Vedant Bhoj handles all of the website development for eCampus. As the Web Developer Assistant, Vedant says his main responsibilities is to, “design, develop, and maintain the eCampus websites along with creating, managing, and maintaining a variety of interactive multimedia materials, graphics and presentations for our eCampus website“. As a first year Graduate student studying Computer Engineering, he incorporates a lot of his academic learnings to his work.

Vedant joined the team 3 months ago and just jumped right in. He quickly picked up the department culture and how invested we are in creativity and used that to his benefit. Vedant always collaborates with his team but specifically with the design assistant to get a variety of opinions on his work. This has helped him get a broader outlook on web-design and creating content for social media. We were all impressed by Vedant’s willingness to seek out help and input from his co-workers.

Vedant has a strong grasp for web-development and picks things up quickly. In his short time here, he has collaborated with the design team to create multiple online content for eCampus and he also designed this blog for everyone to see. He says he finds inspiration and drive from his co-workers. “eCampus is full of people from diverse backgrounds and it has allowed me to elevate my global understanding and enhanced the way I develop and design”.

He is expected to graduate in May 2020 and hopes to create robust and secure systems that help make the world a better place. In his lifetime, he wants to start his own company that takes on environmental issues in innovative ways. When he is not creating websites and designing content, he is traveling around the Bay Area trying food from different cultures. “I am a foodie at heart and would like experience the different culture and food while I travel”. He also loves Moto Vlogs (vlogging the travels through social media) wants to travel the world on a Motor Bike and hopes to inspire other people to travel through his vlogs. Vedant is an extremely kind and hardworking young man whose talents continue to surprise us every day. Any company would be lucky to have him on board.

Saurabh Shirur is the Student Assistant that works on Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) for eCampus. He is a Computer Engineering graduate student and is expected to graduate in December 2019. As a graduate student in his second year, he sees the finish line coming up. He has a passion for developing software that help those in need and hopes to incorporate that into his final project. He has been a member of the eCampus team for 3 months.

Not many people know but the university has taken many innovative steps to make lectures and teaching more engaging. The nursing department and other departments across campus have utilized the VR and AR work eCampus have created in their classrooms. Students have reported that the use of VR and AR in classrooms has allowed them to get a more hands on experience and has completely enriched their learning experience. Saurabh says his main role for eCampus is to, “work on developing VR and AR applications which are used by professors to simplify the process of teaching complex concepts to their students. I work on adding features to the existing applications as well as creating user interfaces to make it simpler to use the applications”. The work that Saurabh does has a profound impact on student learning experiences and how professors present their topics.

Saurabh is usually seen with a positive attitude and a welcoming personality. He says his favorite part of working at eCampus is, “having the opportunity to work on interesting projects and be a part of a very supporting team. I really like the freedom I have to be innovative and pushing myself to solve difficult questions”. eCampus is always trying to push the boundaries of educations and teaching. After graduation Saurabh says, “I plan on learning new technologies and skills that are used to build scalable and robust software”. Saurabh wants to apply what he has learned as grad student in his professional work life. He says, he aspires to work as a Software Developer so that he can develop software that has a positive impact on people’s lives.

One interesting fact about Saurabh is that he is a world traveler. “I love to travel a lot and visit new countries to experience different cultures. I have already been to 14 countries and I am planning to travel to much more”. He brings with him his global knowledge and passion for wanting to develop software that help mankind. We are incredibly fortunate to have someone like Saurabh on our team.

April Xie is the Graphic Design Student Assistant for eCampus. As a Graphic Design undergraduate, she brings to the team her creativity and art. She is expected to graduate this May and will bring her incredible skills to IBM China as their Graphic Design Intern for the summer. When I asked her about her plans for the future she stated, “I plan on going back to China for my internship this summer but after, I am going to come back to the states for Grad school”. It is inspiring to see someone who is so passionate about their craft continue to do great work on an international level. My co-workers and I are constantly awed by April’s creations every single week.

When April started, her kindness and passion for her discipline showed. It is one of those things that inspires you to be better and hone your own skills as she does. April has been a team member for eCampus for about 4 months now and has created incredible designs for the department. Whenever we have a new marketing campaign or event happening, April is in charge with creating the designs for the flyers and posters. Her work has been published on our eCampus home page and posted all throughout the university departments.

She hopes to be a UI Designer for a creative, inclusive and innovative company. April says, “My favorite part of working at eCampus are my co-workers because they were welcoming and inspiring. I also get incredible opportunities to create designs for my department and learn more about Graphic Design from my creative collaborators”. As if April is not talented enough, she can also play 8 musical instruments. The future is bright for April and I know the world will witness her incredible designs.

Rashmi Kumari is a Graduate student who’s majoring in Computer Engineering. She specializes in Data Science and is expected to graduate in Spring, 2020. When I first met Rashmi, I was taken aback by her kindness and willingness to learn. She has been an eCampus Student Assistant for a little over 4 months now and has been an incredible addition to the team. When she first started, eCampus was going through its turnover period. Many of our talented Student Assistants got full-time opportunities at companies they love. As she was being trained by previous Student Assistants, I noticed her attention to detail and passion for helping others.

She currently handles helping the 40,000+ SJSU students, faculty and staff with all things related to instructional tools, Adobe software, Canvas and so much more. Rashmi says, “I help the faculty and students with all kinds of queries they have about instructional software’s eCampus has to offer and also resolve issues related to all them”. Anybody that knows Rashmi knows she loves to help people and helping others overcome their issues brings her joy. Her favorite part about her job is that “you get to meet so many new people and you solve their issues and lower their frustration. The sigh of relief and that smile that comes up on the faces, I strive for that”.

When I asked her what she wanted to do after graduation she said, “I want to work for one of my dream companies as a Software Engineer and make my parents proud. I also want to travel to places and learn to cook the most famous dishes every city offers”. She states that her dream job should provide her a platform where she can work on projects that help deal with issues like poverty, hunger, education and so much more.

When she is not helping people and being awesome, she is found cooking for her friends and family and in her Zumba sessions. She believes dancing relieves the stress she gets from being a Graduate Student. I am lucky to be working with Rashmi and I know that she will continue to do great things for STEM and the world.

Neha Sharma is a first year Graduate student studying Software Engineering and is expected to graduate in May 2020. She, along with Meenakshi and Rashmi help students and faculty with instructional tools and other programs. She has been a member of eCampus for 3 months now and has quickly shown her skills to her peers.

Neha exudes confidence and we can all see that through her work. The way she helps faculty and students overcome their technical issues is inspiring and incredible to see. When she first started, she was a bit shy but always willing to learn I believe that mentality is what many of us in this office have. We work in a field that is constantly changing and updating and being able to adapt to it shows determination and drive. Both these qualities Neha possess in full.

With a specialization in Cloud Computing, she wants to incorporate her love for cloud software into her final project. After graduation she wants to travel the states and play tourist her in the Bay. Her dreams for the future are to open a company that provides health benefits to the poor section of the society through my technological inventions. Neha has a history of volunteering and helping her community. She says, “I was associated with a non-profit organization back in India that worked on providing better health education to underprivileged children. I also worked as a yoga instructor there and plan on contributing to my community here in San Jose”.  Her love for helping others is incredibly infectious and we all can’t wait to see what Neha does in the future.