Vedant Tiwari is a sophomore at Penn State studying computer science. Most students at Penn State are taking classes while trying to balance their extracurricular activities. Well, we thought we had a lot on our plates. Vedant took it a step further when he decided to create his own app, myLinks at State. Sound familiar? Well, you just may have it in your phone because the app has approximately 8,000 downloads and is making the life of Penn State students that much easier.
Here’s what Vedant has in store for his app, myLinks at State:
HC: What is myLinks at State in a nutshell?
VT: myLinks at State is essentially a resource that brings many of the common resources used by Penn State students into one place. It brings resources such as Angel, Webmail, eLion, etc. into one location. It also makes many tasks faster including looking for recommended academic plans, calculating an estimated GPA, finding hours for the gym and even looking for the menus at the dining commons.
HC: We have to know, why did you create myLinks at State?
VT: When I first came to Penn State, the first thing I did, as most people would do, was go on the App Store and look up Penn State. I didn’t really find anything I was looking for at the time, so I just quit the search. Furthermore, as a freshman, I really wanted to learn more about programming, especially phone application programming, so I decided to start my expedition by trying out different things. I started discussing my ideas with my roommate at the time, and he seemed to like them and said he would use the ideas. There was one idea that was always in the back of my head, myLinks at State, an app I had been looking for since I got to campus. Every time I thought of working on it, I was unsure how I would go about getting it approved. I constantly debated the idea and then pushed it away. One day, I realized how much I really liked my idea when I was describing it to one of my friends. In less than half an hour, I found myself asking Penn State officials for permission to implement my idea. As myLinks at State started getting more popular, I started getting requests for the app from Android users, so I went back to the starting point and created the app for Android devices during the first semester of my sophomore year. Even though I was unsure if the app would actually make it to the App Store, I was enjoying the skills I was gaining and learning how to create an app.
HC: What has been the most challenging part about creating an app?
VT: The most challenging part about creating an app was definitely time management. I had to figure out how to manage schoolwork, extra activities, and program the app. I had to reconsider my priorities several times and use more of my relaxing time to get work done. Although it was difficult at first, I started enjoying the time commitments as the app came closer to being finished.
HC: If you could go back in time, would you do anything differently?
VT: If I could go back in time, the one thing I would do differently is create the app earlier. The app was made for iOS devices at the end of my freshman year during finals, and I strongly believe I could have created it earlier. There is a part of me that believes the timing of the release of the app was perfect since it was released around the beginning of the Summer semesters.
HC: What is the most rewarding part about creating your own app?
VT: The most rewarding part about creating my own app is being able to walk around campus, glancing at someone on his or her phone and noticing that they are using something I created. I have even had people come up to me telling me to download this app their friend showed them. It is just very rewarding to see people using my product and telling me they appreciate it or telling me about my own app without knowing I created it.
HC: Do you plan on expanding your app to other campuses?
VT: I have considered expanding the app to other campuses but something has always come up. It is something I would like to do in the future, but I feel like I need a lot more time for that. I am constantly developing and improving the iOS and Android versions of the app. Once I am satisfied with how the app is on both platforms, I would surely like to expand it to other campuses.
HC: Do you want to make a career from myLinks at State?
VT: It is possible to make a career from myLinks at State, but there are things I refrain from. As I am a college student as well, I understand how students do not want to spend money on apps or how annoying advertisements can be. Therefore, I have stayed away from any profit so far. There are several other ways to make a profit/career from myLinks at State, which I might consider in the future, but I believe my education is my main priority currently.
HC: What is a motto that you apply to your life?
VT: “Imagination is the power you cannot imagine,” and, “A journey of a thousand miles starts by taking one step,” are the two things I apply to my life. I think some ideas seem crazy and ridiculous, but I also know that someone, somewhere, one day will turn that crazy idea/imagination into a reality. Take airplanes as an example – if you go back far enough, people will think you are crazy if you gave them the idea of a flying vehicle. Now, we have planes, thousands of planes, in the sky at all times. I also believe that if I put my mind to something, I will do it. If I just sit there and say it is not possible, then I know I will not make it possible. But, if I make an effort, I am sure I can get somewhere with it, hence the second quote.
HC: Do you have any advice for young entrepreneurs like yourself?
VT: I think the one advice I could give young entrepreneurs is to never delay an idea they have. The earlier your idea is turned into a reality, the better it is. I know as students it is often hard to manage time to implement ideas, but I believe everyone can reprioritize different things and make time to make things happen. I also think it is important to take risks with the work one does. Yes, the idea may be rejected, but that doesn’t mean it is not a worth the try. When I look back at myself in a year, I would rather say, “I tried, and I failed,” rather than, “I could’ve succeeded with my idea, but I didn’t try.” My high school principal used to say, “There are three types of people in the world – there are the ones who like to make things happen, there are the ones who like to watch things happen, then there are those who have no idea what is happening.” I think everyone should try his or her best to be the one who likes to make things happen. It doesn’t matter how small of a difference you are trying to make, it will make an impact on someone.
So, there you have it, collegiettes. Life’s too short to be the person who likes to watch things happen. If you have an idea or dream, run with it! The worst that can happen is that you’ll fail but learn valuable lessons from the experience. The best that can happen is that you’ll succeed and next thing you know, you’re on a private jet drinking champagne next to Zac Efron. Either way, at least you can say you didn’t try.