Have you been following our series, Meet the Interns? In our previous installment, we featured Caitlin Tran, a rising senior graduating in 2023 with a computer science degree from Virginia Tech. This time, we interview Aashish Gatamaneni, a rising senior majoring in business information technology at Virginia Tech. Aashish loves traveling, playing basketball, and watching sports and anime. What else interests this talented intern? Read on.
Thank you for telling us about yourself and your hobbies. Can you tell us a little about your professional interests?
Most of my professional interests are in data science and machine learning. Data is really the new currency these days, and I think it’s so cool to be working with and studying all this data, both in my major and in the internship. I believe focusing in these areas will allow me to have endless learning opportunities.
What attracted you to Octo? What are your thoughts on the company’s technologies?
Octo has so many innovative technologies. It has been eye-opening learning how the solutions work and how they are applied. I feel like every piece of technology that I’ve seen at Octo has significant use cases. It’s exciting to see how Octo leverages these innovative technologies with potential clients.
What intrigues you about the internship at Octo? What do you hope to accomplish?
In this internship, I hope to absorb as much information as possible while working with interesting concepts in data science, machine learning (ML), and artificial intelligence (AI). Along with learning as much as I can technically, I want to learn about the industry and how Octo fits in from a business perspective.
From a hands-on perspective, I’m excited about the neural search project. I’m enjoying working with a team of talented individuals to create a product that could potentially be used for one of Octo’s government clients. I’m also really excited to work at Octo’s new oLabs™ facility.
What is your impression of Octo’s culture?
I love how easy it is to talk to everyone at Octo. On our first day at the office, I was surprised that such important figures in Octo took time out of their busy schedules to speak with us, give us advice, and answer any questions we had. I think that kind of culture is so great for the company, and I am glad to be a part of it.
What excites you about ML and AI?
As I was growing up, I always thought to myself, what will be the next revolution that changes the way we live? Machine Learning and AI are leading the way for that revolution, and the thing that excites me most is that there are endless possibilities for applying these emerging technologies. Any mundane process you wish to optimize/eliminate in your daily life can be solved using ML/AI. I’m excited to see how ML improves our lives and hopefully the world as well.
What are your long- and short-term goals?
I’m really interested in sports, and these days, teams have been using lots of data in different ways to help their team succeed. I want work with a sports team (preferably the Wizards or Commanders), utilizing ML to maximize their data.
Who is an innovator you admire and why?
An innovator I really admire is Elon Musk. I love how he’s such a creative thinker and how he truly believes he can create anything he wants. I absolutely believe he will be one of the main catalysts driving the evolution of technology.
Would you enjoy working in a dynamic, supportive environment? Octo is an inclusive workplace for employees at every career stage. We’re hiring technologists and support staff with a passion to learn and empower customers to meet essential missions. Check out careers at Octo now. And stay tuned for our next installment of Meet the Interns.