature. This involvement has allowed me to use my technical skills to improve the temple’s online presence, ensuring that information and updates are readily available to the community. It is very satisfying to contribute to the growth and development of the Guruvayurappan temple community, and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve and make a positive impact."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One instance of learning a new skill was when I delved into React.js. Driven by a desire to expand my web development capabilities, I embarked on a self-directed learning journey. My approach involved a combination of things like YouTube tutorials, using tools like ChatGPT to get directions, and a thorough Google search to acquire reliable and relevant sources. I focused on basic concepts like components, state management, and understanding the virtual DOM. To strengthen my understanding, I decided to put my skills to practical use by building a functional application using React for the front-end. This hands-on experience allowed me to better understand basic concepts of React.js, and gain confidence in using it in future projects and employment opportunities. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615844946},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"sbai@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Samuel","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Bai","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science and Business Administration Double Degree","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F92867068-9336-4319-8cbb-77074c0ba8bc?alt=media&token=5ae6338c-3627-48ea-8bfb-5f2d6d2de8a2","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I worked on in the past was with regard to the raytracer Caitlyn. Once the project had a functional prototype, with an adjustable camera and multisampling, the rendering time for a single test made the project untestable, especially on Windows OS systems where multithreading was not enabled by default. It would take over 20 minutes to properly render a scene at 5 samples. This impeded the project's progress, as without reasonable runtimes, it could not be tested and debugged efficiently. As such, myself and the other project member sought to address this issue. \n\nFirst, we understood the problem as best as we could; render times were too slow due to a mandatory triply-nested for-loop. Second, we brainstormed ideas - what if we split the workload between multiple threads? The GPU? Third, we learned the knowledge necessary to complete these tasks, resulting in me learning to use Nvidia CUDA. Fourth, we implemented our ideas with our newfound knowledge.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"Currently, my favourite product is an exercise app called Caliber. I enjoy using this app because it externally aligns its features with what its customer base demands, and is internally consistent in leveraging its advantage of being a mobile app. As someone who previously did not exercise much, I am happy that the app offers many of the core, necessary features for free, such as documenting sets to record progression, or providing video demonstrations and notes on how to perform a certain exercise. Caliber is able to do this because it understands that as an app, it holds the unique ability to offer a service at little-to-no cost to itself, and at the same time, customers who are impressed with the base freemium model are more likely to opt into the paid subscription model. Through this, the app is able to achieve what many other exercise apps cannot, and offer the necessary exercise app services for free, and upcharge on only the premium features."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST: UTC−05:00"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I really believe in maintaining freedom of the press, with a specific emphasis on whistleblowing. Whistleblowing is the practice of an individual reporting wrongdoing within an organization in the public interest. In a society where it is infinitely easier to stay complacent and keep our heads down when those in positions of authority act against the public interest, I have always admired those who have the courage to put themselves at risk for the sake of the greater good. In that regard, I really look up to Julian Assange's founding of WikiLeaks. While I may not entirely agree with his beliefs or philosophies, he risked arrest and deportation to develop a platform where leaked documents could be published and distributed safely in the name of the public interest, and I find that dedication toward serving the public admirable. As such, I also wish to contribute toward maintaining this freedom of the press in any meaningful I can."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to have been a part of the Unionville Youth Council during all four years of high school. The Unionville Youth Council is a youth organization based in Markham, ON which aims to provide a means for community youth to give back to their community. I began as a general member in grade 9 and actively participated in council events, such as our annual Christmas skating fundraiser, 30 Hour Famine fundraiser, or biweekly Food Bank volunteering. In my grade 12 year, I was invited to lead the council as co-chair. Through this role, I was able to contribute to an even greater extent, notably through planning and leading monthly meetings, planning and executing year-round events, and overseeing our council's partnership with the York Region Police. This by proxy, provided a safe space for youth to safely approach police authority within our community to ask questions, learn, and provide their concerns and opinions as to allow for mutual understanding between both parties."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A skill I learned while working on a Spotify side project was how to use the Spotify API, and more generally, a working formula to implement any API. My primary motivation was to create a simple program which could download my Spotify playlists into mp3 files for offline listening, as I personally do not have a premium account. The approach that I discovered worked best for me was as follows:\n1. skimming documentation: I begin with this to get a general understanding of the principles and theory behind a given API library, which will help guide implementation later.\n2. searching for specific functions: based on the type of feature I need from the library, I will search for a corresponding function (usually through Ctrl + F on keywords). If the last step was theory, this is application.\n3. when I inevitably encounter an error (the program does not compile, or compiles with errors), I then consult Stack Overflow using effective search queries, which I consider the debugging step."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688613824015},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"campbell.wang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Campbell","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Wang","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F92dea6d9-262c-4f5d-84b1-a04d4b7843d2?alt=media&token=d4528893-0a8d-4978-841e-ff3bc56da191","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my most recent internship, I had the task of creating a routine to compute the last point of contact between the user and the client. Normally this would be a relatively simple task in something like Postgres (generated column), but this solution is constraining in nature. We were also hoping to build it on top of our custom object service, which was kind of the whole point of the derived properties project (meant to be a template). My solution to the problem was to create paginated queries within our object service of object IDs that matched a form of indexed communication, such as a Slack message or an email, and create subroutines to calculate the most recent timestamp. The solution could be more optimized if we made changes directly to the service layer, but that would've been very time-consuming, so this solution was a nice alternative for the time being.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST (Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I love cats, so the idea of getting stray cats off the streets and into loving homes is a cause that resonates with me. When I'm traveling in Asia, I would keep a couple of tuna cans in my backpack so I can feed any hungry stray cats that I run into. Even though a lot of people are against the idea of feeding strays, the thought of them being hungry makes me sad, so I still do it 🥲"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm part of UWTSS at UWaterloo, which is the Taiwanese student society. I'm especially proud to be in this group of people because we share the same pride in our identities - where we came from and the culture that we brought with us. We put in great effort to educate and spread Taiwanese culture to other students here at UW. An example of this is our booth at CSC's night market, where I helped run a game that people can play for a prize."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned how to ride a motorcycle in Thailand. I was on vacation in Phuket Island, and it was difficult to get around if you didn't have a personal vehicle. I decided to rent a bike even though I'd only tried riding it once before, so I had close to zero experience. My approach to learning was to start slow and ride on the very edge of the road, and practice turning left and right a couple of times. I picked it up pretty well after an hour or so, and I was very lucky that the roads in Phuket are fairly wide."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687927773796},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"nniharik@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Niharika","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Srivatsa","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F94881c8e-747f-4045-9547-aebabfd998e8?alt=media&token=1f5918a1-0efb-447c-b21f-33277bbf05ae","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During a task, I encountered compatibility issues with booking emails across different email clients, including blocked calendar invitation links and inconsistent CSS rendering. To resolve this, I first extensively researched email client limitations and behaviours. Then I tested emails across various clients using the inspect tool to identify specific areas of the code that are being blocked or inconsistent. Based on this research and testing, I brainstormed alternative solutions like manual event addition or direct calendar file download. To tackle CSS inconsistencies, I optimized the code with inline styles, avoiding complex techniques. After implementing the improvements, I conducted thorough testing across different email clients to validate the changes. By applying these problem-solving techniques, including research, testing, alternative solutions, optimization, and iterative testing, I successfully addressed the compatibility issues in booking emails.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Talent","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT/EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is promoting women in engineering and computer science. As a high school student, my knowledge of the tech industry was limited, making me feel ill-prepared to pursue these fields. I aim to bridge the gender gap by encouraging and supporting women, as their unique perspectives drive innovation and address societal challenges. Through a user survey I conducted, I discovered that girls usually lacked a supportive network and often felt inadequate to pursue the field. I believe small actions will create a significant impact on this cause. For example, as an executive producer on a tech podcast, I always prioritize diverse guests in hopes of inspiring high school girls. In addition, I’m expanding a hackathon project that connects girls to work side projects together, by talking to my high school guidance counselor to introduce the app to young girls. Through these endeavors, I hope to make a meaningful impact on this cause."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be part of the PTC Podcast committee, a tight-knit group of six individuals creating monthly podcast episodes on tech topics. As the executive producer, I brainstorm ideas and invite industry guests. I also organize meetings and social events. Positive feedback from students confirms our impact, inspiring them through our podcast and guest speakers. It's rewarding to know our efforts make a difference. This project fosters personal growth in communication and leadership. Despite remote collaboration, we maintain a strong bond, engaging in lively video meetings and social gatherings. Though I've moved on, this committee remains a truly enriching experience in my life, filled with cherished memories of collaboration, dedication, and the power of sharing knowledge through podcasting. Check out the podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/in-query/id1528766302"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"After my HOSA presidency in high school, I sought feedback on my performance from my teacher. She advised improving my public speaking skills, noting my nervousness and rehearsed delivery. This motivated me to learn and grow in public speaking. Determined to improve, I ran for valedictorian, presenting a 5-minute speech to our graduating class. I researched extensively, crafted some engaging content, focused on delivery techniques like eye contact and gestures, and sought feedback. Rehearsing helped me build confidence while seeking feedback allowed adjustments. I have continued growing these skills by giving stakeholder presentations and running retrospective meetings during my coop. By embracing this practical experience and a structured approach, I grew my public speaking skills significantly."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688603301832},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"s4thapa@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Sun","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Thapa","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F95582418-aa8d-4856-a452-5fea3e9ae9fb?alt=media&token=ea4c7492-a63c-401d-a512-1a15f85f3f17","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"YouTube has been my favorite product, as it has significantly aided my learning and personal interests. As a developer in the past, I relied on YouTube tutorials to enhance my technical skills and help me understand leet code solutions. Now, as a product manager, YouTube continues to be a valuable resource for industry insights. Moreover, YouTube has enriched my hobbies, such as basketball, food, and hiking, through highlights, cooking channels, and travel vlogs. Its vast content library has profoundly impacted my personal and professional growth, making it an essential tool in my journey. "}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Education equality is a cause that is very important to me as I have done many volunteer positions in the past to promote this cause. I firmly think that every person, regardless of socioeconomic status or what country you are born in, has a fundamental right to access high-quality education. I'm passionate about using technology to close the achievement gap and give every student the same opportunity. If I joined this group, I would be able to work with others who share my interests to develop technological solutions that address these educational inequalities and have a beneficial social impact."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be a member of the immigrant community as a Nepali immigrant. I am aware of the difficulties of leaving one's nation of origin and beginning a new life elsewhere. I have actively served as a mentor and resource for other members of the community, offering advice and assistance to the younger generation both in Canada and Nepal. In addition, I have used my technical abilities to develop platforms and tools that aid in networking, information exchange, and communication among immigrants such as a website re-design for my local temple."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In my current co-op, I got exposed to using Amplitude for tracking metrics, hypothesis testing, and implementing winning variations to enhance my product management skills. Through thorough research, practical application, collaboration with teams, and continuous learning, I gained proficiency in data analysis. Leveraging Amplitude's insights, I made data-driven decisions to optimize user experiences and drive impactful product improvements."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688615576584},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"sprayag@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Srishti","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Prayag","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"CFM","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F959bda5e-bbff-4f9a-a1f8-c3addf22d48a?alt=media&token=3eff9386-6fff-43b0-a1c0-c2d6ffbb848c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"First, I approach any problem with curiosity and outline what the problem I am trying to fix. I want to understand what is broken, but also what I want to achieve by fixing it. This way I have a more holistic approach and am able to talk about the problem better. I will try to use Google and other resources as much as I can but I am also not ashamed to ask for help from mentors or colleagues as they could have valuable experience and wisdon, especially within the same field.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST as I will be in person in Waterloo for a study term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Gender equality/equity is something I feel I have been fighting for since I was a little girl. For as long as I can remember, I have been questioning gender roles and stereotypes. Simple things like uncles taking over when there is a physical task that I am trying to do, even if I was not struggling in the slightest, would bother me endlessly. And then came bigger issues like the victim-blaming narrative and there were also religious issues that made me start to question my faith because what \"all-loving and all-forgiving\" god would discriminate like that? So I feel like as a woman and South Asian I have faced these issues, big and small, throughout my life and I have been challenging it in whatever ways I can for as long as I can remember. Thankfully I have a more liberal family that is supportive of women's rights and closing the gap between genders, but not everyone is priviledged enough to have such support. I hope that we will see more change as we continue to push for this cause."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am part of a cultural group called Edmonton Kannada Association (EKA) where hundreds of Edmontonians from Karnataka (a state in India) get to create a sense of community through events and celebrating festivals together. This community has been home since I moved to Canada at 12 years old, and it has allowed me to meet my best friend and share my love of dance through performing at some of the events. I am a very proud member of this community and therefore wanted to serve on the executive committee to give back to the community. As part of my time as a Youth Secretary, I helped with organizing and executing these events. But more importantly, I helped to set up an Emergency Fund for our community members which was used to assist a family facing a medical emergency. I also helped organize a fundraiser to support Karnataka during a bad bout of floods that had affected 2000 villages. We also were able to properly register EKA as a non-profit so we could continue supporting our people."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I love picking up new skills on the go and am quite quick to learn. This has been especially true in my current coop term as I am trying to learn more Python as I go. The only experience so far was on a finance course I had taken last term, which has helped a lot, but there are different libraries in use at my job so I "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688616096653},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"jc2ling@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Jason","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ling","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F997be24d-0b0b-4659-b1c1-e96793f77324?alt=media&token=0f4a120f-bceb-4e19-bf25-085de0b78d3e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"A product that I enjoy using on a daily basis is Discord. The platform enables users to create and join servers, connect with friends or like-minded individuals, and engage in conversations across different channels. When the recent implementation of AI chat summaries and the ability to create your own chatbots, the software is always improving. Additionally, its use cases vary from events other than gaming: I've competed in online debate tournaments run on Discord, joined communities for design teams and university application information, and so much more. "}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that has resonated with me for my entire life was the Terry Fox Foundation. As a child, I lost my grandfather to lung cancer, and I became invested in many causes for cancer research throughout elementary school. I always loved how we would run to represent Terry's journey every year and promote active living. I remember we would wear stickers that wrote: \"I am running for _____\". It exhibits the impact cancer has on many people's lives and the impact we can make in the future to improve cancer medication. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I've always been proud of is my badminton club's community. I've been training to compete ever since I was in grade 8; this was also when I implicitly joined the amazing community of competitive badminton. This is where I have developed my lifelong friends since we shared the same devotion to this sport. As I improved, the recognition I got from other members of the community increased. I received the opportunity to train with national players and learn from the best coaches in Canada. Once I was in grade 11, the"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In grade 8, I learned public speaking. Specifically, I learned how to debate, which has changed my life. I've always hated group presentations and impromptu, but I decided I wanted to try something out of my comfort zone. Fortunately for me, I had friends on the same path as I was. We all were trying to improve, so the process was much easier and a lot more fun. As time goes by, I realized this skill is something that I could sharpen daily, and realized the importance of consistency and practising the skills you want to improve at every chance possible. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688098972133},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B/3A","email":"i3nguyen@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Isaac","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Nguyen","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9a874e0d-488c-419a-ab33-7a8d7845fd0d?alt=media&token=2230a150-4c54-49f7-961c-8e0cf42df049","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A particular school assignment (for CS246) involved the implementation of several design patterns to perform a specific. I found bridging together various course concepts to create a well-designed program to be extremely challenging. To me, these concepts were abstract and posed no clear relation with one another. Breaking down the task into smaller tasks was a step in the right direction for me. I was able to isolate various components of the assignment and connect it with each individual course concepts. By doing so, this painted a clearer picture as to how the program is supposed to be structured based on the tasks it was performing. From then, I was able to create a clear connection with the corresponding course concept for each component and effectively implement it to fit with the assignment criteria. Overcoming this obstacle was an important step to completing the assignment. This experience gave me a new perspective on how to tackle technical challenges such as this one. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A niche yet genuine cause that hits close to home is the supporting local businesses through technological means. This \"issue\" is one that goes unnoticed and deserves more awareness within our local community. It is important to recognize that technology plays a vital role in the operational aspect of a business. Unfortunately, many local/family-owned business do not have the financial means to invest in tools that should be accessible to entrepreneurs. This cause did not resonate until very recently, when I took on a part-time cashier position at a family owned bakery, with the purpose of diversifying my perspective and experience with different lifestyles. Ever since, I was able to pick up on several operational flaws that had a significantly influenced the outcome of the business. To my surprise, many are easily solvable through simple implementation of the technology available to us. Through joining Blueprint, I aim to contribute to the accessibility of technology for everyone."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"\"Software for Love\" is a community that I am proud to be a part of as the cause behind the non-profit organization is to give back to the community by providing software solutions. We offer our services for free to organizations that lack the resources to fund their technological needs. SFL relies on volunteers, such as myself, to provide such a service. The lack of financial incentives was not a consideration when I joined the team. Simply, I saw this as an opportunity to change the inaccessibility of technology within our local community - a cause I resonate well with. As I only recently joined SFL, my contributions at this time are rather insignificant. However, I hope to put my best effort in making significant contributions to this initiative in the near future. My enthusiasm and eagerness to create impact does not stop there. Thus, my utmost interest in Blueprint has pushed me to apply for a position where I can employ my skills and knowledge, while giving back to the community!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"To take a step way from tech-related topics, I want to talk about my other interests! Being an avid gamer, I enjoy the competitive nature that comes with multiplayer video games. Whether it be CS:GO or, now recently, Valorant, I was always striving to improve and explore my gaming potential. Picking up a new game is the same as picking up a new skill. Back when my obsession with Valorant was at its all time high, I had an unwavering drive to climb the ranks and be the best that I can be. This meant that I was willing to do anything necessary in order to achieve that. Day and night, I would mindless play without being mindful of my flaws. The lack of progress pushed me to reassess my approach to improving. I saw that because I was not critiquing and reviewing my own gameplay, I was not actively improving and will continue to make the same mistakes. This paradigm shift was what allowed me to reach the top 1% of players. This experience taught me working smarter was better than harder."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687742003310},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"j35dsouz@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jason","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"D'Souza","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Mathematics","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9acd2bea-f7bb-4203-9675-3d1ca113e351?alt=media&token=352af3a9-6af3-4a72-aebe-6167080b799e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I recently participated in a hackathon focused on blockchain. My team ended up creating a tool that would accept an API request from a vendor that would create a newly minted NFT receipt for a sold product with the goal of ensuring ownership and authenticity. \n\nPrior to this hackathon, no one on my team had any experience with blockchain. This was a topic that was completely new to all of us and just deciding on a project was challenging. One of the greatest challenges we had during the hackathon was minting NFTs from API calls. The idea of minting an NFT was novel to us so I ended up reading a lot on the Solana documentation, watching/reading some guides and asking some of the mentors at the hackathon. Throughout this process, I ended up learning how to create a candy machine and call it through an API call. \n\nLearning how to do so was definitely challenging but I ended up realizing the importance of reading documentation and asking for advice and guidance from others. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"I believe hosting a Blueprint Alumni Night could be a cool new event. Blueprint has had some amazing members, many of which continue to do some amazing things. I think it would be valuable for a bunch of current students if Blueprint were to bring some of the graduated alumni back. They could talk about the projects they worked on at Blueprint, how they contributed and why they decided to even join in the first place. They could also talk about what they continue to do right now and how they try to carry on Blueprint's mission after leaving the team.\n\nI assume many students in Blueprint want to leave a positive impact on the world. Doing so without Blueprint's structure can definitely be a bit challenging so it would be a great experience to hear how alumni might've done so after leaving. Thus I believe hosting an Alumni night could have a ton of value for this very reason. Also, it's always great to hear advice from UW graduates working in the industry and is valuable on its own."}],"role":"External Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"External Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Over the past few years, I have discovered a passion for environmental sustainibility. I especially enjoy using my skills to contribute to projects that target pressing environmental challenges and actively try to do so. \n\nSome examples can be found from my past experiences as a developer on MidnightSun and finance advisor on Electrium. These UW design teams are both focused on creating electric vehicles. Although my role on both teams are different, the goal of creating a vehicle(s) that are sustainable and efficient is prevelent. Additionally, during my last co-op, I assisted in developing a tool to help employees work on the goal of becoming carbon neutral and environmentally friendly, ultimately resulting in the reduction of a few tonnes of carbon production. \n\nDespite all being distinct, the overarching goal of environmental sustainibility remains. I believe that sustaining the environment will be a pressing issue this century and is thus a cause that resonates with me. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"For the past year and a half, I have been an active member of the UW CSC community. I initially joined to meet some new people and enjoy some cool school events but got more involved after meeting many of its passionate members. \n\nThus, I soon joined the CSC as an organizing member and became an exec not long after. Over the past few months, I have been responsible for acquiring sponsors and speakers, arranging/assisting with collabs and organizing some events of my own. I have always loved the feeling of helping someone else discover something new and insightful or giving people the opportunity to make lifelong friends. \n\nThe CSC to me is a place where anyone remotely interested in computer science can easily join, meet some interesting people, have fun and hopefully learn something along the way. I have definitely grown a lot at UW because of the CSC thus, I hope to carry on the legacy and give students more opportunities to learn, establish connections and just have fun. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When starting out at Waterloo, I knew I would have to look for my first co-op in just a few months. At the time, I knew I wanted to work in software but wasn't sure on how. Thus, I ended up asking around. I reached out to upper years, other first years and full-time SWEs. I ended up learning a lot from these different perspectives and decided to pursue web development for my first internship. \n\nLearning web dev was definitely a challenge. Although some of my past high school CS skills transferred over, web dev was new and unique compared to what I was used to. Using what I learned from reaching out, I ended up taking advantage of some free online resources and made sure to focus on building up a strong foundation. I ended up creating some fun but basic projects before my first co-op cycle.\n\nDuring this process, I learned how to set myself up for a career in web dev. I also learned about the importance of reaching out and understanding different perspectives for the sake of learning."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688669167065},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"d3truong@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Daniel","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Truong","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9b4b63e5-07c2-4b79-8b37-5e0bcf3eba0d?alt=media&token=882f68a8-b338-423a-b608-8f61d6be0380","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"As a developer at my previous co-op, I led a large project aimed to integrate our ERP database with external software. This would allow the entire company to have access to automatically updated information. A challenging technical problem I faced was familiarizing myself with new APIs such as Salesforce API and learning a new framework in Frappe. Interning at a startup challenged me to quickly meet tight deadlines and I practiced many skills to ensure I was working as efficiently as possible. I learned to document all of my new learning with tools such as JIRA tickets, Notion, and Postman repositories so I could refer back to any information when needed. I also became more collaborative by setting up synchronous pair programming sessions with senior developers to learn about coding best practices and proper documentation techniques. By understanding how to research, ask questions, and seek opportunities for new learning, I was able to successfully complete the project.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The MLSE Foundation is a cause that resonates with me due to their commitment to providing youth with a fair chance to participate in sports. Being an avid fan of sports my whole life, I have developed numerous skills, learned valuable lessons, and gained an overall sense of belonging that fostered my social relationships through team activities. While I was lucky enough to grow up in an environment where I was encouraged to participate in sports, many youth face barriers that prevent them from having the same opportunity, whether it be cost, disabilities, social exclusion, or other factors. The MLSE Foundation aims to tackle these issues by refurbishing community active spaces, providing youth with sporting grants, and hosting programs such as LaunchPad which allow those who are facing barriers to have a community to be a part of. In the future, I hope to help others experience sports the same way I did by volunteering with the MLSE Foundation."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Best Buddies is a community aimed to create inclusive educational environments by fostering friendships between people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities. Throughout much of my life, I have observed an unjustified stigma aimed to outcast those with disabilities from the rest of society. In elementary school and high school, I was dedicated to supporting this program to spread the message that all people can and should be treated equally regardless of their disabilities. My most fulfilling experience was seeing one of my Best Buddies grow from learning how to read short stories one-on-one to eventually gaining the confidence to take on public speaking roles in classrooms. As I spent more time in the community, I took on more leadership roles by organizing school-wide events and becoming an ambassador for others to join the program. The experience was very memorable and I am extremely proud to have been able to play a role in breaking such an insensitive stigma."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I learned a new skill was when I learned to cook over my last co-op term. I was motivated to learn cooking as I wanted to build independence, manage my finances better, and keep my health up before moving out and living on my own without any meal plan. In order to learn, I began by watching recipes and studying specific techniques. I organized these recipes in a notepad based on time and cost so that I would be able to find the right recipes depending on the day. In the process, I also learned the importance of meal prepping with ingredient costs in mind. I then proceeded to put the learning into practice by cooking the recipes while applying the techniques I had learned. Though many of the meals that I made in my first weeks of cooking were not perfect, I had the opportunity to learn from each mistake. I sought advice from more experienced cooks, researched videos of particular techniques I struggled with, and applied all the new learning the next time I cooked."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688585151791},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"k2ouyang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Kevin","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ouyang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9c5c0f53-2332-457f-98a5-d0622bdb1cc8?alt=media&token=107869d5-a229-4eb8-9ce2-f3095b98f407","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"When first launching our product for our startup, our web app was insanely slow and crashed frequently. As inexperienced developers, we didn’t really know how to handle the high traffic other than buying higher-powered servers, increasing our burn rate, and reducing our margins. As we continued to gain traction, I realized that we had to explore different options rather than bulldozing forwards recklessly. I analyzed the codebase to reduce dependencies and code density, while also creating standard development practices including code review for team members to follow. I implemented data caching in the frontend, and optimized data queries as well to reduce runtime. We’re now migrating our server to an AWS server managed by Kubernetes. I found that while any problem may seem to only have one solution, it’s important to gather as a team and look over all existing infrastructure to ensure a stable foundation before continuing to work.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"I'm currently the CTO and Co-Founder of a health tech start-up. While we are in the very early stages, it was important to foster a collaborative and open environment so that every team member felt welcome. Our team is around 10 people and weekly socials and light-hearted meetings continue to provide that culture. Celebrating accomplishments together, holding constructive dialogue, and providing encouragement was key in helping team members stay engaged. I felt extremely proud when one of the ideas I presented was discussed as a point of concern during our daily standup. As a leader that focuses on open communication, I've seen many moments where shy team members have something they'd like to share, but due to the way others are speaking, decide to hold back. I would then stop the conversation and encourage them to speak up. No person is able to do something innovative alone. In the end, everyone has strengths and weaknesses and teamwork helps us cover our weak points."}],"role":"Project Lead"},{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"I really support this idea so long as there is thorough documentation on what is provided, routine maintenance and the setup does not take away from gaining technical experience. This is how I would build alignment among developers:\n-> Promoting the shared vision by describing clear goals and aligning to each developer's personal goals of self-growth or accomplishment.\n-> Providing personal connection so each member feels responsible and proud of their work\n-> Encouraging and fostering open communication to ensure strong teamwork and collaborative skills with engaging meetings and scheduled socials so tasks such as pair programming, code reviews, and more are less daunting.\n-> Setting clear and reasonable expectations so developers can feel motivated but not overwhelmed to accomplish their tickets within set sprints.\n-> Recognizing achievements mostly verbally but with prizes as well, to ensure that developers' work does not go unnoticed and they feel integral to the team."}],"role":"VP Engineering"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Out of Waterloo, so EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"While there are countless causes that range from social justice to environmental conservation, those supporting basic human needs resonate with me the most. Specifically, those supporting access to clean water and sanitation. In a first-world country, we often take it for granted as we have direct access to great reserves of water. Many countries don't have such a luxury, often relying on underground reserves and spring water to support their daily routines. However, these pools are often over-saturated with minerals, and contain toxic elements such as mercury, and more, making it a health risk to use. Furthermore, the technology to detect and filter these water sources are insanely expensive and hardly affordable for the populace. Some water organizations I've followed such as charity:water have supplied and developed cheaper alternatives for detection and filtration. The effort to innovate for the support of human life is something integral to me."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm currently a part of The Forge, a startup incubator, and have been for the last 4 years. I first joined as part of a startup called MedX and spent the summer of 2020 growing our company and connecting with other innovators through workshops and seminars. I now serve as an alumnus and an advisor for new startups, giving advice and even providing technical guidance. It's amazing how quickly people take new technology and branch off, continuously innovating and coming up with groundbreaking ideas. I've become quite integrated with the community as well, regularly attending gatherings and other socials. While each person has different goals, innovation is always a common denominator and it results in amazing teamwork and motivation that spreads so quickly. I'm very proud that I can provide and be a part of this amazing culture and I hope to continue to be in the future."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Recently, I just learned how to kickbox and one of the hardest skills for me was the high kick. Since I am not very flexible, I found it difficult to both balance and kick at head level in one swift motion. While most of my peers were able to get it down pretty quickly, I had to keep practicing and even then, I wasn't able to achieve the height I wanted. Instead of being discouraged, I focused on what steps I needed to achieve to be able to kick at that height. I started by trying to improve my balance through drills, then improving my flexibility by slowly hitting targets at higher and higher elevations. Over the course of a couple of days I was able to touch that height my foot. However, the final step was combining it all into one fluid motion and adding speed and power. Through constant repetition and focus I was able to kick at the head level. While not perfect yet, I'm working constantly everyday to make it consistent."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688499695432},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"a9bilal@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Ahmed","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Bilal","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9e504755-7e48-4604-b4de-84fcd2454ced?alt=media&token=efa3b067-5964-4ef8-8ad0-97a16b1b7520","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I developed a calibration system for addressing projection-related issues more efficiently. One of the key challenges I faced involved comprehending the intricacies of calibration in projection mapping. My aim was to devise a calibration system capable of aligning projectors and cameras with one projection shot. This entailed devising techniques to capture precise geometric correspondences while minimizing information loss, which may occur due to suboptimal camera quality or angles. Before identifying correspondences, it was crucial to encode the projection pattern in a manner that avoids duplications during decoding. Duplication could lead to non-uniqueness. After rectifying contradictory data, I needed a method to predict accurate estimates. To achieve this, I leveraged the concepts of locality and interpolation to estimate the current information. I then employed geometric distortion models to attain precise geometric correspondences using a single projection calibration system.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based in EST/EDT time zone for next term. "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is leveraging technology for social good. In today's digital age, technology has the potential to create significant social impact, and I am particularly passionate about using it to help those in need. Where technology can make a significant difference in bridging the educational gap, providing equal opportunities, and making healthcare delivery more efficient and accessible. For instance, telemedicine allows patients in remote areas to receive medical consultations without having to travel long distances. As such, technology has immense potential to drive social good. By harnessing its power, we can address various social issues and make the world a better place. I am committed to contributing to this cause and helping people through technology."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am extremely proud to be a part of the Muslim and immigrant communities in Canada. These communities are a vibrant tapestry of diverse cultures, traditions, and perspectives, and being a part of it has enriched my life in countless ways. One of the ways I have contributed to this community is by actively participating in mentorship programs aimed at supporting new immigrants. I understand the challenges that come with moving to a new country, and through these programs, I have been able to share my experiences and provide guidance to those who are navigating similar paths. I also enjoy events that not only celebrate our rich heritage but also build mutual understanding and respect among different cultures. In conclusion, being a part of the Muslim and immigrant communities in Canada is a source of great pride for me. I am committed to contributing to this community in any way I can, and I look forward to continuing to do so in the future."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"While working at Christie Digital Systems I was exposed to the challenge of learning projection mapping. My motivation to learn this skill stemmed from a desire to contribute more effectively to the team's projects and to expand my overall knowledge in the field of multimedia technology.\nTo begin my learning journey, I first familiarized myself with the fundamentals of projection mapping through research papers and reached out to colleagues within the company who had expertise in the area, seeking their guidance and advice. As I encountered challenges during the learning process, I approached them with a problem-solving mindset. Whenever I faced obstacles or encountered new and unfamiliar concepts, I sought out resources, forums, and communities to seek assistance and gather insights. Throughout this learning process, I demonstrated a strong sense of ownership over my projects."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688164940988},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"Graduate student","email":"kpsivaku@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Karthik Prakash","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Sivakumar","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Electrical and Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9ed695fc-02dc-445c-af5a-5de81921a219?alt=media&token=e052c6a0-6f14-47a2-87cc-91169ee4047e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"At Aximsoft, I had the privilege of leading a team of talented junior developers on an exciting project. Our mission was to build an app that would transform survey data into actionable insights for our clients. As the project lead, I embraced the role of a collaborative leader, fostering open communication and encouraging innovative ideas. I delegated tasks based on individual strengths, while also nurturing their personal growth in their chosen fields. Together, we delivered the app on time, surpassing client expectations and achieving great results. Not only did we focus on project success, but we also built a strong team culture. We participated in firm-wide sports tournaments, like cricket ensuring everyone felt engaged and valued. Now, as I've moved on from the firm, it's rewarding to see my team stepping up, making an even greater impact. This experience solidified my belief in the power of leadership to inspire teamwork, nurture creativity, and leave a lasting legacy."}],"role":"Project Lead"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my work with the Inteligals project, we faced a challenging technical problem: optimizing the performance of a web application handling a large JSON dataset. With limited time and the startup's funding on the line, we needed an effective solution.\n\nUndeterred, I embarked on a systematic approach. Thoroughly analyzing the backend architecture, codebase, and server infrastructure, I discovered that a shift from traditional RESTful architecture to GraphQL could be the key. Determined, we tirelessly implemented and fine-tuned GraphQL in both the front and backend.\n\nOur efforts paid off as the application's performance skyrocketed, leading to the remarkable growth of Inteligals. This experience taught me the power of tenacity, critical analysis, and the value of exploring innovative approaches to overcome technical challenges. This made me realize that being a full-stack developer is not a skill it is an attitude.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST/EDST time zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I firmly believe that every individual are indebted to the society. Among the myriad causes that touch my heart, \"Education for all\" stands out as the beacon of hope. No problem has a single solution, but imagine how many problems would vanish if everyone had access to a higher level of education. The ripples of this change would not only uplift individuals but also shape a stronger and more vibrant society. As the first graduate in my family, I have witnessed firsthand the profound impact education can have on both my loved ones and the community that molded me."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I have had the privilege of being part of numerous communities, but the one close to my heart was being a member of \"Inspire Tutelage.\" This incredible organization is dedicated to providing educational support and guidance to underprivileged children who lack access to proper educational infrastructure to pursue their dreams.\nAs a mentor within Inspire Tutelage, I had the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the lives of these young individuals. I took on the responsibility of teaching them Science and Math, and I also assisted them in preparing for their crucial public examinations and Engineering entrance examinations.\nWhile I was empowering these bright minds, I discovered immense personal growth. Spending quality time with these talents allowed me to enhance my own people skills, leadership abilities, and communication prowess. It shaped me into a more compassionate empathetic, and capable individual."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":" During my first job as a software developer, I was asked to learn new application development frameworks React, React-Native, and NodeJS. I followed a clear approach, researching fundamentals through online tutorials and interactive platforms. Setting specific goals, I built a basic web and mobile app, incorporating design elements and interactive features. Besides I was actively engaging with the seniors in the office and collaborating with them to solve problems that they were working on. I was very determined to expand my skill set, working late hours, and optimizing the code on weekends, which was liked by my manager eventually, this fast-tracked my learning and made me join a project in just two months."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688598425254},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"amasim@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Azzam","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Asim","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9f522d57-8146-4b79-90c8-e344cb7f57f2?alt=media&token=d243ae08-2167-4a0c-8c81-dceb4c2b941b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"In my senior year, I was the head of the senior student council. During our junior council elections, many of our council members were angry at the teachers about how unfairly some candidates were being treated and the rules being imposed. The situation boiled over to a point where council members were planning on sending hateful messages to the teachers. I knew I had to step in to prevent things from escalating. First, I had to calm down my fellow council members. Next, I carefully listened to their grievances. I found that many of them had valid concerns that needed to be addressed. After understanding the situation, I presented the council’s concerns to the teachers. I needed to be respectful, yet assertive in my communication. There was some pushback, but in the end, I was able to convince the teachers to amend certain policies and decisions. By doing so, I prevented a messy conflict from taking place, while ensuring that the election proceeded in a just manner."}],"role":"Project Lead"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my previous work term, my manager and I noticed that we had extremely large API costs for our document conversion service. After informing the CFO, I was tasked with finding a way to perform the conversion in-house.\nI researched document conversion techniques and tested several solutions from Google, Microsoft, and others. Eventually, I found a way to perform the conversion on a Windows instance using Microsoft’s C# Interop library.\nI coded the conversion service as an ASP.NET Core app, that would be deployed as a Windows Background Service. I used test-driven development to fine-tune the processing. Once the service was working, I ported it to a virtual machine on AWS EC2. I configured the service to run automatically using batch scripts and created a poller to grab conversion requests from our SQS queue.\nBy switching to this conversion service, I generated over $140,000 of annual savings and even reduced the conversion time to 5 seconds.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST (I will be on my 2B term in Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that strongly resonates with me is education. I am deeply fascinated by the power it holds, and the essential role it plays in shaping every human being. Ensuring that someone has access to quality education can empower them to fight against oppression and discrimination, and contribute towards making the world a better place. At the same time, those that are deprived of proper education are fated to a life of struggle and become easy prey for others to take advantage of. By rallying for better educational systems to be set up and imparting knowledge to other myself, I hope to one day contribute to a future where the human right of education is accessible to everyone."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In India, I attended a private school from kindergarten to 12th grade. As such, I grew to see my teachers and fellow students as a second family. I owe a lot of my development and success to this community, so to give back I took up leadership positions whenever I could, be it writing for the school magazine or leading the soccer team. My proudest achievement was during COVID, when I founded a free online peer tutoring platform for middle school students in my school and across India. As the CTO, I was responsible for creating our website and online scheduling system, and I also taught computer science and math. Within a few short months, we were able to conducts over a 100 online sessions to teach key concepts and help students revise for their exams. Nothing meant more than the countless personal messages of gratitude we received from students and their parents, thanking us for our guidance. It felt great knowing that I had made a positive impact on my school."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In high school, I had a keen interest in programming and physics. So when I heard about quantum computing (QC), I was instantly intrigued. I discovered that with a bit more development, QC has the power to disrupt everything from cryptography to machine learning. I decided that I wanted to contribute to this vision, and began learning more about it. I started by watching simple YouTube videos on the physics behind QC, and how it was being put to use. Eventually, I progressed to watching quantum physics lectures on MIT OpenCourseWare and reading through reference books. I also got in contact with researchers and experts in QC that guided me through my journey. Soon, I was able to program quantum circuits on industry-standard platforms from IBM and DWave. I was selected last year for MIT’s annual QC hackathon, completed this year’s IBM Quantum Challenge, and will be attending their QC Summer school next month. My journey is ongoing, but I’ve come a long way and loved every step of it."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615815724},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"kgguan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Kelly ","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Guan","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2F9ff6cbf1-3cad-45e0-80ea-d53711beca8d?alt=media&token=a915c9e7-8679-464d-9d97-b839199f9d0f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My uWaterloo caf carabiner is great, but when it comes to digital products, ScreenZen takes the top spot. Admittedly, it's a love-hate relationship. ScreenZen surpasses Apple's \"Screen Time\" by actually compelling you to stop using apps when it prompts you. What I appreciate about this app is not just its ability to limit app usage, but its unique approach of temporarily shutting off apps for 5-10 seconds while you're mindlessly scrolling. It forces you to pause and reflect on your actions. Unlike Screen Time, where you can simply click cancel, ScreenZen makes you acknowledge reality and grants you the chance to pause and contemplate your choices. Despite its occasional annoyance, I value how it encourages self-awareness and empowers you to change your behavior."