A senior at Plano East Senior High School, Rishabh Thakkar has been an ideaSpark mentor since the program started in January. This semester he's one of the veterans with his friend and fellow mentor, Karthik - both serving at the Frisco Athletic Center. Bold Idea is lucky to benefit from his passion and experience. Over the summer Rishabh also helped design the mobile app projects for our students ages 10–14 as part of our Program Design Team. Meet Rishabh...
How did you become interested in technology and programming?
My interest in technology and programming began when I first learned about autopilot on airplanes. It really sparked my interest in automation and machines. I pursued that interest through middle school and now high school in learning the programming behind automation and robotics.
What do you want to study in college?
I want to major in Computer Science and minor in Electrical Engineering.
What are you working on now?
Currently, I'm working on a website/communications platform to allow developers and consumers to directly connect. Also, I'm continuing work on my Room Mapping Robot and utilizing drones to perform the task.
What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your favorite experience?
Being a mentor really gave me the opportunity to inspire the upcoming generations to develop the similar interests I had when I was younger. There wasn't a specific memorable moment rather it was a collection of those excited faces I got to see when the kids figured out a working solution to their projects.
What would you tell your younger self about coding?
I'd love to tell my younger self to pursue that interest in coding and technology earlier than I did. I didn't really pick up programming till late middle school. It would have been great if I started a couple years earlier.
How does the Bold Idea mission connect with you personally?
The mission connects with me in a way by showing me that literally anyone has the opportunity to learn and do anything these days. It is just our job to seize it like these kids are by participating in Bold Idea.