Meet Ashay Vakharia - a consultant at Pariveda Solutions and a Bold Idea mentor. Learn how watching his older brother sparked an early interest and eventual career in technology.
What is something many people don’t know about you? English is not my first language! I was born in India and moved to the United States when I was young. I learned English mainly through school and listening to others speak.
How did you become interested in technology and programming?
I have a brother who is four years older than me. When he was in high school, he took an introduction to computer programming class and came home one day to show my parents some of the work he was doing. It was a simple program that took some input and returned a pop up as an output. But I was instantly hooked and amazed that he was able to create that. It seemed like magic! After that, I became more interested in computers in general and knew that I wanted to take the same course when I entered high school. My brother continued to be an influence on me. He had an interest in technology and I always copied him. He ended up following another career, but technology ended up sticking with me.
What did you study in college?
When I entered college, I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do. I had an interest in banking and programming. My first year was spent towards getting into the business school along with some intro classes for the Computer Science degree. It wasn’t until my second year that I decided to pursue a degree in both. I ended up graduating with a BS in both Finance and Computer Science. During my later years, I grew more attached to programming and knew I wanted to pursue a career in that field. The students I met and the courses I took made me realize that our future of computer programming is unlimited. I leveraged my financial background to land my first job at a bank as a developer for their internal applications.
What are you working on now?
My current work involves data analysis, reporting, and cloud architecture. Essentially, I am working with Microsoft products to better analyze lots of data for my current client so the client can create reports easier. These reports will be utilized to spot deficiencies in their business and improve their performance.
What have you gained from being a mentor? What was your most memorable moment while mentoring?
I’ve always enjoyed teaching others! Being able to guide others in learning new things brings me satisfaction. When I was younger, I used to volunteer at the local public library. There was a summer program that encouraged young children to read. I joined the volunteer program to organize prizes and events for the kids to participate. Bold Idea allows me to work with kids again. I want to say my most memorable moment was near the end of the semester when the kids asked to skip the typical ice breaker exercises at the beginning of a session and go straight into programming. They were so eager to continue working on their projects!
Is there anything that you wish you could tell your younger self about coding?
Practice, practice, practice! Studying computer programming is like studying medicine. It’s always changing and evolving. There will always be new things to learn so it is important to continue reading and always keep practicing. Don’t be afraid to fail! That’s what we have debuggers for 😊
What is it about Bold Idea's mission that really connects with you?
The goal of introducing students to technology and programming at a young age really resonates with me. That’s exactly how I got into the world. As I look at our society now, it’s a no brainer that technology will continue to increase in pervading our lives. It’s important to provide students with an exposure to this field early because it will lead to great success for them if they enjoy it. I strongly believe that education is the best way for a person to grow and mature and this is one of the better ways for me to contribute to that goal.
