Member Spotlight: Developer Kriti Sodhi
Tell us about yourself and your background with Blueprint!
Hi, I’m Kriti! I’m in my third year of Computer Science at Waterloo and interning at Wealthsimple this term!
When I first learned about Blueprint, I was so excited to work with everyone and contribute to impactful projects to support local organizations. This is my second term on Blueprint and I’m currently a developer on the Internal Tools team. Last term, I was an external director on the executive team and helped to plan fun events like BP Nights and BP Gala. My experience so far has been amazing and there’s definitely a strong sense of community where I’ve met so many people and learned a lot!
Could you tell us about your role with Blueprint?
My current role as a dev on Internal Tools this term consists of working on tickets that have been scoped out by our PMs and Project Leads to help bring the project to its completion. It’s been cool to look at the code base started off by the team in past terms and add in new features to shape the future of the Blueprint recruiting process. I’ve been working with TypeScript on the frontend to bring the designs to life and integrating with the backend using GraphQL to store information in our database. Looking forward to continuing the buildout of the recruitment system with the team!
What has Blueprint taught you, and how has it helped you grow as a developer?
I’ve learned so much throughout my experience at Blueprint with both the Craft and Community teams! During my time on the e-team, I helped organize events like BP Engineering Night where I got more insight into developing a mobile application. This is also my first term working with TypeScript and GraphQL so it’s been really cool to use my knowledge of similar languages I’m familiar with and learn them through a hands-on project.
What is your favourite part of Blueprint?
The people! Everyone is extremely kind, welcoming, and super passionate about whatever they’re working on. It’s been really fun to collaborate on various projects with the team and learn so much while working towards a common goal. I’ve also made so many friends along the way through socials, club-wide events, and spontaneous hangouts — there’s always someone to reach out to if you ever need any support!
What can we catch you doing outside of school/work?
You can catch me reading a good book, riding my bike, playing sports like soccer, basketball, and football, or eating some really good food while hanging out with friends and family. I’m also part of some other cool clubs at UW like DSC, WiCS, and TechNova, a hackathon that aims to bridge the tech gap for gender minorities.
Tell us about your favourite memory with Blueprint!
I can’t think of one favorite memory but both BP Nights and BP Gala were so fulfilling to plan and execute as an external director. I had a great time meeting other students who were so interested in what BP does during the weeklong BP Nights. I initially thought it would be really hectic to spend a whole week of evenings on top of school at the event but so many people volunteered to help out with the event and it turned out to be a blast. I loved meeting and having a good time with everyone during BP Gala and the food was amazing!
Moving forward, what are your plans and goals for the future?
I’ve been loving my experience in Computer Science so far and exploring different aspects of software development and the tech space through school courses, co-ops, and clubs like BP. I like to go with the flow but I’m sure that I find my greatest passion in problem solving and using my skills to help others which is what brought me to BP! I’m excited to continue working on BP in future terms and finding my niche in the tech world while helping as many people as I can :)
