ASU club prepares student coders for tech careers
Google Developer Student Club helps students gain the skills and network needed in a competitive industry
ASU students participate in a workshop about Firebase, the Google web and mobile development platform, presented by the Google Developer Student Club. Photo courtesy of Arnav Aghav/ASU
The field of coding is a popular — and increasingly competitive — career choice.
To help students have an edge in the job market, the Google Developer Student Club in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at ASU is equipping students and new graduates with a robust support network and the relevant skills they'll need.
“We recognize the importance of preparing our members not just with technical skills, but also with the resilience and adaptability required in today’s dynamic job market,” says Arnav Aghav, a computer science student in the accelerated master’s degree program in the Fulton Schools and president of the ASU Google Developer Student Club.
Keeping up with industry
Known as GDSC, the club was founded in 2019 by computer science alumni Ananay Arora, who now works at an artificial intelligence and financial technology startup, and Andrew Hill, now a software engineer for Apple’s media applications engineering team. It’s part of a worldwide network of more than 2,100 groups supported by Google that empower students to learn how to solve real-world challenges with technology, and students from all backgrounds and majors who are interested in software development and emerging technologies are welcome.
GDSC frequently hosts “bite-sized” software workshops at ASU that cover topics including Android, iOS and Google software ecosystem programming projects, as well as data structures, algorithms and machine learning. The workshops are designed to enable attendees to build something with help from the instructors, collaborate to solve problems and go home with a project, Arora says.
Pavel Ryabov is a GDSC technical officer who plans the club’s workshops, prepares code and other materials, and helps students during the events.
“Our workshops aim to introduce students to cutting-edge technologies that are dominating in the industry, and excite them by creating the initial project together,” says Ryabov, a computer science major. “We make sure to provide students with enough materials for them to successfully continue the adventure with this technology by suggesting how the current project can be enhanced and what should be done to achieve that.”
GDSC also offers a series of industry speaker events. The first event, held in fall 2023, featured Courtney Ngai, a senior software engineer at PayPal and an ASU computer science alumna, and Porter Casdorph, a PayPal tech talent sourcer and recruiter. Their talk touched on the technical projects happening at PayPal as well as recruiting and hiring practices, and also included tips for internships.
Join the club!
Check out the Google Developer Student Club website and join the Discord channel for information about upcoming events.
Britton Fischer, a computer science student in the accelerated master’s degree program, found the event to be not just informative, but an excellent networking opportunity. After initially connecting before the presentation, Fischer has kept in touch with Casdorph, who has been a helpful resource in Fischer’s preparation for a software engineering career.
“(Casdorph's) valuable insights and substantial assistance has not only improved my resume but also enriched my understanding of the industry as a whole,” Fischer says.
More to come
Aghav and the leadership team are constantly designing new events and resources. This year, he introduced a member-exclusive resume database that helps students connect with partnering technology companies and be considered for internships and full-time positions. He is also planning to host partner project opportunities this spring, in which club members can participate in a collaborative engineering project with a local business, institution or nonprofit organization.
And to tap into students’ enthusiasm for creative hackathons, which sharpen skills and build portfolios, the GDSC leadership team is planning additional opportunities, such as Google Summer of Code, to build upon students' open-source programming skills.
“We hope to match our enthusiastic members with meaningful professional opportunities,” Aghav says. “Covering these multiple facets of software engineering practices will aid our members in tapping into the broader variety of projects out there.”
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