Samyuktha Gopalsamy

Samyuktha is the first to admit that technology wasn’t always her passion. She initially pursued a biology major, but she slowly realized that her passion for biomedicine was more about the process of creating something with a real-world impact than about the field itself. Seeing how computer science would enable her to channel her spark for creating and problem-solving, Samyuktha began to teach herself coding and web development in her spare time. Before long, she secured a merit seat to pursue a Computer Science degree at PSG College of Technology in Coimbatore, India.

A pivotal moment for Samyuktha was developing an Android app designed to serve patients seeking treatment for bipolar disorder. This project highlighted the profound impact of her technical skills. The app aimed to facilitate treatment by establishing a connection between doctors and patients. It enabled doctors to monitor pill intake, sleep patterns, and mood while scheduling necessary appointments. Notably, the app was part of a study, conducted by the Psychiatry department at PSG Hospitals in Coimbatore, assessing the effectiveness of smartphone applications in enhancing bipolar disorder treatment. Its significance was further magnified by its potential to aid patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, when quarantine and social distancing measures were in effect. Samyuktha successfully constructed the app after teaching herself to use technologies like Flutter and Firebase.

After participating in aComputer Science & Engineering Association (CSEA) hackathon in 2018, Samyuktha became a hackathon regular.  She deepened her involvement in the hacker community when she was accepted as a Microsoft Student Ambassador, seeking to grow her skills and network outside of class. From the start, Samyuktha wanted to create a community of like-minded tech enthusiasts at PSG. She hosted several events, speaking about Azure and Blockchain as well as introducing Microsoft Learn to more than 150 of her peers. Through the AWS Educate Cloud Ambassador Program Samyuktha was able to assist student-led startups and coordinate AWS Community Day India in 2020, which has since garnered over 28,000 views.

Samyuktha says, “in all my roles, I have been intentional about advancing diversity and equity in tech.” After completing her bachelor’s at PSG in 2021, Samyuktha was accepted to a master’s program in computer science at Rutgers University, where she has served as the president of the Computer Science Graduate Student Society and as a Graduate Mentor with the Douglass Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Program, helping guide undergraduate women through their Rutgers careers. In her role as a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Graduate Student Advisory Committee, she has worked to further DEI initiatives at the university.

Outside of Rutgers, she has worked as a mentor for Our Future Is Science, helping three high school students make a difference through social justice and science. Her work has included co-creating capstone projects for the students including lab work, research, and presentations. Samyuktha has also volunteered as an academic support and life skills mentor with Make A Difference, teaching 10th grade math to five students in need of mentorship. In 2021 Samyuktha completed an Outreachy Fellowship with the Mozilla Firefox Data Team, and in 2022 she  interned as  a Production Engineer with Meta. She has since gone on to refine her skills through the Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellowship, collaborating with her pod to create a React weather app. A strong believer in community, she also helps organize events through the MLH Pizza Fund. In her spare time, Samyuktha has been practicing Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance from the state of Tamil Nadu, for the last 16 years.