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In 2021, my friends and I seized the opportunity to enter the web3 world amidst the surge in NFTs. We founded Cactus Kids Health Club, a global community focused on promoting healthier lifestyles. Challenges were inevitable in this endeavor. As the developer, I shouldered the responsibility of designing NFTs, building the minting website, and deploying onto the blockchain within a 3-month timeframe. The NFT market was relatively new then, lacking documentation. Nonetheless, extensive collaboration and research led to the successful creation of 1,111 Cacti artworks. Deploying the contract onto the blockchain posed a significant challenge due to managing the ever-changing gas fees. Like traffic, gas fees fluctuate based on time and volume. I encountered fees ranging from $2,000 during peak hours to $400 at 4:00 am. Nevertheless, we triumphed over these hurdles and made the project available for sale.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Promoting inclusivity in STEM education deeply resonates with me. My journey began in 2019, after attending \na few hackathons, I first felt the gender gap in cs. This became even more evident, after realizing that my all-girls school had no cs class, compared to the nearby all-boys school.\nTo address this, I founded Comodo Coding Society (CCS) in 2020. CCS empowers primarily female and non-binary students in STEM. I designed comprehensive lessons on Scratch, Python, Git, and Product Design. Our Women in STEM Speaker Series inspires members with professional insights.\nCCS unites students from Canada and the US, fostering a supportive community and promoting equity in STEM. I believe everyone deserves equal access to the tech industry. With CCS, I bridge gaps and contribute to a diverse future in STEM.\nDiversity fuels innovation. I'm dedicated to providing opportunities and empowering individuals in tech. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to contribute to the ESG community by educating students on responsible investing. Last summer, I noticed that young adults primarily focused on profits, neglecting ESG considerations. To address this, I founded MarketAngelo, a startup educating young adults about sustainable investing's correlation with profitability.\nTo engage the community, I organized interactive weekly stock-picking contests with a gamified learning experience. Utilizing my skills in Figma, HTML/CSS, and React, I developed our learning platform. Partnering with PayPal, I hosted \"Pitch It To Win It,\" a two-day stock pitch competition. This event attracted 145 competitors, 300+ users, and 350 newsletter subscribers from Canada, the USA, and Spain, providing an enriching online experience.\nPartnerships with PayPal, Questrade, and CPP Investments secured a $4,500 prize pool for users and attendees, ensuring platform and event success. I am proud to empower a new generation of investors. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I recently learned how to skateboard. I have fallen countless times, but the most memorable was my first. It left me with a fully scraped hand and a slashed leg. Unfortunately, this incident occurred just 12h before my calculus exam, making the writing experience even more unpleasant.\nMy biggest motivation to learn skateboarding was first that since I cannot drive, it seemed like an easy way to commute. But also, the idea of becoming fearless. Growing up, I always envied skateboarders for their ability to fall in front of a crowd and quickly bounce back. They moved on with their lives in just a matter of seconds. So, after coming to uWaterloo and experiencing a challenging first year, I yearned to become more fearless. \nI become more fearless, I reached out to my classmate, who has been skating for a few years, to teach me the ropes. Ever since then, I've been learning how to cruise and have developed a greater sense of fearlessness, especially in front of others."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688097247621},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"bymng@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Benjamin","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Ng","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa14d588c-ee41-4127-b006-1caf97fc20e9?alt=media&token=86fa08c7-29ae-4b27-9d01-6301c5831e89","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile","Frontend","Other:"],"response-specified":"Augmented Reality","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A problem I recently worked on was implementing automatic purchase-authorization to prevent fraud purchases for the Syndi Health platform to facilitate employee reimbursement. The challenge with this feature was the difficulty of communicating information between the multitude of APIs which work together to serve features and ensure user confidentiality. To ensure that bugs were minimized, I began by mapping out the necessary connections that had to be made, finding useful documentation links, and taking note of key parts of the code that could break because of my changes. I then communicated my plan with my manager to break down the feature into smaller components, prioritized the order of subtasks then estimated the time that each would take. As I worked on the feature, I made sure to properly document any critical design choices or workarounds I made to make quality insurance testing easier. Ultimately this was successful and allowed for the launch of the new Syndi Card feature.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Leveraging emerging technologies to break down complex topics and minimize the knowledge gap between those of various backgrounds is a cause that resonates with me. Growing up, my father and I would always have discussions on the weekend where he would help me break down my challenges by providing unique perspectives. Staying up until the early morning on our couch with our matching red and black mugs of hot chocolate, he would share his perspective on the challenges I was facing. Seeing the effortless way he alleviated my stress, I soon gained an appreciation for helping others break down challenging problems. Starting in high school, I pursued this by creating a non-profit organization called Prep Trek where I connected 76 mentees with 61 mentors using a Python algorithm to pair them based on similarities in their courses and career goals. Ultimately, this resonates with me because of the impact I can make in creating equal opportunity."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be in the health tech community with others who have a passion for improving the quality of life of those suffering from health conditions. Stemming from my personal experience seeing my father struggle from the adverse effects of his hyperthyroidism condition, I pursued an internship at ThyForLife, a health-tech start-up which improves the accessibility of thyroid resources and tracking. There, I scaled the platform to over 10,000 patients by developing a web scraping algorithm to optimize social media campaign spending. Seeing the tangible impact of my work, I created my own start-up called Loop last year which is a web app that centralizes the process of attending, organizing, and administrating events and club meetings in high schools to reduce loneliness and depression for students. Concurrently, I pursued an internship at a start-up called Syndi Health which facilitates employee reimbursement and personalized recommendations for mental health services."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Growing up as a Canadian-born Singaporean, I have always been self-conscious about my inability to speak Mandarin very well. Visiting my cousins in Singapore, the awkward pause after they realized I couldn’t speak was something I always dreaded. That is why, in high school, I made it my goal to learn Mandarin. Recognizing the difficulty of doing so, I began by researching the best methods and technologies to learn, referring to articles, videos, and books on language learning. After doing this, I then evaluated my personal strengths and weaknesses, ultimately concluding that my learning is the most effective when I am consistent and have a schedule. Thus, I utilized Anki’s Chinese Support Redux to create flashcards which automatically schedule the number of new words to learn, generate the pronunciation of words and highlight the various tones. I then leveraged habit stacking to finish my assigned cards after dinner, helping me learn 10 new phrases every day."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687440012163},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"a3karmak@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Akanksha","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Karmakar","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa425bae6-c960-4f7a-ba87-78abc7ca36b2?alt=media&token=13436116-5d2f-4b1c-ab48-bf83fd46ac92","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"In my daily life, my family has established a tradition of watching the news during dinner. Each day, we are exposed to different global issues such as wildfires and floods, which impact numerous individuals on a day-to-day basis. Witnessing these challenges serves as a powerful source of inspiration, compelling me to develop solutions that can alleviate or address such situations through the creation of apps or websites. Growing up in Alberta, I have seen, firsthand, how wildfires pose a significant threat and force many people to evacuate their homes. I took the initiative to design an app that provides users with essential information about their local situation, aiding them in navigating evacuations effectively. Observing these issues, not only inspires me to take action but also fuels my motivation to continually expand my skills and knowledge. Having a clear goal and a concrete solution drives my determination, empowering me to make a difference in the lives of others."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://rb.gy/2cb55\nI do not have a portfolio, but I have completed a project on Figma. This project involves creating a mockup of an app called Evacue, which aims to address the ongoing wildfire crisis in Alberta. I started extensive research to gain a thorough understanding of wildfire evacuations. Using user research methods, including user interviews and qualitative research, I identified the specific features that would be beneficial for users. A feature I included is a \"List of Necessities\" which aids individuals in determining what items they should pack and essentials they might be missing. Through this process, I gained valuable insights into the challenges people face during emergencies and honed my ability to devise effective solutions. As I built the mockup, I focused on creating a user-friendly UI design that understands the needs of my target audience. It has allowed me to grow my problem-solving skills and my ability to design solutions through thoughtful UI layouts.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"10","role":"VP Product"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Product","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in Waterloo for an academic term, putting me in the EST timezone."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"As a girl born and raised in Canada, I am privileged to have grown up in a society that promotes education for women and encourages our participation in male-dominated fields, such as STEM. Surrounded by teachers and an environment that emphasized coding and AP courses, I expanded my knowledge in specific areas that excited me and furthered my growth by participating in clubs and cultivating technical skills. Reflecting on this, I realize that if I had been born in a country that does not prioritize educating women, my opportunities would have been limited. I would have been unable to explore diverse industries, instead being confined to predetermined paths. Education serves as a crucial tool for making a significant impact in the world and pursuing our passions. To address this issue in my town, I joined a club called Westwood Women in Tech. By organizing workshops and events tailored to women in STEM, our club aims to ignite new interests and showcase different opportunities."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"The Bengali Association holds a special place in my heart, and I take great pride in being a part of it. From a young age, I actively participated in cultural events, particularly Saraswati Puja, which deepened my connection to my Bengali heritage. As I grew older, I felt a responsibility to contribute to the association and the community. Through this community, I had the privilege of representing our culture through traditional Bengali dances in diverse settings. These performances allowed me to engage with people from different backgrounds, enabling meaningful interactions and promoting cultural exchange. The association also provided valuable wisdom and guidance through respected elders who shared life lessons and offered advice. Their mentorship empowered me to embrace strength and determination, shaping my mindset to always strive for excellence. With the support of this community, I proudly embrace my heritage and maintain the values passed down to me."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A new skill I recently learned was how to play the ukulele. With being at home, I had time to pick up a new hobby so I was motivated to delve into learning a musical instrument. My goal was to accompany my singing with an instrument and having received vocal lessons throughout my upbringing, I often needed accompaniment to enhance my performances. The ukulele proved to be the perfect choice, allowing me to sing along with music wherever I go. I focused on mastering the main chords that form the backbone of numerous songs, such as the C and D chords, along with basic strumming patterns. Through the process of learning from scratch, I learned valuable lessons in patience and resilience. Overcoming the initial intimidation, I devoted time and effort by practicing on a daily basis, and gradually got better over time. Now being able to sing songs I enjoy and play along with the ukulele has given me a sense of accomplishment, although it is still a work in progress. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688612390608},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"topcheese044@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jeffrey","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Zhang","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa8c9f7d8-2347-4831-b2e3-16bb4796cd7f?alt=media&token=39c64203-910f-4c10-a396-e1d497577cb8","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One particularly challenging task I had to work on in my last coop term was a bug with a clock syncing error. On the surface, the issue seemed simple but all the naive attempts at finding the source of the error turned up nothing. It became quite frustrating and I spent a long time pouring over datasheets and manuals to figure out how to properly configure the hardware to find the source of the clock error. Ultimately, I got some advice from a senior developer who pointed me to look at the specific clock types of the hardware. Through some trial and error, I was able to identify which clock was causing the error in the system and how to configure it to prevent it occurring in the future.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"- Figure out the pros and cons\nI think that clearly articulating the purpose of standardizing the code base could help clear any potential confusion between team members. Highlighting the benefits may sway developers who hadn't thought about those potential benefits to their workflow. \n\n- Communicate the vision well\nIts important to build a better understanding for developers about what the goal of the standardization is. Defining in clear terms how it looks and functions would be helpful.\n\n- Get feedback \nUltimately, as a VP it's important to take feedback and apply changes depending on the advice. Getting the developers involved in the decision-making process is a great way to foster collaboration among the VPs and developers. "}],"role":"VP Engineering"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is the current fight for climate justice. Its become an undeniable fact that the planet will not be able to support human life if we keep going down our current trajectory. I think that if we don't change our ways we will start to suffer and we have already begun to suffer. This is evident in the smog we can see in the air from the unprecedented amounts of forest fires happening throughout the country. As a student, there isn't much I can affect now but I believe that in the future I can make great contributions to projects that can make real change in our lives. To this end, I think that being a part of a great community such as blueprint would be the perfect way to achieve my goals."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be part of a community of badminton players in my city. There are a variety of players from old to young and we all share a great passion for the sport of badminton. One thing that I've done to give back to this community is to coach younger kids on the basics of the sport. Not only was it a great way for me to get some extra exercise but also provide invaluable physical experience to beginner athletes. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During the last term, I wanted to play badminton but due to covid, the facility had gone from a drop-in model where you could pay a flat fee and stay for as long as you want, to a per-hour pricing model with a booking system. Due to the new system, some dedicated Asian dads were able to set up a bot that would automatically book courts en masse the second that they became available. Thus I decided to match them and create a bot using Python and Selenium to automate my own booking process. I started off by looking at examples of code online and then just trying it out on my own computer. Whenever I had an issue I would just google the problem and move forward with the solution that best suited my needs. I learned about web scrapping and how to optimize Selenium to parse specific tags or HTML components to improve speed. Ultimately, through much trial and error and optimization, I was able to play badminton once again."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688182226574},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"a2alrady@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Ali","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Al-Rady","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa8f6c28b-0952-4ea7-993e-7c1f2e422560?alt=media&token=5399d838-4135-4ffa-b185-6e3bd1a25416","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"One of my favorite products is MyFitnessPal; a health and fitness app that tracks nutrition, sets goals, and monitors progress. It's a user-friendly interface and robust features make it stand out. Users can log meals, track calories, and monitor nutrients. The app offers recommendations based on goals and provides diet insights.\n\nFrom a product manager's perspective, MyFitnessPal demonstrates exceptional value by addressing a significant pain point for individuals seeking to improve their health and fitness. It offers a holistic approach to wellness, integrating nutrition tracking, exercise logging, and goal setting into one cohesive platform. Data analytics improve the user experience by collecting information on behavior and preferences. This allows the product team to refine features and provide personalized recommendations. Overall, MyFitnessPal excels with its user experience, robust features, and data-driven approach, making it popular for driving positive lifestyle changes."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The first cause that comes to mind are fundraisers/movements for cancer research, as it is an initiative that really resonates with me. Growing up with parents who are both cancer survivors, I realized the importance of breakthroughs in cancer research and how they could save lives as I experienced it firsthand. It opened my eyes to and made me grateful for everyone in the industry that devote their careers to developing solutions to this disease. It also made me grateful for people that hold fundraisers/events to spread awareness on the disease. Seeing people donating their hard-earned money to these causes still resonates with me to this day and taught me that any little donation makes a big difference. No matter the size of the donation, a donator is still showing their support and care for the cause, and for the people who are affected by it. As I grow older, I hope to learn about different causes like fundraisers for cancer research, in order to support those in need. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take pride in being a member of the Mississauga Monarchs' local youth basketball coaching and mentorship program. As a volunteer mentor, I have had the privilege of working with boys and girls from diverse backgrounds, ranging in age from 6 to 12. This program has allowed me to connect with the community through the sport of basketball and make a positive impact on the lives of the young participants. My role goes beyond teaching basketball skills. I aim to instill important values such as teamwork, discipline, and perseverance. By providing guidance and support, I help the children develop their abilities and build self-confidence both on and off the court. One aspect I cherish about this community is the transformative power of sports. Basketball brings people together, breaking down barriers and fostering a sense of unity. I have witnessed the growth and personal development of the children involved, witnessing them become more self-assured, determined, and supportive people."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I was fortunate enough to learn a new skill was during my first coop term. I was originally hired as a Business Development intern, in which I used basic market insights to prospect leads to collaborate and develop products within the content creator industry. Halfway through my internship, I recognized a problem: some products had extended buffering periods and took longer to go through our product pipeline. Realizing that data and consumer metrics could provide an explanation for this, I took the initiative to propose the idea to my manager. I joined the data team and worked cross-functionally with the sales team. During this opportunity, I learned data science libraries in Python such as Pandas, NumPy, and Matplotlib. To learn these libraries outside of work, I enrolled in a course (Udemy) that covered the basics of these libraries. I primarily learned the basic level ideas from the course and expanded my knowledge through independent side projects and experiential learning."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688354170300},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"surayamanji@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"External Director","firstName":"Suraya","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Manji","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fa942fa41-be39-45ee-a71c-4637cd5e6f21?alt=media&token=efb6d5c2-2deb-4743-9d74-0a9b4f9c51ea","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"Amid all the stresses imposed by school, it can be difficult at times for students to see their purpose and end goal. This is why I think that an alumni showcase would be a great new event for Blueprint. This would be a great opportunity for students to network, make connections, and see examples of successes that motivate them in school. It can also be used as a way for past Blueprint members to show off their projects, and explain the impact that it made. I believe that a significant part of Blueprint's mission is making an impact, and this idea aligns seamlessly with this mission. What better way to show the impact that Blueprint has than by showcasing tangible results from people who were a part of this? This gives an opportunity for students to connect with alumni and ask questions, while simultaneously leveraging Blueprint's mission and presenting the impact. "}],"role":"External Director"},{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Talent","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I have been blessed with an opportunity that many women globally have not been given, the opportunity to learn. To me, education is the backbone of a functioning society, and furthering education opportunities is the best way to help less fortunate countries in the long run. There are countless ways to help people in underdeveloped countries, but education is unique because it provides sustainable success and is a long-term solution that helps communities grow and thrive. Education, and especially women in education is so important to me because I have witnessed firsthand family members who have been denied this opportunity. A few years ago, my grandmother told me how she desperately wanted to go to architecture school as a child, but her father had only set aside education money for her brothers. This stuck with me because I realized how lucky I am to study whatever I want, and how important it is to promote and encourage educational opportunities for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"My mosque community has provided me with a religious identity, a cultural identity and a sense of belonging that filled me with pride and made it easy for me to grow up as a Muslim. This community fostered an environment where I was surrounded by people who share similar values to me, providing me with lifelong friendships. My mosque also hosted a multitude of events from sports tournaments to charity and food banks, which were wonderful opportunities to meet new people and learn new things. This is where my contribution comes in. In the past, I volunteered for numerous food drives, and monthly food bank donations, and helped organize some sports events. For as long as I can remember, I have spent once a month donating food bank food to families in need. This contribution is a way for me to not only help people, but make the community a part of something bigger, and help the community be seen in a positive light. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In order to succeed and prosper in competitive basketball, I needed to constantly be improving. One year, I tried out for a high-level team but did not make it. Motivated by this obstacle and a desire to be successful, I decided to work on a crucial skill that I did not know, the reverse layup. My approach to learning these new skills was to start by consulting coaches and looking at the requirements. Where I start, where I put my feet when I pick up the ball. Then I started trying. I started off slow and worked my way up to adding speed, then distance. Subsequently, I added in defence and then did the most important part of all. Practice endlessly until I was not only able to do a reverse layup, but until my reverse layup was perfected, and I was comfortable enough to do it even in high-pressure games. Through hard work and improving my skills, I tried out and made an even higher-level team the next year. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688163559442},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"a6atif@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Anusheh","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Atif","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science and BUo","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Faa5c92ef-3ec6-48f9-8e45-df7c3bb80eac?alt=media&token=1965fd8c-5d7a-42f9-be96-4b3bf438085f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"My first ever project was a desktop app inspired by computation art. “Comp-ART-ment”, an app that enables users to explore computational art by taking in user input and generating artwork with algorithms. While the backend was very intuitive to me, I faced many challenges when implementing the front end of the app. For starters, I didn't even have a clue on how to add buttons to allow users to navigate through the app. After many failed attempts of coding out my own buttons I received advice from a friend to explore open-source code and public libraries. After researching, I was shocked to find so many accessible resources that I can embed within my own code. Learning about public libraries opened many doors and motivated me to pursue more advanced features. This experience taught me how to import libraries, utilize documentation and appreciate its importance. Here is a line to a video demo, enjoy! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eZkDlEQst0idHSMb9AM5U4xg9SvUFKpq/view?usp=sharing","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I find it amusing that my first instinct before answering this question was to research about different research methods. I believe this event alone encapsulates my research philosophy. I believe one must familiarize themselves with general concepts of the specific topic before pursuing new information in order to research efficiently and derive stronger conclusions. I believe this method has allowed me to set myself apart when analyzing information, which is evident in my performance in case competitions. Furthermore, I prefer quantitative and survey-based research. As a math lover, I am very comfortable with numbers and understanding the stories they tell. Additionally, as an ENFP, meeting new people is one of my favorite experiences and has taught me how to create a safe environment to encourage others to provide honest feedback and meaningful input. Overall, I believe the combination of the two provides a balance of statistical and empathetic understanding about a specific topic."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"As an individual who has a sister with autism, I have seen first hand the lack of inclusivity and education dedicated towards special needs students. From unwelcome stares, to a lack of accommodation for families who are raising children with autism. Growing up, I took any opportunity I could to educate my peers with friendly conversations and hosting learning workshops to elementary students. I have been exposed to the barriers faced for special needs students and believe my sister has nurtured a deeper sense of empathy within me towards all students. At first, I was strictly passionate about educating my generation on the autism spectrum to create a safer place for my sister and others like her in the future. However, my cause has evolved as I continue to grow as a CS student. I found that as we continue to pursue technological advancements, the autism community is left further behind. Thus, I am motivated to explore ways to enable inclusivity within technological applications."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I am proud to be apart of is that Canadian Cancer Society as a student head. CCS is committed to funding cancer research through several events. As the student head of my secondary school, I organized a charity event which accommodated for over 1000 students and raised $11,000. The event was organized in the span of 6 months and I overlooked all aspects such as budgeting, outreach, marketing, and sponsorships which nurtured an appreciation I now have for non-profits who continuously organize events to invoke social change. The most valuable aspect I gained from organizing this event was creating a special community where the student body was able to be vulnerable and share one another's grief while also experiencing the hope we were giving to cancer survivors by interacting with them in person."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A few months ago, I decided to set a personal goal to become more familiar with the stock market and understand current investing trends. Initially, I decided to watch a few videos, occasionally read an article, or even perform a few google searches. Through this approach, I was bombarded with information that was not very applicable to me and I started to feel overwhelmed. Thus, I pursued a more interactive way of learning about the financial industry. I decided to increase my financial knowledge while also sharpening my programming experience by developing my own discord stock bot. Through this project, I was able to explore new programming tools for data management and visualization via web-scraping, libraries such as Matplotlib or Pandas, and public APIs such as yahoo finance. Overall, my passion drove me to not only learn more about the stock market and achieve my personal goal, but also enhanced my programming skills for data management and analysis."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688357804901},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"ajcai@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Annie","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Cai","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fabee3d4b-b71f-494c-b07b-c6073c1bb539?alt=media&token=3468da8b-393c-4d55-bc69-3487dfd98e74","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my co-op, I faced a technical challenge while working with Azure SQL for a digital banking application. The application heavily relied on Azure SQL for data storage and retrieval, but it needed to improve its performance, including slow query times and frequent timeouts, negatively impacting the user experience. To address this problem, I thoroughly analyzed the database schema and query execution plans. One key approach I took was to analyze and optimize the indexing strategy. I reviewed the queries used by the application and identified the tables that required appropriate indexing. By creating and modifying indexes on the relevant columns, I aimed to reduce the number of disk I/O operations and speed up data retrieval. Throughout this experience, I deepened my understanding of query performance tuning and optimization techniques specific to Azure SQL. I enhanced the overall user experience, reduced query times, and mitigated timeouts.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"As the Project Lead for the UW PM Club, I am responsible for overseeing a team of 6 developers. To enhance team productivity and foster a positive work environment, I recognized the need to address the lack of spirit that existed in the previous term. This term, I have made it a priority to encourage open communication and collaboration. I introduced biweekly co-working sessions where the team comes together to work on their assigned tickets. These sessions have proven to be effective in fostering collaboration, sharing knowledge, and addressing challenges collectively. I have witnessed a significant increase in work efficiency, exemplified by the completion of the homepage for our new project in just 2 sprints. This achievement is noteworthy considering that the last term saw minimal progress on the homepage over 4 months. I have not only sharpened my decision-making, problem-solving, and communication skills, but also fostered a positive work environment with impactful outcomes."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is providing those in need with food. Growing up, I was a picky eater. I hated almost every food and always tried to throw it out. My grandparents, who grew up during the Great Chinese Famine, nagged and lectured me to be grateful for my food. It wasn’t until elementary school that I realized there was never a day when I had to worry about what I would eat. This realization made me aware of the food crisis faced by communities not only in Canada but across the globe. My grandparents and I began donating to my elementary school’s food drives and local food banks. In high school, I volunteered for four months at The Stop Community Food Centre. It was disheartening to see the number of people visiting The Stop, but at the same time, it was warming to know that my efforts were helping those in need. I firmly believe every individual should have access to food, and I am driven to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those who don’t."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In high school, my expectations of being able to explore my passion for technology were shattered as I learned women were discouraged from pursuing such a field. Tech courses and clubs were filled with males that made fun of my interests and skills. This led me to join Superposition, a non-profit organization aiming to bring more girls into STEM. I planned 13 events, including an all-female hackathon that garnered over 200 hackers and made 98% of them more interested in tech. At Waterloo, I wanted to broaden my scope and advocate for not just women but all underrepresented communities in the tech industry. So, I joined Women in Engineering as an Events Director and Tech+ as a Full Stack Developer. Being a part of these DEI communities has shaped the person I am today. I cultivated my leadership, time management, and interpersonal skills, but more importantly, I impacted those who struggled with the tech barrier."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I am currently learning LangChain, an open-source framework specifically designed to facilitate the development of applications powered by LLMs. SYDE has a mentorship program that matches incoming SYDEs with an upper-year mentor. Currently, this matching process is done manually. A few friends and I had this idea to automate this process and build an AI-powered mentor-mentee matching application called Athena. I realized that the technical skills required to execute our project extended beyond my knowledge. I started learning LangChain to acquire the expertise necessary. I studied the framework's components utilizing documentation and YouTube tutorials. This allowed me to gain a solid understanding of the core concepts and architecture. To solidify my knowledge and apply it to Athena, I am working on a small-scale LangChain-based chatbot project. I am excited to embrace the challenges ahead and leverage the power of LangChain to revolutionize the SYDE mentorship experience."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688058047915},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"bnasar@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Bilal","heardFrom":"Events","lastName":"Nasar","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computing and Financial Management ","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fadb0b70d-75cc-4895-ae71-b7f9b6af3bc1?alt=media&token=8fa6936b-80d6-4a99-9d35-56852e56bc89","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In my first coop, I was a software developer at a SaaS startup that provided training platforms for life sci companies. Some of our clients included large pharma companies like Astra Zeneca, etc. One of our resource assignment components kept crashing when deploying training modules to over 1000+ salespeople. I was responsible for investigating the component, so I started off by doing regular TDD testing to see possible breakpoints, interviewers developers who had worked with the component in the past, and generally seeing if I could leverage existing tools. I ended up refactoring the entire component, which was able to succesffuly handle deployment to 1000+ users in the future.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Education Inequality:\n\nI think education is one of society's greatest equalizers. It allows us to develop our critical thinking skills, and more importantly, learn how to work with each other, which I think is critical for a peaceful and successful society. Education inequality is a pressing issue that hinders social progress and perpetuates societal divisions. Access to quality education should not be determined by one's socioeconomic background but rather be a fundamental right for all individuals. By addressing education inequality, we can empower marginalized communities and create a more inclusive society.\n\nWhen I think about current developing nations or even just marginalized communities in Canada itself, I can't help but think of the ways we can create equal access to high-quality education through our current technological capabilities."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Since the start of university, I've been volunteering with The Citizens Foundation (TCF), a non-profit that helps build schools in Pakistan that provide free education to students who might not normally have access to it. From my recollection, TCF is currently providing schooling to over 300,000 students. As part of TCF, I have been helping organize the annual Toronto gala, in which last year alone we raised $350,000. I was responsible for collecting donations, and for the next gala, I'll be helping with securing corporate sponsors and event logistics. It's something I'm really proud to be a part of as I have had the opportunity to help make a difference and provide equal schooling for children in Pakistan, which, in turn, will hopefully create a more inclusive Pakistan for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I've always been unable to convey stories or express myself as I would want to, but I found photography to be an inspiring way to communicate stories, capture emotions, and spark conversations. I started learning by being responsible for taking photos on family trips, and from there, my skills only grew.\n\nI started off with simply my smartphone, playing around with settings (exposure, shutter speed, etc.), and eventually capturing more natural moments. As my photography itch grew, I bought a DSLR camera, which exposed me to how intricate photography can be. I also started using photo editors and experimenting with different lenses. It's a continuous improvement process, but I believe this approach can be applied to any skill. Just pick something up and start playing around with it until you achieve your desired outcomes!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615952718},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"j234li@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Joshua","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Li","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fae4200b4-49c7-407f-8172-5c06498dfc1e?alt=media&token=854733ae-44c0-4cdf-a24b-cc7864a020d1","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I was tasked with creating a Google Drive Picker API in my previous internship. While I initially tried to implement one solution using a npm package with callback functions, it was towards the very end that I discovered that the user authorization it required was completely incompatible with our use case. This meant I had to go back to the beginning. Although I was frustrated, I was also determined to figure the problem out myself. The next day, I set at work implementing a Node.js version of Google Drive API v3. Despite a persistent token issue, I was focused on researching and debugging any errors along the way. Finally, the implementation worked and I am proud to say that the drive picker became a core feature of the platform.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based working in EST on a study term at Waterloo."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Human rights has always been a cause that I am deeply passionate about. During high school, I joined the Amnesty International club to pen multiple articles on human rights violations - from Myanmar to Iran, and even in Canada. I also spearheaded a complete redesign of the website (archived at https://joshlicoding.github.io/AmnestyUCC/), implementing a much more user-friendly interface to view club articles, publications and summits. My role as the Head of Website Development at Amnesty not only spread awareness about human rights in my own community, but also reflected my broader drive to create “tech for good.”"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"During my last 2 years of high school, I was proud to be a part of the Toronto IB community. I noticed, however, that the resources available to us for studying at school were either insufficient or unorganized. Thus, I co-founded a platform called NOTZR (using React.js and Firebase) for students to freely share notes for any IB course - and eventually amassed over 50 notes in total. By contributing this resource to my community, I hope that I managed to give back and help my peers just a little bit on their learning journey."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Cooking has never been my strength in life. Thus, in preparation to live off-campus next term, I decided to master at least 1 dish over this summer - the red sauce pasta. The plan was simple: throw the pasta in boiling water, heat up some sausage, pour premade marinara into the pan and be done. But every time I cooked the dish, I was always left unhappy. Whether that be too-coarse parsley, flavourless red sauce or dried-up pasta, I never seemed to get it right. But I don’t quit or leave my cooking as is; instead, I always reflect on exactly where I went wrong and how I can try to improve next time. It doesn’t always work out right away - it took me many tries to figure out that marinara should be poured in at the end and not simmered - but I never follow where I went wrong twice. I know that I will make mistakes, but with a spirit of optimism and an eye out for improvement, I will grow better over time. And indeed, my pasta now tastes better than it ever has."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688150645881},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"j6diamon@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jaryd","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Diamond","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb1c0890e-2642-41b3-92cd-5b6946cb432f?alt=media&token=1df5c168-1889-45a4-b31a-bd41d25a8acb","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my last co-op term, I was given the task of developing a tool to help speed up internal processes as a capstone project. Since I was working for a machine learning consultancy company, I decided to create a full-stack web application to help monitor deployed machine learning models and extract analytics in real time. However, this task was quite daunting at first, as it would involve research, database design, creating and documenting API endpoints, and UX design, all with a technology that I had limited familiarity with prior. Nevertheless, I took things one step at a time, made a timeline to ensure I balanced my other client work with this project, and spoke with the lead machine learning engineer to ensure I had an understanding of how to optimize the tool best to the company’s tech stack. Through hard work and perseverance, I managed to create a fully functioning prototype and delivered a successful presentation of its features to the entire company.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A few years ago, my baby cousin was born prematurely with several neurological conditions and was told by doctors that it would be nearly impossible for him to lead a highly-functional life. He was in the hospital for close to a year, putting immense strain on his family, as they had 5 other children to take care of. However, an organization called Chai Lifeline stepped in and provided support for my cousin and for the family, babysitting the kids, making meals, and helping in any way they could. My cousin persevered and is now a healthy and happy young boy, and I was inspired to give back to this incredible organization. I volunteered with them for 2 years, helping to run their yearly fundraising event called Jump for Chai, which raised nearly $200,000, along with fundraising myself. After seeing firsthand how much of an impact Chai Lifeline made on my family, I am dedicated to the cause of providing services for families that are going through hardships."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"There is a principle in Judaism called “Tikkun Olam”, which means to repair the world. From a very young age, I was taught the importance of giving back and performing acts of “chesed” - kindness. I am proud to be a member of the Jewish community and have contributed to it throughout my life. In middle school, I volunteered at a charity called Out of the Cold in partnership with my synagogue, where I helped to prepare meals for the homeless during the winters. In all 4 years of high school, I volunteered weekly with Live2Give, an organization dedicated to giving back to the Jewish community and the global community at large. During my time there, I packed food boxes for the hungry, wrote letters to Holocaust survivors, and created blankets for the homeless. I have continued to be involved at Waterloo by regularly going to Chabad, which hosts events to bring the local Jewish community together. I would love to further contribute to “Tikkun Olam” as a developer at UW Blueprint."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I was remote during my last co-op and found there would be minor breaks in the day, whether that be between meetings or waiting for PR reviews. Instead of wasting time sitting around, I decided to pick up a new skill - playing guitar. As someone who is passionate about music, I found it to be a great way to relieve stress. I also used it as an opportunity to bond with my sister, who happened to also be learning, and we would often spend nights together playing songs we liked. At first, I definitely struggled a bit with hand cramps and fast chord changes, but I soon realized that working for 2-3 hours straight to try and learn a song is far less effective than taking it piece by piece in small intervals. For any skill, especially learning an instrument, what is most important is consistency and understanding that everyone has to start from the beginning, but with healthy motivation, you can eventually accomplish what you set out to do (which in my case was learning Dust in the Wind)."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688100998188},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"swittenb@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","firstName":"Serena","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Wittenberg","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Biomedical Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb22f19e4-414e-47df-84b9-5b03c9edb56f?alt=media&token=498bc1a4-7f5d-443b-9516-eb3e37d185c4","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"To build alignment among developers regarding the creation of a standardized code repository, the following steps can be taken:\n- Understand the concerns: Engage in transparent communication with the project leads to gather insights into the concerns and viewpoints of both the supporters and detractors.\n- Define the benefits: Define the potential benefits of having a standardized code repository, such as improved collaboration, code consistency, easier onboarding for new team members, and faster development cycles. \n- Ask the developers: Ask for input from the developers who will be using the code repository. \n- Continuous improvement: Establish a feedback loop to continuously gather feedback and iterate on the standardized code repository. \n- Training and support: Provide training and support to developers to ensure they understand the benefits, purpose, and usage guidelines of the standardized code repository."}],"role":"VP Engineering"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I draw inspiration from the constant advancements in technology, health, and science. Understanding emerging technologies helps me envision their integration into my designs. Staying updated with the latest developments enables me to meet the evolving needs and behaviors of users. By observing how people interact with existing products and studying user research, I gain valuable insights that inspire innovative solutions. The intersection of technology, health, and science fascinates me as it offers opportunities to create products that improve well-being. Blending creativity with functionality, I strive to design solutions that push the boundaries and positively impact society."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Portfolio: https://serenawitt.netlify.app/\nI worked on a project called \"The SideKick,\" a wearable crutch support aimed at enhancing the independence and safety of two-handed crutch users during daily tasks, with a specific focus on enabling efficient dishwashing. The main goal was to design a solution that would allow crutch users to free up their hands while performing various activities, improving their overall mobility and functionality.\nThe design process followed a user-centered approach, starting with extensive user research. This involved creating personas and conducting interviews with crutch users to understand their challenges, needs, and preferences. Additionally, a Quality Function Deployment (QFD) analysis was conducted to identify and prioritize user requirements, ensuring the design process aligned with user expectations. This project taught me the importance of incorporating user feedback, conducting research, and using a multidisciplinary approach in product design.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Central European Summer Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Health and welfare are deeply important to me, which is why I am pursuing a degree in biomedical engineering. The opportunity to make a positive impact on people's lives by enhancing healthcare technologies and accessibility is a cause that resonates strongly with me. I believe that everyone deserves access to quality healthcare and well-being, regardless of their background or socioeconomic status. By joining UWblueprint, I aim to apply my skills in design and technology to support nonprofits and create meaningful change in the healthcare sector. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the chess club community. Chess has been a significant part of my life, not only as a competitive game but also as a source of personal growth and community engagement. For instance, I was very involved in the chess community of Nice my home town in France. I am a member of the Riviera Chess Club and prior to moving to Canada for university, we would meet weekly for lessons, tournaments and get-togethers. Nice’s chess community is a very convivial one, with many regular events taking place with other chess communities in France. In addition, I have also taken on leadership roles within the chess club. As a chess teacher, I have contributed to the organization and planning of tournaments, league matches, and by teaching children. I have actively sought opportunities to give back to the community through chess. I would volunteer to give private chess lessons to children, helping them develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and strategic skills."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning SolidWorks was a significant milestone for me. My motivation to acquire this skill stemmed from my passion for design and engineering, as well as the desire to expand my technical capabilities. I began by researching various resources such as online tutorials on youtube and video courses to gain a foundational understanding of the software. Additionally, I dedicated regular time to practice and hands-on application. Starting with simple designs, I gradually progressed to more complex design projects, allowing me to become familiar with Solidwork's features, tools, and workflows. Project-based learning was essential in enhancing my skills. I undertook the design of a 3D prosthetic leg and gained practical experience and honed my problem-solving abilities. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687629830122},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"a8kar@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","firstName":"Aritra","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kar","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb51c03e9-2c13-408c-8977-0889a09cd7e6?alt=media&token=df121a4d-b057-4584-baf4-d752c7e02b32","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"This is a classic project management problem:\n\n1. Identify stakeholders: Developers are the key stakeholders in this case, as the change is expected to affect new projects.\n2. Communicate with stakeholders: Supporters expect faster development for new projects, while detractors may resist change, have project-specific requirements, or lack consensus on standards.\n3. Convince detractors: Address their concerns while highlighting the benefits mentioned by supporters. Focus on defining common, reasonable standards to alleviate concerns.\n4. Implement a pilot project: Led by supportive developers, this project will demonstrate the benefits of a standardized code repository, building confidence in the approach.\n5. Collect feedback: Gather input from developers and the non-profit using the pilot project. Identify actionable points to address any issues that arise."}],"role":"VP Engineering"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I’ve come across several challenging technical problems before, but a pertinent one is as follows. I had to implement an efficient infinite scrolling effect in React.js for a card-based application without using any external libraries. After a lot of searching, I came across the Intersection Observer API which provides a way to asynchronously observe changes in the intersection of a target element with an ancestor element. Using this combined with a few React hooks (useEffect, useCallback, and useRef), I was able to build the desired feature. The trick was to attach an IntersectionObserver to the last card and checking when that last card came into the viewport, i.e. intersected with the viewport. Then, the number of posts would be updated, which would trigger a state update and fetch the next set of posts. It sounds like a simple fix in hindsight, but it proved to be a challenge before I solved it! Here’s the demo of the completed app: https://aritrakar.github.io/spacetagram/","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that deeply resonates with me is addressing the issue of electronic waste (e-waste) and promoting responsible e-waste management. The rapid advancement of technology has led to a significant increase in the production and disposal of electronic devices, which presents a pressing environmental challenge.\nE-waste poses serious risks to our environment and human health. Improper disposal of electronic devices leads to hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, and cadmium leaching into the soil and water, contaminating ecosystems and harming both wildlife and communities. Additionally, the mining and extraction of raw materials for electronics contribute to environmental degradation and social injustices.\nAlthough I haven't been actively involved in e-waste management initiatives yet, I strongly believe in the importance of addressing the issue and taking action to make a positive impact. I am committed to learning more about the same and finding ways contribute actively."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"While I'm not currently actively involved in a specific community, I understand the significance of community in our lives. I strive to foster connections and contribute positively to the people around me, whether it's at work, with my neighbors, or through other interactions. Although I haven't pursued specific volunteer opportunities, I remain open to exploring communities that align with my interests and passions. By actively engaging and collaborating with like-minded individuals, I aim to make meaningful contributions and help create a more vibrant and supportive community. I want to join Blueprint because I believe I can find a community here that wants to use tech for social betterment. The kind of education we receive is a privilege, so it is only fair to participate in initiatives such as Blueprint to give back to society using the skills we have learnt, while also further honing those skills."