Geetanjali Purohit, 20
Geetanjali Purohit has forged an exciting path, combining technical skills, logic, and exceptional creativity in her coding. She uses novel approaches and innovative ideas to create great things, finding solutions in unorthodox ways.
Based in India, she is currently enrolled at university and heavily involved in Major League Hacking (MLH) hackathons, but has been interested in technology since she was a little girl. Whether it was creating Photoshop projects, wondering how people design websites, or analyzing how developers make games, she was always thinking about the creative side of technology. Her mother would work late, giving Geetanjali lots of time to work and play in the computer lab at school while she waited for her mom to pick her up.
In high school and college, her passion for technology combined with her love of the stage. She is outgoing and social and brings these parts of herself into her approach to coding. Before she participated in her first hackathon, she worked to build a culture of inclusivity. The role of engagement director in the hacker community was a natural fit, and she quickly focused on supporting women and non-binary hackers. Not only was she on the organizing team of gender-focused hackathons like Codetivate and Hydra Hacks, but she supported 30+ hackathons by mentoring newer hackers, hosting technical workshops, and running logistics behind the scenes. She was well aware of how hackathons work before she jumped into one.
Hack Girl Summer 2.0 was the ideal first hackathon. She created a solo project that allowed her to mesh her creativity with her technical expertise. It was called “Gender Bias Comment Detector,” and used sentimental analysis on tweets to screen out gender bias and negativity. She won the best hardware hack in the hackathon. She recalls, “Hackathons found a special place in my heart as I got addicted to them over time, and I decided this is how I want to be learning for the rest of my life.”
This initial success became a springboard for committing to hackathons almost every weekend as a hacker and a mentor. Her engagement blossomed then and continues today, and she dedicates her time and energy to working with hackers of all backgrounds for mutual success. One friend she made through the TechTogether Boston Discord, for example, opened her eyes to different experiences. She recalls, “it gave me a different perspective of the individuals in the queer space and hearing stories of how far individuals have come.”
Gender disparity is a significant issue in technology, and Geetanjali is doing her part to close the gap. She became a guild leader for an MLH Local Hack Day that aimed to bridge the gender divide and built an inclusive group for high school girls to thrive in technology. Known as Command Tech, this initiative mentors young women from across the globe.
Geetanjali has a natural gift for creativity and tech knowledge. Instead of using it only for personal gain, she shares her expertise and innovation with the hacker community, making her a truly valuable leader.
Quick Facts
Geetanjali Purohit, 20
Geetanjali Purohit has forged an exciting path, combining technical skills, logic, and exceptional creativity in her coding. She uses novel approaches and innovative ideas to create great things, finding solutions in unorthodox ways.
Based in India, she is currently enrolled at university and heavily involved in Major League Hacking (MLH) hackathons, but has been interested in technology since she was a little girl. Whether it was creating Photoshop projects, wondering how people design websites, or analyzing how developers make games, she was always thinking about the creative side of technology. Her mother would work late, giving Geetanjali lots of time to work and play in the computer lab at school while she waited for her mom to pick her up.
In high school and college, her passion for technology combined with her love of the stage. She is outgoing and social and brings these parts of herself into her approach to coding. Before she participated in her first hackathon, she worked to build a culture of inclusivity. The role of engagement director in the hacker community was a natural fit, and she quickly focused on supporting women and non-binary hackers. Not only was she on the organizing team of gender-focused hackathons like Codetivate and Hydra Hacks, but she supported 30+ hackathons by mentoring newer hackers, hosting technical workshops, and running logistics behind the scenes. She was well aware of how hackathons work before she jumped into one.
Hack Girl Summer 2.0 was the ideal first hackathon. She created a solo project that allowed her to mesh her creativity with her technical expertise. It was called “Gender Bias Comment Detector,” and used sentimental analysis on tweets to screen out gender bias and negativity. She won the best hardware hack in the hackathon. She recalls, “Hackathons found a special place in my heart as I got addicted to them over time, and I decided this is how I want to be learning for the rest of my life.”
This initial success became a springboard for committing to hackathons almost every weekend as a hacker and a mentor. Her engagement blossomed then and continues today, and she dedicates her time and energy to working with hackers of all backgrounds for mutual success. One friend she made through the TechTogether Boston Discord, for example, opened her eyes to different experiences. She recalls, “it gave me a different perspective of the individuals in the queer space and hearing stories of how far individuals have come.”
Gender disparity is a significant issue in technology, and Geetanjali is doing her part to close the gap. She became a guild leader for an MLH Local Hack Day that aimed to bridge the gender divide and built an inclusive group for high school girls to thrive in technology. Known as Command Tech, this initiative mentors young women from across the globe.
Geetanjali has a natural gift for creativity and tech knowledge. Instead of using it only for personal gain, she shares her expertise and innovation with the hacker community, making her a truly valuable leader.
Quick Facts
