September 2016 Co-Volunteer of The Month: Mayank Sharma

Congratulations to both @maany and @taremwatadeo as they have been nominated by their peers as September’s Volunteer of The Month!

We want to acknowledge their work and commitment to the OpenMRS community, so we asked them a few questions to learn more about who they are.

Mayank Sharma, tell us a little about your background:

My name is Mayank Sharma (@maany). I have just completed my summer internship at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) and am starting my final year of undergraduate student at National Institute of Technology, Delhi. I am majoring in Electronics and Communications Engineering but I spend most of my evenings after classes programming or tinkering with new technology I can get my hands on. Rewinding a little bit - I started out as a 3d animation and vfx guy and took a diploma in 3dsMax in my 7th grade because I wanted to make a full-fledged 3d movie. Since then, I started learning and programming in C/C++/ OpenGL and Java. In Feb 2014, I got my OCJP certification. I accumulated experience in computer graphics, 3d animation and game dev and so in my freshman year, I got selected for GSoC 2014. My project was to create a Cinematics editor for jMonkeyEngine. That’s how I got started with Open Source Software and I have really enjoyed contributing as it is a lot of fun and a great learning experience. I continued contributing to Open Source and was a successful GsoC 2015 student for OpenMRS. It was probably my best GsoC and I am glad to have had amazing mentors who supported me to continue contributing to the organization.

I got started with OpenMRS in March 2015, during FOSSASIA conference in Singapore where I met with Michael Downey and Harsha Siriwardena. Interesting fact, in March 2016, I was again in Singapore with Michael attending FOSSASIA but this time I was representing OpenMRS alongside him.

How did you get interested in OpenMRS?

In March last year, I was representing jMonkeyEngine at FOSSASIA 2015 and I was really excited to meet FOSS developers from all over the world. One of my goals for the conference was I really wanted to use my skills to something that really makes a difference, beyond all the fun stuff I had been doing and explore some serious issues where I could be helpful.

So there, when I read about the OpenMRS session on the schedule, the line “Write code. Save lives” really got my attention. I then attended Harsha Siriwardhena’s talk on OpenMRS and he told about how the project is making a difference in different parts of Africa. Also, as I’m from India where we are still getting there in terms of healthcare services, I got excited to learn how I can contribute to OpenMRS and explore possibilities of using it to improve healthcare services around me. I’m really glad OpenMRS provided me that opportunity.

How do you participate in the community (What activities, projects, role, etc)?

I work with the infrastructure team as the Developer Tools Manager. Some responsibilities include taking care of JIRA/ Confluence, Git repos, Nexus repository and Modulus. Hats off to our infra team for all they do! I was also the Release Manager for Platform 2.0. It is the first major release we’ve made in a long time and aligns us with the latest trends in web development. Platform 2.0 lays the foundation for innovative and modular web development on top of OpenMRS. The whole experience of releasing Platform 2.0 was really humbling for me. It not only shows how we have advanced in out software distributions but also how strong we are as a community.

I am also an ex-GSoC student for OpenMRS. In 2015, I worked on the Oauth2 module under the mentorship of Harsha Kumara and Suranga Kasthururathne. I was also the scrum master for about 6 months before starting my internship at CERN. I am a self-proclaimed OpenMRS Evangelist. I really love introducing new people to our community and helping them in the initial phases to get started. I remember when Shreyans Seth (bholagabbar) first talked to me about how to get started with OpenMRS. It was amazing to see him become a successful GsoC 2016 student for us and even now he continues to impress with his sharp mind and skills.

What are your favorite things to do in your free time?

I like to travel and explore the world. I have doing a lot of it lately! I also like to play the guitar or compose music. Sometimes I just do hackathons for fun or play CS:GO

What’s your favorite OpenMRS moment or tell us what makes OpenMRS special to you?

My favorite OpenMRS moment definitely comes from the OpenMRS Summit last year. It was the first OpenMRS meetup I had attended and it was great meeting everyone in the community; especially the implementers. It was there when I realized that the words “Write Code, Save Lives” are not just random text on paper, but it is the cause each and every person in that building cares so sincerely about. The stories from PIH, Project Buendia, Bahmni and the positive energy in the environment created by people trying to make the world a better place was really very humbling and something I can never forget. It inspires me every time I think about it!!

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Thanks @maany for all your great contributions!

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Awesome work @maany! You have always been a great joy to work with! :slight_smile:

By the way @jeffneiman do we have a blog about this post such that it can show up under the most recent blogs at http://openmrs.org/?

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Haha wow @maany not sure if I’m worthy of such praise but thank you so much! I’ll be ever grateful for all the guidance I received at the start from you, @harsha89, @dkayiwa and @michael. OpenMRS has opened new avenues for me as a student and a developer and just taught me SO SO much in the past few months. I’ll be indebted to this community forever :slight_smile:

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@maany Thank you for your contributions to the community. :smile:

I feel the same :slight_smile:

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Working along side you on ther infra team @maany, it has been amazing and you made my job easier! You are VERY deserving of this! @taremwatadeo as well – I just don’t know you well enough yet!

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@r0bby i might not have been so much active for the past year, but am sure you will get to know me well, Am always thankful of the experience i achieve from being here at openMRS , the great people here and the great knowledge. I will always be thankful too , to @dkayiwa from whom i first heard openMRS and @k_joseph for the initiation. So far @burke @maurya @jthomas @jeffneiman @jdegraft and all others have also been of great assistance on this journey. But however i vow to give my best to this community, for i realized its here where i belong and where i want to stay

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thanks @maany for all that you do for OpenMRS!

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Thanks @maany for all of your hard work and helping to make OpenMRS a fun place to be! Congrats on volunteer of the month!

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@maany: Meeting you last year was inspiring. We are lucky to have you as part of our community! Thanks for all that you do.

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Thanks @maany for all the great work that you’re doing

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thanks everyone for the kind words and thanks for your awesome contributions to the community as well ! :smiley:

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@maany So great to read this and know of your many accomplishments. (I spent many years working in 3D graphics, so I love that you are interested in this area too.)

Getting to know you at the OpenMRS Summit has been a highlight. It demonstrates the importance of GSoC, bringing people together for OpenMRS events, and welcoming awesome people to the community.

Keep up the great work.

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woah ! @maany I am in India as well and i want to do similar stuff you did i would love if you could help me out