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One notable experience of learning a new skill was when I delved into the world of object-oriented programming by learning C++. My motivation to learn it stemmed from a keen interest in software development, a desire to build robust and efficient applications, and a strong desire to not have to write C code. At first, I did not have a very systematic process of learning and was picking up different features as I solved problems. I started to see the beauty of the language as I adopted a more structured learning method by applying new language features/concepts such as smart pointers and design patterns to solve more complicated problems. Now, C++ has become my favourite language. I've found that I learn programming languages best when I use them to make things, and that has been my approach for learning new technologies. I believe that coding is a lifelong learning process and I still have a long way to go in this journey."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688531644016},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"z335zhu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Ziming","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Zhu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fb7226370-c5c0-477d-98c2-5c2a9f5ac135?alt=media&token=8482437f-9b4a-4c05-b14a-10939d000c79","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I was working on one of the company's websites during my first co-op term. I need to upgrade the front-end framework from AngularJS to Angular and update the back-end services apis. I had not worked with C# .NET framework before that work term and had lot's of issue creating RESTful api and using the company's library. The first thing I did was to go to the .NET official documentation to watch the tutorial videos and had a basic understanding of the language and the framework. Then I asked other colleagues how they improve their knowledge in technology, and they recommended Udemy lessons. After quickly watching several tutorials, I was able to solve most of the issues. Then I reached out to my manager when I met difficulties. I was finishing the task and learning the framework at the same time. I was able to complete websites by myself after that tasks and I think the experience taught me how to solve technical issues.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"After checking the blueprint's website and social media, I am really interested in the project that the blueprint is working on. I like working with non-profit organizations to improve their capability of helping people. I feel it would be exciting to apply concepts learned in university to the real world and provide support."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am in the Calgary and Alberta Chinese cultural community and I am really proud to be one of the members. We had several activities throughout the year and I am in the volunteer team. I am the team leader to organize new year events and help other volunteers to schedule their work."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned percussion during high school. I was always interested in drums and keyboards and I got a chance to join the school band as a percussionist. I first started with very simple music and gradually got to know all the instruments, then I started harder ones and found music that I am interested in online. I met lots of difficulties when I started to learn percussion, I first did research online and found solutions to the problem, and I never hesitated to ask the band director. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687507401305},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"b6ngo@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Brandon","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Ngo","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I was struggling to deploy with Google App Engine. The documentation for Flask was not updated for the version I was using and there was conflicting information. Through StackOverflow I found out that I needed a strict file structure for frontend components. Furthmore, through reading over the Node.js documentation, I found out I needed an app.yaml configuration file. Fortunately, those approachs worked. However, if I ran into other issues I would have asked someone for help.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I'm interested in resource sustainability and conservation. After doing many GEOG courses based on sustainability I realize there are many ways to preserve the environment that regular people can do to greatly offset excessive commercial waste. It is one of my goals to educate people on these methods and analyze the outcome if it were to be applied globally."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am part of the FPV drone freestyle community. Fostering a community of people to continually challenge each other to fly their best is rewarding since we all improve and have fun together. I have sanctioned KWAD games and organized casual freestyle flights at new locations around the GTA."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned how to build and fly FPV drones around a year ago. My main motivation for getting into it was to get started with hardware engineering. Also, I remembered that years ago I approached someone who was flying drones and wanted to see what it was like for myself. I started researching the parts I would need through Youtube and practicing flying in the simulator. While building, I learned to read technical diagrams to solder wires and connect components. Flying was difficult at first, but after focusing on the core concepts (like hovering, flipping, rolling) I proceeded to learn more complex tricks like Matty Flips."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687277602228},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"manasva.katyal@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Manasva","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Katyal","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fba29b5d2-110e-4b58-997f-b59f90e4d2c6?alt=media&token=197464e9-f33f-4d66-9fcb-8b7314046c1d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem I faced in the past was when writing my Extended Essay for the IB program. I wrote an essay in physics, about the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in estimating photometric redshift. This required me to apply ANNs to my theoretical astrophysics knowledge. In its initial configuration, as expected, the ANN did not perform overly well, with an error of about 22%. However, I had confidence in the idea as I knew the theory lined up with suggesting redshift was relationally tied to photometric brightness values through constrained bandpasses. So, I continued experimenting with different network layer configurations to optimize the performance. Optimizing this yielded some improvement, bringing the error to just over 14%. However, the biggest improvement came from adding an extra feature to the input data known as the photometric colour, which I determined to be useful through my theoretical-side research, lowering the error to a mere 4.2%.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Toronto (GMT-4)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is that of free access to education for everyone. In my personal life, I have used various free online learning platforms to supplement school such as Khan Academy and Codecademy. I believe that access to such platforms has played a huge role in shaping my personal technical competence. Such resources and educational opportunities can provide equal opportunities to everyone around the globe as long as you have internet access and a desire to learn. The main reason I resonate with these is that they allow anyone who wants to learn and develop to do so regardless of any present barriers such as societal or financial ones. They also allow you to learn at your own pace, something that can benefit a lot of learners in cases where just school may not be enough. Because of this belief, I have volunteered in teaching roles across various free organizations like school clubs and the Air Cadet program. Overall, that is one cause that I personally resonate with."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"One community that I have been proud to be a part of for the past 6 years is the Air Cadet program, in my time at 540 Golden Hawks Squadron. The program has allowed me to develop as a person and leader. I have also pursued my pilot licensing through cadets. One way I have contributed to the program is through the teaching roles I have taken on in the last 2 years as a staff cadet. I have instructed cadets in the general weekly training, and have also held a special role as a flight theory instructor due to my unique skill set as a licensed pilot. More recently as a Warrant Officer in the past training year, I was a part of the senior command team in charge of running our squadron of over 200 cadets and leading a team of about 30 staff cadets. Lastly, in my role as the Administration Warrant Officer, I have automated many repetitive administration tasks with various code-based solutions, something I am very proud of. Overall, this community has greatly shaped me as an individual."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One time I learnt a new skill was when I was learning how to use the MERN stack. I was not new to web development but had used the LAMP stack for previous projects, and wished to learn how to use the more JS-oriented MERN technology stack in order to access its benefits in aspects such as scalability and building real-time applications. Whenever I learn something, whether it be coding-related or not, my number one principle is not to take unnecessary shortcuts. Hence, I found a YouTube playlist of tutorials that introduced key concepts step-by-step for Node and React and did these individually, before moving on to a playlist that dealt with how to connect these two together, with libraries such as Redux. I personally learn best by doing, so while I did follow along in VS Code with the tutorials I also had a practice project in development simultaneously. After each lesson, I would go back to that project and apply my new learnings to it. In this way, I learnt how to use the MERN stack."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688395147892},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"k2patel@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Krishna","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Patel","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbd0cb86b-5571-467c-8f32-a154fa10899d?alt=media&token=96689ca7-1787-4f60-9f68-1670b3f4aad9","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product right now is a Chrome extension called Simplify Copilot. It allows me to auto-fill the tedious job applications, where you have to manually fill out your experience, personal information etc. It allows me to save a lot of time and really streamlines the job application process. I also like the fact that it allows you to save your application for a certain company so if you want to apply to multiple roles at the same company it's even easier. Although, if I were a Product Manager for the company I would recommend they implement a few changes. The first would be the ability to have different types of applications that you can use to autofill. For example, as a user I could have one specifically for positions related to backend, one for frontend etc. I would recommend editing the front end to be more accessible, a lot of the fonts are very small and as a result hard to read. Some of the text actually overflows and there is no scroll either so it is just unreadable."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Mobile","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my previous co-op, I encountered a challenging technical problem when asked to create a realistic notebook using only HTML, CSS styling, and JavaScript, while also ensuring they worked as flip cards for course content. The hardest part was to achieve an interactive flipping effect with smooth animations and seamless transitions between the front and back of the notebooks. To tackle this, I initially researched existing animations people had posted, however nothing that was 'perfect' existed yet. Hence, I decided to develop a custom solution. I began by carefully designing the HTML structure, and then mixing together a few animations that I found were similar online. After which I came up with a animation that I was proud of and did the job. The last and hardest part for me was to ensure these flip cards were dynamic which I was able to do mainly with Boostrap. However when it came down to the notebook spiral I had to test multiple solutions but ended up using javascript.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Unsure as of right now but most likely EST."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is mental health awareness. I believe everyone should have access to the mental health supports and resources they need and that we need to educate children early on about the importance of maintaining their mental well-being. For example, at the start of the pandemic, I co-founded a youth organization, focused on mental health. Mind Awareness is something I take the utmost pride in. It started after I watched a video about mental health stigma across the world in Psychology class. Seeing the contrast of how much stigma exists and how important mental health truly is was frustrating and I wanted to take a step to change that. In the past, I've hosted an imposter syndrome seminar as well as a children's reading program through the organization. Currently, I am working on implementing social media education for kids through elementary schools, and have also received some funding to pursue this project."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I am a part of is the Women in STEM Community. I recognized early on that STEM was definitely my passion and engineering was what I wanted to pursue. I started actively contributing to it in grade 11 when I took part in a summer research internship specifically to promote girls to pursue STEM. I met some of my biggest supporters and peers during that internship and later went on to be a part of the WISEST Youth Council which was a part of the same organization that I did my internship at. As an executive member, I hosted a hack-a-thon specifically for women and gender-diverse students in high school to help them build a sense of community and interest in STEM. As of right now, I am no longer a member but I have continued my support by mentoring the high school students who are now a part of the council. I help them with planning projects, ensuring progress is being made and even with general questions they may have as they navigate through high school and post-secondary. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A few months ago, I made a decision to learn mySQL, a popular relational database management system. My main motivation was that a lot of employers sought out people with this skill but I had no idea what it was let alone how to use it. I began by following a 5-hour freecodecamp intro to MySQL and slowly began growing my knowledge on queries, tables etc. I followed all the tutorials in the video step by step. The next step was for me to implement this knowledge practically and start doing some work on my own. I decided I was going to make something that would help me which ended up being a book database website so I could keep track, and rate the books I was reading. For this part of the learning process it came down to a lot of googling when I got completely stuck, and even asking peers for help when I was completely lost. Overall, I am glad I took the time to learn mySQL because it has come in handy so many times since."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688610755338},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"k2xiong@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Kathleen","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Xiong","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbdbd1bdb-2104-454c-bfc2-bc2935e7c03a?alt=media&token=0563f24b-5663-4726-ba26-744a89dea576","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I encountered a technical challenge when working on a collaborative project to build a ping pong robot. My role in the project was to build the hardware components and set up the Raspberry Pi, which was used to link the hardware and software. A small screen used to control the Raspberry Pi was unreliable, being slow to use and difficult to control. Realizing this impeded our testing and debugging process, I made the decision to find a more effective solution. Researching alternatives, I found that using SSH to remotely control the Pi would be more reliable and enable multiple team members to test simultaneously. The drawback was the removal of the camera’s visual display since it wasn’t compatible with the new setup. After careful deliberation, we decided to use SSH, which greatly enhanced our workflow and productivity. This experience taught me the importance of flexibility, critical decision-making, and the willingness to adapt when faced with challenges.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is the protection of the environment and preservation of our planet, being vital to the wellbeing of current and future generations. By joining UW Blueprint, I hope to use my skills to solve existing environmental problems. The project Plastic for Change was immensely inspiring to me, taking the existing issue of a lack of transparency in recycled plastic production, and creating a technical solution that benefits the environment and thousands of stakeholders. To contribute to the health of the environment, I created a website called “Save the Turtles,” with the goal being to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable practices. The website simulates a person’s ecological footprint based on factors in their life. By providing users insight into their impact on the Earth, I hoped to encourage a more sustainable lifestyle. Through projects like “Save the Turtles,” I hope to use my passion for technology to move towards a sustainable future."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"One community that I take pride in is the Greenhouse Project, a club dedicated to managing the school gardens. As a member, I tended to the gardens and donated produce to local food banks, finding immense fulfillment in engaging with club activities and making a positive community impact. Wanting to have a greater impact, I pursued a leadership position. I became the VP, where I focused on the club's administrative functions, implementing systems to accommodate the expanding membership. I proposed the creation of streams, where members participate during their designated weeks, and develop a spreadsheet to streamline tracking members and volunteer hours. I also spearheaded a fundraising initiative, collaborating with administration to raise $700 for supplies. The Greenhouse Project community has been pivotal to my personal growth and development. Through my active involvement, I have contributed to the club's mission and made a positive impact within our school and local community."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"My initial exposure to frontend web development came from a hackathon where my team created a website. With limited knowledge, I explored online resources to expand my understanding. I was able to implement the necessary project components, but wasn’t satisfied with my results, unable to create what I envisioned within the time limit. I was motivated to learn more, spending time exploring technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and gaining practical skills from experimenting. When I participated in another hackathon, I witnessed significant improvement in my abilities. I was able to contribute more effectively, collaborating with my teammates to design and implement various features. My motivation to improve started from the desire to contribute meaningfully to my team, and led to interest in backend development and technologies like React. Witnessing improvement after starting with limited knowledge has solidified my passion for frontend development and continuous learning."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688183366977},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"saumyakhati1@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Saumya","heardFrom":"Events","lastName":"Khati","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbe2c29a5-04e5-4cd9-88ce-4c73d12dc47c?alt=media&token=d8a9a9ee-9bb6-4e01-a7a2-d6dfb08197a9","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my internship, I built an integration testing system for my team's core service. It presented a challenging technical problem because as an intern, I had not worked on such a large scale project independently before. To solve it, I worked through the following stages:\nResearch: Conducted thorough investigations into existing solutions, considering recommendations from my manager and weighing their pros and cons.\nMockups: Developed a basic mockup with simple tests to demonstrate the system's functionality to my manager.\nDesign and Infrastructure: Worked on design diagrams and collaborated with DevOps teams to develop the underlying infrastructure.\nCoding: Started coding the project and periodically updated my manager on the progress. For encountered issues, I explored multiple solutions before seeking input from my manager for a senior engineer's viewpoint.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"During high school, I was co-chair of the Chess Club. My responsibilities included keeping members updated on tournament dates, providing tactic exercises during club meeting days and keeping track of in-club game results which decided the main and secondary rosters for school tournaments. In addition to this, I was also responsible for ensuring that everybody in the main roster was ready to play during tournament days or finding appropriate replacements if they were unavailable."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The potential for recent AI/ML advances to have a significant impact in the field of medicine—particularly in areas like imaging and diagnosis tech—is exceptionally high. In fact, we're already seeing numerous advances in diagnostic procedures and will likely continue to see more in the future. This is a particular cause that resonates with me because when I was younger, I was really interested in going into medical school and becoming a doctor. While I grew older and eventually realized that this particular path would fit me in the long term, I think the ability to still do work and have an impact in an area of medicine through modern software is something that I am quite interested in. A project like paramedics-react is exactly what I want to be involved in."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am an avid martial enthusiast and have been an active member of the Northern Karate (NKS) community for the past seven years. I recently achieved my third-degree black belt in Shotokan Karate. This accomplishment is a culmination of my dedication and hard work and the love I have for martial arts. As a senior student, I wholeheartedly embrace having the opportunity to mentor junior belts and help them with their katas, stances and other fundamental aspects of martial arts. It is an honour to be trusted by the senior instructors to teach and share my knowledge with other students."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my second internship, I was assigned to a project that required front-end work with React. Prior to this, I had limited frontend experience and I had never worked with React before. Because I wanted to complete the task and get the job done well in a timely manner, I was highly motivated to learn as much about this new framework in as short a timeframe as possible. To accomplish this, I essentially followed the following three step-plan: watch tutorial videos about React (~a few hours), read the official documentation (~1/2 hours) and finally designing the mockup for the project in a local repository to try out different approaches before narrowing down on what works best. For steps 1 and 3, I also reached out to Stack Overflow consistently in order to clear up any confusion or read up on best practises for certain issues."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688605683631},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"ythurair@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Yadushan","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Thurairasa","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Biomedical Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbed4e58d-8cea-4778-88d2-c25b416fdd3e?alt=media&token=7d0e4264-8e5d-4b66-bd28-55c776c03fc0","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Power of Code is a youth NPO based in Toronto which aims to promote computer science and math education among GTA highschool students. POC hosts workshops, alumni panels, and speaker events. As a Director of Logistics, I led the technical development of our platforms such as event registration. A challenge I faced was authenticating users using PostgreSQL and connecting it with Django for backend. What helped me solve this problem was utilizing documentation. As a developer, it’s important to use these resources first. I couldn’t quite grasp the concept yet, so I turned to YouTube videos for help. This was far better as I could follow along and apply the tutorials to my code. I learned to make user account models in Django consisting of username, password, and email. These models are then migrated into PostgreSQL. I learned about database schemas and tables and how large amounts of data are stored and manipulated. As a result, students could register for webinars from the POC website.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"The Apple Vision Pro is one of the coolest products I’ve ever seen! The AR headset has the potential to pivot an ever-changing digital world without losing our physical one. The business objective of the Vision Pros is to use Spatial Computing to blend the physical and digital worlds together. By removing limits on screen size, users have greater freedom in how they interact with their digital needs. This would be insane to see in the entertainment industry as more immersive content become the norm. Although the steep price, what makes this product my favourite is its user market. The Vision Pros are intended for everyday use whether that's at home or the office. For example, startup founders can integrate the Apple ecosystem into their physical realities. The extensive hardware required for this product is the main factor for its price but with the trajectory nanotech and chip manufacturing are headed, there is no doubt that this product would be more affordable in the near future."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Climate change continues to damage our environmental ecosystems. I witnessed firsthand the impact when my family in Sri Lanka had a terrible harvest due to climate conditions. As part of UW’s catalyst program, I created and pitched to a panel of judges a tech startup called Root which aimed to reduce local carbon emissions through an app that gamified public ride-sharing and green transportation. The app incentivizes local communities to take part in challenges that encourage more eco-friendly methods of travel. Players then receive rewards based on their position on the leaderboards. On Root’s digital map, ride-sharing services and optimized routing to destinations are implemented so that players can easily navigate their cities. After judging, Root took home the 2nd overall prize at the pitch competition. The gamification aspect is very similar to UWBP’s project “Building Up” where teams can move up on global leaderboards by selling toques for RtR’s Campaign. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Today, I was going to swim in the big kid's pool! Despite swimming for 2 years, my 4-year-old self was so nervous. Splash! It was a euphoric experience I will never forget. From that point, I would continue to take swimming lessons for 14 more years. My community is very important to me. It’s where I play, learn, and laugh with my family. Without the community center near my house, I wouldn’t have been able to swim so I wanted to give back to the place where I took swimming lessons for so long. I started volunteering in 2018, helping the lifeguards teach kids of all ages and also adults. I saw myself in the kids which motivated me to continue volunteering until 2020 when COVID shut down all facilities. That didn’t stop me. I took rigorous first aid and lifeguard training courses until I finally got hired by the city to work as a lifeguard and swim instructor. My goal for more than a decade of giving back to the people who shaped me into who I am came to fruition. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Coming off 4 hackathon wins, I felt on top of the world! I learned so much about the software space through 2 projects that I worked tirelessly on. Universal, a 2FA document transfer app to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Wildfire, a market analytics research platform for businesses to improve product design. That’s when my friends and I set out to create our own hackathon. We wanted to support hackers in scaling their projects further AFTER the hackathon. I took on a project management role where I co-founded and led the logistical efforts of XHacks. I learned about sprint planning, marketing, and stakeholders. We gained 1200 participants by marketing on Discord servers for uni students and software enthusiasts. We also secured sponsorships from HyperX, Voiceflow, and ProductHunt. Notably, we partnered with Slingshot, a startup incubator geared toward high school students. Winners of our startup track would be able to scale their existing projects into viable long-term endeavors."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688162018429},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"vihaan@jagiasi.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Vihaan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Jagiasi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Mathematics","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fbfa3f936-8405-4ada-8d4e-6554d8b30fad?alt=media&token=623f8d71-b036-4a81-9e40-b6aea2413b32","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem that I faced while working on front-end development was optimizing the performance of a React application. The application I was working on was a large e-commerce platform with numerous components and complex data flow. As the number of users increased, the application started to slow down significantly, leading to a poor user experience.\n\nTo solve this problem, I started by analyzing the application's code to identify any performance bottlenecks. I used the React Profiler tool to identify the components that were taking the most time to render and update. I used React's memoization feature to prevent unnecessary re-renders of components.\n\nI also used lazy loading to load components and resources only when needed. This reduced the application's memory footprint and improved its performance.\n\nUsing React's built-in tools and techniques, these optimizations significantly improved the performance of the application, making it faster and more responsive.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time(EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"In a world where opportunities are not equally distributed, there is a cause that deeply resonates with me: empowering underserved youth through education. \n\nEducation has the power to transcend boundaries and open doors of opportunity. However, for underserved youth, these doors often remain firmly shut due to systemic inequalities, socioeconomic challenges, and limited resources. This stark reality compels me to take action and advocate for change.\n\nEvery child, regardless of their background, deserves a fair chance to receive a quality education. Through education, they can acquire the knowledge, skills, and confidence to transform their lives and shape their destinies. \n\nBy empowering underserved youth with education, we not only uplift individuals but also create a ripple effect that strengthens families, communities, and society as a whole and illuminates not only their futures but also the path towards a brighter, more inclusive, and prosperous future for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Motivated by my love for education and the desire to make a meaningful difference, I sought out a local nonprofit organization focused on providing educational support to underprivileged children. From the moment I joined, I knew I had found my calling. The energy and dedication of the volunteers, combined with the resilience and potential I saw in these young learners, ignited a fire within me.\n\nAs a volunteer tutor and mentor, I have had the privilege of working closely with these children, providing them with academic guidance and emotional support.\n\nI have actively participated in organizing educational workshops and cultural exchange programs which aimed to broaden children's horizons and ignite their curiosity about the world. \n\nBeing part of this community has not only allowed me to contribute to the educational growth of underprivileged children but has also enriched my own life in profound ways. It has taught me the importance of resilience, empathy, and patience."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As a front-end developer, I realized that my understanding of REST was limited, hindering my ability to create dynamic and interactive web applications which motivated me to learn and master REST APIs to enhance my expertise.\nI curated a collection of high-quality resources that offered practical examples and hands-on exercises.\nTo stimulate real-world scenarios, I embarked on several ambitious projects to implement RESTful APIs from scratch. These projects challenged me to tackle complex tasks which solidified my understanding of REST API design principles and also gained invaluable hands-on experience.\nI actively sought opportunities for collaboration by joining online developer communities and engaging in open-source projects related to REST API development. \nThroughout my learning journey, I encountered various challenges and to overcome these challenges, I actively sought guidance from mentors, undertook extensive research and implemented thorough testing and debugging practices."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688600301338},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"ky2lin@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Kaitlyn","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Lin","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Managment Engineering ","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc0c25d9c-704d-40c4-bd46-cd856a705b4d?alt=media&token=b929af59-9ef0-4f10-9eca-37a4db54d879","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My current favourite product is a smart light switch button pusher called switch bot. The existence of the product revolute the way we interact with traditional light switches, offer the convenience, energy efficient and enhanced control over the light system. Especially for students who rent and cannot switch the lightbulb into a smart lightbulb, the switch bot is convenient. \n\nOne aspect of the product is that it offers a comfort with the aid of allowing faraway control of lighting fixtures through smartphones or voice assistants such as Alexa, Siri, or Google. The product improving safety and simplifying everyday existence. The product's electricity performance feature permits scheduling and decreases carbon footprint. Its intuitive interface and seamless integration with voice assistants offer a flexible user experience. \n\nOverall, the product makes it a top on the list is the convenience of a switch bot the simplicity quality and price friendly for everyone to use. "}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The motive that resonates with me is the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This consists of developing progressive healthcare solutions and supporting the communities. This past few years in the pandemic, I had observed that with shortage of healthcare people’s when visiting hospitals, the wait time in the ER is longer. This has me motivated to contribute for the future the development of digital health systems to prevent a virus that spread globally. By doing so, I aim to help preventing the global spread of viruses and protect the lives of healthcare professionals who have sacrificed their own well-being during these times. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be part of a community of people who enjoy playing badminton. I contribute by being a member of the UW Badminton Club and participate in the events such as 3 vs 3 tournament. \n\nBeing part of the UW badminton club had allowed me to connect with fellow players who share the same passion in this sport. During session, we will discuss our success and areas of improvement in the games we played. Interacting with individuals who have similar interests makes the sport fun and collectively improve our skills together. \n\nOn my free time, I will watch badminton tournament to learn from world champion and observe their playing techniques. This helps me further develop my understanding of the sport and improve my own gameplay. \n\nAll in all, being involved in UW Badminton Club allows me to play the sport in different forms, meet people who share the same interests and do all of this while playing the sport I love. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I learned a new skill was being involved in the world of User Interface (UI) design. In beginning, my motivation of learning is because my goals are to become all rounded Product Manager. \n\nSlowly, when I researched more about UI design fundamentals, I found I have passion in design. My approach on learning user interface is do research, such as “What is UI?”, “What is the difference between UI and UX?”, etc. As well, understanding the concept of UI. The next step after knowing the basic of UI I engaged in hands-on project, with creating wireframes and mock-up using Figma. To feel more involve in learning UI I also participate sprint design to engaged with mentors and get input from an experience UI designer to get feedback on the design as well opinion in the UI industry. Through these efforts, I develop a solid understanding of UI design principles and with an expectable ability to build an interface. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688615408809},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"vyogalin@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Vaaranan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Yogalingam","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc33d411f-dcf4-4e46-88de-9390d062adc2?alt=media&token=83a59285-d86a-462f-991e-704b72ab8ca0","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile","Frontend","Other:"],"response-specified":"Embedded","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A difficult project I worked on was at my second co-op, where I developed an application that professors could use in class to quiz/poll their students (like a web-based iClicker). The application was originally browser-based, and I was tasked with developing a mobile version of the application for iOS and Android. This posed a challenge for a couple of reasons. Firstly, no one on my team, including myself, had much experience with mobile app development, especially with React Native, which was the technology I ended up using. Secondly, I was the only one working on this task, since the rest of our team members had to work on other aspects of the web app. Finally, it was towards the end of my co-op, so the timeframe was short. To overcome these challenges, I first figured out how to manage my time in an \"agile\" manner. Using the software development life cycle, I did proper research, handled technical challenges on my own, and produced a v1 iteration by the end of my term!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST/EDT (Waterloo Time)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"During my first year at Waterloo, I was looking for ways to gain experience as a software developer. Given that everything was online due to the pandemic, I looked online for projects I could work on, and people I could connect with. I came across a project online, led by a Project Manager in the UK. He wanted to develop a Weekly Planner app for his friend's son who had Autism. The goal was to take the physical calendar system they already had for him and make it digital. I worked as a front-end developer, and since the project started with just the two of us, I helped brainstorm and prototype the first iterations of the app. The project and its cause resonated with me for two reasons. Firstly, I had already worked with a local organization that helped South Asian families whose children had Autism, so I understood and appreciated the cause we were working towards. The second was that the app gave our client more technological freedom, a cause that I am also passionate about."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Growing up in the east end of Toronto in Scarborough, I benefited from a multitude of free and accessible programs that helped me with my education and overall well-being. I wanted to help people similarly, so over in the fall, I volunteered at the FeedScarborough food bank, both on the setup and registration team. It was an eye-opening experience, because I got to meet many food bank clients, and learn about their unique situations. I also appreciated the way the food bank worked. We leveraged modern POS technology that allowed us to give clients points based on their needs, which they could spend on anything in the food bank. I would arrive in the morning every Saturday to set up the food stands, and then I would register/sign-in clients as they came in afterwards. When I came back to Waterloo for the winter, I remotely helped the food bank set up an app to help track volunteers and tasks. Overall, it was a large operation, with many moving parts, and I was proud to be a part of it!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Recently, I have been trying to learn more about embedded development, mainly through Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, and ESP32s. Hardware technology has always fascinated me, but I was always intimidated for a few reasons. Firstly, some of the materials are not easily accessible (boards, wires, tools, etc.) Second, there’s a lot prerequisite knowledge you need to work with those materials. Finally, the learning process and mistakes can be costly. However, some advice I received was that I should try to figure out what I wanted to create, then ask questions, and work my way backwards. That way, I know exactly what I need to learn and what materials I need. Using this process, I learned a lot of new skills, like how to read hardware documentation, and even how to solder. I am currently working on a few new projects, like a smart coaster and alarm system, but overall the learning process has been informative and fun, and I have developed skills that I can apply to future projects!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688605829022},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"visionjwd@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jun Woo","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Oh","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Mechanical Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc36dd55f-01e4-43fa-b71c-7793e553bcfc?alt=media&token=85ae64da-5f7b-47ab-99e5-5a4386f138ac","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One of the biggest challenged I faced was optimizing a image heavy website. When I was developing the website for JWD Creative House, one of the issues was optimizing performance as the website contained more than 70 high quality images. Utilizing Static Site Generation of NextJS, I was able to improve the loading performance of portfolio pages by 36%. Furthermore, priority tags were implemented for important content of each page, such as the home menu and background, to ensure that those elements would be loaded ahead of time. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I tend to look for inspirations in digital products we use everyday and also physical products. I enjoy taking the physical experience of a product and converting that experience into a digital product that can be accessed by everyone. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"www.junwooo.me\nwww.jwdcreativehouse.com","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST(Will be in Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One of the causes that I'm passionate about is accessible education for everyone. I spent much time as a tutor and an instructor, and I noticed a lot of gaps between students from different households. Since I experienced the gap firsthand, my interests are surrounding bringing STEM education to those who are in low-income areas. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be a part of the small business community in Toronto. I have been part of this community for 2 years now. It is a significantly large community, with a diverse background, and I was able to contribute by providing media services that helped many business see anywhere from 20-140% in online presence growth in the past year. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One recent example of acquiring a new skill is when I decided to learn UI/UX design and its applications in product design.My motivation to learn UI/UX design stemmed from my desire to broaden my skill set and contribute more effectively to the entire product development process. I recognized the importance of user-centered design and its impact on overall product success. I had a structured approach to learning UI/UX design, where I started off by finding reputable material on the internet to learn the basics. After I was comfortable with the basics, I went on to apply the things I learned in a project, by creating Figma Wireframes and implementing the design in an actual website. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688180264816},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"kx3tan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Kevin","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Tan","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc55b4fac-cf3f-487e-9cfc-9e84b82b119d?alt=media&token=1833f946-1c23-4850-9a28-77cad920e90d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack","Backend","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A technical problem I dealt with was optimizing a MongoDB database. Our API allowed update requests to provide only the JSON parameters it wants to update, making updates simpler. But this also presented a problem: when a parameter is no longer needed, it would remain in the database, making the object more cluttered and hard to work with. I evaluated several possible solutions. A solution I thought of was to remove unnecessary parameters from the object before it is validated by Mongoose. While this was simple to implement, it required a lot of hard coding which was not scalable and made it difficult to abstract. Another solution was to indicate in the MongoDB schema when a parameter was no longer needed using a function and to use post validation Mongoose middleware in order to remove the parameter under conditions. I consulted my team members to get a second opinion and to optimize the solution. I also rigorously tested the solution to ensure no further issues are brought up.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is reducing the use of fast fashion. Fast fashion is extremely popular because it allows consumers to have access to cheap and trendy clothing. But this comes with the exploitation of cheap toxic materials as well as child labour. Many of my friends rely on fast fashion from websites like Shein and after learning about its consequences, I’ve realized how large this problem really is. I am constantly looking for ways to reduce our reliance on fast fashion and, in the past, I created a web application that tries to support the cause. This web application takes in images of any kind of clothing and links its users to more ethical and eco-friendly alternatives. I believe that through Blueprint, I’d be able to support this cause through projects like Focus on Nature as well as Feeding Canadian Kids in order to increase our appreciation for the environment and to reduce the need for children to enter the workforce. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I’m proud to be a part of is the teaching community. For the past 3 years, I’ve spent countless hours creating curriculums to teach and empower youth who want to break into the world of computer science. In teaching 80+ students in my high school’s computer science club and 15+ students privately in a local teaching center, I’ve always strived to make computer science more accessible to students who are interested in it. I’m proud to be a part of this community because of other aspiring teachers who are similarly passionate about helping others learn. Upon realizing that UW Blueprint supports Jump Math in developing a math assessment tool, I immediately became intrigued by the position of not only allowing youth to learn, but also meeting other Blueprint members who share the interests of the teaching community. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A skill I’ve learned and am still learning is rock climbing. I’m very motivated to pursue this skill as it is a very diverse form of sport. It not only requires strength and flexibility, but it also requires a lot of problem solving and technique. However, the greatest motivating factor for me is the community that’s built around rock climbing. Nothing feels more motivating than when you’re struggling to climb a route and a stranger, whom you’ve never met before, is below you, encouraging you and giving advice when needed. Despite it being an individual sport as opposed to a team sport, I still feel as if there is a team supporting me. \n\nWhen I’m trying to complete a climb, I often try to figure out the solution on my own. After having a couple of falls, I turned to the rock climbing community, either online to learn some techniques, or in-person with the fellow climbers I meet. Applying to Blueprint, I’m excited to meet a similarly supportive community.\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688596991296},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"s46hasan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Shaheer","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Hasan","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc67742cb-2d56-4e85-9082-ac154c18e5f3?alt=media&token=c4bafa16-fdff-492c-8c2e-4e1a8e2c2518","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile","Other:"],"response-specified":"Cloud/Infra (falls under backend)","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem I faced was optimizing a slow mobile application with high message load during usage. I analyzed performance, identified the bugs (or potential problems), and then brainstormed potential solutions (while comparing their pros and cons). Eventually, I reduced network requests through creating a new message routing scheme in the backend. I also refactored code to improve the readability from previous iteration, as well as implemented efficient algorithms to perform message handling. I also made sure to extensively test my solution with many edge cases to ensure I did indeed solve the original technical problem. This experience highlighted the importance of a systematic approach, collaboration, and continuous monitoring for sustainable performance improvements. Through my experiences, I have learned a lot on how to debug a problem and backtrace it to find the root cause of the issue. From there, I am able to assess the problem further & create a solution!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be working in EST (local) timezone. Thus, there should be no issue when it comes to that :)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates deeply with me is environmental conservation and sustainability. As our world faces pressing challenges such as climate change, deforestation, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity, it is crucial for us to take action to protect and restore our environment. Growing up in this society, I have been able to witness the fast deterioration of the climate (ex. the mass wildfires polluting the air). I want to find a way to use my technical skillset to help combat this, so that future generations can live in a stable environment they can strive in. A project that caught my eye is Plastic for Change, I truly admired how we were able to combine data engineering and development to help solve pollution. This relates with the cause I mentioned, and further inspires me to join Blueprint where we have already achieved solutions similar to what I would like to do. It is astonishing to see how we've used software to innovate solutions to social causes and I'd love to help!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Being a second-generation Canadian, I grew up immersed in a multi-cultural environment. I am proud of my Pakistani heritage and have grown up going to local markets owned by fellow immigrants. However, during the pandemic I could not along with many others and as a result, these small businesses suffered heavily. I was indirectly affected by this as I care for the owners of these businesses and wanted to help somehow. To help alleviate the pressure placed upon them, I co-founded a startup which bought product off of them then revamped it into mystery boxes which we would sell and distribute to our own customer-base. It was a win-win situation as we helped these businesses make profit in a rough time while making some profit ourselves. I learned a lot about entrepreneurship and how to run a business from end-to-end while feeling good about being able to help my community. Blueprint will enable me to be in a similar win-win situation where we grow while contributing to a good cause."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Although technical skills are always great to learn, soft-skills are equally important (IMO). A time I learned a new skill is back in high school when I played competitive soccer. I used to play up top and would love to just what I was comfortable with. However, there were times my coaches would need me to drop back and play different positions for the team to succeed. I really disliked doing it at the start but by the end I gained a lot of invaluable perspective. I learned how to be adaptable and be able to sacrifice your own needs in order for the team to succeed. Since then, I have carried this mentality into other ventures such as my co-ops, clubs, and other team settings in general. It has enabled a growth mindset within me which in turn has helped me become a great leader, and an overall asset in any team that I have been a part of. I hope to carry this leadership trait with me at Blueprint as we are continuously working with others. Hence, I know it will be beneficial for us!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688099347134},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"h2khan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Hasan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Khan","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fc9dc1a38-134a-457b-b571-39d0575eb900?alt=media&token=a033b12d-beb2-43ed-bead-7947e272bbef","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my tenure as a Data Engineer at Adastra Corporation, I faced a daunting challenge: frequent pipeline loading failures caused by inconsistent data quality in ETL operations. Determined to find a solution, I developed Python scripts that automated data cleaning processes, ensuring data quality prior to integration into data warehouses.\n\nTo tackle this issue, I identified prevalent data quality concerns such as missing values and formatting errors. With these insights in mind, I began writing scripts capable of addressing these issues. The positive impact was evident, as the incidence of failures significantly decreased. To fortify the scripts, I implemented error handling mechanisms to capture any unforeseen errors during the data cleaning process. Through following testing, I was able to validate the accuracy of the cleaned data, effectively preempting potential errors. Although initially challenging, my commitment and perseverance led to a 70% reduction in pipeline failures.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that holds great significance to me is promoting equality and fighting against racial discrimination. As an individual belonging to a minority race, I have personally experienced and witnessed the challenges and inequalities that marginalized communities face on a regular basis.\n\nThroughout my academic and professional journey, I have actively sought opportunities to advocate for equality. For instance, I am an active member of the Orphan Sponsorship Program, where I help raise awareness, and run events to fundraise money to sponsor orphans all over the world.\n\nThrough my involvement in the program, I have seen firsthand the transformative impact that consistent support and care can have on these children's lives. UW Blueprint's mission to leverage technology for social good aligns perfectly with my values and aspirations. I am eager to collaborate with a team that that shares this vision and collectively works towards creating a more equitable world for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"One community that I am immensely proud to be a part of is the Orphan Sponsorship Program which I have been actively involved in for a year. This program has not only provided me with a sense of purpose and fulfillment but has also allowed me to make a meaningful difference in the lives of orphaned children.\n\nWithin the program, I have taken on various roles and responsibilities to contribute to its success. One area where I have made a significant impact is in ensuring the financial stability and transparency of the program by helping prepare financial statements, including balance sheets and income statements. In addition, I have played a pivotal role in securing sponsorships from businesses by engaging with potential donors and sharing the inspiring mission of the program.\n\nI am excited to bring my experiences, skills, and passion for making a difference to the UW Blueprint team, where I can contribute to meaningful projects that empower communities and create a lasting impact."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"An instance of learning a new skill was when I took on the challenge of mastering Azure OpenAI with Python for a company hackathon project. I had a strong motivation to learn this skill as it was a group competition with coworkers and I wanted to give a strong impression for myself as I just began my co-op there.\n\nTo begin my learning journey, I conducted extensive research on Azure OpenAI, exploring its capabilities, documentation, and best practices. Then, to gain practical experience, I set up a local development environment with Azure services, including Azure OpenAI, and began experimenting with sample datasets. I immersed myself in hands-on coding exercises and tutorials, gradually building my understanding of how to leverage Azure OpenAI APIs to analyze datasets effectively. This allowed me to gain a strong understanding and also how to incorporate it along with Python powerfully. All in all, we were able to develop a strong project solution and impressed the company leadership."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688061712585},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"m7selvar@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Maruhan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Selvaratnam","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Statistics","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcacb6950-b52b-4ccf-ba04-e6ff396b9f7e?alt=media&token=f4bfbb53-fc89-4434-96de-fcf702fc8466","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"One challenging technical problem that I worked on in the past involved having to optimize a quarter-end report at my co-op that took around 7 hours to compile. The reason why this task was so difficult was the underlying SQL queries (that were written a long time ago) were doing very unnecessary things that were taking far too long and there were too calls to databases that were hardly used. To solve this problem, I had to start by researching how to optimize these queries (there were too many subqueries within the query) and also searching through the different tables within the database where I could more easily find the data I was looking for to reduce the time needed for the queries to run. I also looked into moving different fields into other tables that were already being used by the report to decrease the number of queries that I had to do overall. By doing this, I was able to decrease the time from 7 hours to just below 4!","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"ET"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is helping the environment. All the time, we hear about how we're destroying the environment and how there is nothing that we can individually do about it. While this may be true, I genuinely believe that there is power in doing the small things and doing our part to make change even at a personal level. In the past, I've volunteered for environmental organizations by planting trees in parks or even doing trash audits at my high school. I always try to advocate for the environment and try to lower my environmental footprint for myself and those in my community. In the future, I want to be more involved with trying to help the environment, whether that be teaching people outside of my community or getting more involved within organizations like Blueprint which can help out the cause through projects such as the one with Plastics for Change."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I'm proud to have been a part of is Tech+ here at UWaterloo. Tech+ is a community that actively promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion values. I am proud to be a part of a community that is so welcoming and that thinks very similarly to me. These three values are important to me as I've seen the value that comes alongside promoting them through the different events and initiatives I helped plan through the club. In the club, I often have participated conversations regarding different DEI topics such as underrepresentation in Tech, the wage gap, and accessibility in development. I have also been responsible for planning events for the club that promote those values while also keeping into consideration the things the lessons we learn through our DEI talks. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A skill that I learned recently was how to use React when creating websites. Before I had learned how to use it, I was only using vanilla Javascript, HTML, and CSS which was powerful at the beginning but I quickly found that it was not enough to do the cool things that I wanted to do with it. I wanted to expand my bounds of possibilities and I found that React would be able to help me do that. To learn it, I started with a Google search (which usually happens when I'm trying to learn something). I watched all sorts of videos until I found a good video series and I just watched along (and coded along) until I felt I was comfortable enough. I did other projects to learn concepts and kept on watching videos until I was able to code the thing that I originally wanted to make in the first place. Now, I always find new videos to watch to keep on learning new things!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688607515631},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"rnankani@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Rohan","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Nankani","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcb443c98-e9f1-49c4-b9fb-bc021521d622?alt=media&token=0b2a32cf-f461-4464-ae80-98f895a1e95f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During Hack the North, my team faced a technical challenge when deploying our website using CockroachDB since we wanted our application to collect and display data effectively, but as newcomers to the technology, we found it quite difficult. Despite initial struggles, we developed a workaround solution to showcase our project effectively. Instead of using CockroachDB, we created a mock database using a JSON file as a temporary substitute. This alternative approach allowed us to showcase their project's potential and core concepts without fully integrating CockroachDB. The experience taught us the importance of adaptability and finding alternative solutions when faced with unexpected difficulties. Overall, our experience at Hack the North highlighted the importance of striking a balance between ambitious goals and practical execution.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The cause of mental health and healthcare resonates with me deeply. Healthcare and mental health services in Canada and other countries have a lot of potential for improvement. Long wait periods for specialized care, limited access to mental health resources, and inequality in healthcare provision are all challenges. As a result, healthcare infrastructure needs to be invested in, preventive care needs to be prioritized, and mental health needs to be given equal importance. Reducing stigma and tackling systemic inequities are critical for encouraging open talks and improving mental health. Advocating for better healthcare and mental health services can help to build a society in which everyone can enjoy healthy, satisfying lives."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the Sikh community and actively contribute to it by volunteering at Gurdwaras. I volunteer in the langar, the community kitchen, where I help serve meals to those in need. It is gratifying to be able to help and ensure that everyone, regardless of background or circumstance, has access to warm and nourishing food. I seek to promote the Sikh values of selfless service (seva) and equality via my work in the langar, generating a sense of unity and solidarity within our community."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I decided to learn React, a popular JavaScript library for building user interfaces, due to my interest in website development and its widespread adoption in the industry. I began by watching YouTube videos to comprehend the fundamental ideas, then moved on to online tutorials and sites such as Codecademy. Following that, I worked on little projects and practical exercises that allowed me to apply the concepts to real-world circumstances. The learning experience was exciting because React enabled the building of dynamic and responsive interfaces, which fueled my desire to learn more about its possibilities. Learning React enables me to design compelling and interactive online applications in general."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687300297699},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2A","email":"z24cheng@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Zixuan","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Cheng","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"CS","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcbdd7bc5-8d4b-4799-bd10-27da0e8121a1?alt=media&token=557d4cc7-2dc7-41d3-88d2-819701c06534","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In a machine learning project, I tackled a challenging problem by implementing a custom loss function for a regression task using C/C++. Standard loss functions didn't fully meet the unique requirements of predicting house prices based on various features. I developed a custom loss function that incorporated both absolute and squared error components, penalizing larger errors more heavily. Through efficient C/C++ coding and extensive testing, the custom loss function consistently outperformed standard ones, improving the accuracy of predictions. This experience highlighted the importance of tailoring loss functions and demonstrated my proficiency in C/C++ programming and machine learning integration.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I find inspiration in various aspects of my daily life. One significant source of inspiration is observing people and their interactions with the world around them. By observing user behavior, needs, and pain points, I gain valuable insights that shape my design thinking process.\n\nI also draw inspiration from nature and its inherent beauty and functionality. Nature's elegant designs, patterns, and efficient systems often inform my approach to creating user-centered and sustainable products.\n\nMoreover, I actively seek inspiration from other designers and their work. Exploring design blogs, websites, and attending design conferences helps me stay updated on the latest trends, innovative ideas, and design thinking methodologies."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://zixuancheng24.wixsite.com/my-site-4 (It's like a prorject that my team is still working on)","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"GMT-4,Waterloo"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates deeply with me is advocating for inclusivity and support for individuals with disabilities. As a student who personally navigates the challenges of ADHD and other mental health issues, I have firsthand experience of the obstacles and stigmas that can arise. This has inspired me to take action and contribute towards making the world a better place by fostering a more inclusive and supportive environment for everyone.\n\nI believe that every individual, regardless of their abilities, should have equal opportunities to thrive and succeed. I am passionate about raising awareness and promoting understanding about disabilities, breaking down barriers, and encouraging empathy and acceptance within our society. By actively engaging in initiatives and projects, I aim to create positive change and empower others to embrace diversity and embrace the strengths that lie within every person."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be part of a voice-overing community post high school. We undertake voluntary projects like COVID-19 awareness videos and educational content for minors. My role involves voice-over work, communication, and editing. I contributed by creating a website to showcase our work and attract clients.\n\nIn our voice-overing community, I contribute as a voice actor and handle communication and editing tasks. I also developed a website to promote our services and attract clients. Being part of this community allows me to pursue my passion and contribute to impactful projects.\n\nI joined a voice-overing community after high school, engaging in voluntary projects like COVID-19 awareness videos and educational content. I contribute as a voice actor, handle communication and editing tasks, and developed a website to promote our services."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Recently, I embarked on the journey of learning to play the piano. I approached this new skill with a deep sense of dedication and seriousness. Music has always been a passion of mine, and I wanted to express myself through the piano.\n\nTo learn this instrument, I invested significant time and effort into practice. I sought out various resources, including online tutorials and books, to understand music theory and piano techniques. I also enrolled in lessons with a piano instructor who provided valuable guidance and feedback.\n\nCommitment was key in my approach. I set aside regular practice sessions, focusing on specific goals for each session. I dedicated myself to developing muscle memory, improving finger dexterity, and honing my understanding of music theory. I understood that progress would come gradually and embraced the challenges along the way.\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688181318769},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"mail.ericgao@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Eric","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Gao","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcd8dcbf4-7b47-44f3-822d-5d5da0a89973?alt=media&token=fab1b61d-5827-4a15-906e-ba900ca8e289","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"Inspiration first comes consciously. Personally, I love to analyze the products around me. After immersing myself in Don Norman’s teachings, I’ve been actively dissecting why I love/hate the products I use. \n\nI also believe inspiration comes unconsciously from unconventional places. Great examples of this are Steve Jobs taking college calligraphy classes or Manu Prakash making the Paperfuge from children's toys, I believe that having the most diverse perspectives generate better ideas. I look for inspiration consciously and unconsciously with every product that I interact with.\n\nHowever, my own internal perspective is not enough. One of my favourite experiences is working with other graphic designers. Seeing perspectives and ideas that radically differ from mine is an extremely insightful experience. Inspiration comes to me from other designers. This could be done internally through a team or it could be externally with platforms such as Pinterest, Medium or social media platforms.\n"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ttT9Q8up1TRMEsgiqEmtwTl1fxpFa563/view?usp=sharing\n\nThis project was the Shad design challenge project that my team created. My specific role was leading the design of the app. Within the presentation, I outline the main obstacles our team faced and what I learned from the project. ","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"In the fall, I will be starting my 1A term in Waterloo which makes my timezone EST. "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Project5K (P5K) is an organization with a mission to create and promote student volunteer opportunities. \n\nJoining in grade 9, my first experience was organizing an event gathering volunteers to distribute care packages on the streets of Downtown Toronto. This was my first ever volunteer experience, and it ignited a passion for promoting youth volunteerism in my community. Since then, I’ve stayed with P5K, organizing various volunteer initiatives such as tutoring, donation drives and park clean-ups. This year, I had the opportunity to lead the team to run a nationwide card donation initiative. In ON, AB, SK, NL, PEI, and YT, 400+ students created 2800+ cards that were delivered to front-line workers.\n\nI credit P5K for making me a leader and a passionate volunteer. Through my involvement, I have personally grown and made a tangible impact on my community. I love working in P5K because I get the opportunity to spread the growth I experienced through volunteering to others.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"My journey with my school's DECA chapter began with disappointment and failure. I initially had set my sights on qualifying for the international competition, but in both my grade 9 and 10 years, I was unable to qualify. Following the grade 10 year where I prioritized my DECA training over everything, I found myself questioning my abilities and contemplating quitting. However, I was surrounded by a community of students and teachers who encouraged me to stay. Recognizing my perseverance, my advisor took me as an executive.\n\nToday, I am the Co-President of my DECA chapter where I lead my executive team to run the 2nd largest DECA chapter in Ontario. At the provincial competition, our chapter won 69 awards and I finally qualified for the International competition. However, my greatest joy was witnessing my chapter members develop and support each other. I'm proud to have cultivated the same competitive and supportive community that helped me and many others persevere to succeed.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I initially joined Project 5K as a graphic designer. To this day, I still have no idea why they accepted me because I had ZERO experience. My role was specializing in creating marketing schedules and designing promotional content (ie. posters). To design my first poster, I decided to use Canva. Looking back, I'm amazed I wasn’t kicked out immediately for that poster. \n\nAs time progressed, I honed my design skill. My motivation was to create more engaging marketing content but also because I genuinely enjoyed creating media. I spent time learning professional software such as Adobe Illustrator and Figma. Beyond posters, I explored new aspects of design such as creating motion graphics, logos and brand identity. For me, the best way to learn is by simply “doing.” I took every opportunity to make a new poster, design a logo and most importantly, seek feedback. I plan to apply this learning approach and attitude to my newfound interest in product design to help NPOs at UWblueprint."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688179867154},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"nicholas.chew@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Nicholas","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Chew","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fce6efe98-3ddd-4880-8e71-9bfeddfd5789?alt=media&token=6ca7886f-bd75-459f-ba28-87fb145e07c2","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Frontend","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"At my current co-op I am building a microservice using Spring Boot to manage data interactions between resource inventory services in a clustered environment. A major technical problem I had faced during development was related to the consistency of data because multiple instances of the service had their own local caches. This led to various inconsistencies when a resource was updated in one instance but was not immediately reflected in the others. To resolve this, I conducted extensive research online and sought guidance from an experienced colleague who suggested I implement a distributed caching solution using Redis. I spent many hours reading Redis documentation learning to resolve the caching issue and performed comprehensive testing to ensure data consistency and synchronization across each instance. This overall experience taught me how to use my resources effectively and broadened my problem solving abilities in a collaborative software development environment.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Accessible education is a cause I have grown to care deeply about. When I was 10, I made the switch from a school with limited resources to one with a tremendous amount of educational support. Suddenly, I had access to more books, technology, and resources that made a significant positive impact on my eagerness for learning. Most importantly, it was access to new computers and software that allowed me to incorporate a new personalized learning style into the school curriculum. Due to these experiences, I was highly motivated throughout high school to create positive social change within my school and extracurricular communities. I worked hard to secure a teaching job that allowed me to teach private programming lessons online during Covid, which fulfilled my goal of giving back to the community using my technical skills and passion for teaching. Ultimately, I seek to continue this journey of creating meaningful social change on Blueprint through community initiatives."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"For four years, I was part of a scouting group as a volunteer leader where I had the opportunity to work with youth and share my passion for technology. I organized weekly workshops that covered a wide range of topics, from simple programming to logic puzzles where I encouraged the children to think critically and creatively. Through these activities, I aimed to inspire them to explore new fields of STEM so that it could open their minds to the possibilities of future careers. A particular workshop I'm proud of was a hardware activity involving circuits and crafts. The kids worked in teams and built out a toy piano using simple electronic parts and tin foil. It was a challenging project requiring them to think creatively, and it was incredibly rewarding to see their reactions to the final product. I’m proud to have contributed to my local scouting group and the fact that I was able to create a positive social impact by broadening the educational curiosity of youth in my community."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A few years ago I was introduced to the world of origami. I decided to dive into this hobby to improve my logical thinking skills and to find a new leisure activity. Starting with the traditional crane, I progressed to models with thousands of folds, and the journey was both rewarding and challenging. I found that the most effective approach was to ask people with more experience for advice so I could learn unique techniques to enhance my skills. Additionally, I attended community workshops such as the annual origami convention in New York, which allowed me to connect with other folders and learn from more experienced individuals. One of the most rewarding aspects of origami is the sense of accomplishment with each completed model. The patience and attention to detail required for each model taught me valuable skills that I continue to use in other aspects of my life, but most importantly it is a hobby that gives me a sense of leisure and relaxation."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688000346945},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4A","email":"r43fan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","firstName":"Rongqi","heardFrom":"Other","lastName":"Fan","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fceeb8a7b-eb50-4aa1-a3bf-554d075d2257?alt=media&token=ca830c6d-5285-49bc-9654-f369784e6023","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"The first approach is to do some research on the non-profit's mission and history of its past work. I believe it would give broad overview of the match between Blueprint and the non-profit. Second approach would be actively engaging with current and past members from the non-profit to get a feel of what they want to achieve. Lastly, I believe it is important to communicate internally with Blueprint members to explain the non-profit's background and ask for their feedback."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Other:","Fullstack","Frontend"],"response-specified":"Data Science/ML","type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A technical challenge that came to mind was implementing Monte Carlo tree search while creating a AI connect-5 players. The concept of Monte Carlo tree search it self was not hard. However, we needed to generate input data that are fed into the neural network whose output dictates how the tree expand. Those outputs are also backpropogated to all the parent nodes. \nThis problem was challenging mainly because there was not a well-defined correct solution. \nI started the implementation process right away when I was facing this challenge and went all the to completion before any testing. That turned out to be a big mistake because there are many components to the process such as neural net input processing and back propagating output results while gaining the correct tree structure.\nIt took me around a week to figure out an implementation with good performance. A lesson I learned was to break the problem into small sub-problems which are much easier to solve which are eventually merged.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in Waterloo next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The main cause that resonates with me is environmental sustainability. The fast industrialization in the past few decades have created tremendous wealth around the globe, but in the meantime, it has left us with issues in areas like climate change and air pollution. \n\nI grew up in a small and quiet town in suburb of Beijing. The nature in the neighbourhood left me with so many precious memories. However, everything has changed since I was in primary school in which air pollution started becoming so bad that I couldn't even see things that are 100m away by the time I was in middle school. This past week, Beijing has an average temperature of 40 degrees which is essentially unliveable. Climate change is real and we need to act immediately to preserve our planet for generations to come."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I have been really involved in UWaterloo CS Club since my return to Waterloo last fall. Coming out of the pandemic many people including myself had trouble finding friends or a cohort of people to study and hang out with in general. The beginning was always the hardest. I started by going to the CSC office a lot which has allowed me to meet many of the organizers of CSC. For me, CSC provided everything that allowed me to meet a wide range of people from all kinds of backgrounds. \nLater, I joined the Codey dev team in order to contribute to the community while I am away on coop. It has allowed me to provide features to better facilitate services provided by CSC on discord such as resume critique. \nIn addition, I invited many of friends (many I met through CSC events) to come to the CSC office more and most of them have been actively involved in CSC daily. It's been a great journey so far I hope to create an even more inclusive community. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I used to focus on technical skills a lot but the pandemic has taught me that Social Skills are what makes myself happy. I was to be extremely introverted so getting started on improving my social skills weren't easy at all. I started by talking to some of my classmates randomly but it soon becomes clear that it wasn't helping much as the interaction was only a few minutes in between classes. Then, I tried to go to more club events but it felt like I wasn't getting to know the people well enough so we couldn't become friends that could hang out with in and outside of classrooms. To solve those problems, I decided to stay on 3rd floor of MC and talk to lots of people who were hanging out in the club offices and it has allowed me to have conversions not only about school but about life in general. One thing I've learned was the best approach to learn a skill is to see others develop such skills. For me, I was able to understand the value of listening find common interests."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688110602875},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"a49lu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Allen","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Lu","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Knowledge Integration","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcf03809d-8bd4-4559-8e09-08c7a2b64556?alt=media&token=79a9c951-12d8-4233-8441-3c76d7a82b99","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"Oftentimes, I find inspiration from the smallest to biggest things. I often encounter small problems in my life that then lead to either a critique of user experience or a new idea. Examples of this include writing some thoughts on the use of colour, font, slogans, and QR codes on campaign signs, or thinking of a save feature on Instagram for locations (eventually implemented!). I also tend to find inspiration from my friends, or from Dribbble/articles when faced with a design problem. And of course, as an ideator I tend to get caught up in the big ideas rather than the small details, which is why I take a lot of inspiration from urban planning.\n\nHowever, I've also been recently trying to ground myself and have confidence in my own abilities as a person. For far too long I've been caught in a status game of thinking I am not good enough, but I know that to be effectively inspired I have to have faith in their abilities."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Portfolio: www.allen.lu\nAlthough this is not a digital product, I learned quite a bit about user design and collaboration through a museum exhibit (What's So Funny?) I created with four other students for Knowledge Integration's Third-Year Design Capstone. When we were tasked to teach high school students about a topic in the SDGs, I effectively used the double diamond method to ideate a unique topic with unique ideas. However, collaboration between people with different ways of thinking proved to be challenging, and I learned that communication, an emphasis on completion over perfection, and prototyping would have mitigated a lot of our problems. Additionally, I felt that our group could have done more user validation to ensure that our exhibit did cater to high school students. Although we kept students at the forefront of our decision-making, interviews and surveys would have helped us create content that was more fine-tuned to the high schooler experience.\n","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I prefer to use qualitative research methods, and feel that they are often underrated in favour of more \"objective\" quantitative methods. This is because although a number may tell us about the mode or mean of a particular research question, it does not give us enough insight into particular individuals at the extremes of a demographic. It does not even give enough insight into individuals that trend toward the average! This is especially dangerous if you are designing a product that has to be accessible to everyone.\nMy main methods of expertise would be content analysis and literature reviews, as I have the most experience with those from a Research Methods course I took. I also feel fairly comfortable with the process of absorbing a large amount of information and finding the connections between the different topics. However, I also have experience with survey design, interviewing, and user persona creation."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"In Toronto's mayoral byelection, I really resonated with the person-centric approach to politics that Olivia Chow championed in her campaign. When countless candidates were chastizing her for refusing to commit to a specific property tax increase, she stood her ground and insisted that choosing a property tax increase and then pruning a budget is the wrong way to approach city building. Instead, we should:\n1. Determine the services needed based on citizen input\n2. Negotiate with governments, search for sources of funding\n3. Look into property tax increases (as a last resort)\nThis approach truly struck me as much more humane and logical, especially as it treated citizens as more than just a number on a budget sheet.\nOthers also chastized Olivia for reaching out to both LGBTQ+ communities and communities unaccepting of queer people. But a person-centric approach demands reaching out to everyone, despite their views. Otherwise, you build a city that only works for certain people."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am a proud Torontonian, and although it has its problems with bureaucracy, delayed projects, and housing, this city continues to shine with opportunity. As a high school student, I involved myself in 1UP Toronto as its Communications Director and saw myself not only promoting youth city building on social media but teaching workshops surrounding visual design. However, as a university student, I've simply been showing up to vote and have stayed politically engaged, whether that is through watching videos about TTC projects, watching debates in-person, or encouraging friends and family to vote in the mayoral byelection (especially important as byelections traditionally have lower voter turnout). I especially am happy to push people (even random strangers on the subway!) to vote because I know that even small steps like showing up at the polling station can make a significant impact on the future of a city."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As a musical theatre enthusiast, I've always wanted to learn the skills needed to be in a production. It wasn't enough to watch Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, or Hamilton; I wanted to experience what it was like to be on similar stages, telling equally impactful stories. When I saw an opportunity to participate in \"Something Rotten\", I leaped at the chance. When I first entered the rehearsal room in Bolton, I was very shy and hesitant at first. Not only did I not know most of the people in the room, I also stood out as one of the more nervous dancers (due to my perfectionism) and one of two East Asians in the room. However, once I got accepted and started going to rehearsals, I quickly realized that in musical theatre, what matters more is the energy you bring to a scene, not how perfect the moves are. My mind eased and I started having fun with my character, while also asking for tips on improvement from the director and choreographer."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688611316051},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"harryjwang04@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Hary","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Wang","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fcfbba170-4a31-4d97-85ed-fbe3596d8546?alt=media&token=23517b01-eaec-40b8-9ea6-7068ad72f408","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":" Over the course of my last co-op experience, I ran into a few issues that were are correlated to specificity and edge cases in my coding. In order to solve this issue, I planned out my code first - using mapping, trees, and diagrams in order to encapsulate all of the cases that are possible in the issue. That way, I would be able to see all of the possible issues that I needed to test and not miss any of them. One particular instance was when I was coding for a robot arm, I didn't account for the fact that robot arms are unpredictable and can turn more than a normal human arm. Thereby causing the boundary cases to be more than I expected and thus, I made changes to code after having created a diagram for the robot arm as well as all of the built in components of the arm as well as the rotation of the arms in order to gauge the boundary cases of the components so that I could update my code to satisfy all possible conditions.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is cancer awareness. As a little kid, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and therefore, since then, I have been working to help in any way possible to support the cause. One of the major things that I did was that, in the 10th grade, some of my peers and I began a fundraiser to support St. Jude's Children's Hospital for Cancer. Through communication with the Blue Valley School District and the City of Leewood, we organized raffles, t-shirt sales, and donation stands. This event expanded to all of the five schools in the district and with the help of the football team and basketball teams there were \"gold out\" and \"pink out\" games for the corresponding sports. Through the sporting events, raffles, etc., the fundraiser for St. Jude's Hospital was able to earn over $400,000 over the course of the three years and is continuing to this day."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"The community that I am most proud to be in is the volleyball community. Through my junior and senior years of high school, I coached a club volleyball team named HLA. Throughout the process, we were able to make it to nationals both years and played against teams all over the country. However, despite playing against these amazing teams and have the competitive spirit to match, I learned that the volleyball community is one of the most supportive communities that I have been apart of. Throughout games, everyone participating and watching all constantly cheer and support each other while having fun doing it. The game, through my lens, has garnered the attention of people all over the world - both young and old. As the game continues to expand around the world, it helps bring people together and connect over something that they can remain physically active as well as be able to have fun with each other."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Coming into high school, I had never coded before. However, I was interested in learning and being able to code on my own. Although I was eager, I realized that brute force and cramming wouldn't be the answer. Therefore, I decided to try all sorts of different methods to learn code. One of the most successful for me was talking to those more experienced than me and asking them for successful methods that they used to get into coding. Some of the methods including watching videos on YouTube and simply trying it yourself. This in particular motivated me to learn more code because I was able to see all of the cool things that could be coded and the infinite capabilities that coding could have to impact the world. Through this, I was able to learn the general concepts of code and them apply them to things that I was interested in trying. Over, time as I got issues in my code, I again would consult those more experienced than me that would help direct me in the right path."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688611633445},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"yimingding0413@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Yiming","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ding","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Math/BBA DD","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fd382eee1-3c31-4a6c-99a8-2c463bbe6f78?alt=media&token=78b82df8-4de0-4ced-9715-b6753ecc3223","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My recent favorite product would be AI generation products, especially products like Chatgpt. I would be lying if I said I didn't optimize all my sentences to check grammar and synonyms in Chatgpt. Automation has become more and more relevant and the introduction to Chatgpt is a big leap as it reduces so much time that was previously wasted on things such as research, writing improvement, and idea generation. Even chatting with Chatgpt can give you the false sense that there's someone behind it, it's the ability to learn has never been shown on any other Artificial intelligence or chatbots before. "}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time (Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is the opportunity for education. I have always considered myself fortunate to have access to secondary and post-secondary education. The clichéd stories from my parents about walking miles to school remain relevant, given that some children in the world still struggle to access education. In impoverished neighborhoods, a child may never have the chance to attend high school and discover what awaits them in the outside world. When I watch YouTube videos depicting gang violence, it often becomes evident that lack of educational opportunities is a common factor leading individuals to resort to violence for survival."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Being an immigrant at the age of 11, I struggled to assimilate into Canadian culture and fit in. I have had negative personal experiences related to racism, bullying, and hate speech, even encountering such instances in places like police stations where I was not allowed to translate for my parents when they were involved in accidents. As a result, I have always been committed to helping new immigrants and refugees. One of my volunteer experiences took place at an organization called the Immigrant Youth Center, where I helped new immigrants and refugees find their social circles and prevent feelings of isolation in Canada. One impactful experience was when I befriended a refugee from Syria. He was the brightest person I had ever met, always stopping me to ask about any words he didn't understand. Alongside many others, we organized various events such as cooking clubs, Christmas parties, and more. Our efforts garnered over 1200 followers on Instagram as well as over 1000 attendees."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Throughout my time at Waterloo, I've always had a hard time learning concepts that are difficult and abstract. Continuously improving upon my methods, I eventually figured out the few steps that I need to take to grasp different ideas and how I motivate myself to push through. \n1. Remind myself that it is important and I will need it in the future, and by learning it now the future me will thank the present me. \n2. Read over it thoroughly about the idea and the workings behind how it works, repeat this step until I at least have a rough idea of it. \n3. Visualize this in my head, internalize that idea, and ask myself why it makes sense and how would I apply it \n4. Practice endlessly, this step could be the hardest as I often tell myself that I understood this concept and I don't need to do more practice. Truth is, one can never practice enough, especially for math.....\n5. Look back at the idea now that I have practiced it and know how it works, and compare it to the initial idea. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688145177467},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"dsramkum@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Deepika Sree","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Ramkumar","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science and Business Double Degree","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fd732b917-3242-442c-9118-6dcdf5b73c8e?alt=media&token=f6f69ad1-e0ca-424f-bfb4-90e573d3d98b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"My knowledge from IB Psychology has made me better understand the implications of the research process and shaped my approach to research. My approach to deciding which research method to use depends on several factors such as the project’s objective, access to participants, participant bias, researcher bias, and more. Thus, I prefer to use any research method that best meets the objective and reduces bias. Moreover, I recognize that a combination of different methods is often important to address aspects that a particular research method may not acknowledge. \nBy replicating different studies in the IB Psychology course, I gained expertise in experiments, interviews and participant observations. By writing a 4000 word essay regarding the downfall of an Indian empire, I gained experience in secondary research of primary and secondary sources. I continued to build my experience in secondary research by applying the market segmentation strategies I learned in my business courses. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will on campus, so my timezone will be EST/EDT."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Blood donation may seem like a simple process, yet very few Canadians donate blood and overlook the number of lives that are lost due to a lack of donors. Surprisingly, the number of people who donate blood decreases each year in Canada, risking the lives that can be saved through blood transfusions from donors. To raise awareness regarding this issue and encourage more Canadian youth to donate blood, my friend and I co-founded the organization, Project Life Bank (PLB). Through PLB, we have fundraised around $260 in support of Canadian Blood Services, collected 150+ e-cards in appreciation of safe Canadian blood donation system advocates from Blood Watch and conducted workshops regarding the marginalization of minority communities in the Canadian blood donation system. This project helped our youth audience realize the importance of blood donation in Canada, allowing them to become more active citizens of the country."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Key Club is a high school club that created a large impact on me and I am proud to have been part of a club that serves its community. As a general member of my school club, I helped my local community by taking part in volunteering events, campaigns and fundraisers. As the Lieutenant Governor, I helped different Key Clubs across Canada understand and fulfill their club objectives/responsibilities. My guidance helped these clubs operate efficiently and effectively serve their local communities. Additionally, I organized service events alongside other Lieutenant Governors, which helped me to expand my impact by serving larger communities. Although my Key Club journey was confined to high school due to the nature of the club, I am a proud Key Club Alumni member and continue to find ways to serve my community. By being a part of UW Blueprint, I hope to play an important role in developing projects that help our community!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As a Bharathanatyam dancer, I created a few techniques and tricks to improve my skills, which I wanted to share with my peers at dance class. This motivated me to develop the skill of teaching dance. Hence, I requested my instructor and became a volunteer at the studio and within a few months of being a volunteer, I was upgraded to becoming a teaching assistant at the studio. My initial approach was to strictly follow the class outlines given by my instructor, however, I was quick to learn that each dancer learned differently and I needed to be able to cater to all of their needs. Thus, I became open-minded and collaborated with the dancers to discover their individual needs. This helped me deviate from the class outlines while meeting the class objective at the end. Teaching dance was a constant learning experience for me as each dancer varied in age and level of expertise. Ultimately, I can empathize with my team members in projects and clubs, making me a better team worker."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688592976866},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"m5ghazi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Mark","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Ghazi","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Economics","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fd776cd04-eea3-4e76-a9fb-79f7c0d6a62c?alt=media&token=98356d6d-975c-4c96-8997-a8f5cf35559d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I look for inspiration in my daily life through my friends. A lot of my friends are in Computer Science, I see the amount of amazing things that they do such as creating their own games, doing capture the flag events, creating their own servers. It gives me so much inspiration because it makes me ambitious and wanting to learn even more about how I could in the future hope to have as strong of skills as they have."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"A project I've been working on was improving the networking events on behalf of a club at the University of Waterloo. Often times when students arrive at a University, they feel self-conscious and have difficulty finding a community. These networking events help students connect with others, creating long-lasting friendships and professional connections that will them in their future careers.\nNetworking events at the university were sparse, and had low attendance. To address this, I began planning out a calendar of the events that could be held, keeping a ratio of 4 events per month. Then I focused on the promotion, ensuring daily content on all their social media platforms.\nThroughout the semester I noticed an increase in attendance, participation and student satisfaction. This process taught me how to plan and maintain deadlines for a group, use different tools for social media promotion, and coordinate with different organizations in the region. ","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my time as the co-president for a club, I took on project management in order to maximize efficiency within the products we put out on social media. By managing the projects, I noticed there were a lot of issues with resource allocation and scheduling. One of the main issues I encountered was managing weekly instagram posts while having few members within our club. \nTo address this issue, I had to analyze the requirements of the projects, what our main goals were and how we could achieve them within a timely manner. After some analysis, I created a road map to ensure what our goals were while creating a plan to ensure we can keep our weekly social media posts out within a timely manner.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST (Easter Standard Time)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is helping the world achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. I believe one way to achieve these goals is to help create technologies for companies, not for profits, and charities who try their best to achieve this goal. This is also a main reason why I want to work with blueprint, I want to be part of something that has strong impact in the real world, and can help the world meet its basic needs through technology."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am proud of is the University community. This community fosters so many initiatives to include and welcome anyone of any skill level. I contribute to being a part of this community by being executives within clubs and volunteering on campus. By contributing within clubs, I find myself contributing to this warm and welcoming community by leading events and contributing towards a better community on campus."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One time I learned a new skill was learning how to code on R studios, my motivation to learn it was because I knew this would benefit me in the future and wanted to make my transition as easy as possible to set me up for my future. My approach to learning this was by first doing quick searches and trying to find a good guide that would help set up a foundational basis for R-studios, but I found that looking for things through YouTube and Safari didn't really help me. I had to find an alternative so I went onto the R website, and found that they had their own guide on how to use their program, and dives into all topics from beginner to expert. This guide was really good as I figured out that they went through all of their code and explained it in a very logical way. This helped me learn to code and understand codes in a logical way, which will follow me throughout my life."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687428403027},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"nsachdeva.iv@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Neil","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sachdeva","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fda1ec101-d3d4-4437-b96a-4c94d9738fc1?alt=media&token=210eda34-ee69-4689-8f0c-a399f077ff9f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Giving up early might have prevented our team from winning. On the day of my team's robotics competition we discovered an issue with our autonomous code. The path for our robot failed to work because of the slight change in the size of the field. Since there was only two hours before the competition started, we began to feel hopeless and were willing to give up rather than embarrass ourselves. Luckily, there was a team talking about motion profiling, by mapping out the field into coordinates and traversing the robot in that manner. By this point in time the programming team had already gotten used to scraping through documentation to learn new libraries. Due to our past troubles with poor documentation we were able to tweak our code so that it could take advantage of the motion profiling features so the path would work. Although, we did not win, the fact that we were able to reach the semifinals showed us the advantage of learning how to efficiently read documentation.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Timezone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Ethical Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a cause that resonates with me on a multitude of levels. Specifically I am worried about how AI systems have the great potential to violate the privacy rights of individuals. As someone who was heavily invested in privacy issues, like the Edward Snowden case, I see a great potential for harm if this problem is not addressed. Additionally, I am very interested in the future capabilities for AI throughout our world, on both a technical and societal level, so ensuring these technologies are created whilst protecting the privacy rights of users sounds ideal to me. AI algorithms require a large amount of data and the collection of this data through informed consent can ensure everyone gets to live in a utopian society. A society where AI does not infringe on their right to privacy and programmers take strides to protect their rights from overreaching governments and corporations."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"The fitness community has changed the trajectory of my life for the better. Although, I initially expected the fitness community to be filled with individuals who were vain and judgmental, I was pleasantly surprised when I found that this community was filled with people willing to help everyone through their own fitness journey. Of course not everyone was amazing, but the general mentality of this community was one that always pushed you to become the best version of yourself. Being this proud of the community pushed me to try to give back to it using my technical experience is robotics and programming. I ended up creating a sensor to fix the form of users during certain injury-prone exercises, like the deadlift or squat. This sensor would alert the user if their spine was in a compromised state so that the user could correct it before serious injure. After all this community has done for me, I was happy that I could help in creating a safer environment for new lifters. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning American Sign Language (ASL) earned me a friend. It all happened when our class was getting a new student with a listening disability and to be accommodating we were heavily encouraged to learn as much ASL as we could. Initially, I had almost no motivation to learn anything more than the basics. However, this all changed once I started befriending the student and we started to connect on the same hobbies, like snowboarding and robotics. To learn ASL I would start employing it as often as I could whether I was at home or at school as I believed the only way to grasp this skill was practice. I was so motivated to be able to communicate with my friend that ASL became second nature. Although, the initial motivation was purely based of being able to communicate with my new friend, this skill has come into use later on and has helped me become the bridge between those with listening disabilities whenever I volunteered."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615885899},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"Nicole.qian.qjr@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Nicole","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Qian","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fdabd3830-ce1f-46b7-9aef-371ec1ed29e8?alt=media&token=167822b9-abae-4d0d-8533-9b525dbc82cf","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I use Pinterest, Behance, and Colorhunt. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://nicoleqian2001.github.io/My-website/\nClick on “UX Design” and then one of the images covers on the left side to enter a project.\n","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I prefer to use unmoderated interviews. I chose the unmoderated interview method since it is less prone to bias, and the observer effect--individuals acting differently when they are aware that they are being watched--does not apply. My main methods of expertise are interviews and surveys. I have experience conducting unmoderated interviews with users from various backgrounds and creating surveys. \n"}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT (Toronto time)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is designing software/products that promote sustainability. I care deeply about recycling and I always classify waste before disposal. As our world faces increasing environmental challenges, it is crucial to recycle and reduce waste. I would like to create products that raise waste classification and recycling awareness, improve recycling efficiency, or educate companies to create more sustainable products. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I was on Engineers Without Borders (EWB) at the University of Waterloo for 8 months. I volunteered as a Frontend Developer to redevelop Uganda's Center for Media Literacy and Community Development (CEMCOD)’s website using React.js from May-August 2022. I volunteered as a Lead Web Developer to implement some features (a map, some texts) using Wix.com. I'm proud to be part of EWB because it is a non-profit humanitarian organization. I got to help people from developing countries by improving their living standards and making education more accessible for them."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I discovered that my passion lay in the field of design after I took CS449-Human-Computer Interaction. From then on, I proceeded to complete Coursera's \"Google UX Design Certificate\". I choose to take this course because it offers systematic knowledge of 5 stages of design thinking processes, and user research, and I got to build 3 UX projects for my portfolio. I "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688181600309},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"b392wang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Braydon","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Wang","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fdb283c66-0973-4fb3-b283-0e0ea06e9a24?alt=media&token=684c4298-77c3-42bf-9933-1a805d9aa20e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Recently, I was assigned a task by my manager that initially seemed out of my scope. It required working through many microservices, across verticals, incorporating both frontend and backend features, and writing unit/integration tests along the way. Worse yet, I had to finish this task by the end of the sprint, and I only had about a month of experience working in the company. Despite knowing the difficulty of this, I still tried getting through as much as possible. On the first day I made no progress, I was stumped on how to even start. The next day, I knew I couldn’t do this alone, I had to ask others for help, but since this task dealt with many repos and services, I couldn’t rely on my own team. I worked cross-functionally with other engineers, designers and product managers across the company. Doing so not only helped me finish my task, but also helped me learn and make meaningful connections with people I would never have interacted with otherwise. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I'll be in Waterloo next term (EDT)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that holds a special place in my heart is promoting literacy and education to all kids around the world. Growing up, I never realized the importance of education. I didn’t even realize how privileged I was to have a proper education. As I grew older, the more I understood that education is a fundamental human right and a powerful tool for empowerment. Unfortunately, not everyone has equal access to quality education, which can limit their opportunity for growth and success. This is why I’m interested in joining UW Blueprint, as my values perfectly align with the mission of Project READ Literacy Network. This project’s commitment to empowering families in the Waterloo region with access to literacy and skills training is something I’m really passionate about. It’s not just about learning to read and write, but also to enable individuals to become active citizens in their communities and enhance their employability. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m really proud to be a part of a non-profit, youth-led organization with a purpose of bringing to light international humanitarian issues from around the world. I wanted to be a part of something that had an impact on society, and also educated those about events happening outside of the country. I joined this community as a developer and designer, and contributed by maintaining the organization’s website and creating informative posts on social media. I knew I wanted to do more, so I volunteered as a mentor and project lead, and organized remote workshops on various topics. These workshops provided a platform for young individuals to learn about the world, voice their opinion, and spread awareness to others. This experience taught me things I would never learn elsewhere, including the importance of being part of a tight-knit community. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I wanted to know more about machine learning and AI. My motivation came from the fact that everyone in the world is talking about it, but I couldn’t wrap my head around how it actually worked. My curiosity led me to enroll in a machine learning bootcamp over the summer, where I worked with other like-minded individuals and AI experts to create many small, working ML projects. My curiosity didn’t stop there. After the bootcamp, I delved deeper into certain areas like NLP and image classification, where I finally got a better understanding of how things like Chat GPT and Stable Diffusion were created. I found learning new things to be best when I get my hands dirty and start a fresh project by myself, relying only on my own knowledge and the web. I still have a lot more to learn about it, which is why I try to learn at least a new concept/feature every week, to keep my skills sharp and my curiosity going."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687635065282},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B","email":"j2492li@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jesse","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Li","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fde6c80ac-1ddb-44ea-a33d-46f221c703cb?alt=media&token=5a8250e6-c364-4a60-9287-51cb5736835b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my previous co-op term, I was introduced to Kafka, an event streaming platform. I firsthand saw the power it had to seamlessly help microservices communicate with each other. One time, there was a production issue where a clients quote details kept changing. I was relatively new to the codebase and unfamiliar with the event flows, so pinpointing the root cause initially posed a challenge. I began exploring possible business flows in the code where the bug could have originated from. After narrowing it down to a few, I then sifted through the production logs on Datadog to look for hints. Eventually I realized that multiple Kafka events were concurrently updating an object, leading to only one event's changes being recorded due to a race condition. To address this, I assigned related events the same Kafka key, ensuring they would be processed in the desired order. This experience deepened my understanding of Kafka's capabilities and enhanced my problem-solving skills.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be studying in Waterloo in the fall, so EST."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that resonates with me is giving back to the community. We all have been in situations where people have gone out of their way to help us, whether it's through education, volunteering, or mentorship, just to name a few. Seeing the transformative impact it can have on individuals and communities alike has fueled my passion to make a difference in any way that I can. I have previously volunteered at summer camps and marathons, been a TA for my local math organization and enjoy giving advice/providing mentorship whenever possible.\n\nAs a project developer, I see an opportunity to leverage my technical skills and collaborate with like-minded individuals to create innovative solutions that make a meaningful impact on those in need.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’m proud to be a part of my local hockey community. I grew up playing hockey with my local youth organization, and there I had the privilege of crossing paths with exceptional coaches, teammates, and mentors who made my experience memorable and had a profound impact on my life. As I progressed as a competitive player, I felt a strong desire to give back to the community that had shaped me. That's why I made the decision to volunteer as a house league coach. Taking on this role allowed me to guide and mentor children who found themselves in the same position I was in not too long ago. It was an incredible experience, as I not only had the opportunity to help develop their hockey skills, but more importantly, I could share valuable life lessons and foster their personal growth. It was an incredibly rewarding experience and I am happy to have been given the opportunity."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my first co-op term as a Software Developer, I had a valuable opportunity to acquire a new skill. Their codebase was written in Spring Boot, a framework I was unfamiliar with. I began by researching online for documentation and simple tutorials I could follow to build a basic Spring Boot app. Then I browsed the company’s codebase to familiarize myself with best practices, key concepts, and project structure, taking note of how they built RESTful API’s, connected to databases, and the overall application flow. Throughout this learning process, I didn't hesitate to seek guidance from more experienced developers whenever needed. Equipped with foundational knowledge, myself, along with another co-op, applied our learnings to create a simple financial document generator application using Spring Boot. \n\nThis experience taught me the importance of proactive learning, leveraging available resources, and seeking guidance whenever needed."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688176437987},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"ksivanes@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Kerushani","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Sivaneswaran","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fde6f788b-5e53-4596-9c99-6472bf294983?alt=media&token=61416a05-bbba-4d28-8ebb-1bcad0bae6fd","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I encountered a significant technical challenge while participating in the ElleHacks hackathon, where I was tasked with constructing the user interface for a website. To ensure a user-centric design, I conducted thorough user research, incorporating the gathered insights into the initial website prototype. However, when I presented the prototype to the project developer, they expressed reservations about its feasibility, highlighting a potential hurdle we faced. In response, I went through a couple of iterative design adjustments, aiming to strike a balance between functionality and visual appeal. This involved refining the formatting, spacing, and component placement to create a more practical and feasible design. Through numerous iterations, I adapted and fine-tuned the user interface, taking into account the developer's concerns and constraints. By embracing iterative processes and being open to feedback, I successfully navigated the challenge and arrived at a seamless final design.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"As a designer, I draw inspiration from the world around me and keep a close eye on current trends. I find websites and social media platforms to be valuable sources of design inspiration. By exploring various design trends showcased on these platforms, I can stay up-to-date and incorporate fresh ideas into my work. In particular, my social media feed has become attuned to my search for design inspiration. It consistently presents me with helpful and cool posts related to Figma tips and tricks, which I find incredibly beneficial. I make a conscious effort to absorb and retain this knowledge, storing it in the back of my mind to be utilized in future projects."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Although I do not have a portfolio, here are some links to projects I have worked on. \nGather & Grow: https://devpost.com/software/gather-grow\nPractice website: https://kerushani.github.io/recipes/\nFigma-made blog cover pictures: https://www.nrx.com/author/ksivaneswaran/","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Next term, I will be based in Eastern Standard Time."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Period poverty and menstrual equity are causes that deeply resonate with me. Sadly, this topic often remains hidden due to societal taboos, leading to silent suffering, particularly among marginalized communities. It may come as a surprise that even in Canada, one in four menstruators face having to make the choice between buying menstrual products or meeting basic needs like food and rent. While the government has taken steps to address the problem, such as providing free menstrual products to school-age students, it is clear that these initiatives serve as temporary solutions rather than comprehensive systemic changes."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I was privileged to be a member of Bleed the North, a non-profit organization committed to addressing period poverty and advocating for policy changes to achieve menstrual equity. As an advocacy, writing, and social media coordinator, my responsibilities were diverse and impactful. I engaged with community stakeholders, discussing potential actions to address the issue, while also creating informative blogs and educational content. Additionally, I developed engaging social media content to raise awareness and foster dialogue. Furthermore, I contributed to the logistical aspects of our biannual events, including speaker coordination, brochure development, and overall event planning. Marketing initiatives, such as campaign creation, slogan development, and content design, were also part of my role. Although Bleed the North is currently on a hiatus, I am eager to continue developing valuable skills through my courses, co-op experiences, and extracurricular involvement, like Blueprint."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my co-op term as a technical writer and marketing specialist, I seized the opportunity to acquire new skills by learning HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In my role, I often found myself responsible for website layout changes and incorporating new elements into the company's site. As I performed these tasks regularly, I began to contemplate the possibility of creating a website entirely on my own. Motivated by this idea, I started a personal project to build a website from scratch, which proved to be a fulfilling experience as I witnessed the tangible results of a functional product. To gain proficiency in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, I turned to various online resources such as the Odin Project and YouTube tutorials. These platforms provided me with the necessary knowledge and guidance to navigate the intricacies of development. By leveraging these resources and investing time and effort, I successfully expanded my skill set."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688587443149},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"s3rahman@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sadiq","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Rahman","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fde6fbf7f-a4a5-4f19-a15a-4e7099e9d0ff?alt=media&token=f33dede4-f76f-49e3-a6dd-18df792e1c40","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my programming course in 1A, I found immense pleasure in tackling the various projects assigned to us. Admittedly, each project initially presented a daunting challenge, leaving me utterly perplexed and disoriented. However, through repeated readings of the manuals, engaging in discussions with my friends, and gradually grasping the requirements, I started to decode the tasks line by line. As I completed the first segment of each project, a surge of satisfaction and delight coursed through me, fueling my motivation to persevere and bring the entire project to fruition. The primary obstacle for me lay in comprehending how to commence and discerning the essence of the task at hand. To surmount this hurdle, I diligently utilized the resources available to me, ultimately igniting the momentum required to achieve success and complete the projects.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I find great satisfaction in utilizing a combination of platforms such as YouTube and trustworthy sources obtained through Google when engaging in research activities. Additionally, I occasionally delve into Reddit, where I can connect with fellow students and like-minded individuals to gather their perspectives on the subject at hand. Although my primary approach leans toward relying on credible sources available through Google, I appreciate the abundance of information they offer. Furthermore, the convenience of reading through textual information often surpasses the time commitment involved in watching an entire video. However, I must acknowledge the value of videos, especially when they incorporate visual aids like diagrams and images, which greatly enhance comprehension. Personally, videos tend to be more captivating and enjoyable to watch which is why I lean towards them sometimes. These methods constitute my preferred methods of research."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time. I will be in Ontario."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Islamophobia is a cause that holds significant personal meaning to me. As someone who grew up Muslim and has recently developed a close bond with the Muslim community, I have experienced love, appreciation, and respect in countless ways. This community embodies care and compassion, making it feel as if everyone is part of one big family. \n\nI recall a recent encounter at my residence where a new friend approached me after recognizing my religious attire. We shared a meal, discussed our school lives, and opened up about our aspirations for the future. In no time, this person became a trusted confidant, someone with whom I could discuss anything. \n\nIt saddens and deeply upsets me when Islam is wrongly associated with \"terrorists.\" The people I have encountered within the Islamic faith are some of the most remarkable individuals I have ever met. Therefore, fighting against Islamophobia has become one of my core values and causes and I am determined to advocate for it for as long as I live."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am immensely grateful to be a part of the Muslim community, where I am surrounded by respectful, kind, talented, and inspiring individuals. Together, we navigate the journey of life, supporting one another like a united team. Joining the UW MSA as a volunteer and member of the Tech Team was initially nerve-wracking, but the experiences, relationships, and sense of family have made it all worthwhile.\n\nIn the current term, I have expanded my involvement by becoming a volunteer, aiming to enhance the community's experience through event setup and improvements. By lightening the workload and striving for excellence, I am committed to making a positive impact on fellow students. Being part of this community fills me with pride, and I am grateful for the opportunities to grow and contribute to its flourishing environment."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During the lockdown, I immersed myself in the intricate world of League of Legends, initially feeling overwhelmed by its complexities. However, the joy of playing with friends and gradually improving motivated me to seek guidance from YouTube videos and professional players. With consistent practice, I achieved remarkable progress, now ranking among the top 1% of players. This seemingly trivial mastery of a video game has taught me that with determination and enjoyment, even seemingly insignificant pursuits can lead to incredible achievements.\n\nMy experience in League of Legends has shown me the power of perseverance, finding joy in the process, and being supported by a community. It serves as a reminder that regardless of the endeavor, personal growth and accomplishment are possible when we wholeheartedly commit ourselves."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687327599114},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"tqiu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Tony","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Qiu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Management Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fdf047a85-a2ce-4f89-a966-8786890f1cdc?alt=media&token=95d0d5aa-f89e-41a8-ae60-561c287b2fb3","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Developing a data table component in React was a demanding but rewarding challenge. The project required decisions for each functionality: should they be internal or external to the component? For instance, indexing was kept external, while deletion and sorting (ascending and descending) for each property, and item-based logic, were integrated within.\n\nThe approach chosen for each feature influenced other aspects of the data table. To address this, I brainstormed all potential approaches for complex features. Each was then trialed and checked off to prevent repeated work.\n\nA pivotal decision was to keep all searching and indexing external to the component, instead focusing on managing the data passed as a prop internally. This choice significantly simplified the overall project, making it a useful experience in strategic problem-solving.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"As a product designer specializing in web design, I view every design in the world as a learning opportunity. This learning is particularly abundant in our day-to-day lives. Because of this belief, I pay attention to any design on a 2D surface. For instance, I look at the design choices evident in Discord, TikTok, Instagram, Reddit, and Twitch, as well as in physical mediums like book covers, brochures, billboards, and promotional cardboard cutouts.\n\nOne of the key lessons I've gained from drawing inspiration from my everyday surroundings is that consumers subconsciously discern whether a brand is attempting to misrepresent its true nature. Typically, a successful brand is self-aware, cognizant of its reputation and current status, and doesn't strive to masquerade as something it's not. For instance, successful local cafes don't attempt to mimic the websites of multinational coffeehouse chains; their authenticity is integral to their brand."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://tonyqiu.ca/","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"UTC -5 / Eastern Standard Time (EST)\n\nToronto"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Reducing single-use plastics and switching to biodegradable packaging is a cause that deeply resonates with me. The convenience of single-use plastics has long led to serious environmental consequences. Plastic waste clogs waterways pollutes landscapes, and threatens wildlife. Furthermore, it does not biodegrade and can persist for hundreds of years. Biodegradable packaging offers a viable solution to this crisis. It decomposes naturally, returning to the environment without leaving harmful residues. The transition to such sustainable alternatives would significantly reduce plastic pollution, aiding in the preservation of ecosystems. Hence, advocating for and adopting the use of biodegradable packaging and decreasing reliance on single-use plastics is an urgent necessity. It's a cause that not only affects the environment but also our future generations."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am extremely proud to be part of a local garbage cleanup group in Pickering. Our purpose extends beyond the simple act of picking up litter—it's about fostering a sense of community pride, environmental responsibility, and a shared commitment to preserving our hometown's beauty.\n\nMy contributions involve organizing the weekly cleanup drives, rallying community members, and spreading awareness through social media platforms. We've expanded our efforts by introducing waste management education in local schools, inspired by the belief that change can start with the younger generation.\n\nNot only have we succeeded in making our community cleaner, but we have also seen the tangible effects of our work in sparking conversations around waste reduction and recycling. The impact has been significant, and I am humbly proud to have played a part in that."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One day, I found myself intrigued by the strategic depths of chess. It's an ancient game that has captured millions of minds worldwide, which sparked my interest. I was fascinated by its mix of strategy, tactics, and critical thinking. The ultimate motivator was the intellectual challenge it offered and my desire to exercise my mind in new ways.\n\nI approached learning chess systematically. I started by understanding the basic rules and the roles of each piece. Then, I used online tutorials and chess apps to delve deeper into strategies and tactics. I played against computer opponents initially, which gradually increased my confidence and understanding of the game. To learn from real-life scenarios, I started watching professional chess matches, following along with their moves and the analysis provided, and over time, my skills improved.\n\nLearning chess was a fulfilling experience, showing me that with the right motivation and systematic approach, I could conquer the complex game."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688598198205},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"a2rakin@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Abrar","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Rakin","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe0e19f9f-25b0-4525-89d5-d62912c75b58?alt=media&token=5c8da63c-39c8-43ce-926e-2f5fb226b978","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is the Wealthsimple app. \n\nI had been wanting to get into stocks and crypto trading for a long time, but I remember getting overwhelmed by all the charts and statistics on my friend’s trading app. The sheer overwhelm prevented me from trying out trading for a long time. It was not until I came to Canada and discovered Wealthsimple that I started my journey in crypto and stocks - I absolutely fell in love with the user interface given how intuitive it was. Even a beginner like me felt like he knew what he was doing. Additionally, I am really fond of the feature that allows users to auto-invest their earned dividends into their respective stocks. This way I do not have to always manually keep track of these dividends and re-invest.\n\nIn terms of improving the product, Wealthsimple can:\n\na) Bring in more cryptos frequently.\nb) Tap into markets outside Canada.\nc) Use AI to suggest trendy stocks and cryptos to users."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"10","role":"VP Product"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Product","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Easter Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"My first year of university was online due to COVID, and learning online was not easy. Especially in my core courses where I had to learn advanced calculus, pointers, memory management, discrete mathematics, etc., I used to struggle because there were no live lectures, very few pre-recorded videos, and to make things even worse, I did not have many friends either since everything was online. All these difficulties made me compassionate towards my fellow students and my juniors - I wanted to make education accessible and easy for all. That made me build WatTube and hexa - both projects aimed at helping students from all levels study and prepare for their exams. Additionally, I also made several group chats so that people do not feel isolated and without support, especially in these hard times. The community is still growing; we don’t want our juniors to go through the same struggles as us."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In Bangladesh, it’s rare to find students in high school with a solid knowledge of programming. The culture there is to focus just on the academic subjects, and Computer Science is not offered as one in Bangladesh. This means students do not have the opportunity to sufficiently explore the field of Computer Science, and students who do choose Computer Science as their major in university, do not know if it is truly for them. I was in the same shoes, and so, just before graduating from high school, I founded the school’s first programming club where we welcomed people from all schools around the country. The club quickly gathered hundreds of members, to whom we taught programming and motivated them to participate in olympiads. I also organized the school’s largest programming contest with over 200 participants. Still today, many juniors have been thankful towards me for helping them explore Computer Science and pursue their passion."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In my last internship, just few days before the launch of our product, I was assigned a task that required the use of GraphQL. I was completely new to GraphQL and the task had several other components too in addition to the GraphQL part. The task initially seemed a little overwhelming to me. I divided up the task and planned out an approach (keeping a buffer day in hand) that would let me finish my task within the allotted deadline. The size of the task and the tight deadline meant that I had to quickly learn GraphQL. When learning any new technology or a skill, my approach is to get hands-on as quickly as possible. I went straight to the documentation and went through the quick start guide. After learning the theories and going through the examples in the documentation, I played around with several GraphQL queries on Insomnia. Within the first day,I had a good grasp of GraphQL fundamentals. Soon, I was able to complete the GraphQL part, and then the entire task, within the given time."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688129922616},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4A","email":"j47wen@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Wingchee","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Wen","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Economics with Finance Specialization ","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe1429db7-a6e9-45f8-a0ef-9f046ca26e50?alt=media&token=060b21df-1deb-4ef5-9a95-7f5f087e054d","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I haven't had much exposure to technical problems regarded as challenging, but I did encounter a problem in my Econometrics 2 (ECON 323) course, where I could not find the path of the data file. I need to tell Stata the path in order to import the data file. I solved this by starting the assignment in advance. so I could show the TA my computer screen in person at the tutorial, where he taught me how to trace the file's path right away. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based out of the Eastern Time Zone next term. "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is assisting the less fortunate, who would otherwise feel lonely and despair, by providing emotional support, technical support, etc. (excluding direct financial support). "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am part of the enTECH community - enTECH is another WUSA club that provides technical support to seniors on a 1-to-1 basis. I contribute to this club by being one of the technical volunteers, where I talk with the seniors over the phone or email and help them no longer feel frustrated/helpless with their technical issues (because we resolved it). I also actively contribute to the club on an executive level since September 2021. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned the new skill of Stata (Programming language), which has become my favourite programming language, in my ECON 323 class (Econometrics 2). I was motivated to learn it, because I gained satisfaction from being able to clean datasets with over 50,000 entry rows and perform regressions to solve real-world research study questions. My approach to learning this language is to actively ask the TA questions at the weekly tutorial and through email, like when we can use the command/function. I also like to google examples of how to use a function. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615911724},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"e2ghafoo@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Erfan","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ghafoori","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe2530978-7d02-441c-be6b-6ee2fd0f107c?alt=media&token=0b9e257c-c29f-4c53-819c-f6b46dbd14cf","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"In my daily life, there are a couple of places that provide inspiration for me. One of the main things that inspire me is seeing emerging and innovative tech being made all around the world. I like to read through posts on YCombinator Hacker News and look through Product Hunt to find the interesting things that others are building. I'm pretty interested in entrepreneurship and seeing these posts drives me to act more on my ideas. In terms of other places where I find inspiration, I'm very into film and tv and as a result, I do find that I get a good amount of inspiration from seeing a solid movie or show. I find films are really good reflections of society and what the world is like from the time that the film is made. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1obthS3qxiLMqa-4QshOTKSO3AHaDLMTh/view?usp=sharing\nPathcha was a research project that I got to work on with a pathology doctor and a developer. This project was essentially a web app that simplified the process of learning how to detect cancer within images for undergraduate students. I worked with the doctor to figure out ways that this learning process can become more intuitive and we essentially ended up working on a captcha sort of system for pathology images. The second project is a graphical user interface for a hardware product that I worked on. By working on these projects, I learned a lot about the process of designing software. In particular, I learned about how to take what the stakeholders wanted out of a product and convert this vision into a Figma design. I also learned how to compromise in terms of my designs and that what I think is the best design might not necessarily be the best for the particular product.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Mobile","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"​​A challenging problem that I worked on was at my last internship at onsemi where I was working on establishing a component library and also implementing a redesign of the interface. The most challenging part of this was deciding what entails a component. In order to do this efficiently I had to look through critically at the figma files for redesigns and look for components that were relatively similar and introduce each of these as components. I also had to look at the frontend codebase and find all the places where repetitive frontend end code was being used and use the newly written components. There were some components that were much more difficult to solve such as the responsive user input components (spinboxes, switches, buttons) as these user inputs did not react to states (error, warning) and this was a feature that needed to be added. In order to solve this I had to look into the documentation for these user input components and overwrite them with custom ones.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based out of the Eastern timezone (EST)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Recently, I've become very moved by the Women Life Freedom movement that is going on in Iran. As someone that was born in Iran and with a lot of family still there, this cause means a lot to me. The movement is mostly involved with protesting the violation of human rights that occur in Iran such as executions for political prisoners, freedom of expression, political freedoms. (something as simple as just honking your horn during a protest is enough grounds for an Iranian officers to kill protesters) Ever since the start of this movement, I've been very involved with the movement by attending weekly protests in Toronto and Waterloo in support of the ongoing movement that is going on in Iran. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am a part of that I am proud of is Tirgan. Tirgan is a nonprofit organization that hosts cultural Persian events in Toronto. I've been involved in this organization as a volunteer before at their Summer Tirgan Festival. I'm proud to be a part of this community as this is one of the only organizations that works on letting people of other cultures learn more about Persian culture. As a volunteer, I've helped attendees of the festival find the locations of the events that they are looking for and explained to attendees what the events are all about. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Recently, I've become quite interested in animation and drawing digitally. I was always pretty interested in these topics and in high school, I even delved into flash animations for a little bit but as I came to university, I pretty much didn't touch anything animation related for a couple of years. During my last study term, I was looking into hobbies that I can take up that are less technical in nature as I felt like too much of my time was being spent on coding/software engineering. So, I picked up drawing again. I've been taking this hobby pretty seriously at this point and I've been learning a lot through creators on YouTube. Through these creators on YouTube, I have also been fortunate to find a couple of really good books about animation that I have started looking into. In order to improve my skills in animating and drawing, I have been allotting blocks of time to work on animations. Also, to hold myself accountable, at the end of each week, I reflect on what I've worked on."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688104302838},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"r3abdulr@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Rami","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Abdul Rahim","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe362eb57-7baf-4422-a769-bb6e0460af91?alt=media&token=19e12a30-c72c-4db7-a612-fb7e3b8d29fe","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I start by clearing my mind of the obvious and sketching all the initial ideas I have which helps in opening up space for innovative ideas. I also focus on competition, diving into their user reviews both good and bad. These reviews offer precious insights into user needs and preferences, guiding my design decisions in what to avoid and what to implement. I further explore online platforms like Behance and Dribbble, as well as the app store. These provide a wealth of real-world designs, showcasing current trends and unique solutions. By analyzing these designs, I understand how they meet user needs. This blend of clearing my mind, analyzing competition, and studying real-world designs usually helps with getting a continuous flow of new ideas."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://medium.com/@Simran.Rajpal/actio-supporting-fitness-scheduling-64374f5b4f1a\n\nThe project above involved the development of a fitness scheduling app called Actio. Actio aimed to provide users with a streamlined approach to scheduling and tracking their fitness activities. Throughout the project, I successfully applied user-centered design methodologies by conducting extensive user research, developing user personas, creating wireframes, and building a low-fidelity as well as a high-fidelity prototype using Figma. \n\nThroughout this project, I learned the importance of user research, which uncovers key insights and informs design solutions. Throughout the process of coming up with mock-ups and sketches and wireframes, it really drove home the idea of how iterative the design process is which is usually based on user research and gaining feedback from the users. There is a lot that I learned from the project, but definitely not enough to cover in this small textbox.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"ET (Will be based in Waterloo/Toronto)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is the Palestinian struggle for justice and freedom from colonial occupation. This issue, I believe, stands as one of the most significant examples of anti-colonial resistance in the contemporary world, and my stance is heavily informed by a strong belief in human rights and the right of every people to live free from the infringements of oppressive and colonial rule.\n\nPalestine has shaped my dedication to standing against oppression and inequality. Similarly, the historical and ongoing struggles of Indigenous communities in Canada have further solidified these beliefs. The global prevalence of systemic oppression, rooted in colonialism, emphasizes the fight against injustice as borderless and interconnected. These experiences instilled a commitment to advocating for marginalized communities worldwide, defining my role as a proactive advocate for equity, justice, and human rights. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I have been deeply involved in activism centered around the Palestine cause. Recognizing the necessity of a platform for this cause on my campus, I took the initiative to revive a Palestine solidarity club at the University of Waterloo. This student-led organization is dedicated to advocating for peace, justice, and freedom for Palestine. Over the last couple months I have been deeply involved in setting up the club, recruiting people to help me out, and laying the foundation for what we hope to achieve.\n\nOur activities are diverse and purposefully designed to foster understanding and solidarity. We are planning awareness campaigns, peaceful demonstrations, speaker series, and film screenings. These initiatives are intended to shine a light on the rich Palestinian culture and history, while simultaneously raising awareness about the ongoing struggles faced by Palestinians due to Israeli settler colonialism and occupation."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I was motivated to learn React to easily build websites and manifest countless ideas I have which created a strong sense of empowerment. Utilizing the vast online resources, I decided to start off by watching YouTube tutorials, which provided a visual and practical way to grasp the concepts. Simultaneously, I began reading the React documentation to get a more in-depth and structured understanding of the library.\n\nAs I progressed with the tutorials and documentation, I felt it was time to get my hands dirty. I've always been a big fan of the 'learn by doing' method. So, I embarked on creating my own projects, starting with simple ones and gradually moving on to more complex applications.\n\nEvery new project presented its own set of challenges, and with each challenge overcome, my knowledge and skill set expanded. I sought help from the online community when I hit roadblocks, learning to debug and improve my code through constructive feedback."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688610467190},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3B in Fall 2023","email":"zraeid@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Zafir","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Raeid","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe3868386-b43b-448b-a41a-67b38ed43288?alt=media&token=2b4720e3-3937-4c27-a09b-53e54976f937","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"One of my favourite products is the Tesla Model S electric car. I find it to be a remarkable combination of cutting-edge technology, sustainability, and sleek design. The Model S showcases the advancements in electric vehicle engineering, offering impressive performance and an extended range. Its innovative features like Autopilot, over-the-air software updates, and the large touchscreen interface enhance the overall driving experience. Moreover, Tesla's commitment to accelerating the transition to sustainable transportation aligns with my values and passion for leveraging technology for social and environmental impact."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"As the VP Project Scoping, I assess whether a non-profit's goals resonate with Blueprint by considering the following factors:\n\nMission Alignment: I review their mission statement and values to ensure they align with Blueprint's mission of leveraging technology for social impact.\n\nImpact and Community Focus: I evaluate the scale and significance of their impact on the community they serve, focusing on addressing critical needs.\n\nCollaboration Potential: I assess their openness to collaboration and willingness to work closely with Blueprint's team.\n\nTechnology Alignment: I analyze their technology needs and determine if Blueprint's services can effectively support their goals.\n\nLong-term Sustainability: I consider their commitment to long-term sustainability and growth in driving positive change.\n\nBy evaluating these factors, I identify non-profits whose goals align with Blueprint's mission and values, ensuring impactful and sustainable partnerships."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One cause that deeply resonates with me is promoting access to education for underprivileged communities. I believe education is transformative and can break the cycle of poverty. I have volunteered, tutored, and fundraised to provide resources and support to marginalized students. In high school in Bangladesh, I actively visited underprivileged communities to connect with them and teach children various subjects, from Math to Science. Additionally, I organized workshops and campaigns to raise awareness and advocate for education equity. I am wholeheartedly committed to a future where everyone has equal opportunities to thrive through education and contribute to making the world a better place."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As a passionate advocate for product/UX design, I am proud to be a part of UW/UX at UWaterloo. This community brings together peers who are enthusiastic about UI/UX. I have contributed to the community through multiple initiatives as a Logistics Project Manager and Podcast Director.\n\nI launched a new project program to give aspiring designers at our university the opportunity to gain UI/UX experience and hone their skills through collaborative design challenges, providing them with a platform to showcase creativity.\n\nI am heavily involved in cross-club workshop planning for multiple events like Blueprint Night, aimed at promoting the design community and providing participants with practical knowledge.\n\nI am currently in the process of launching a podcast, where I am responsible for content planning, outreach, and episode production. We believe this podcast will give the design community at UWaterloo the chance to listen to experiences and have their unanswered questions addressed."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Driven by my passion for creating mobile applications and games, I delved into Android development through immersive tutorials and project-based learning. I embraced a hands-on approach, following online tutorials to understand the workflow and gain proficiency in Android Studio, Java/Kotlin, and essential components. I stayed abreast of industry trends, sought feedback from developers, and honed my skills through internships at Siemens, Wattpad, and Ford. This comprehensive approach enabled me to swiftly grasp the essentials and craft user-friendly mobile applications."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687368108890},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"n3bajwa@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Product","firstName":"Nivriti","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"B","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe387a0c2-88a3-4318-8b05-283034ea73c0?alt=media&token=29c32448-6979-4e30-b22a-6e83b96bb2ef","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"10","role":"VP Product"},{"id":"11","role":"VP Talent"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Talent","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Bridging the digital divide and enabling universal access to technology is a cause that I strongly identify with. Technology has a big impact on many parts of our life in today's world of expanding connectivity, from communication and education to access to vital services and information. But not everyone has access to technology equally, and this difference can worsen social and economic disparities. People still use outdated flip phones in the slums of my home country, India, demonstrating the gap in technology between Western and other countries around the globe. The idea that ensuring everyone has access to necessities, particularly technology, originates from the idea that technology can empower people and communities and enhance their quality of life in a variety of ways. I have always believed that technology can be a vehicle for education, creativity, economic opportunity, and social inclusion when it is widely available and reasonably priced. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As a passionate ambassador for women's empowerment, I am really proud to be a member of the Girls Empowerment Movement (GEMS) as the Programmes & Initiatives Coordinator. Through GEMS, I have helped develop girls' leadership skills and promote gender equality by empowering them through planning workshops, mentorship programmes, and cooperative collaborations with women who are making a difference in our community. I have also increased awareness about menstrual equity, helped lead a campaign where we donated $10000 worth of menstrual supplies, and sparked positive change as a former Regional Ambassador for Girl Up Brampton. Contributing to these communities, where girls thrive, tear down obstacles, and develop into self-assured leaders, is an honour for me. Not only am I proud of my contributions in the past but also hope to be an active participant in the future. I firmly believe that together, we help to create a world that is more diverse and equitable.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I started making my Twitter Bot, I realized Python was the way to go. Although Python was not extensively taught in my academic curriculum, I recognized its significance for this particular project and was motivated to acquire proficiency in it. I started by setting clear goals as to where I wanted to be in a few weeks. This provided me with a sense of direction and purpose, which motivated me to dive into the learning process. I relied on various online sources like PluralSight, CodeAcademy, and YouTube channels dedicated to teaching Python's fundamentals. Since practical experience is equally important, I started developing my bot on the side having acquired as much knowledge as possible. I committed to consistent practice to reinforce my Python skills on platforms like Leetcode. This experience not only demonstrated my ability to proactively learn new technologies outside of formal education but also showcased my adaptability and determination. I was proud of myself. \n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688141033290},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"msikka@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Finance & Operations","firstName":"Malavika","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Sikka","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Honors Mathematics","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe6d8ff43-d07b-4291-a3d2-47f183a179aa?alt=media&token=fa5612f4-629b-4456-bcbd-3168ce8d044a","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"13","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?","response":"There are certain ways I would follow/suggest to create the sponsorship pitch to external organizations as persuasive such as clearly communicating how the opportunity aligns with their goals while emphasizing benefits like visibility and ROI. Showcasing past successes, offering data-driven analysis of potential reach and target audience demographics, positioning it as an attractive partner worthy of investment would support in gaining interests towards our goals. Another important aspect is to tailor packages to the sponsor’s needs as it would show flexibility and a willingness to collaborate on mutually beneficial terms and can go a long way in securing partnerships. Also, providing transparency in metrics is vital in demonstrating how we measure and report the impacts. All this while, by build a personal relationship with potential sponsors an engaging in direct interactions with them, we can increase the likelihood of securing a sponsorship."}],"role":"VP Finance & Operations"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"Collecting qualitative data from our research is very crucial and thus various methods that I prefer bringing into action include building one-to-one interactions such as conducting user interviews to delve deeply into users' experiences, behaviors, and attitudes. Running surveys to collect quantitative data from a broader user base, allows for a more extensive assessment of user preferences and trends by providing valuable statistical information. Another vital method is usability testing, where we observe users interacting with the product or interface, enabling us to identify usability issues and areas for improvement. Additionally, user behavior and engagement can be analyzed through user analytics to further comprehend user interactions and preferences. \nReflecting on my experience in the field of secondary research and data analysis, I would consider the methods of secondary research as an area of expertise for me.\n"}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"My availability is flexible. Therefore, I can work in any time zone that aligns with the requirements of blueprint for the next term. I am adaptable and can accommodate different time zones to ensure efficient collaboration and support for the organization's objectives during that period.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me deeply is the importance of equality, social justice, and inclusivity. I strongly believe in supporting the rights and well-being of marginalized communities since I'm witnessing the challenges faced by them including seniors and mentally disabled individuals (while volunteering for The Earth Saviours Foundation). It drives my dedication to create a more equitable and inclusive society where everyone has equal opportunities and their voices are heard."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As a social worker at The Earth Saviours Foundation, I'm proud to be part of a community focused on residents' well-being and development. I coordinate with the administrative team to meet their needs promptly, ensuring a supportive environment. While researching for Noise Pollution policies, I propose NGO-level interventions for a healthier living environment. Embracing the 'Do Not Honk' Campaign, I raise awareness among residents and stakeholders. I study the village economy and suggest sustainable measures for improved livelihoods and resource preservation. Additionally supporting fundraising, I engage donors to benefit both residents and the organization. Working as a social worker at The Earth Saviours Foundation, it has been a journey filled with purpose and fulfilment. I am profoundly grateful for the opportunity to contribute to a community that prioritizes the welfare of its residents and continuously strives for positive change."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I first came to Canada, I realized that I had limited knowledge of Computer Science and various programming languages. Unlike some of my peers who were already well-versed in these subjects from their high school education, I found myself at a disadvantage and recognized the importance of improving my skills in this area. \nMy motivation to learn such programming languages stemmed from the desire to enhance my academic performance, broaden my career prospects, and stay competitive in the rapidly evolving technological landscape. I understood that these skills were becoming increasingly valuable in the job market, and I wanted to be well-equipped to pursue various opportunities in the field of technology.\nTo approach this learning journey, I sought out online resources to familiarize myself with coding languages, dedicated consistent time and effort to practice coding daily and took help from my professors and peers for guidance.\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688411520586},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"amashru@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Aadhyaaa","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Mashru","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science ","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe80e46ed-989d-4cae-8ee5-29d92b64bdf8?alt=media&token=4fa050a4-ae17-4664-9eee-5fd31687ff92","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"While working on a web dev project, I encountered a perplexing bug that was causing unexpected behavior in the program. Certain inputs were producing incorrect outputs, leading to data inconsistencies and errors. To identify the root cause of this issue, I decided to take an approach focused on writing thorough tests. I began by reviewing the existing test suite and noticed that it didn't cover the specific scenarios where the bug was occurring. This indicated a potential blind spot in the testing process. I started by creating new test cases that replicated the problematic inputs reported by users. By meticulously examining the inputs, I identified patterns and potential edge cases that could trigger the bug. I designed test scenarios to cover these cases, making sure to include a wide range of inputs and variations. Next, I executed the newly created tests and carefully observed the output. This process allowed me to narrow down the conditions under which the bug manifested. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"To assess whether a non-profit's goals resonate with Blueprint, we must delve into their mission, values, and initiatives. Analyzing their core objectives and comparing them to Blueprint's vision is essential. Additionally, examining the non-profit's focus areas, past projects, and impact on the community can shed light on alignment. Collaborative opportunities can enhance collective efforts, while transparency and accountability ensure responsible practices. Evaluating values, ethics, and seeking feedback from past partners helps determine resonance. By considering these factors, I can identify non-profits that share their commitment to social change and responsible impact, paving the way for meaningful partnerships and collaborative endeavors."}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be in my 2A study term, this fall. Hence, I would be based in Waterloo. "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Back in my home country, I lived by the motto \"Service Before Self,\" which perfectly aligns with your noble cause. I led a foundation dedicated to providing education and vocational skills to underprivileged children, aiming to empower those who lacked the opportunities we often took for granted. Initially, I focused on education, recognizing its transformative power. Soon we were a team of CHANGEMAKERS. We realized that these children lacked access to labs, hindering their understanding of scientific concepts. To bridge this gap, we organized Science Fairs, offering them hands-on learning experience. \nAs I consider applying, I recognize that my skills may not match the accomplishments of other brilliant minds. However, my deep passion and unwavering commitment make me confident in my ability to contribute meaningfully to society. I am wholeheartedly prepared to embark on this journey, driven by the belief that through education and dedication, we can create a brighter future for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"The foundation I am privileged to work with has fostered an unbreakable bond among its members. Recently, we introduced the \"Each One Teach One\" scheme to ensure our personal pursuits didn't overshadow our commitment to the foundation's cause. Under this initiative, every student we have taught takes on the responsibility of mentoring two younger students, creating a chain of knowledge sharing.\n\nI firmly believe in the law of karma, some people even refer to it as Newton's third law. It states that every action carries an equal and opposite reaction. Giving back to society is not a mere favour but an obligation we hold. We embrace the notion that it is our duty to contribute to the betterment of our community and make a positive impact. By fulfilling our duty, we acknowledge the value of the resources bestowed upon us. It is only through actively utilizing these resources for the betterment of others that we truly make a meaningful use of them.\nweblink: https://aadhyaaafoundation.com/"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During a previous project, I embarked on learning the Agile framework and using JIRA as a project management tool. My motivation was to improve our team's efficiency, collaboration, and project delivery. To begin, I familiarized myself with the principles and practices of Agile, understanding its iterative and collaborative approach. Recognizing the benefits it could bring, I researched JIRA extensively, exploring its features and capabilities. I then took an active role in implementing Agile methodologies within our team. I facilitated discussions to define user stories, prioritized tasks, and created sprints in JIRA. By configuring custom workflows and utilizing JIRA's boards, I visualized the progress of tasks, ensuring transparency and facilitating communication. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688583080484},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"aserhan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Aman","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Serhan","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe8a2dd16-b52b-42a3-8711-1b9d146edfc3?alt=media&token=19414f31-c1d1-4eb2-8e93-24ea04df8e56","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"My biggest sources of inspiration are the designs that I remember. In daily life, we interact with so many different environments, products, objects, systems, processes, etc. Some of them, we interact with and immediately forget because there wasn’t anything that stood out to us. The remaining designs stick with us, either because we liked them so much or because we disliked them. Those are the things from which I get my inspiration. It’s either a standard I want to work towards or something I want to look at with a more critical eye and learn from.\nIn terms of things I design for personal use, I get a lot of inspiration from my culture, which is rich in beautiful and meaningful patterns and visuals. I believe that the best things we make are ones that have a special meaning to us and can be shared and enjoyed with the people around us. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Link to my portfolio: https://lucky-mochi-40c.notion.site/Design-Portfolio-Aman-Serhan-19bc7e0f6af64807ab06f62f38c518d3\nMy portfolio contains designs from the various tools I’ve learned over the years. I want to highlight the Spotify redesign project that I did using Figma. I’ve used Figma in the past for side projects and internship work, but I recently started digging deeper into it. I wanted to create a new project from scratch to showcase my interest and my ability to learn quickly. I conducted user interviews with friends and classmates to identify their main issues with the Spotify Web Player design, and then I created a wireframe that addressed these issues and added more simplicity to the pages. Due to time constraints caused by midterms, co-op search, and other commitments, I chose to stick with a lower-fidelity design, but I would be more than happy to provide more work samples during the application process if needed.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I have the most experience with user interviews. Through design courses and side projects, I’ve gotten the opportunity to plan and conduct interviews and see first-hand what is required to get valid and insightful data. Something I am fascinated by is looking at different types of questions and assessing their quality, especially in terms of eliminating bias in our phrasing and the effect that has on users’ answers.\nI am also very interested in contextual inquiry because it’s a great way to get into the user’s environment and catch all the nuances of their behaviors/preferences that the user might miss in an interview setting. I'd love to get more hands-on experience with this type of research.\nOverall, user experience research is a really interesting topic to me as a Systems Design Engineering student, and I look forward to applying more of these concepts in class and potentially while working with Blueprint."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Toronto"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is the Palestinian cause. I am originally from Palestine, and I was raised to be proud of where I come from. I am always working to shed light on the Palestinian plight and advocate for change. In high school, I was elected to the position of Service Prefect, a student government role centered around promoting service learning and activities. I used my platform to shed light on various social issues, including the Palestinian plight. I added a Palestinian novel to the Grade 12 English curriculum and organized a school-wide fundraiser that raised thousands of dollars in humanitarian aid for Gaza. I also hosted a few educational seminars. By the time I graduated, the community was much better educated about this cause. Upon starting at Waterloo, I looked for ways to continue my service-learning journey, which is why I am applying to Blueprint. I am also currently in the process of starting a Palestinian student group at UW with a couple of other students."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be part of the Muslim community. Through adding two books to the curriculum, planning holiday celebrations, and hosting guest speaker events, I spent my first 3 years of high school effecting real change for the Muslim community at my school. It culminated in my senior year when I realized that I am graduating soon, and I needed to build capacity for these initiatives to continue. So I started the Muslim Students Association. I assembled and trained a passionate team of younger students to take over. I worked with them on all our initiatives, including the curriculum project, our Ramadan celebrations, and educational events. As the founder and president of the group, I organized, mentored, inspired, and oversaw the team and everything we did. I wanted to ensure that I was delegating the work meaningfully because I wanted the students to be well-equipped to take over after I graduate. I am happy to say that this club is still active and growing."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Earlier this year, I decided to learn more about project management out of personal interest. I’ve been interested in project management for a while, and I wanted to take concrete steps – specifically getting my CAPM® certification. I did an online course, read some books on the topic, and studied for the CAPM® exam. I achieved a high score on the exam and got my certification in April. Throughout my co-op term, I applied my knowledge to the projects I was working on. Applying PM methodologies and teaching the co-op students on my team about them helped us all work much more efficiently. I’m using these skills in my study term as well, especially in group projects. I enjoy taking the lead on planning and monitoring our projects and timelines, and my group members appreciate the organization and efficiency I add to our work. I am currently studying for the Scrum Master certification as part of my effort to dig deeper into various Agile methodologies."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688595179915},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"h5khuran@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Hitarth ","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Khurana","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favorite product is cold coffee at a local food joint called \"Cheffective\" in my hometown Delhi, India. I went to that place because that joint was started by a mutual friend. After trying it for the first time I was amazed at how good the food and drinks especially the coffee were. Their food joint started from scratch and they grew exponentially in a matter of months. This happened first due to a huge network of connections and also because of their marketing skills. My friends and I visit that place twice a week because of various reasons - their items are cheaper as compared to other local joints, their branding is amazing (fancy coffee lids and their logo and name on the cup) and also the ambiance at the place is impressive as we always have a good time there."}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I am aware that a good user-experience researcher uses both quantitative and qualitative research methods. I will be using research methods from my past experiences such as my work with a professor at Delhi University. There, she taught me the use and importance of statistical tools, interpretation of results, and report writing. I am sure that all this and further help from the VP of Scoping and other seniors will make my time at Blueprint a success."}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"waterloo time, est"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is bullying and the other underlying factors associated with it. I was bullied in high school when I was a straight-A student in my freshman year. I didn't have any friends with such \"power\" to fight back for me. Looking back at that time I feel angry because now everything has changed, those people/seniors who bullied me are not in a good place overall and I am doing well regardless. I feel angry because if something like that happened to me now I would have taken action rather than just staying silent and telling my closest friends. Something like bullying arises from a lot of causes and it is prevalent all around the world. I wish all institutions take more and more steps against this."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of Velocity - the startup incubator at our campus. I was its campus ambassador last year and it was terrific. It was actually the time when an engineering student told me about Blueprint in one of the meetings.\nI contributed by hosting large-scale events with students from all over the university. Along with just organizing events I was able to learn a lot about the startup culture in general and I look forward to starting one soon."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As I approached my senior year, my curiosity and constant consideration of \"what's next\" helped me understand that I had a very possible future career in cryptography. \nI made sure to consult my seniors, understanding how cryptography would help build my career. While on a call with an old friend, I was encouraged to apply for international summer programs. After doing considerable research, I discovered QCSYS, one of the most prestigious summer programs in quantum cryptography held by the University of Waterloo. \nI got selected and the program was incredibly informative, and I got to discuss my ideas with like-minded students from all over the world. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688583681441},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"helios.he@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Helios","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"He","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science/Business","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe995bac9-c239-4274-8e15-0a19a60df3b1?alt=media&token=5e6c5802-33a5-45f3-a099-2bbf4d0b3dff","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I encountered during my co-op was when I tried to run the source code of a continuous learning model provided by a research paper. The code required numerous package installations, and to avoid disrupting the existing environment on my machine, I Dockerized it.\n\nThe first challenge was the project required specific versions of Ray (a library for parallel and distributed Python) and Bazel (a build and test tool). However, the specific commit version of Ray required for the project was not available as a Docker image, so I cloned the repository from the Ray commit inside the Dockerfile instead.\n\nThe second challenge was that the required versions of Ray and Bazel weren’t compatible with ARM64 processors, which was used by my device. To overcome this, I downloaded their source code to modify and manually compile these dependencies. However, by carefully reviewing the source code and making adjustments, I was able to successfully run the program.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"Spotify.\nFirst, Spotify has transformed the music industry by providing a platform that allows users to stream music from a vast library. It identified a significant shift in the way people consume music - from physical and downloadable formats to streaming - and capitalized on it. \n\nSecond, Spotify's user interface is intuitive and user-friendly. It's easy to search for music, create playlists, and discover new songs and artists. This ease of use has played a significant role in Spotify's widespread adoption.\n\nThird, Spotify's personalized recommendations, powered by their sophisticated algorithms, provide a unique and tailored user experience. The 'Discover Weekly' and 'Daily Mix' playlists are excellent examples of how Spotify uses data to enhance the user experience.\n\nLast, Spotify's business model is often cited as the quintessential example of a successful freemium strategy. It's a great example of how a well-thought-out business model can contribute to a product's success."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT (in Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that deeply resonates with me is elderly care, developed during my time working as a dietary aide at a retirement home. This experience, particularly during the peak of the pandemic, underscored the vulnerability of our elderly population and the critical importance of their care.\n\nThe pandemic brought unique challenges to the retirement home, with stringent health guidelines to follow and heightened risks for the residents. This environment fostered my empathy, as I saw firsthand the struggles of the residents. It was a stark reminder of the fragility of health and the importance of compassionate care.\n\nWhat stood out most were the personal connections I developed with the residents. During a time of isolation and uncertainty, these relationships became a source of comfort. It was a powerful lesson in the value of human connection in healthcare."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride as a member of the Oakville Speed Skating Club, a community that has shaped me as an athlete and a person. I've found immense satisfaction in coaching aspiring skaters, guiding many to provincial and national medals. One standout moment was coaching a skater who clinched gold at the Canada Youth Championships.\n\nMy contributions to the club extend beyond the rink. I've volunteered at competitions, participated in fundraising activities, and helped maintain the rink to meet safety regulations. These experiences have enriched my understanding of community and teamwork.\n\nThe journey hasn't been without challenges. Balancing school and training was a constant struggle, often leading to 12 a.m. training sessions. As a coach, communicating effectively with younger skaters was a learning curve. However, these challenges have only strengthened my commitment to the club. I am proud to be a part of this community and look forward to its growth and success in the years to come."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning Vim. My motivation stemmed from my experience at my current co-op, after watching a senior engineer help me debug an issue using Vim and his ability to effortlessly navigate through the codebase without taking his hands off the keyboard, relying solely on Vim within the terminal. \n\nTo learn Vim, I adopted a two-fold strategy. Firstly, I dedicated time outside of work to practice using Vim on personal projects. This allowed me to gradually build my proficiency and confidence in using Vim as my primary text editor. Secondly, I actively made an effort to minimize my reliance on VSCode at work. This forced me to apply and reinforce my newly learned skills in a real-world setting. Though challenging at first, I persisted and gradually became more adept at efficiently navigating, editing, and managing files within Vim.\n\nBy combining deliberate practice outside of work and integrating Vim into my daily workflow, I successfully added this tool into my repertoire."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687916008855},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"asouphan@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Alex","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Souphanthong","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fe9ea5b66-0b23-4f0e-a912-d44bf8c6778b?alt=media&token=a4ceb90e-2b89-4442-8d96-bfb42137e65f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During a computer science class, I was given a particularly challenging assignment to develop a timetabling algorithm for my high school. The objective was to design an effective system, that would take on a variety of variables, and produce an optimal timetable that maximized the amount of students with their desired course. The biggest obstacle was constraint satisfaction in the sense that there was an optimization problem around scheduling courses. It is impractical to consider all possible combinations of schedules, so choosing an approach which visits a subset of the solution spaces is ideal. To approach this problem, I developed a fitness function that would calculate the amount of matches any given algorithm would have. This helped to measure the effectiveness of various algorithms and compare changes made in previous iterations. In the end, the final algorithm consisted of a greedy algorithm combined with a genetic algorithm that minimized the weaknesses of both.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The rising issue of homelessness in Canada is a cause that deeply resonates with me as it’s an issue that I can see in my community being close to and often around Toronto. I think it’s important to acknowledge that often times the sole reason for homelessness is not personal choices or failures but instead a combination of intersecting factors such as lack of affordable housing, substance abuse or poverty. As someone who grew up in a privileged environment and with good support systems, I am able to recognize that these people if given my circumstances would have a higher chance of success. I believe that addressing homelessness begins with prevention and by providing support to individuals at risk of homelessness we could help to break the cycle of poverty. There is no one solution to homelessness but it is an important issue to address in building a more equitable society.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I’m proud to be a part of is my hometown’s local hackathon which has the main mission of encouraging high school students to explore the world of technology. The hackathon takes place once a year and I have contributed both as a participant and organizer. This community is something I’m passionate about as growing up I always had an interest in technology but didn’t have the opportunities to connect with people who shared this same interest. The hackathon gave me this chance; allowing me to not only network with people in the industry but build upon my skills by attending workshops and developing a project for submission. Following, my time as a participant I applied to be an organizer of the event as I felt like I had a lot to offer in terms of improving the event and sharing my passion for technology. As an organizer, I was able to help coordinate and set up workshops that went on over the course of the event, for topics such as intro to web dev and cybersecurity.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A new skill that I have learned is coding in VHDL. My motivation to learn this language stemmed from my interest in working on digital design and exploring hardware development as a career path. The approach I took to learning this skill began with me setting out goals and outcomes that I expected. The main goal that I set for myself was to learn the VHDL syntax, and design patterns, and by the end of it synthesize my own digital circuits. To achieve this goal I began by gathering information from different online resources which helped me develop a strong foundation in digital design concepts. This allowed me to jump into writing VHDL code, but like learning anything it wasn’t perfect. As someone who was new to the language I would often implement inefficient solutions, in order to overcome this obstacle, I began exploring open-source code, which helped expand my understanding of the language and problem-solving techniques available to me. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688607411385},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"h33gupta@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Harshul","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Gupta","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Febcedc3e-d2ff-49e5-b6a0-c964c8458ddd?alt=media&token=aa511b8f-dd2e-4342-befa-b069d188301f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem that I've worked on in the past was my experience creating ClassMate, a project made for hack::peel. Since I only had one team member, who was not very well versed in web development, I took it upon myself to handle the majority of the work. I also set my goals high for this hackathon, having never used Flask for backend, or MongoDB with Flask. I managed to complete the majority of the project, with React, Flask and MongoDB, which I had not ever used together prior to ClassMate. I ended up placing fourth, which I was quite happy with, especially since ClassMate was quite an undertaking and a big challenge based on my prior experience with the tech stack of ClassMate. Throughout this hackathon, I faced many challenges using these new technologies, including sending API requests, CORS issues, building an API for the first time, HTTP header issues, and more. Using the internet and support from mentors, I managed to mitigate these issues.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based in Waterloo as I am on an academic term so I will be in the EST timezone."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me is climate change and global warming. Throughout the past few years, we've seen the drastic effects and impacts which climate change has had on our daily lives, including increases in Air Quality Warnings for those of us in the GTA, record wildfire seasons, and more violent and frequent extreme weather events. This is something which resonates with me quite deeply as climate change is something whose effects can be reduced and mitigated and I believe that we, as individuals, as well as corporations can all play a part in reducing these effects. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I was proud to be a part of was the music community in my secondary school. Throughout high school, I was a part of the music executive council, and throughout COVID, I had reached a higher level of leadership which involved bringing back a dying music community. Throughout grades 9 and 10, I helped with planning Music Nights and Movie Nights and was an active participant in running the events. In grade 11, when school went entirely online, the music community almost died, and running events became difficult. Additionally, we were unable to gain much traction and bring new members into the music community, so in my grade 12 year, when I was Chair of the Music Executive Council, I recreated the music community which I had adored in Grade 9. Throughout that year, and with the help of the other Music Executive Council, we restarted band and ran various team building activities, including Movie Nights and other events, ending the year with the start to a good community."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I learned a new skill was when I initially began to learn web development. This was shortly after I participated in my first hackathon, and I was motivated to learn it after seeing all the capabilities that various web technologies had when creating web apps. My approach mainly focused around building things which I wanted to build, using the technologies I had learned about from that hackathon. I began by brushing up on my limited knowledge of HTML and CSS, and then in the next hackathon which I participated in, I attempted using more web technologies like React and Flask, as I believed that the best way for me to learn development was by building things. This worked out quite well, and although that first hackathon wasn't anything special, I continued to build things and eventually created a Discord bot which filtered out hate speech that won $5000 as well as a runner-up note sharing web app using Flask and React. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688434159731},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"c2kim@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Catherine","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kim","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Febd35e10-a3b2-45d7-abe9-eb549eb3f289?alt=media&token=adee4f7b-5c42-47b4-86a2-9e9c85824489","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"When I was working on web scraping with Selenium and Python for the first time, I kept getting a ValueError when I initialized the webdriver. I was confused as I was confident that my very short code was correct. I asked a few people I knew had experience in Selenium what the issue could be but they, too, were unable to figure it out because nothing seemed to be wrong. I tried a variety of solutions suggested by Google and none of them seemed to work until I reached one Github comment that suggested the Selenium version was incorrect. Thankfully, version 4.9.0 worked because the urllib3 update from version 4.9.1 caused the problem.\n\nAlthough I had tried version 3.9.0 as suggested by another page, I realized that software developing will have me stumped over a very simple issue and make me doubt my own skills but that the satisfaction upon correcting it will be worth it, and that I should consult help if needed instead of getting discouraged as I am still in the process of learning.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST (Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"While I was looking for housing in Waterloo for the first time, I realized how fortunate I was to never have had to previously worry about where I was going to live. If looking for housing was hard for me, how much harder would it be for those less fortunate? Moving to a new city knowing nobody else was hard, but being in residence really helped form new connections and give me comfort in adjusting to a new place. That's how I know proper housing can hasten the reintegration of those who have not yet been able to find a community to call home.\n\nOnly when crucial physiological needs are met, the very bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, can people fulfill their other needs. Homelessness rates have been constantly rising and nearly tripling in Waterloo over the past three years. These statistics seemed intangible to me until I was eating on Lester Street and watched a homeless man ask for money and then be asked to leave the area. I strive to use my skills to help those people live."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a part of the Korean community and I have contributed to it by volunteering my time as a Korean Teaching Assistant to a variety of ages. As I've been fortunate enough to have retained my culture's language, I want to make sure that the next generation can do so too. By volunteering in a Korean School for children, I have been able to teach children not just the language but also about the food, games, and historical events in Korean culture. It has been very rewarding to see them choose to retain and learn more about their Korean heritage. \n\nMoreover, by volunteering at the University of Alberta as a Korean Teaching Assistant, I was also able teach similar things but to people who weren't Korean and wanted to get to know more about the country, language, and culture. By doing so, I believe I was able to contribute to Korean culture as an important way of keeping the Korean community alive is to tell others about it and encourage them to experience it as well. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I remember when I first started learning the clarinet, I was very insecure about my skills as I come from a very musical family and I didn't seem to reach the progress rate that I had wanted. I was then given the opportunity to play clarinet at a senior home and although I was wary, I decided to do so because the songs were simple. \n\nHowever, after performing, I realized exactly why I wanted to keep learning the clarinet. Until then, I had only played the clarinet because it was just another instrument to learn, a substitute to the violin. Yet when I saw seniors cry and come up to me to tell me how much it reminded them of a family member or themselves a long time ago, I felt the impact of what music could do. \n\nFrom then on, I reformulated my practice plans from studying the repertoire and scales to a more performance based style, such as learning how to transpose in my head and improvise. This newfound passion drove me to redefine success as I now had a reason for what I did. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687496506861},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2A","email":"malharshah200428@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Malhar","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Shah","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fedf3e4f4-3d1e-4e72-85bd-db766bc60fa7?alt=media&token=f5a91bd8-14c0-4750-842d-e9d913bea45b","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my time at BMO, I faced a challenging technical problem while integrating the Salesforce application. Changes in the application were often made without proper communication, resulting in frequent breaking of our automation scripts. The main issue was the changing XPaths of elements on the pages, making it difficult for the scripts to locate and interact with them.\n\nTo overcome this problem, I developed an AI-based solution in the form of a JAR file. This tool dynamically located the XPaths of elements during runtime, eliminating the reliance on static XPaths used in our existing scripts. By utilizing machine learning algorithms and heuristic approaches, the JAR file analyzed the structure and content of the Salesforce application's pages to identify the optimal XPath for each element. With dynamic XPath generation during runtime, the scripts consistently located the correct elements, reducing manual intervention and maintenance efforts.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"In my role as the CTO of RentKeepr, a non-profit startup, I have demonstrated leadership by effectively managing a team of 8 individuals on our tech team. This includes overseeing 4 backend and 4 frontend interns who play crucial roles in our organization.\n\nTo ensure the smooth progress of our projects in alignment with our business timeline, I provide the interns with weekly deliverables. By setting clear expectations and goals, I empower them to work efficiently and contribute to our collective success. I prioritize effective communication, ensuring that everyone understands their responsibilities and the vision of our startup.\n\nAs a leader, I understand the importance of supporting my team members in overcoming technical challenges. I actively engage with the interns, offering guidance and assistance when they encounter difficulties on the job. By providing mentorship and sharing my expertise, I foster an environment where they can develop their professional and personal skills."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be based out of EST next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Every Canadian student viewed Terry Fox Day as a holiday to relax and enjoy a walk with friends. However, for me, it held a deeper significance. Witnessing the impact of cancer on my grandparents and experiencing the emotional toll it took on my family made me realize that fighting cancer is a cause that resonates with me on a personal level. After seeing my grandmother seize in front of me at the age of eight, the urgency to combat this disease became ingrained into my life.\n\nInspired by these experiences, I am driven to contribute to the fight against cancer in the future. As someone with a strong background in computer science, I aspire to leverage my knowledge and skills to support cancer research efforts. By combining technological advancements with medical expertise, there is potential to make significant strides in understanding the disease, developing more effective treatments, and ultimately improving the lives of patients and their loved ones. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be an active member of the Vallabh Youth Organization, a religious club dedicated to helping young children explore Hinduism as a religion. Within this community, my contribution has been in the role of a teacher, imparting knowledge and understanding to kids ranging from 5 to 16 years old.\n\nAs a teacher, my primary responsibility has been to educate these young minds about the various philosophies and the rich history of Hinduism. I design engaging lessons that not only provide them with factual information but also encourage critical thinking and self-reflection. It brings me immense joy to witness their curiosity and eagerness to learn about their faith.\n\nThrough my role as a teacher and active member, I hope to inspire the next generation to embrace their heritage, deepen their spiritual connection, and contribute positively to society. I am proud to be part of a community that values education, inclusivity, and the preservation of our cultural heritage."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I embarked on a journey to learn a new skill: dancing. My initial motivation was to stay in shape, particularly as the COVID-19 pandemic had taken a toll on my fitness. To achieve this goal, I joined dance classes online, avidly watched dance TV shows, and dedicated myself to rigorous practice and conditioning.\n\nThe culmination of my efforts came when I had the opportunity to perform a dance on a TEDx stage. It was an exhilarating experience to showcase my newfound skill in front of an audience. The sense of accomplishment and the joy of expressing myself through dance were immensely rewarding.\n\nLearning to dance not only improved my physical fitness but also brought me a sense of fulfillment and self-expression. It taught me the value of discipline, determination, and the power of stepping out of my comfort zone to acquire new skills. This experience has instilled in me the belief that continuous learning and personal growth are essential components of a fulfilling life."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688613556840},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2A","email":"a6au@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Andrew","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Au","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fee9b530b-8a33-44be-8b45-c3fcd4a963d4?alt=media&token=20b5663c-855c-4c48-be1c-7c410efa9a21","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I recently did an assignment that involved implementing a tier list using iterators. A particularly difficult challenge was a method that could traverse the list of tiers forwards and backwards by a given n, and return an iterator pointing to the first element of the tier that it lands on. The tier list was defined as an array of pointers to tier objects that behaved as lists. My initial solution was to define an index within the iterator class to track which tier the iterator is on and increment the index with the given n, so that we could find a tier with this index. This didn’t work. I decided to backtrack and sketch a rough draft of how the iterator class would look like, what fields were needed and their purpose, so I had a better idea of how the program would work as a cohesive unit. I figured that we had to skip over empty tiers. To check for empty tiers, I would compare the iterator for the start and end of the tier. If they were equal, then the tier is empty and we’d skip it.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am passionate about supporting the development of children. During the past four years, I have worked with children as a summer camp counsellor, ski instructor, elementary math tutor and vice chair of my local youth council. My favourite part of teaching kids is watching them grow. As a ski instructor, many of my students are beginners and start off extremely scared at the prospect of skiing. But after I guide them through one run, they become less scared and are willing to go up for another run. After a couple runs, they often want to explore new slopes and graduate from the “magic carpet” to the chairlift. By teaching skiing techniques and leading fun games, I am able to clearly observe their confidence increase and be a part of their skiing development, while improving my own leadership and communication skills. It brings me immense joy knowing that I am making an impact on the lives of others and empowering them to pursue new things, while improving myself and gaining new skills."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A group of friends and I founded the Software Club at my high school to provide a supportive space for students interested in graphic design and software development. As vice president, I enjoyed sharing my passion for graphic design and programming with junior students by leading weekly workshops that introduced different languages and software, such as HTML, photoshop and vector graphics editors. As part of our efforts to promote graphic design and software development, I conceived and coordinated a school-wide logo design contest. Over the course of a month, participants designed original logos, created mockups of products, and presented their brand and logo. It was inspiring to see the wonderful creativity and implementation of skills that students had gained from our workshops. I continue to mentor the club today. My experience as a leader in the club has helped me contribute to a community of aspiring designers and developers, while sharing my passion with others."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In 2016, cubing was all the hype and the speedcubing world was fierce with competition as records were being broken left and right. I watched my friends flick the cube at incredible speeds, solving these mind-boggling puzzles as if they were geniuses and, although I was no genius, I wanted to join in too. The first step to learning to cube is to choose a method for solving. I chose the traditional CFOP method which involved four steps and, for a while, focused on just the first two steps to gain intuition on how the cube works and gradually became faster. My friends supported me, sharing tips, Youtube videos and websites that I could consult. Next, I moved on to memorizing algorithms for the last layer and practiced like crazy until they became muscle memory. As my passion for speedcubing turned from FOMO into a desire to become a wiser and speedier speedcuber, I progressed with my friends, solving in under 25 seconds regularly, and proved that you do not have to be a genius to cube."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687974641440},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"a2baid@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Anay","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Baid","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Feebb39cf-c55c-4e60-adda-406f3b59bcb1?alt=media&token=7d0fe816-e1a8-4039-a50e-c8f007d720cf","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"While developing my Developer Portfolio, I faced a challenging technical problem: optimizing the website for performance and cross-browser compatibility.\nTo address this, I leveraged modern web technologies like Flexbox, Grid, and CSS animations to achieve a responsive design. Additionally, I implemented optimizations for improved loading speed and compatibility.\nI began by minifying CSS and JavaScript files, reducing their size and enhancing loading times. Lazy loading was implemented to load only necessary resources, further improving performance. Browser caching was utilized to store assets locally, reducing redundant downloads.\nThese optimizations resulted in a 98% score on Google PageSpeed Insights for mobile devices and a total page load time of under 2 seconds. The website achieved full compatibility with major browsers.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"As a User Experience Researcher, I would excel in highly technical methods like comparative analysis, where meticulous evaluations and assessments guide optimal choices based on features, performance, and efficiency. I believe rigorous testing and evaluation processes would enable precise measurement of data transmission rates. Valuable insights from user feedback and surveys would inform nuanced decision-making in usability evaluation and design. Through meticulous usability testing, I gain invaluable insights into interface effectiveness and efficiency by closely observing user interactions. My expertise extends to qualitative research methods, including interviews and focus groups, enabling a comprehensive understanding of user needs, preferences, and behaviours. In employing diverse and precise research methods, such as comparative analysis, testing, user feedback, usability testing, and qualitative research, I am committed to delivering exceptional user-centric experiences. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Toronto EST, so basically Waterloo time :) "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"My passion lies in advocating for accessible education and empowering students through technology. I firmly believe that knowledge should be universally attainable, and technology is crucial in bridging educational disparities. Through STEM Simplified, we utilized online platforms to disseminate scientific concepts and technological advancements, creating an immersive learning environment that fosters curiosity and analytical thinking. During my tenure, I addressed challenges in launching our website through strategic team restructuring, expediting bug resolution and enhancing user experience. This experience underscored technology's potential to streamline procedures and drive educational progress. I remain dedicated to leveraging computational thinking and innovative solutions for a transformative educational environment. My cause is leveraging technology to unlock students' potential and foster an inclusive society, dismantling barriers and providing limitless opportunities. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"My involvement with the Hack the North community facilitated interconnectivity between aspectual and conceptual thinking, profoundly enriching my experience. Through collaborative engagement and the diverse nature of participants, I explored numerous innovative opportunities.\nAs the founder of STEM Simplified, a student-led organization, I dealt with website development, where challenging formatting and uploading issues hindered the desired UI/UX design. To overcome this, I advocated for a streamlined approach, forming specialized groups to address distinct issues. This expedited bug resolution and ensured a successful website launch.\nThis experience deepened my understanding of the intricate relationship between real-world challenges and the judicious deployment of Information Technology, epitomized by the \"mechanization of simplicity\" concept. It reinforced my unwavering commitment to projects, harmonizing convenience for commercialization and multifaceted problem-solving. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I was motivated to learn Computational Thinking due to its foundational significance in Computer Science, with wide-ranging applications across industries and disciplines. To acquire this skill, I studied the core techniques known as 'cornerstones' or the 3As: decomposition, pattern recognition, abstraction, and algorithms. Through online resources, I mastered these techniques, using decomposition to break down complex tasks, pattern recognition to identify similarities, abstraction to anticipate broader implications, and algorithms to guide step-by-step problem-solving. Computational Thinking's utility lies in its capacity to optimize time complexities, combine elements effectively, and establish the principles of generalization and specificity. My pursuit of Computational Thinking involved deep immersion to comprehend the cornerstones' practical applications, enriching my problem-solving abilities and providing adaptability across diverse contexts. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688615166949},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"spoonawa@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","firstName":"Serena","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Poonawalla","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering ","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fef84d2da-fc9f-4c14-8c16-32f5639b9ab2?alt=media&token=dcd180da-594f-40d5-bf08-66cc572cc249","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"I prefer to use primary research methods in which I’m directly interacting with users or stakeholders. I find that you can learn a lot from the intangibles that come with face-to-face communication. I’ve found this to be especially true in the case of usability tests, where sometimes people aren’t aware of actions they perform habitually and a researcher being able to be there first-hand leads to key observances. In regards to the research methods I consider to be my main methods of expertise, I have expertise and experience in observation studies, surveys, user interviews, secondary data analysis, and case studies. "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"Using a product management lens, I would say my iPhone is my favourite product and that it is so due to its user-centric design, ecosystem integration, and branding and marketing. \n\nUser-Centric Design: The iPhone's intuitive user interface and seamless user experience have been key to its success. Apple has consistently focused on understanding and meeting user needs, and providing a user-centric design that prioritizes simplicity and ease of use, as reflected in both its hardware and software.\n\nEcosystem Integration: My iPhone seamlessly interacts with other Apple products, such as Macs, iPads, and Apple Watches, creating a cohesive user experience and a sense of customer loyalty.\n\nBranding and Marketing: Apple has mastered the art of branding and marketing. The iPhone's sleek design, premium feel, and association with innovation and status have contributed to its desirability among consumers. Apple's marketing campaigns excel at communicating the value proposition of the iPhone. "}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"My high school was in an area where many newcomers to Canada and refugees initially settled, so I was directly exposed to the struggles and stories of this population. It saddened me to see my classmates and their families struggle to transition to the area, whether it be due to unfamiliarity or the intolerance of others. I wanted to take action, so I became the student representative for the Safe and Caring Schools committee as well as the president and SAC member of the Social Justice and Equity committee in my school, where I made sure that not only was community inequity addressed, but also that everyone was valued for who they were and their differences. I also got involved in a student-led startup that funded community events for Canadian newcomers to bond through art. I passionately believe in the power of diversity and inclusion and always go out of my way to make sure that I make anyone that may feel out of place or uncomfortable, feel welcome, supported, and heard."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be a member of Ontario Nature’s Youth Council. I help with their local biodiversity conservation advocacy by delivering outreach workshops, writing in the Ontario Nature magazine, and organizing the annual summit to encourage youth-led conservation initiatives. I hold the cause and the community very dear to my heart. Beyond this, I’m also a black belt and national medalist in karate. When I started learning karate, the guidance of my senior ranks was an integral part of my training. This is what inspires me to contribute as a volunteer sensei, and in general, give back to the community that made me who I am today! My upper belts taught me the technical aspects of karate, challenged me to always push myself, and were a source of my confidence both in and out the dojo, all things I try to pass down to the students I teach! "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"In my second co-op I was a software developer at a very small startup where I was given a ticket on my first morning! I had some previous programming experience from high school clubs and courses but had no experience with the company’s stack so I felt quite lost looking through the code I had to work on. The first thing I did was communicate this with my team. Then, I broke down the steps I needed to take to learn the languages and necessary framework by finding appropriate courses/reading materials and going through them bit by bit, while applying what I was learning to the ticket as I went. From a non-technical point of view, I also recently learnt how to play chess! My dad loves the game and I’ve always wanted to play with him so I approached my learning by watching introductory videos, asking for tips and advice from friends who were experienced players, and playing against my sister (who I also convinced to learn with me). I’m still a beginner but I’m definitely getting better!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688162241844},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"lucy.wu1@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Lucy","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Wu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff0828b68-390f-4a86-bc12-b7eec7b9315c?alt=media&token=443a585b-74c1-4d4d-bd6a-6cfdf7e80427","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my internship at Placeholder, I tackled a challenging data management problem: the lack of a tool to replicate real-life data from production to staging impeded effective testing. To address this, I took the initiative to develop an automated replication tool across AWS S3, MySQL, and third-party SaaS service databases. Despite the absence of specific requirements and instructions, I conducted thorough research and collaborated with the Operations, Analytics, and Engineering team to determine the data to be replicated and the database linkages. I then presented a proposal with multiple solutions to my lead, evaluating the pros and cons of each. After solidifying the proposal, I familiarized myself with AWS S3, MySQL, and third-party APIs by reading documentation. Throughout the implementation process, I maintained open communication with my team and manager, providing regular progress updates through detailed tickets. This ensured the timely delivery of a high-quality solution. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I'll be based out of Eastern Time (ET) next term (same time zone as Waterloo)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"The cause of environmental conservation and sustainability resonates deeply with me due to my genuine love for nature and my appreciation of the multitude of benefits nature brings. As a Website Developer and Outreach Ambassador at Splash on Earth, a local environmental non-profit organization, I had the privilege of developing their official website and engaging with over 500 residents in the Forest Manor region, promoting environmental initiatives and raising awareness. Witnessing how easily the environment can be taken for granted, I am driven to protect and preserve it for future generations. I firmly believe that environmental sustainability is a collective effort. Through my role, I leverage my technical and interpersonal skills to communicate the importance of conservation, encouraging people in my community to take action. Together, I believe we can foster a widespread understanding of the preciousness of our environment and work towards building a sustainable future for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As a member of the women-in-tech community, I take pride in pursuing my passion despite being part of an underrepresented group in the tech industry. I am on a mission to support and empower my community. I previously held a leadership position as a Student Representative in the Bank of Montreal's Women in Technology (WIT) organization. During my tenure, I organized panels on allyship with inspiring leaders in the technology line of business at BMO, monthly technology mentorship huddles for over 100 female adolescents, and interactive coding events that tackled challenging algorithm problems. These events helped me to enlighten women to pursue unconventional paths and establish a tight-knit and supportive community. I am proud to have witnessed the growth in self-confidence of the female adolescents in WIT and to have bonded with different students and professionals across Canada. It was truly a rewarding experience. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I enjoy doing art. I entertain the idea of expressing my sentiments through visual art. In the past, I often faced problems where I fail to depict my visions with the limited art supplies I had, so I set the goal of learning digital art, specifically Photoshop. Seeing artists making wonders with Photoshop, I knew it would help me turn my ideas into reality. I first researched the basic features available in Photoshop and organized a schedule to learn one feature per week. I used resources like YouTube videos to obtain the basics and solidified my understanding by playing around with Photoshop. After understanding the basics, I spent most time applying what I learned to create artwork. For occasions where I encountered knowledge blind spots, I would look for solutions via online forums. Although learning Photoshop was challenging, I found it exciting to take on those challenges, knowing that I was making progress and obtaining the skills I need to get closer to my vision. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687361600293},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1B","email":"d27kim@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Donghwui","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Kim","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff0fc7498-3e17-4797-aa4c-f0c8825fbf27?alt=media&token=e23458fd-181a-48ee-a454-34b89fd234dc","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I had the opportunity to work on an environmental challenge during a program called SHAD last summer. I have worked with a team of five and identified a problem of water illiteracy. 56% of young Canadians aged 18-34 were unaware of how they acquire their drinking water, which stemmed from a lack of education about Canada’s freshwater resources and their sustainable usage. I tackled this issue by collaborating with others and utilizing the strengths of each member. As a result, my team successfully created a rough app prototype called “Hydrolife” that features short podcast episodes, habit trackers, water bill trackers and community comparisons to educate new homeowners. HydroLife would not only effectively reduce the frequency of making destructive habits but would also lead to a whole new generation of environmentally conscious homeowners through an intergenerational aspect of users’ new habits.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"My timezone will be based in Waterloo, Ontario (EST)."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates with me the most is promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion as it has always been an essential topic of my life. It is something that profoundly expresses my spirit and genuine passion. I firmly believe that building stronger connections within society is extremely crucial to the growth of us all. Having been deeply involved in my community, I saw systemic barriers that immigrant students faced daily in the Canadian school system. These barriers, both linguistic and cultural, spawned a variety of mental health problems, feelings of alienation, and social disconnection. Therefore, I want to interweave social ethics and my technical skills to create innovative solutions that dismantle structures of social oppression and global problems. At Blueprints, I aspire to become a collaborative and enthusiastic thinker, surrounded by brilliant people that I share core passions with. Bringing my collective-minded spirit, I am thrilled to take creative approaches."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be part of my Korean culture and ethnic community. I strongly believe in the power of sharing one’s culture with others and the fact that multiculturalism can lead to new innovations in terms of prosperous cultural vitality. The first step of my contribution was to build a diverse, spiritual and international network. I have been involved in numerous clubs that support diversity such as the culture club at my high school and the EDI youth initiative at Leadership Niagara. I was responsible for planning and managing social events with activities like playing board games from other countries, teaching languages and presenting ways to eliminate systemic barriers through the lens of the student perspective. Being part of my community, I have set a goal to create new forms of inclusion, connection and joy, which help reshape cultural identity. The impact that they had on me has been immense, shaping the path of my life toward the joy of the collective."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When I first attended high school, I struggled to socialize with other people due to a lack of confidence and public speaking experiences. I was motivated to learn public speaking skills when I watched inspirational speeches from Barack Obama and Martin Luther King. I realized that they shared common characteristics: they exuded confidence and were passionate about what they were talking about. After watching these videos, I wanted to turn my weakness into strengths and become like these role models. After a fair amount of practicing public speaking in front of my friends and some teachers, I started to manufacture the mysterious and miraculous power known as confidence. With this newly cultivated confidence, I started to get involved in leadership organizations such as the student council, city youth advisory council, and Waterloo engineering society. These valuable experiences taught me that I could be a leader who influences the audience with meaning and vitality."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688615864063},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"4A","email":"william.park@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"William","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Park","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff11a6630-acf9-4533-93d1-dcb30c77472e?alt=media&token=07da5a6c-d42d-4d5c-8811-344b0346afc8","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my internship at 1Password, I created an integration between the 1Password CLI and IBM Cloud CLI, enabling users to authenticate into IBM Cloud using credentials stored in 1Password. The main challenge for this project arose from the fact that IBM Cloud requires an API key for authentication, but generates a temporary access token based on this key to authenticate the CLI commands. Storing this token on the local disk would introduce security vulnerabilities, so I had to find a solution that would enable the use of this token without storing it on disk. Tackling this problem involved determining the most common use cases of the IBM Cloud CLI through discussions with IBM, conducting research on IBM’s SDK to determine how to dynamically generate an access token from an API key, and considering optimizations such as caching to minimize the token generations required. Once completed, the project was demoed to IBM and played a key role in IBM's adoption of 1Password developer tools.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Pacific Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I first learned about the UN's Sustainable Development Goals in high school. Since then, I’ve been drawn towards initiatives focused on achieving those goals or a subset of them. This is one of the reasons why I joined Waterloop, the University of Waterloo's Hyperloop design team, where I served as the web team lead. Hyperloop technology, being an efficient and sustainable form of transportation, has the potential to contribute significantly to several of the UN's SDGs (e.g., making cities sustainable). This is why I resonated so strongly with the team’s mission. Also, this Fall, I’ll be joining the AI For Good Foundation as a part-time volunteer. The foundation's mission is to drive technological data science and ML solutions that measure and advance the UN's SDGs. I’m excited to apply my interest in ML to a cause I deeply care about. My passion for technological solutions that contribute to social good is also precisely why I’m thrilled about the opportunity to join UW Blueprint!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In high school, I was the president of a club called KidSport PMSS. Our objective was to raise funds to support underprivileged youth in our community, providing them with the opportunity to participate in organized sports through bursaries. We worked in collaboration with KidSport, a non-profit organization that shares the same goal. Within the community, I organized and ran events, such as our annual sports equipment drive, to fundraise and raise awareness for the organization’s cause. Being able to give back to my community, particularly considering the significant role that sports played in shaping my life, was an incredibly rewarding experience. Although I passed on the leadership of the club to capable hands upon graduating, I’ve maintained contact with KidSport PMSS, offering guidance whenever needed and staying updated on their progress. I’m happy that I’ve been able to contribute to a community that I’m immensely proud to be a part of, even beyond high school."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I’m currently serving as a research assistant at the university, evaluating the feasibility of a Central Bank Digital Currency based on the XRPL blockchain. This role has helped me acquire several new skills, including creating smart contracts with XRPL and utilizing the xrpl-py Python library to interface with the blockchain. I’ve also gained significant insights into the potential benefits and risks of integrating CBDCs into governmental systems. My fascination with blockchain partly stems from my passion for digital security, as cryptographic concepts like hashing and proof-of-work are fundamental to blockchain. The rapid growth of the blockchain community is also incredibly exciting to witness. In this role, while I have learned a substantial amount from reading research papers and referring to articles, interacting with the blockchain itself (e.g., writing scripts to interact with XRPL, deploying smart contracts) has definitely been the most valuable contributor to my learning."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687930921343},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"bill.bg.gong@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Bill","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Gong","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Systems Design Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff1985da1-535b-42b6-bd7f-14866e124c08?alt=media&token=71ff1336-ec63-4c4e-af73-4ae84c6802d4","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"In my daily life, I find inspiration in visual arts. I believe that visual arts and digital product design are intrinsically connected, with each influencing and inspiring another. Visual arts appears in various forms, such as paintings, drawings, and photography, which all heavily emphasize creativity, aesthetics, and storytelling. These artistic disciplines provide a rich source of inspiration for digital product designers like me. Principles of product design such as composition, colour theory, and visual hierarchy are also learned from visual arts. They can all be applied in digital product design to create engaging user interfaces. \n\nTo me, visual arts can compel designers to explore outside the box and think of unconventional ideas, which fosters innovation and pushes the boundaries of traditional design norms. \n\n"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"Try: https://billgong.notion.site/billgong/Designing-Digital-Menus-for-Restaurants-in-the-GTA-15d80629c9c64153ae049ce8411a580e\n\nIn summer 2022, I co-founded my own tech-business, Kiwii. Kiwii is a digital menu building business for restaurants in the GTA, where I was involved in design, user research, user testing, and front-end prototyping. Kiwii's menus are designed using Figma and built using React or Dart. They can be accessed through a QR code scan, which removes the need for paper menus at restaurants. With my contribution, I secured 5 partnerships with restaurants in the GTA and obtained $1700 in revenue within the very first month of launch. One of the restaurants that Kiwii partnered with was Lil'Pot, which was the most popular hotpot restaurant in Kitchener, Waterloo. Seeing my work lead to real results made me incredibly excited about software design and its potential to create meaningful change in the world. ","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"5","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Describe the type of research methods you prefer to use. What would you consider to be your main methods of expertise?","response":"Usability testing and pilot sessions are by far my favourite research methods because I believe it provides the most valuable insights into user experience. It allows me to observe firsthand how users interact with a product, uncovering pain points, areas of confusion, and opportunities for improvement. I personally enjoy any UX research method that interacts with users themselves. The direct feedback and qualitative data obtained from usability testing provide actionable insights, allowing me to make informed design iterations and create more intuitive and user-friendly experiences.\n\nDuring my time as a UI/UX designer at the Ontario Government, I conducted multiple sessions of usability testing. Feel free to read more about my experience regarding UX research.\n\nTry: https://billgong.notion.site/billgong/Designing-AI-Chatbot-for-Ontario-s-Internal-Communication-Platform-4cc01688a151487d8583ce5db20129ff "}],"role":"User Experience Researcher"}],"secondChoiceRole":"User Experience Researcher","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I will be working in Eastern Standard Time next term."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Homelessness in the streets of Downtown Toronto has become normalized in recent years. Since Toronto's budget fails to address this crisis adequately, many individuals—including children—are left with nowhere to go. Since 2021, there have been over 7,000 homeless people in Toronto at any given time. \n\nThat's why I decided to organize an event called the \"Christmas Care Project,\" a community-driven fundraising event aimed to deliver balanced meals to the homeless population of Downtown Toronto. With the help of 50+ locally sourced volunteers, we helped deliver over 200+ meals to the homeless. We also delivered 150+ \"care packages,\" which included female hygiene products, sanitizer, masks, tissues, and energy bars. \n\nTry: https://www.linkedin.com/company/christmas-care-project/"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"In 2022, I co-founded the Markham Chapter of Medlife, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that partners with low-income communities in Latin America and Africa to improve their access to medicine. Over the course of one year, I constructed a team of over 60 active members to plan fundraisers, raise awareness, and host webinars to help struggling families gain access to hygiene products in Lima, Peru. \n\nMy primary responsibilities included planning meetings, designing promotional material, organizing due dates, and recruiting more members to join the organization. One fundraiser that I was particularly proud of was the \"Moving Mountains Campaign,\" where my team and I were able to raise over $1069 within two weeks. \n\nI know that UW Blueprint has many projects related to helping struggling individuals, such as \"Feeding Canadian Kids\" and \"Supportive Housing of Wloo.\" I hope to be a part of them if I do get the chance."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Technical Skill:\n\nDuring my time at Markville App Development, I was exposed to design tools such as Figma for the very first time. At the time, interface design and software functional design were very foreign concepts to me; I knew nothing about coding or wireframing. However, my extensive background in visual arts drew me into learning these design tools. \n\nMy initial approach to learning design on Figma was incorrect; I focused too heavily on the aesthetic side of a design. I wanted my designs to look as pretty as possible without thinking much about functionality. I used too many colours, fonts, and words. As I received guidance from upper years who provided feedback on my designs, I learned that the most important skill to develop as a designer is the ability to create a simple, minimal, and concise design. To this day, I create my Figma designs with user experience at the forefront, knowing that simple, minimal, and concise design is the best design to master. \n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688183852443},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"b56lu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Barton","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Lu","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff3486cd4-0e53-4d4b-93ba-2da4de1ea2c0?alt=media&token=71978dde-baae-4cd6-afe4-e318271850f5","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Frontend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"At DoctorCare, I was tasked with implementing correctors: algorithms that process an accounting number with several associated billing codes (which specify the services a doctor has provided to patients and therefore should be paid for) and error codes (which specify errors in the combination of billing codes). After processing, the error would be corrected. \n\nMy first step when approaching this was to look at existing code in the codebase and create a table of function calls, specifying arguments and files. Then, I created a list of classes and functions that needed to be implemented as well as questions to ask. \n\nThrough discussions, I realized that the issue was more complicated. To code the corrector, I needed to keep K30 codes, but change the K08 codes. However, the function calls I had analyzed only allowed you to change codes with errors. Only the K30 codes had the errors. To solve this, I created a duplicate of the claim with the new code and wrote off the old claim.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"From Bootcamp to Blueprint Night, Blueprint has collaborated with many clubs to offer enriching experiences to the Waterloo community. \n\nI propose that Blueprint partner with Tech+ to offer a semester-long Full Stack Bootcamp catered to beginner 1st and 2nd year students. UW Blueprint has a reputation for being competitive to get into. First year and second year students can be intimidated from applying as they may feel their skills are far too subpar. Moreover, it can be extremely hard for beginner students to know where to start and to motivate themselves to overcome the uncomfortably steep learning curves of programming. \n\nIn particular, I propose the bootcamp be based on Full Stack Open, a well-regarded online course that we can adapt into an in person offering. Each week would focus on one of Full Stack Open’s 14 weeks of content. To connect this further with Blueprint’s mission, we can incorporate real examples of how these coding principles have been used in social projects."}],"role":"External Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"External Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Time!"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I grew up in an elementary school where 90%+ of students were Chinese. Yet, I reply to my parents with pure English. I eat savory Chinese dishes without knowing their names. I mumble 邓丽君 songs because I do not understand the lyrics. I am Chinese, but I am not.\n\nMy embarrassment spurred me to explore what being Asian means. Inspired, I founded Red Pocket Magazine (RPM), an international literary magazine to amplify Asian diasporic voices.\n\nTo date, RPM has published 7 issues, 79 pieces, reached 2.5K+ followers on social media, and amassed 6K+ readers. For June 2020, we had a special issue and interviews with LGBTQ+ leaders. During the pandemic, RPM also launched Humanity Unmasked, a social media project for Asians to share their stories in a time of rising Asian hate.\n\nMost of all, I am so proud of the pieces that we have published. Impactful stories like a Chinese French girl recalling her mom eating weeds in the Cultural Revolution made me realize I am not alone. This work is needed. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am proud to be part of the community at Tech+, a student club that promotes DEI at Waterloo and uplifts the voices of marginalized communities in tech. \n\nAs a former Co-Director and current Student Advisor, I pushed for our All-Hands to incorporate strong DEI focuses through different activities and discussions. I started an initiative where each week, two students present DEI articles to everyone at All-Hands. Using my experience with Red Pocket navigating discussions about race relations, the model minority myth, racism, and representation, I brought an enthusiasm into Tech+ discussions about DEI.\n\nUnder my leadership, I have pushed key changes to make Tech+ more socially fulfilling for students. These include requiring almost all members to be in person starting from next semester, shortening the length of All-Hands, and making kudos a primary part of All-Hands.\n\nMost of all, I am so proud of seeing this community continually improve their knowledge of DEI and push for justice."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"When the entire world shut down in March 2020, I was left with a lot of time. (Especially because grade 12 marks couldn't go down! Thank god.) With this time, I decided I wanted to finally wipe the dust off the guitar that my parents bought me in grade 3, and actually learn how to play a chord or two. As a singer, I was motivated to learn it so that I could play guitar while singing. My initial approach to learning guitar was to first search up tutorials on the internet.\n\nI never completed it. \n\nWhile that may seem like a bad thing, I realized the best way for me to learn would be to learn enough so I could begin applying it immediately. Specifically, I would learn a song that I really wanted to sing, and that had a variety of basic chords. With this in mind, I learned \"Can't Help Falling in Love\", a classic. This was my philosophy: continuous, interactive practice until I could record one full take of the song."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"3 or more","timestamp":1688615966393},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"w3phung@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Winnie","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Phung","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Honours Arts and Business Co-op","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff4f541d8-beab-4742-b87d-22105163265b?alt=media&token=5f53ce45-daac-4dd5-9f58-27bffec653a8","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"I look for inspiration from my daily interactions with the people around me. I find that conversing with people always gives me new insights and perspectives on a topic that I never knew could be so in-depth. It helps me view things differently, and allows me to understand their wants and needs. For example, when my friends and I go out, they sometimes rant about something bothering them. Understanding their pain points inspire me to think about how that problem could be solved, or how I would reiterate the design to enhance their user experience. Slowly learning these different perspectives and needs allow me to incorporate their feedback into my own designs, too. It helps me think of different approaches to solve the problems I tackle, and allows me to be more considerate of the underrepresented groups I design for. After all, they will be a part of the user/consumer groups. Overall, the daily interactions I have gives me inspiration and helps me explore new solutions in my journey."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://www.winniephung.com/portfolio/ready-up","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EDT, Eastern Time Zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that strongly resonates with me is the advocacy of equity-focused designs. Growing up with Chinese immigrant parents, I always noticed their struggle when using products in Canada due to the language barrier. Although they could learn English, equity-focused designs would enrich the experience. Equity-focused design specifically considers underrepresented and excluded groups. For example, alternative text can be added to photos to make it more accessible for the visually-impaired, which produces the same outcome for able-bodied people; both groups will “see” the image. I strongly believe that designs should provide a good experience for whoever uses them, regardless of differences. When I am working on design projects, I always try to have at least three accessibility considerations, such as passing the WebIAM colour contrast test for better visibility. Equity-focused design promotes accessibility and can be achieved by taking consideration of these underrepresented groups."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I am proud to be in is the entrepreneur community at Waterloo. I believe that entrepreneurship is one of the ultimate forms of creativity, as original ideas branch into something more significant. What once was a problem that lessened the users’ experience has now been solved by an entrepreneurial idea or product made! The journey itself comes with a lot of benefits too, as more lessons are learned through ideation and testing. I find myself enjoying each step of the way when designing.\n\nI have engaged and contributed to this community through UW Entrepreneurship Society! Being the current VP Design of this club has allowed me to promote this environment through my designs. I also got the opportunity to help design “Project Janus”, where clubs and organizations create postings of their current entrepreneur projects and positions they need on their team. It creates an inclusive space where people are free to start projects with help or join existing ones to make a change."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I learned a new skill was when I was learning UX design. My motivation to learn UX was through my passion for art and interest in the applications I use everyday. My approach to learning began with reading explanation articles. I believed that learning the concepts and practices for UX design would enhance my current designs. I also watched a video about the UX design process, however, this became a problem because the video expected me to know UX concepts and software for prototyping. This sparked me to search for online courses instead. Specifically, courses that would assist me in the making of my first project, because I believe doing it helps you learn quicker. After comparing some options, I found the Google UX Design Professional Certificate courses. While I may have a stronger understanding of the concepts and whole process, the biggest takeaway I got was that the joy of UX design is that there are always improvements that can be made. I will always learn something new!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688607898257},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"maggielu0331@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"External Director","firstName":"Maggie","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Lu","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computing and Financial Management (BCFM)","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff565277d-b013-4c9e-a075-b7e802860aaa?alt=media&token=fdd764ec-b844-46b3-9b9c-4863a9c1270c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"The more, the merrier! Let’s reach out to a new audience by collaborating with a non-profit like the Canadian Disability Foundation. Blueprint’s “accessibility” mission can have more than one meaning - ability and disability affects user experience online. A seminar (called “Dimensions to Design”) on different accommodations for various auditory, tactile, and visual barriers will introduce students to new perspectives and foster social inclusion. We ourselves can embody this by teaching students how to implement larger text settings, colour blindness palettes, text-to-speech, and text highlighting.\n\nIt’s an ambitious idea that I’ve got experience with. As a part of the non-profit Passionfruit Youth, I collaborated with the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy to raise awareness as well as $840 in donations from middle school students. We held a week-long speaker seminar and Minecraft build event where students recreated animals, bird feeders, and habitats. Check it out: linktr.ee/maggie_lu"}],"role":"External Director"},{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"Continuous learning! Given the nature of Blueprint and Waterloo, new skills in the workplace will be useful for members years and years on. \n\nLearning may mean shadowing experienced members, hosting training sessions, and compiling resources like an advanced bootcamp. To further set up a target for growth, members should take initiative and lead small parts of projects, and have their achievements recognized with org awards (like “Biggest Hypeman” or member shoutouts).\n\nCommunication and transparency will also be par for the course, including feedback forms, roadmaps, and member involvement in decisions. Team building may mean holding short icebreakers at the start of each meeting, having small org-sponsored coffee chats at coffee shops, and org-wide gaming sessions.\n\nI’ve also created some sample org mascots (anthropomorphic blueprints) for spirit and branded swag, similarly to PFY’s, an org I work for: linktr.ee/maggie_lu. There’s nothing like a common banner to unite people!"}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Internal Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern time (at Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Here’s something small but vital: our social bonds make the world go ‘round. I wasn’t always aware of this! Years back when I was Head of Social Media and PR for Youth Helping Youth Ontario, I faced the challenge of connecting with my team despite the pandemic. I tried unconventional methods and even resorted to the second page of Google results for \"zoom bonding activities.\"\n\nDuring stints in other orgs, I’d learned that team members love to know that we see their effort and we appreciate what they do. I adapted that knowledge into something everyone could apply: in our Slack, I revamped the “kudos” channel. Members tag and openly shoutout team members for something fantastic they do. Get kudos, give kudos! We suddenly had over thirty messages a week with huge praise for ourselves, our friends, and our work.\n\nIt indeed made a world of difference for YHYO. First hand, I now know and advocate that our bonds mean success both in life and in doing what we do best: helping the community."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"When I was a newly minted Vice President of the non-profit Youth Helping Youth Ontario, I faced an issue. We’d prided ourselves on being an online hub for volunteering and event opportunities. However, the return to in-person meant our metrics had dropped, our analytics returned disheartening trends, and our team was scratching our heads at a loss. To fix this, I led the Fall 2022 round of recruitment and personally saw it through from the beginning to the end. Schedules for graphics, storyboards for promo videos, and sheaves of paper for flyers were organised under my direction. I held solo meet & greets, coffee chats, and a slew of formal interviews to get to know our member candidates. My core team implemented a plan for the new talent, where we spruced up old guides and delegated experienced members to be shadowed by our new YHYO family members. With this structure, we quickly found our rhythm as a well-oiled information machine. Now, I’m President - and ready to pass on the torch."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Maybe if you’re like me, you love Costco samples because insight before a commitment is important. To provide a sample of what my work could look like at Blueprint, I’ve put together an Instagram account: linktr.ee/maggie_lu\n\nTo do so, I had to learn how to emulate Blueprint’s social media. I put the posts under a magnifying glass: I looked at the corporate memphis art style, the way the background logos interlock in the feed, the desaturated colour palette, and the caption writing style. As far as Google searches went, no dice on internet results for the graphics - so I improvised and lifted the people and logos from screen grabs of the posts, which I also modified. I found fonts through online font finders. By colour-dropping, looking at the pages of other chapters, and brainstorming everything related to blueprints for puns, I had a pretty good approximation with a few of my own twists!\n\nJust like how I’ll disguise myself to get more Costco samples, I always go the extra mile!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688613158198},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"mkgmahra@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Moaz","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Mahran","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"CS/BBA","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff65f1c17-386f-42d8-bbeb-21d70fba6ac8?alt=media&token=86531209-ee40-41f3-861b-43815a875205","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In my previous co-op experience, I primarily focused on automation tasks. While we had existing scripts and systems for most of our products and services, I encountered a unique challenge when we had to automate newly installed equipment. This particular project involved setting up a new model of pumps in a building that was purchasing our Building Automation System. The process involved two main aspects: planning the automation strategy and writing the code to implement it. To begin, we held a meeting where we discussed and determined the desired behavior of the equipment, guided by my manager. Each team member then individually created sample code that aligned with the desired outcome. Later, we regrouped to consolidate all the code into a single, efficient program. To ensure consistent performance, we conducted regression testing on the code, evaluating its behavior across various scenarios, including edge cases.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"It's challenging to pick a single favorite product, but if I were to choose, ChatGPT stands out as an exceptional innovation. Its groundbreaking capabilities in the field of natural language processing have captured my interest and admiration. Witnessing the transformative potential of ChatGPT has ignited my curiosity and fueled my passion for exploring the realms of machine learning and large language models. The ability of ChatGPT to generate human-like responses and engage in meaningful conversations has not only impressed me but has also opened my eyes to the vast possibilities in enhancing user experiences and driving meaningful interactions. I am constantly fascinated by the advancements in this technology and eagerly look forward to further immersing myself in the world of machine learning and exploring new frontiers alongside the dynamic landscape of large language models."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Waterloo, ON"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"As a computer science student, I strongly believe in the importance of using our gifts and opportunities to make a positive impact on others. It is not only fulfilling but also essential to direct our knowledge and skills towards causes beyond our personal benefit. The concept of selfless giving resonates deeply with me, and that is why I decided to apply to Blueprint. Through this platform, I aspire to contribute the knowledge and experiences gained from my computer science studies to support nonprofit causes. By leveraging technology and my skills, I aim to help people without any expectations of personal gain, solely driven by the desire to make a difference in their lives."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take immense pride in my involvement with the Salam Neighbour community, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness about Islam and addressing Islamophobia. For nearly two years, I had the privilege of serving as the marketing team lead, where my responsibilities encompassed managing social media platforms, hosting and organizing events, and enlightening people about the true essence of Islam. More recently, I transitioned within the marketing department, assuming a key role in spearheading the development of a new website for Salam Neighbour. Collaborating with a team of four exceptional and talented developers, I am excited to contribute my skills and expertise to create an impactful online presence for the organization."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During a group trip, I discovered the game of Spikeball and felt a strong desire to actively participate rather than spectate from the sidelines. Determined to join in the fun, I embarked on a learning journey. Initially, I observed the gameplay attentively, carefully studying the movements of the players. This allowed me to grasp the rules and intricacies of the game. To further enhance my skills, I engaged in practice matches, gradually honing my abilities. With persistence and dedication, I eventually gained the confidence and competence to actively partake in real game sessions. Now, whenever I play Spikeball, I feel self-assured and capable, enjoying the experience to the fullest."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688156653543},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"j23singh@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Designer","firstName":"Jeevsidak","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Singh","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff69cf7dc-50d8-4376-a28f-e5efb24d8945?alt=media&token=198fae25-af23-4c7a-9f78-ed9afe831b8c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"This may seem obvious as I am a Computer Science major, and coders tend to 'steal' from other coders, but I tend to look for inspiration in other people's work. As I like to follow the motto \"If it ain't broke, don't fix it\". Thus I believe that combining others' ideas can help me create a great idea of my own. By adding to existing work, changing it, and adding my own touch I can create and develop great projects. "},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"This is a link to my Github: https://github.com/JeevsidakSingh. \nHere you will find all of my projects (which are also linked on my resume).","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"},{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"To build alignment among developers for a standardized code repository:\n\n- Communicate benefits: Emphasize collaboration, efficiency, and code quality improvements, saving time, knowledge sharing, and onboarding ease.\n- Address concerns: Create a safe space for feedback, listen actively, and provide examples of successful implementations.\n- Collaborative decision-making: Involve project leads in shaping the repository's structure and guidelines, forming cross-functional teams, and engaging key stakeholders.\n- Pilot projects: Conduct small-scale implementations, highlight positive outcomes, and gather feedback for refinement.\n- Training and support: Provide training sessions, documentation, and ongoing support to assist developers during adoption.\n- Continuous improvement: Encourage feedback, incorporate suggestions, and recognize contributions to ensure the repository remains relevant."}],"role":"VP Engineering"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Climate change and saving the planet are causes that deeply resonate with me. As I witness the alarming consequences of environmental degradation, it ignites a passion within me to take a stand and make a difference. Nature has always been a source of solace and inspiration for me, reminding me of the interconnectedness of all living beings. I feel a profound sense of responsibility to protect and restore our planet. The urgency to address climate change compels me to take action on both personal and collective levels. I am committed to adopting sustainable practices in my everyday life, reducing my carbon footprint, and advocating for environmental policies and initiatives."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Growing up as a Sikh in Canada, I always felt different. Being the only kid with a turban made it quite difficult to find people to relate to. Although it was difficult, I stayed true to my roots and was always proud of my heritage. Eventually, this rubbed off on my classmates and the hate and bullying turned into curiosity and friendships. As I grew older and got to high school, I realized that I wasn't the only one who had to go through this, there were numerous others just like me. Thus I started volunteering at my local Gurdwara (a Sikh temple) as a Punjabi teacher, this allowed me to act as a role model for other children who were facing the same situations that I went through as a child. I would teach these kids to be proud of their heritage and speak their mother tongue; showing them that you could combine Western and Eastern cultures, allowing them to educate others as well."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I like to play a lot of sports. Whether that be basketball, soccer, or even football, I just like to be active. Thus I tend to dabble in new areas of athletics quite often. And whenever I try a new sport, I have to learn new skills (although many skills are transferable, most sports have specific skills you must excel at). For example, I recently learned how to play spike ball and had to learn all the rules and skills associated with it. When I first tried to hit the ball, I completely missed the net and all my friends laughed at me, but I didn't give up and kept trying. I was motivated by the possibility of getting quite good at the game and being able to have competitive games with others and being able to trash talk my friends. My competitive nature kept me from quitting and I eventually did get better at spiking the ball on the net. Now my friends and I do have competitive games on a regular basis, and I achieved my goal of being good enough to talk smack while playing."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687748253304},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3A","email":"z335zhu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Ziming","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Zhu","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff7065fc6-9aa4-4241-b01a-1bb3fdb405b3?alt=media&token=81138bf6-47d4-410f-9333-9cb1d9fe6c3f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I was working on one of the company's websites during my first co-op term. I need to upgrade the front-end framework from AngularJS to Angular and update the back-end services apis. I had not worked with C# .NET framework before that work term and had lot's of issue creating RESTful api and using the company's library. The first thing I did was to go to the .NET official documentation to watch the tutorial videos and had a basic understanding of the language and the framework. Then I asked other colleagues how they improve their knowledge in technology, and they recommended Udemy lessons. After quickly watching several tutorials, I was able to solve most of the issues. Then I reached out to my manager when I met difficulties. I was finishing the task and learning the framework at the same time. I was able to complete websites by myself after that tasks and I think the experience taught me how to solve technical issues.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"I was the volunteer team leader in Chinese cultural center and we organized several activities each year. My responsibility is to coordinate with team members to assign work and make daily schedule. I am able to corporate with other people to ahcieve best efficiency and make proper devision for the team."}],"role":"Project Lead"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Lead","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Pacific Daylight Saving Time (PST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"After checking the blueprint's website and social media, I am really interested in the project that the blueprint is working on. I like working with non-profit organizations to improve their capability of helping people. I feel it would be exciting to apply concepts learned in university to the real world and provide support."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am in the Calgary and Alberta Chinese cultural community and I am really proud to be one of the members. We had several activities throughout the year and I am in the volunteer team. I am the team leader to organize new year events and help other volunteers to schedule their work."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I learned percussion during high school. I was always interested in drums and keyboards and I got a chance to join the school band as a percussionist. I first started with very simple music and gradually got to know all the instruments, then I started harder ones and found music that I am interested in online. I met lots of difficulties when I started to learn percussion, I first did research online and found solutions to the problem, and I never hesitated to ask the band director. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688076271030},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"c63zhang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Carolyn","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Zhang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff803fcfa-0ac8-4ac2-967d-e0fb4f1b7b53?alt=media&token=15e831af-3f52-419a-bfc0-4c0ede3e0686","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Like many, I had a huge Wordle phase last year and would play the game daily. A mix of curiosity, boredom, and eagerness to put into practice the C++ I was learning at the time led me to decide to try to develop an algorithm to solve Wordle.\nI began with a mildly effective brute-force algorithm that merely filtered through the list of Wordle words. It was only when I started looking into information theory and predictive modeling, as suggested by the many YouTube videos and blog posts I consumed, that I started developing a more robust strategy. One of the biggest hurdles I faced along the way was the slowness of data collection and model testing―I was iterating through a fairly large dataset (thousands of words) and performing many operations for each word! To solve this problem, I used memoization to store state information and speed up the process. In the end, through plenty of perseverance, I eventually got to a Wordle solver that averages 3.49 guesses to win! Better than me :D","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"I’ll be in Eastern Time :)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"It’s no revelation that women are vastly outnumbered in STEM―especially in computer science, where women only account for 20% of bachelor’s degrees. The root causes of this issue are deeply ingrained in society, beginning as early as preschool where teachers’ own implicit biases can lead to unequal opportunities for boys and girls.\nGrowing up, I was fortunate to have strong female role models to look up to. My high school computer science teacher―a woman―instilled my passion for programming and always encouraged me to take on tough challenges and believe in my abilities. Later on, my friend and I founded a Women in STEM club at our high school to bring together and provide resources for other STEM-focused girls, with events ranging from Q&As with alumni to career presentations. Being able to make a difference in a cause that matters so deeply to me was immensely rewarding, and I look forward to bringing the same level of dedication to developing projects for social good at Blueprint!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I’ve been a part of Computer Science Club’s Events Team since the beginning of my 1A term. Through this community, I’ve met some of my closest friends and mentors, learned to effectively work with others to meet deadlines, and put together some pretty cool events 😎 The most rewarding event I organized was definitely W23 Bootcamp, where I coordinated with several UW tech clubs (including Blueprint :)) to put together a multi-day resume review and mock interview event. I wanted to go one step further that term and make an even bigger impact: I knew how nervous all my 1B peers and I felt entering our very first co-op search, so I put together \"Co-op Masterclass\", a presentation and Q&A event where upper-year speakers with plenty of co-op experience shared the strategies and knowledge they’d accumulated along the way. I was thrilled to see the level of engagement throughout the event, and it was incredibly rewarding to hear attendees gush about how beneficial the event I organized was!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"I first started learning full stack web development when I bought myself an online course (as a Christmas gift :)), hoping to learn skills for co-ops and hackathons. I watched hundreds of lessons, reviewing the basics (HTML, CSS, JS) and learning new libraries/frameworks like Bootstrap, Express, and React. As I got deeper into the course, I couldn’t help but imagine all the possibilities unlocked by the new skills I was learning―and this only motivated me to learn more. A particular project my learning inspired me to get started on was a meal prepping app to help reduce household food waste. This project became a positive feedback loop for learning: as I dreamed up new features, I also faced real-time problems, which led me to search for and learn from tutorials and bug fixes (thanks Stack Overflow!). My top goal right now is to learn as many new software skills as I can―and Blueprint is just the place to do that, with so much experience to gain through working on a project team!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688091140712},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"e222wong@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Ernest","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Wong","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science and Business Administration","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff81d9787-16c0-4b7d-96e1-719f488e0c3a?alt=media&token=a0ff53dc-8b0f-45c2-b459-6ab8400c19c4","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging problem I’ve recently worked on was a project for my internship at Bloomberg. My task was to build a system to recommend trading workflows to clients. What made this problem challenging was its open-ended nature. I wasn’t guided towards a specific approach, and in fact our team wasn’t even sure if there was an effective solution. Subsequently, I used a statistically based approach to determine which solutions were most effective and how to improve them. Some factors I considered were accuracy, efficiency and scalability. I evaluated multiple solutions, both heuristic and machine learning based, and slowly iterated each one to determine the most effective solution. In the end, I implemented an LSTM model which analyzed a user’s trading behavior to determine effective workflows. I faced many challenges such as processing raw data and scaling my system to work on millions of orders. This experience taught me how to systematically approach open-ended technical problems.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that holds great significance to me is access to quality education. I strongly believe that a society's progress and prosperity are intrinsically linked to the quality of its education system. I was first exposed to this problem during high school when I devoted numerous hours to tutoring students at our school’s math club. Through this experience, I witnessed the transformative impact of personalized education, not only in terms of improved academic performance but also overall happiness. The satisfaction of providing these opportunities to students was immensely fulfilling. This experience led me to also channel my passion for software development towards addressing this challenge. I developed an application that connected 500 students with tutors across Canada. I hope that I can continue to contribute to this space, whether through meaningful projects, such as Blueprint’s work with Project Read, or continuing to share my knowledge with the people I work with."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that has become an integral part of my life that I’m proud to be a part of is Waterloop. What makes me passionate about the team is both the extraordinary individuals I work with and the complex yet gratifying challenge we strive to overcome. As the lead of the firmware team, I feel that my greatest contribution wasn’t the projects I've worked on, but the mentorship I've been able to provide. Over the course of two terms as lead, I’ve enjoyed onboarding new members, aiding them in grasping complex concepts and helping them foster meaningful connections with other team members. As a team lead, my goal has been to make Waterloop as good an experience as it was for me. I’ve been dedicated to facilitating opportunities for members to acquire new skills, meet interesting people, and work on problems that ignite their passion. In all, I love being a part of Waterloop because it’s provided me with so many opportunities to learn, mentor and contribute to a meaningful problem space."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"My passion for improving access to education led me to create a mobile app that connected students with tutors. When starting out, I had only worked with web dev, but I felt that a mobile app would be more accessible for the demographic. As such, I embarked on a journey to learn mobile dev with the aim of making my vision a reality. My approach was to learn the basics, build smaller projects, and finally work towards the final app. I delved into many tutorials and interacted with online groups to gain new insights. I faced many obstacles throughout the process, such as when I chose the tech stack I wanted to learn. Flutter, a cross-platform language, had much less support when compared to other frameworks, but was much more efficient since I could build for both platforms simultaneously. Rather than being deterred, I viewed these obstacles as opportunities for growth and problem-solving. This project has led me to seek new opportunities and developed my interest for mobile development."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688600979086},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"Finished 1B (Coop term)","email":"rachelheo455@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Rachel","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Heo","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff8527bb5-1382-426a-a9ba-11520938da01?alt=media&token=b6c1a432-0053-442a-b81c-ae86d147983c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"In my previous role as a project developer, I encountered a challenging technical problem related to the test bench I was using. The test bench was constantly being updated and modified by multiple teams, leading to productivity delays in my tasks that relied on it. Various teams were working on debugging the bootloader, FPGA, firmware, and other components, making it crucial for everyone to use the most up-to-date versions. To address this, I proposed a solution to my product manager, suggesting of a better plan to utilize the version control system for the test bench's codebase. By fully utilizing branching and merging techniques, each team could work independently and integrate their changes once stable. Additionally, I recommended the adoption of automated testing and continuous integration practices to ensure stability and early issue detection.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product is a productivity application called Todo mate. Though this may be another average to-do list app, to-do mate allows me and my friends to share and interact with each other's to-do lists. This feature provides a sense of accountability and motivation, as I receive notifications about my friends' completed tasks. This peer pressure effect inspires me to stay focused and productive. Todo Mate's social element made me realize the power of human connection and support in driving productivity. Thus thanks to Todo mate and my friends, I am able to continue to thrive in a motivating environment with boosted productivity."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"People with disabilities. My little cousin has autism and I have seen him grow up facing difficulties in learning, hardships with his social life, and him having difficulties coming to terms with himself. I have always been there for him and supported him however I can and with the love and support, he was able to become a more confident extraordinary child. Witnessing his struggles and triumphs has fueled my passion for supporting individuals with disabilities and enabling them to overcome challenges. I believe in fostering empathy, understanding, and acceptance within society, and I am committed to creating a more inclusive and compassionate world for everyone. I have learned that small acts of kindness and support can make a significant impact on the lives of people with disabilities. To further pursue my passion for this cause, I have been part of a charity that supports children with disabilities for 2 years as an executive member."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in being a member of the Korean church community, especially considering the challenges I faced as a Korean immigrant who had to relocate total of 10 times throughout my life. The warm embrace and support I received from this community helped me adjust to the new foreign country and find a sense of belonging. This community also helped me to stay connected with my Korean heritage, providing a valuable link to my roots. One of the ways I actively contributed to this community was through my involvement as a singer in the worship team for over four years. Being part of the worship team enabled me to express my faith, uplift the spirits of fellow church members, and foster a sense of unity during our gatherings. I brought people together through this unity as well as welcome new comers with Korean worship songs they are familiar to. I am grateful to be part of such a community that has had a profound impact on my journey."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Reflection. Throughout my life in high school, I rarely had time alone. Go to school with friends. Chillax at home with family. Time went by so fast every day. After I started university, I had a difficult time adapting to the new environment with new people and no one I knew from before as I moved across the country from BC. Alongside, I had imposter syndrome seeing so many talented students. To sum up, during my transition to university, I experienced a sense of isolation and self-doubt. To overcome these challenges, I recognized the need for self-reflection. I set aside dedicated time to contemplate my goals, values, and aspirations. Through journaling and introspection, I gained clarity about my strengths, weaknesses, and areas for growth. Taking a proactive approach, I seek for resources and opportunities to develop new skills. Attending events and workshops, self-learning coding, and participating in extracurricular activities helped me build confidence and overcome feelings o"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687928083851},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"s3passi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Sameer","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Passi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff89e3ace-f0d8-4989-a9eb-a5bb916885be?alt=media&token=fd5c51b1-13f6-4282-8160-f5d9dccced82","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During a previous co-op, I encountered a challenging technical problem while developing an end-to-end service that handled messages and data transmission during scheduled maintenance or unexpected shutdown periods of our company's product. Initially, I relied on Lambda functions for this task. However, during testing, I discovered that this approach was excessively costly. To find an alternative solution, I delved into AWS documentation. I explored options such as scheduling Lambda functions or delaying their execution. Unfortunately, these approaches did not suit our needs since the shutdowns could be unexpected or longer than the maximum Lambda delay. Fortunately, my research led me to discover Step Functions. By utilizing Lambda functions to detect shutdowns in the system, I could leverage Step Functions to retrieve and store the data until the shutdown period ended. Once the system confirmed the completion of the shutdown, the stored data would be sent for further processing.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favourite product would have to be Beats headphones. Being a music lover, these headphones have become an integral part of my daily life. Whether I'm working, studying, or working out, they're always with me. The noise-canceling feature also really helps me with my focus, something I sometimes struggle with. The versatility of Beats headphones allows me to seamlessly transition between different activities. They have truly become an essential product that enhances my overall productivity and enjoyment throughout the day."}],"role":"Product Manager"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Manager","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (Waterloo)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"I am deeply passionate about advocating for the rights of people with disabilities and promoting accessibility. This cause holds a special place in my heart because my aunt was a quadriplegic, and I witnessed firsthand the challenges she faced in her daily life. I believe that everyone, regardless of their abilities, should have equal opportunities and access to resources. I am committed to fighting for improved treatment and inclusivity for people with disabilities, making the world a more accessible place for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I take great pride in being part of the Indian community while also embracing my Canadian identity. I am grateful for the way Canada has welcomed my family and provided us with opportunities for a better quality of life and access to superior healthcare. As a member of this diverse community, I have actively contributed by organizing cultural events and celebrations. I have also volunteered at local community centres, assisting newcomers in their settlement process. Through these efforts, I aim to foster unity, bridge cultural gaps, and celebrate the rich heritage of my Indian roots within the Canadian context."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Learning new skills has always been an exciting journey for me. One notable experience was when I took up a co-op job that required proficiency in Amazon Web Services (AWS), an area where I had limited experience. To prepare, I dedicated my break between school and the start of the co-op to educate myself on the various AWS applications, such as Lambda and DynamoDB, by watching numerous instructional videos. Once the work began and I had access to an AWS account, I spent extensive time during the first week and many late nights practicing and experimenting with different services. By challenging myself and persistently seeking improvement, I gradually became proficient in using AWS, ensuring I was well-equipped to fulfill my responsibilities during the co-op."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688571914864},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"3B","email":"a364gupt@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Anoushka","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Gupta","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ff9421dd1-a220-44a9-8430-f31b46155908?alt=media&token=513d96cd-faae-4163-8e24-19b8bdf03bb9","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Frontend","Backend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"I previously faced the challenge of poor code quality in a production application. The product was recently acquired and hence the previous owner used to outsource their features to a lot of developers around the globe. As a result, there was a lot of different styles of codes and redundancy functions and classes.\n Therefore, to make the codebase consistent with the current company code practices, I conducted a thorough code review, identified key issues, and prioritised refactoring based on impact. Following best practices, I improved code readability, modularity, and reduced duplication. Rigorous testing and open communication with the team ensured stability and alignment with project goals. Documenting the process facilitated future maintenance. The refactoring significantly enhanced stability, performance, and maintainability, reducing development time and effort. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"One of the causes that resonates with me is promoting equal access to technology and digital literacy.n As a web developer, I have witnessed the power of digital platforms in providing education, connectivity, and empowerment. Hence, I make a conscious effort to prioritise creating inclusive and accessible web solutions, implementing web standards and responsive design. I have participated and volunteer in WWCode events and hosted a workshop for Mathsoc to create more awareness about different opportunities. My goal is to make a meaningful impact in creating a more inclusive and equitable digital landscape for all."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I'm proud to be part of the Frontend Mentor community. As a web developer, I actively contribute by completing frontend challenges, providing constructive feedback to fellow members, and engaging in the forum discussions. I share my expertise, offer solutions, and encourage others to learn and grow alongside me. Through my contributions, I help create a supportive and collaborative environment that fosters continuous learning and skill development among aspiring frontend developers."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my third co-op, I encountered a project that required working with Three.js, a powerful 3D visualization library. Recognizing its importance, I dedicated a weekend to gaining an in-depth understanding of Three.js.\n\nI extensively researched Three.js, studying official documentation, online tutorials, and examples. With this knowledge, I embarked on hands-on practice, building projects of increasing complexity. Starting with simple scenes, I gradually incorporated lighting, materials, animations, and interactivity to create immersive visualizations.\n\nThis gave me a boost at work to understand the pre-existing codebase of the visualiser as well as to built newer features."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688483776743},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"s42zhu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"VP Finance & Operations","firstName":"Sophia","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Zhu","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Math/BBA","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffc034a0d-6929-479d-bdc9-9d328a97b2d2?alt=media&token=99d1ab45-e1d0-4c5d-93ad-3b28c9cceba1","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"13","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How would you pitch to external organizations for sponsorship?","response":"I approach sponsorships with one core thought: “How can I add value?” and use it to build a sponsorship deck.\n \n1. Blueprint - I’ll highlight our mission of social good, share our values, and how we’re unique. \n2. We’re Worth It - Now, the sponsor is going “Hey, this Blueprint fella seems interesting!”. So, I’ll showcase our past projects, emphasizing our successes. We want to gain their trust as we show them how we’ve added value to our local communities. \n3. Benefits - At this point, the company thinks “Blueprint ain’t that bad!”. So, to reel them in, I’ll emphasize how they can align with positive change and support our work by giving us monetary or in-kind sponsorships. I’ll explain what perks they’ll receive, whether that's their logo on our website or a swag bag. Sponsorships should provide value to both parties, as well as our clients. \n4. Thank you! - Lastly, thank them and ask them to imagine how their sponsorship can help Blueprint’s endeavors to improve our local communities"}],"role":"VP Finance & Operations"},{"id":"14","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"How do you know whether a non-profit has a goal that resonates with Blueprint?","response":"When looking at Blueprint’s mission statement, several key phrases that stand out: \n\n1. Making technology more accessible and useful\nThey must have a technological goal, as that’s where our expertise lies. Furthermore, this goal must align with our internal resources: Is the task feasible for developers? Do we have the bandwidth? Is the scope of the goal reasonable?\nIn addition, we should ensure that the best solution for their goal incorporates technology out of necessity, rather than grandeur. After all, Blueprint prides itself on high-quality and high-impact work, not ‘work for the sake of work’. \n2. Create communities and promote public welfare\nWe need to ensure the company’s goal positively impacts our local community—the more impactful, the better! We also need to check the company. Do they have a history of positive change? What actions have they already taken to solve their problems? We want to align ourselves with other companies that also value social welfare! "}],"role":"VP Project Scoping"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Project Scoping","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Whenever your mental health goes haywire, the experience can be summed up with 2 words: It sucks. I’m no stranger to it. In fact, with the crushing pressure of academics and uncertainty of the future, I doubt anybody is.\n\nHowever, that shouldn’t be normal. Kids shouldn’t be struggling to wake up. Students shouldn’t have to wait months to see a therapist. Adults shouldn’t doubt their self-worth over job applications. \n\nThat’s why the Ontario Structure Psychotherapy Program’s cause resonates with me. It allows adults to receive free short-term cognitive behavioral therapy, connecting patients with certified psychotherapists. \n\nAlthough it doesn’t solve the issue, it provides an important opportunity for those who are actively seeking help! It’s a free and reliable way to receive professional therapy, significantly reducing the entry barriers when searching for a solution. Most importantly, It gives people hope for a happier future—one where they don’t need to struggle alone. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I’m part of is called Asian Wander Women (AWW). It’s a Facebook community to inspire and connect Asian and female (to-be) digital nomads. I joined because I wanted to see what digital nomadism is like and whether this lifestyle would be a good fit for me. \n\nAt first, I contributed through rare and random questions. However, when I stumbled upon a volunteer position to help with AWW’s social media, I jumped at the opportunity. \n\nAfter a few months, I transitioned to become a community moderator, Event Lead for the AWW Buildathon, and later the Content Lead—my favorite role. Here, I managed the “AWW Spotlight” series, interviewing AWW members and asking them about travel, nomadism, and remote work. It was so fascinating to see how people pursued authenticity! Currently, I’m working as Sponsorship Lead for AWW’s Summit. \n\nMy time at AWW has been so fun—I’ve met so many women that inspire me to pursue my dreams—and I hope I’m a part of the community for the years to come!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"One skill I’m learning is flipping a coin over my knuckles. It’s normal to think “Wow! Why?” In response, I’ll say: \n1. It sounds cool \n2. I’m curious about it. Curiosity drives my decisions and encourages me to learn about the world. I use it as a lens to explore my environment, poking and prodding for more information. \n3. Flipping a coin prevents me from biting my nails. I hope to use this skill as a stepping stone to removing bad habits and taking opportunities to improve myself!\n\nTo learn this skill, I first researched. What information was already on YouTube? Next, I spent time breaking down the steps. How should I go about learning to make it more efficient? What common mistakes did people make? Then, I practiced. At home, when I was bored, whenever. It’s consistent practice that really matters, like practicing for 20 minutes each day, rather than 1.5 hours on one day. Lastly, I recorded myself for a more objective view, helping me improve. There’s always more to strive for!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1687963860808},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"4A","email":"sasaraf@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Lead","firstName":"Shivam ","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Saraf","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffc351d09-972b-4ef8-9152-af99a6bebadd?alt=media&token=c11f2c4b-3a99-4712-8499-6414bf363685","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"4","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During the Winter of 2023, I had the wonderful opportunity to intern as a Software Engineering Intern at Cockroach Labs. During the scope of this internship, I worked on implementing forward indexes on JSON columns in Cockroach DB. In contrast to all of my other technical experiences, the biggest challenge with this project was that none of my team members had certainty over the right way of solving this problem. It was solely up to me to research on the way other databases, such as Postgres, solved this problem for the purpose of putting forward an idea which could be implemented and agreed upon by the entire engineering organization at the firm. This saw me read several research papers as well as interacting with the open source community before I finally stumbled across a low level solution. The solution required me to rethink and redesign how JSON objects were stored in the binary format and I was able to deduce a mapping on which a lexicographical ordering was implemented!","uniqueId":1},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a past experience working with other people where you demonstrated leadership.","response":"I had the amazing opportunity of being a Project Lead at Coffee 'N Code during my 1B term at the University of Waterloo. During my first few months at the University, I noticed an omnipresent stigma around the world of programming. Most non STEM students viewed programming as a practice which was super difficult and unattainable without having prior experience in the field. With an aim to teach programming to my peers having little or no experience, I started a Python workshop. This workshop spanned over 14 weeks and witnessed over 100 people tuning in during each weekly session. The course was designed in a way which was beginner friendly and also consisted of introductions to some of the most important concepts. Most students, towards the end of this crash course, were also able to develop a game of their own choice in the `turtle` graphics package provided by Python. Upon receiving feedback on this workshop, it was found that most peers now felt comfortable to code!"}],"role":"Project Lead"},{"id":"8","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Consider this hypothetical scenario: Blueprint is thinking of creating a standardized code repository for new projects to build off of. This idea has both supporters and detractors among the project leads. In bullet points, explain how you would build alignment among developers. Please state any assumptions or details as necessary.","response":"1. As a starter, I would love to conduct an engineering all-hands where I break the ice and propose the idea about creating a standardized code repository. After sharing my own viewpoints, I would love to open the panel for any questions and comments for the purpose of creating discussions between engineers present on the call.\n2. After gathering all the feedback from the call, I would love to understand the overall consensus with regards to the scenario at hand. \n3. In the event that there is a majority for the motion of creating a repository, I would encourage the development of a prototype initially. Before complete migration, all developers would have access to this prototype which would bring further clarity if such a proposal is effective and feasible.\n4. Throughout the process, I would ensure that I keep on receiving feedback from all engineers present and shall also create an environment where fruitful technical discussions are fostered"}],"role":"VP Engineering"}],"secondChoiceRole":"VP Engineering","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Easter Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Having come from a humble financial background, I view myself as an extremely grateful person who is fortunate to have a shelter above my head, food to eat and water to drink. Having had the opportunity to reside in different Canadian cities since 2019, I have noticed that homelessness and general poverty has been on the rise. Even though I find myself complaining about the harsh winters in Ontario, I find it almost impossible to put myself in the shoes of those who live without basic necessities during these months of survival. Having said that, I strongly believe that having access to technology in the modern era is sufficient to kickstart a solution towards this pressing problem. This thought has inspired my interest in a community such as the one found at Blueprint where people, such as myself, believe that having access to technology can make an impact for the greater overall good. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"All throughout my life, the one thing that has stayed constant is my affection for various sports. Team sports, specifically, are something that I have always adored as they inculcate camaraderie almost instantaneously. One team sport that I have been playing for over five years has been soccer. During my current internship, I noticed that there was a large presence of soccer fans who loved the sport but did not play it due to a lack of a team. I was fortunate to have had the right number of people for taking the initiative to forming a team and registering for a local tournament. Every Sunday, the team gets together to play a tough game which goes on for 70 minutes. This has, in-turn, helped me meet many more soccer lovers, such as myself, and also break the ice between my coworkers in a very natural way. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"As someone who is always on the hunt for being a tad better each day, I recently developed an interest in understanding how I can improve my mental focus in daily activities. This led me to discover meditation and it's benefits. When I first started meditating, I severely underestimated the challenges that would come with it. The main aim of each 10 minute session is to clear your thoughts with the sole purpose of focusing on one's breathing. Having said that, my initial attempts saw my brain being clouded with random thoughts throughout each session. While this was frustrating, I actively chose to practice it every single day with an aim to better clear my mind during each successive session. Moreover, I actively researched on how experienced practitioners achieved excellence in this field and some of these findings have helped me become better at this practice. Conclusively, constant repetition despite the initial failures have helped me become better at meditation."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1687756977237},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"1A","email":"anantduggal05@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Anant","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Duggal","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science // Business Administration (Dual Degree)","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffca65fcc-8569-4da4-b1af-08d6964c1de0?alt=media&token=c970d6c7-3b48-4468-85fc-0c2bf8aa480f","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"Currently, I am working on a desktop application called \"Swift\" which aims to integrate machine learning and technological frameworks into a comprehensive repository of tools for developers. This innovative solution streamlines the onboarding process by automating various tasks, eliminating the need of user intervention. On the full-stack team, I am actively using electron.js with FastAPI, MongoDB & GCP to construct the application. However, this endeavour is not without challenges. Notably FastAPI being a relatively new framework, presents scalability issues and has a smaller user base, resulting in limited support on platforms like Stack Overflow. To address this, I successfully implemented flaskwebgui, an extension that allowed me to combine my existing knowledge of Flask. By harnessing the power of FastAPI's multithreading capabilities and mitigating scalability concerns, I effectively tackled resource-intensive tasks that would have otherwise led to delays when using Flask alone.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Over the past 4 years I have personally witnessed the inequities and injustices persisting within STEAM, especially towards women & marginalized communities. Progressing into a leadership position as the chair of SPARK which looked to provide accessible opportunities in the GTA, I amassed a team comprising over 70% women – 40% from diverse ethnicities in pursuit of gender equality. Under my guidance, we spearheaded an initiative known as a learnathon which sought to foster a union between education & STEAM. Particularly, we integrated technology, sustainability & the empowerment of minorities within the event, thereby showcasing their impact on our participants via presentations. Our learnathon attracted an array of Workshop Leads, Mentors & Speakers, most of whom were passionate women activists within the STEAM fields, sharing their projects to inspire those traversing similar paths. SPARK has grown towards equality involving more women & marginalized people, under my leadership."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As an avid developer on ROBLOX, I have actively contributed to a One Piece game for over 2 years. Being Head Management within the game, I have exposed myself to front-end development, utilizing visual effects & intricate 3D models to fashion interactive features that engross and captivate players. Also building robust back-end systems, I spearheaded the creation of a framework “Glue” that stands as the second-most optimized UI within the expansive platform, elevating the overall player experience.\n\nEmbracing my role as a leader, I’ve contributed to designing, implementing, and collaborating with like-minded individuals to forge roadmaps that expedite the game's progress. While leading 30 developers & 20 staff members, the game has achieved resounding success with over 60 million visits & 700 000 active members. With my active engagement in the game's development, I have played a pivotal role in driving the success & satisfaction of its players."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"With SHAD, I was exposed to environmental sustainability which urged me to uncover new skills to make an actionable change within the community. Being inspired by SHAD concepts such as researching, prototyping & pitching my design to a team of stakeholders, I furthered this and implement the goal we made into an actual application. Specifically, I recognized the social & environmental impact of poor disposal of chemicals in household items so, I designed a mobile app and implemented it using Flutter & Dart where I first used full-stack. The app was able to educate all age groups through app incentives “Bloo Points” on proper disposal & utilized APIs in finding the nearest disposal station of a given product. I took this a step further by using an online AR application & Tensorflow that displayed the product’s toxicity by scanning the product’s name. I aim to advance my experience in sparking social change by merging my passion for technology & social impact at UWBlueprint."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688183220522},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"m272xu@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Michelle","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Xu","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffd085edc-061b-44f3-9ea4-59c7c9713165?alt=media&token=d5e9a274-5076-4e8a-b9f4-a2f44ebb5f3e","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I encountered was a problem that was not initially relating to the project I was working. I was working on creating a new feature for a web application that would fetch and display a user's data from AWS DynamoDB. As I was working on this feature I noticed that there were occasions where not all of the data was being fetched from the queries. To solve this problem, I did my own investigation to gather information about the bug and its behavior. I then took this information to my coworkers to see if they had encountered the problem before, but they had not. From there, I did more research online and found information regarding pagination in DynamoDB which requires the use of of 'nextToken' parameter. Having discovered this, I was able to implement it into the project I was working on, as well as other queries across the application to provide future proofing and prevention of the bug that I ran into.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern time zone"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Encouraging more women, and especially young girls into the field of STEM is a cause that deeply resonates with me. Historically, women have been underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, facing numerous challenges and barriers. Breaking gender barriers and promoting equality in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, can help us to drive innovation by being exposed to a more diverse set of viewpoints and ideas. Empowering women in STEM not only promotes diversity and inclusivity but also fosters innovation, advances society, and paves the way for a more equitable future. This cause resonates with me as a women identifying individual working in the stem industry. I am often the sole female developer in a team and I would greatly like to see more women in this field. "},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Growing up, I loved reading and each week I would go to the library and take out a new stack of stories to indulge in. As I got older, I joined my local library as a volunteer. As a volunteer, I have helped with children's events as well as mentored a struggling reader in one-on-one sessions. As a passionate advocate for literacy and education, being involved in this community allowed me to make a positive impact on the lives of young readers and share my love of reading."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Growing up I always enjoyed baking, however, I was not big on cooking as I had a big fear of heat and knives. However as I entered university, I was motivated to try and learn how to cook. My motivation to learn was the desire to recreate the family dishes I grew up enjoying and to be able to share these recipes and traditions with my close friends. My approach to learning was of gradual progression, starting with simple recipes. I began with dishes that required minimal cooking time and had a limited number of ingredients, typically without meat (a whole new area). I initially followed recipes exactly, however as I gained more confidence and skills, I was able to adjust recipes to my own tasting. I also challenged myself to make harder recipes and use ingredients (such as meat, seafood) that I would not have gravitated towards previously. With any skill, practice is very important, and I am able to do a bit of practice each day to further improve my skills."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1687577299182},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"j33ho@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Jacqueline","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Ho","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffd2eeeb1-813f-4304-a2e1-8d9b534a714e?alt=media&token=4d4ace58-31bc-4a45-9a33-e09fe85a1a39","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my senior year of high school, I was faced with the task of coding my own game within a tight deadline of 2 weeks. Excited, I was determined to create the perfect game. But, my excitement soon faded as bright red lines covered my code & bugs appeared throughout. Soon enough, a week passed and I found myself in a pit of doubt–Should I give up? But, something told me to keep going. So with the time I had left, I made a list of proactive steps I could take to finish the game. Instead of allowing my frustrations take over, I viewed each bug as a learning opportunity–thoroughly testing my code at each step. And instead of coding an idea instantly, I took the time to carefully plan it out and research new concepts. With my newfound mindset, each feature came more easily and in the end, I transformed the screen of errors into my own game! By persevering, I not only learned new technical skills but also a valuable lesson: challenging myself is truly the best form of self-improvement.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"},{"id":"2","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Where do you look for inspiration in your daily life?","response":"If I could only have one app on my phone, it would be Pinterest. Pinterest has always been my go-to source for inspiration with its endless collection of images and ideas curated by creative minds all around the world. Whether I’m searching for outfit inspiration, graphic design concepts, or aesthetic palettes, I often find myself scrolling endlessly on Pinterest, amazed by the abundance of ideas on the platform. Honestly, It's like diving into a bottomless rabbit-hole of inspiration! Not only has it been my biggest source of inspiration, but also a great way to organize all my creative ideas and thoughts into one place. Whenever I start a new project or seek life inspiration, I love creating a moodboard dedicated to whatever’s on my mind! By sorting and curating my own personal collection, I can visually explore ideas and capture the essence of my vision in a curated collection of images, colours, and aesthetics that I can always look back on."},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Send us a link to your portfolio or a project you've worked on. If you do not have a link, please tell us about a project below. Describe the process and what you learned from it.","response":"https://jacquelineho.me/\n\nCreating my personal portfolio was actually my first ever dive into web development! I had no prior experience or knowledge in building websites and started off by following an “Introduction to React.js” youtube tutorial. However, as I began to explore the world of web development and let my creativity flow, I soon found myself spending hours of my free time working on my portfolio for fun. Whether it was being able to pick a colour palette for my website or designing the layout of a page, the entire process allowed me to merge my passion for creativity and coding into one and soon the perfect outlet to express my artistic vision while growing my technical skills. My journey of learning web development was an eye-opening experience that led me to discover my genuine love for the craft, and with UW Blueprint, I hope to continue to grow my passion for creativity and tech.","uniqueId":2}],"role":"Product Designer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Product Designer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (EST)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Growing up in Canada, I had the privilege of living in a world where my access to free healthcare was something that I took for granted. It wasn’t until my Gr. 11 World Issues class, where I gained a deep understanding of the cruel impact of poverty across the world, that my perspective truly changed. As I learned about the poor quality of life in countries with little to no medical access, the issue of global health inequality touched me personally. I soon became deeply passionate in addressing the lack of medical resources in low-income communities. In hopes of making an impact, I co-founded my city’s MEDLIFE chapter–a non-profit dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty. Leading 100+ members through city-wide initiatives, I helped raise over $1000 to bring essential medical services for marginalized communities in Africa during the pandemic. Ever since, I’ve been committed to ensuring that essential healthcare reaches those in need & hope to continue my efforts with UW Blueprint."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"Computer science has always been my favorite course, but being 1 of 3 girls in my Gr. 12 class, I recognized an underrepresentation of women in my school’s STEM community. In response, I became passionate about closing the gender gap in STEM and created my school’s first app development club–aimed to inspire girls to gain an interest in coding. By reaching out to girls interested in design, marketing, and music, I fostered an inclusive environment for all women to explore a passion for coding. Recruiting 40+ female members, I led school-wide events and meetings dedicated to promoting gender equity in computing. As well, I closely mentored a team of 15 young girls within the club through a year-long project, providing my personal advice and support whenever they needed. Being a part of the Women in STEM community is something I will always be proud of, and I hope to continue to share my passion and work towards a future where women can stand tall in the field of computer science."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Fashion has always been a constant source of inspiration for me, igniting my creativity and allowing me to express myself authentically. However, I often struggled to find clothing pieces that truly resonated with my personal style. Whether it was due to high prices or the unsustainable practices of fast fashion, I felt disconnected from the clothes I encountered at my local stores. Determined to break free from this cycle, I decided to take matters into my own hands and pick up the skill of sewing! With the help of my mom's old sewing machine, I began to delve into this creative endeavor, immersing myself in hundreds of YouTube tutorials. Starting with small additions and alterations to old clothes I found at the thrift store, I gradually gained the confidence and skill to design my own unique outfits from scratch! Through this experience, I not only gained the opportunity to explore my style and create innovative designs, but also advocate for a more sustainable and inclusive future."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688591754282},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A","email":"y333wang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Product Manager","firstName":"Yaxin","heardFrom":"Instagram","lastName":"Wang","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Biomedical Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffd49da25-3c94-432a-a4d3-609ce0ef8b11?alt=media&token=d31f86f3-6ddc-47c8-8037-9da7cf04249c","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"3","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What is your favourite product?","response":"My favorite product is my Nalgene water bottle. \n\nIt may seem simple, but this reliable and well-designed product has constantly served as my favorite adventure companion; providing me with that refreshing cold taste of water when I need it the most. \n\nThe bottle has hiked summits with me, traveled to Europe, and offered me comfort on my worst days. The blank canvas of these bottles allows me to layer it with stickers from my most recent adventures. It serves as a visual diary, documenting my journeys and reflecting my interests. It's not just a functional item but also a personal statement, allowing me to proudly display my individuality and share a glimpse of my life's experiences with those around me.\n\nIt’s the answer to 90% of my problems. Stressed? Tired? Take a drink. Want to leave an event? Drink enough water until you need to go to the washroom. For me, the answer always lies at the bottom of the bottle, but perhaps not the bottle you expect. "}],"role":"Product Manager"},{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"Blueprint is a team that's known for contributing phenomenal and impactful work to our community. To me, the ideal experience would include: \n\n1. Learning a diverse range of new skills \nWhether this be technical or soft skills, I would hope to learn and enhance my skills. Blueprint would support me in my journey, and provide me with the necessary resources to practice these skills, allowing room for both personal and professional growth. \n\n2. Meeting new people \nI would hope to have the chance to connect and interact with like-minded individuals who share similar interests and passions. Blueprint would provide a supportive community that allows members to engage with others who inspire and motivate them. \n\n3. Meaningful contribution to an important cause\nI would hope to use my skills to contribute to a Blueprint project I am passionate about. I would have opportunities to input my knowledge and perspectives to create meaningful change and provide avenues for me to make a difference.\n"}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Internal Director","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Daylight Saving Time "},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Two years ago, I watched a silly youtube video about this invention called the paperfuge. Essentially, it's an invention using primarily string and paper, costing approximately 20 cents, serving the same purpose as a centrifuge that costs thousands of dollars. This invention revolutionized diagnostics and medicine in developing countries. \n\nThis invention resonates with me deeply and has ignited my passion for the field of accessible healthcare. It has opened my eyes to how elegantly simple solutions to complex problems can be and reveals the transformative power of engineering, technology, and a little bit of innovation. This invention has not only influenced me to pursue biomedical engineering but also serves as a compass as I navigate the rest of my professional career. \n\nWhile I don’t expect to invent a paperfuge with my time as a blueprint, I would be thrilled to contribute to a drop in the bucket, and help work towards revolutionizing the healthcare system; one step at a time."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"I am so proud to be a woman in engineering.\n\nIn school, I was never particularly interested in tech or math. It was always a ‘boy thing’. In grade 11 I was one of 5 girls in my math IB class of 40.\n\nIt was daunting on my first day.\n\nBut as time went on, I found my place (and my passions). I’m grateful to have the support that I had, but I know that not everyone is as lucky as I am.\n\nIn high school, I joined a nonprofit called Ignite Science. Initially, I was in charge of outreach, then co-president 2 years later. During my time there, I ran numerous events aimed to empower women in STEM, including various competitions, and a summer camp: ‘Girls in Code’.\n\nMy contributions to this community continued as I came to Waterloo. I joined the Women in Engineering Student committee at UW, and was director of podcast, then of advocacy in my first year. In these roles, I helped plan and execute a variety of different events, doing my part in shaping a more inclusive engineering landscape.\n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"Being stuck in the barren lands of Waterloo for a summer coop was definitely unideal, but now, I’m so grateful.\n\nIf not for the boredom, I would have never gone to PAC and bought a rock climbing pass, and would have never learned this new skill.\n\nAt first, I felt out of place. I was unfamiliar with the ‘climbing terminology’ and felt no improvement. For the first month, after every climb session, I would wake up the next day with my forearms throbbing. But yet I persisted.\n\nMy approach to learning the skill? Just show up. Slowly I learned the fundamentals and grasped the technique, and before I knew it, I felt like a part of a community. Routes that I once thought were impossible came naturally to me, and I was able to see tremendous self-growth.\n\nMy motivation to start learning this skill may not be outstanding, but my motivation to stick with it (even when I sucked) is what I am proud of. I'm not afraid to try new things; as I know that growth often comes from embracing discomfort."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688508795635},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"2B","email":"selena.zhang@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Selena","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Zhang","locationPreference":"Fully Remote","program":"Software Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffe41947d-7ab5-461a-bcc4-a0b368545200?alt=media&token=3f5c8ad0-b931-460b-8f8f-a7625c5a5cec","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical problem I worked on in the past was at my last co-op, where I discovered that a page in the company's application was very faulty. It turns out that it was inheritance gone wrong, and people made updates to the superclass without making appropriate changes to the subclass the page used. To fix this page, I consulted with other members on my team to see what the desired functionality of this page was supposed to be, and then traced back in the source control to see what changes were made, and then fixed the subclass to become functional again. ","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"Eastern Standard Time (Toronto)"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"A cause that resonates me is volunteering and giving back to the community. Since the start of high school, I have spent over 175 hours volunteering my time at various organizations, from sorting food, toys, and school supply donations at the Salvation Army to volunteering my time at City of Vaughan summer camps, providing a fun experience for the campers who may not be able to afford to attend expensive private camps. These experiences all support and give back to the community, and they resonate with me because as I child I received Christmas presents from charitable donations, and attended city-run summer camps. Now that I am older, I enjoy being able to give back to these programs that were a part of my childhood."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community I am proud to be part of is the Engineering Ambassadors at UWaterloo, and they do outreach for incoming students. I contribute to this community by volunteering for orientation/open houses for prospective students, and doing one on one EngChats with students to help with their university decisions."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"A time I learned a new skill was during the WiCHacks Hackathon hosted by the Rochester Institute of Technology. My team decided to create a backend using Python Flask, and I did not know any Python. My approach was to use pair programming with someone who knew some Python, and to find and follow online tutorials. Since this was a one day hackathon, by no means am I an expert on Python, but I am proud that we were able to create a functional backend, and won the \"Innovation that Excites\" category against over 50 competing teams."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688183898019},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2A in F23","email":"nxyzou@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"Internal Director","firstName":"Nancy","heardFrom":"Clubs fair","lastName":"Zou","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"Biomedical Engineering","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffe8b8e95-44a8-4a93-b557-bbf3b1d62ba9?alt=media&token=6b967db1-c0bd-4f9e-b88f-4da385609884","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"16","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What would an ideal member experience look like to you?","response":"One of the first things I heard about Blueprint was its community. Highlighted in every Medium and IG takeover, my goal as Internal Director is to uplift and unite the most vital and positive part of the BP experience: the people.\nI aim to execute engaging in-person events where members can make connections and memories. When schedules won’t allow, I'll arrange remote socials that center collaboration via activities like online games.\nDuring long meetings at Develop For Good this summer, I found opting for short cooperative games over unsatisfying breaks allows for bonding and refreshed minds. I intend to carry this to BP to build community and sharpen attention in general meetings.\nLastly, I intend to promote BP to the larger community through Medium posts and merch for the BP team! As a Logistics Coordinator at UW/UX and Design Manager at DFG, I have ongoing experience with organizing socials, meetings, and merch. I’m eager to apply my background to elevate the BP member experience!"}],"role":"Internal Director"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST: I will be on campus at UWaterloo as F23 will be a school term for me."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"From youth, I was tugged away and told to avoid eye-contact with the homeless. Of all things, knitting changed my perspective on this issue.\nI joined my high school Knitting Club seeking a new hobby. Instead, I gained a strong passion for social good and raising awareness for the homelessness crisis.\nFor 3 years as President, I led the 100-member Knitting Club to knit and donate 40+ blankets and scarves to Toronto homeless shelters. In this time, club members cumulatively committed 4500+ hours of community service to the cause. Clearly blankets were a short-term solution for a much larger issue, but we were limited by our skills and resources.\nNow, however, my skill set and desire to contribute to society have only grown. In fact, this drive led me to join Develop For Good this summer as a Design Manager to design a mental wellness app for a Kenyan not-for-profit.\nI am elated at the opportunity to continue applying and building upon my drive to contribute to social good with Blueprint!"},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"As a student, I loved free tutor communities. I hated asking my parents to cover any costs, so free meant a lot to me. Moreso, I held such appreciation for my tutors who kindly answered all my questions about coursework, scholarships, university, and life. As a result, I eagerly volunteered as a tutor myself for 3 years; my proudest feat was helping a student raise her grade by 30% in grade 11 Functions!\nThough I don’t tutor anymore, I still want to give back to a community that helped me so much, both academically and by providing me mentorship. This summer, I became a website designer and developer for Homework Hub, which aims to provide Ontario high school students with free academic support via educational content and tutoring sessions from volunteers.\nIn this role, I was involved in design, development, and internal usability tests using Figma and Webflow. Through Homework Hub, I hope to promote and advance access to free tutor communities and academic resources for all students!"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"The summer before starting at UWaterloo, I researched how students stayed organized and informed on deadlines in university. Notion was the most endorsed platform from all the videos and blogs I found. I decided to leverage Notion to help me stay on top of my academics, personal life, and extracurriculars at UWaterloo.\nMy approach was simple but effective: I dove headfirst into tutorials and different ways to use the platform, playing with the app until I found what suited me. As a trial, I used Notion to help me juggle my summer job and studying MTHEL, the math review course for incoming first-years (remember that?!).\nAnother bonus is that Notion is a very common tool used in many extracurriculars. Thus, using Notion for school helped me keep my clubs efficient, and vice versa!\nNowadays, it’s become an integral aspect of my more organized life. Even on co-op, I still use it for goal tracking and extracurriculars. I’m excited to apply my Notion skills to help Blueprint stay on track!"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688071241707},{"academicOrCoop":"Co-op","academicYear":"1B","email":"paulkoushik04@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Koushik","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Paul","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Electrical Engineering","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Ffec6f028-c0f8-4e2d-a92e-d82e24a2bc23?alt=media&token=400f99ad-cbc3-423b-9aed-9fe1d45836cd","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Backend","Fullstack"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my internship as a Fullstack Developer at the engineering firm Peto MacCallum Ltd., I encountered a significant technical challenge related to scaling a web application. The application, called \"StructuralConnect,\" aimed to facilitate seamless collaboration and data sharing among engineering teams working on complex structural projects.\n\nAs the user base grew rapidly, the application started experiencing performance issues and occasional downtime. It became evident that the application's infrastructure needed to be optimized to handle the growing demand.\n\nI utilized performance monitoring tools to identify bottlenecks in the application's code and database queries. This significantly reduced the load on the database and improved response times for commonly requested data.\n\nThrough the implementation of these scaling measures, I successfully addressed the performance challenges faced by the StructuralConnect application.\n","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"During my time at Providence Healthcare, I had the privilege of witnessing the profound impact that technology had on the lives of elderly residents, particularly amidst the challenging circumstances posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.\n\nWith restrictions and safety measures limiting in-person visits, the residents at Providence Healthcare faced heightened feelings of isolation and a significant loss of connection with their families and friends. Volunteering and helping them overcome these obstacles provided me with firsthand evidence of the positive impact that technology can have on their well-being and overall quality of life.\n\nJoining UW Blueprint, a club dedicated to leveraging technology for social impact, would provide me with a platform to continue advocating for the integration of technology in the lives of the elderly."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"During the COVID-19 pandemic, I had the opportunity to join a nonprofit organization that aimed to support small mom-and-pop businesses in adapting to challenging circumstances. Seeing these businesses successfully transition to the online sphere, expand their customer base, and generate revenue during such difficult times was a testament to the impact we were able to make as a community.\n\nBeing a part of this nonprofit allowed me to contribute my skills, knowledge, and passion for technology to help local businesses not only survive but thrive in the face of adversity. It was gratifying to witness the positive outcomes of our collective efforts as we helped these businesses regain their momentum and continue serving their communities.\n\nBeing a part of this nonprofit allowed me to contribute my skills, knowledge, and passion for technology to help local businesses not only survive but thrive in the face of adversity. \n"},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my high school years, I developed a strong desire to gain a better understanding of personal finance and take control of my financial future. They served as a foundation for my financial education and helped me grasp the fundamental concepts of money management.\n\nTo expand my knowledge further, I attended open seminars and workshops on financial literacy at the University of Toronto. The seminars not only enhanced my understanding of financial concepts but also provided a platform for networking and engaging in discussions with like-minded individuals.\n\nAs I gained knowledge and confidence in my own financial journey, I felt compelled to share my discoveries with my friends. I would help them create budgets, teach them how to open up investment accounts and pay tuition. By sharing my own experiences and highlighting the accessible resources available, I aimed to empower my friends to embark on their own financial education journeys.\n\n"}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"This is my first time!","timestamp":1688101373312},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"2B","email":"kevincui113@gmail.com","firstChoiceRole":"Project Developer","firstName":"Kevin","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Cui","locationPreference":"In-Person (Waterloo)","program":"CS/BBA","pronouns":"He/Him/His","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fff67bd5d-32a7-436f-97a9-8dcba020e144?alt=media&token=1f3493f7-d4b7-4e7d-90ce-9926b5a81505","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Mobile","Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"During my last co-op, I had a task to create an AWS Step Function to handle the workflow of account management for a new service. I’d worked with serverless Lambdas before, but this involved designing more complicated architecture for how they would interact.\n\nOne issue I ran into while ideating was that deleting an account was very inefficient since the service used a NoSQL database, which would cause problems at scale. Structurally, an account has many resources under it which all had to be deleted individually. The service used DynamoDB, but after researching I found that relational DBs have a cascade delete property, requiring only deleting the parent to delete child rows too.\n\nAfter considering other options and how changing the DB would affect other aspects of the service, I decided to migrate to RDS. The entire Step Function involved many decisions like this and required much more planning than coding, but it taught me to think about problems differently and from a high level.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"EST"},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"When I was younger, my mom had an unknown allergic reaction to a plant she encountered on a walk, and we hurriedly called 911. The ambulance took her to the ER at a local hospital while I, being young still, stayed at home. The next day when my mom came back all she could talk about was the hospital experience. At 2am, in a waiting room with only 1 other person in it, it still took over 4 hours for her to be seen.\n\nI strongly believe that healthcare should be a basic human right, and I love the universal healthcare system that we have in Canada, but there’s also a new set of challenges that come with it. Throughout the last few decades, wait times across the board have increased nearly 200%. This is largely due to systemic issues such as lack of equipment, personnel shortages, and scheduling difficulties. Fixing the system is a long process, but applying technology and medical innovation is a good first step towards everyone across Canada having timely and quality access to healthcare."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"One community I’m proud to be a part of is the Computer Science Club Community. This term, I was the lead of the Community Representatives team. The thing I enjoy most about the community is the people. From singing karaoke together at events to struggling through assignments together in the CSC office, some of the strongest bonds I’ve built in university have come from CSC.\n\nAs lead of the reps team, I work with initiatives that are very close to the CS community and its members. I worked on the first-ever CS class profile which was started by the club (plug: https://csclub.uwaterloo.ca/classprofile/2022/) and highlights the accomplishments of our graduating class and is a resource for students across the CS community. In addition, I’ve also worked on maintaining our Internship Repository, an open-source GitHub repo for student co-op opportunities (another shameless plug: https://github.com/uwcsc/2023-internships) and running community events like movie nights and chess tournaments. "},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"For me, being a UW student can be hard. On top of studying and working, you’re still trying to find time to gym, hang out with friends, see family, and a million other things. It’s easy to forget to take time for yourself. I wanted to change that during my co-op term.\n\nI’ve long been a fan of crotchet plushies (they’re just so cute) and always wanted to learn, but I’ve never been an artsy person and didn’t have much confidence in my skills. I figured instead of overthinking, I would just step outside my comfort zone, throw myself into it, and learn by doing and making mistakes. I bought a beginner kit and while I was terrified of failing, reluctantly got to work. And 1 month, many failed stitches, eyes that wouldn’t stay attached, and deformed flippers later, I’d completed crocheting a penguin! It was a process filled with failure and imperfections, but now the penguin sits on my shelf as a constant reminder of what’s possible with hard work, and to take time for myself while I’m here."}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Once","timestamp":1688435080482},{"academicOrCoop":"Academic","academicYear":"3A","email":"k5sodhi@uwaterloo.ca","firstChoiceRole":"External Director","firstName":"Kriti","heardFrom":"Word of mouth","lastName":"Sodhi","locationPreference":"Hybrid","program":"Computer Science","pronouns":"She/Her/Hers","pronounsSpecified":"","resumeUrl":"https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/uw-blueprint.appspot.com/o/resumes%2Fff816aea-e2a1-42ba-a087-0c72f6b5a711?alt=media&token=bcd1e8cc-d424-48b8-8d6b-993f2b784238","roleSpecificQuestions":[{"id":"15","questions":[{"maxLength":1000,"question":"What's a cool new event you think Blueprint should do and how does it align with Blueprint's mission?","response":"UW Blueprint, being the first chapter in Canada, is known to have a strong mission to create technology that makes a social impact. As an external director, I would propose a “Tech for Good” summit to reinforce Blueprint’s external brand, maintain, and establish partnerships with 3rd party organizations. Although UW Blueprint has created a variety of projects since 2015, the positive impact of the hard work is not on outward display. The summit would allow for a project showcase and invite new NGOs to get a feel for Blueprint’s work while maintaining strong relationships with past partners on their project progress. The event would be promoted on the BP social media accounts and bring together tech industry leaders, innovators, and other BP chapters through interactive workshops and panel discussions. Overall, the summit would reinforce Blueprint's commitment to driving positive change through technology by displaying inspiring initiatives by BP and the greater community."}],"role":"External Director"},{"id":"1","questions":[{"options":["Frontend","Backend","Fullstack","Mobile"],"other":true,"question":"Which areas of a project are you interested in working in?","response":["Fullstack","Backend","Frontend"],"type":"multi-select"},{"maxLength":1000,"question":"Tell us about a challenging technical problem that you've worked on in the past and how you solved it.","response":"A challenging technical project that I worked on in the past was creating a computerized AI component of a chess game in a team. To meet the targets of the project in a timely manner, I broke down the work into smaller chunks and used resources such as a project roadmap to set realistic deadlines. This helped everyone know the requirements and made unexpected blockers more manageable. Specifically, my team faced the technical problem of having to refactor the codebase when creating the computerized component to generate the chess moves automatically. Since everything was documented and comprehensible, I was able to refactor for this change when the specifics of our project changed. I came up with the logic for this new implementation after consulting industry standards and effectively integrated it into our existing functionality of the manual piece movement. In brief, utilizing such strategies allows for versatility when there are pivots to the technical requirements of a project.","uniqueId":1}],"role":"Project Developer"}],"secondChoiceRole":"Project Developer","shortAnswerQuestions":[{"question":"What timezone will you be based out of next term?","response":"In the fall, I will be in the EDT timezone and living in Waterloo."},{"question":"Tell us about a cause that resonates with you.","response":"Mental health is a cause that deeply resonates with me due to its profound impact on individuals, families, and communities. The alarming statistic that \"Disability claims stemming from mental health issues now account for 70 percent of workplace disability costs\" serves as a stark reminder of the urgency to address this issue. During my co-op at the WSIB Innovation Lab this summer, I advocated for a project focused on creating an AI-powered journaling platform to provide support to those facing mental health challenges. This innovative solution aims to empower users to express themselves freely while receiving personalized guidance from the technology. By leveraging the capabilities of generative AI, we aim to provide a safe and non-judgmental space for individuals to reflect and process their ideas, fostering a sense of self-awareness and facilitating therapeutic growth. Through this endeavour, I strive to contribute to a world where mental health is destigmatized and prioritized."},{"question":"Tell us about a community you're proud to be a part of and how you contributed to it.","response":"A community that I am proud to be a part of is being a part of women+ in STEM. Similar to other underrepresented genders, I faced inherent barriers in the tech industry with a lack of initial experience compared to my male counterparts. However, it has been a rewarding journey to learn and grow from the Waterloo community to contribute to WiSTEM initiatives such as WiCS and TechNova, a hackathon that aims to bridge the tech gap for gender minorities. As the sponsorship lead for TechNova, I interact with external organizations, build lasting relationships, and reinforce our external brand. For example, it is crucial to use gender-inclusive language in all interactions to contribute to a safe environment. Through these secured sponsorships, I am able to help cultivate an inspiring event for gender minorities and create a space where participants gain lifelong mentors and support. Overall, I am grateful to be a part of a growing community of women+ in STEM where I can also guide others."},{"question":"Tell us about a time you learned a new skill. What was your motivation to learn it and what was your approach?","response":"During my fellowship at the AI4Good lab, I engaged in lectures and mentorship with leaders in the AI industry to understand the fundamentals of the topic for my personal interest and to make an impact through a project. Since I had only completed my first year of computer science at the time, it was difficult to initially grasp these new ideas. However, I took extra time to focus on the topics I struggled with and asked for clarifications whenever needed which led to my overall success in the program. After learning these fundamentals, I strengthened my base by creating a project within a team of 5 that was focused on improving the negative effects of echo chambers in social media for users. Throughout the month-long project, we created four ML models that organized tweets based on their political lean as a starting point for our goal. This experience demonstrates the importance of asking for help when learning a new skill and persevering while working hard to achieve quality results. "}],"status":"pending","term":"Fall 2023","timesApplied":"Twice","timestamp":1688611289534}] \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/backend/typescript/services/implementations/appDashboardService.ts b/backend/typescript/services/implementations/appDashboardService.ts index 3884ccd..cd1f82a 100644 --- a/backend/typescript/services/implementations/appDashboardService.ts +++ b/backend/typescript/services/implementations/appDashboardService.ts @@ -113,39 +113,26 @@ class AppDashboardService implements IAppDashboardService { } applicationByIdDTO = { - id: applicationById.id, - academicYear: applicationById.academicYear, - binaryQuestion1: applicationById.binaryQuestion1, - binaryQuestion2: applicationById.binaryQuestion2, - binaryQuestions: applicationById.binaryQuestions, - dropdownQuestion1: applicationById.dropdownQuestion1, - dropdownQuestions: applicationById.dropdownQuestions, - email: applicationById.email, - firstName: applicationById.firstName, - lastName: applicationById.lastName, - positions: applicationById.positions, - program: applicationById.program, - question1: applicationById.question1, - question2: applicationById.question2, - question3: applicationById.question3, - question4: applicationById.question4, - question5: applicationById.question5, - questions: applicationById.questions, - resume: applicationById.resume, - resumeInput: applicationById.resumeInput, - resumeUrl: applicationById.resumeUrl, - roleQuestion1: applicationById.roleQuestion1, - roleQuestion2: applicationById.roleQuestion2, - roleQuestion3: applicationById.roleQuestion3, - roleQuestion4: applicationById.roleQuestion4, - roleQuestion5: applicationById.roleQuestion5, - roleQuestion6: applicationById.roleQuestion6, - roleQuestion7: applicationById.roleQuestion7, - roleQuestion8: applicationById.roleQuestion8, - roleQuestion9: applicationById.roleQuestion9, - roleSpecificQuestions: applicationById.roleSpecificQuestions, - status: applicationById.status, - timestamp: applicationById.timestamp, + id: applicationById.id, + academicOrCoop: applicationById.academicOrCoop, + academicYear: applicationById.academicYear, + email: applicationById.email, + firstChoiceRole: applicationById.firstChoiceRole, + firstName: applicationById.firstName, + heardFrom: applicationById.heardFrom, + lastName: applicationById.lastName, + locationPreference: applicationById.locationPreference, + program: applicationById.program, + pronouns: applicationById.pronouns, + pronounsSpecified: applicationById.pronounsSpecified, + resumeUrl: applicationById.resumeUrl, + roleSpecificQuestions: applicationById.roleSpecificQuestions, + secondChoiceRole: applicationById.secondChoiceRole, + shortAnswerQuestions: applicationById.shortAnswerQuestions, + status: applicationById.status, + term: applicationById.term, + timesApplied: applicationById.timesApplied, + timestamp: applicationById.timestamp }; } catch (error: unknown) { Logger.error(