DEV Community: Aric Pandya

✨ When a Community Event Turns Into a Festival of Learning – AWS Community Day Vadodara 2025

Aric Pandya — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 04:51:05 +0000

Community events aren’t just about talks. They’re about the energy, the connections, and the moments you carry forward long after the sessions are over.

For the 2nd year in a row, I had the privilege of attending the most awaited AWS Community Day Vadodara 2025, organized by AWS User Groups Vadodara at Suncity Club & Resort. And this time—it truly felt like a festival of learning. 🚀

🌍 More than an Event, a 360° Experience
What made this year’s event stand out was how it transformed beyond the traditional “conference format” into a full-fledged community experience:

🏢 Interactive Booths & Zones – where learning happened hands-on.
🎙️ Live Podcasts & Interviews – conversations that carried raw and fresh perspectives.
🎯 BuilderCards – gamified knowledge sharing.
🌟 Experience Zone – a space to connect, explore, and celebrate technology.

I wasn’t just attending sessions—I was living the community spirit.
Learning in corridors, exchanging ideas at booths, discussing over coffee, and soaking in the vibes across every corner.

🙌 Behind the Scenes: The Organizers
A massive shoutout to the incredible organizers:
Nirmal Pathak, Dhaval Pancholi, Adit N Modi, Priyal Jadav, Chirag Darji, Ravi Soni, Jay Patel, Vrajesh Jayswal, Maitry Patel, Nidhi Thakore and many more.

You all curated something unique where knowledge met experience, and that’s what made the event #extraordinary.

🎤 The Speakers Who Lit Up the Stage

With 25+ speakers sharing insights, every session sparked new perspectives. A huge thanks to: *Ridhima Kapoor, Shubham Londhe, Bhuvaneswari Subramani, Dhaval Nagar, Nirmal Chhodvadiya, Abhishek Wagh, Nilesh Vaghela, Omshree Butani, Manthan Tripathi, Ameya Vaidya, Ashish Gajjar, Krutarth Rindani, Dimple Vaghela, Ashwin Raiyani, JATIN GOEL and many more *

🤝 Community, Connections & Conversations

A big appreciation to AWS Ahmedabad Community fellows – Dhaval Mojidra, Parthraj Gohil, Parth Patel, Manan Shah – for joining in and adding to the spirit.Special mention to Shubham Bhaiya – your energy and support made the journey even more memorable.And to the 600+ attendees: every question, every smile, every conversation added value to the event.

💙 Why This Matters

AWS Community Day Vadodara once again proved a simple truth: Communities aren’t built by sessions alone, but by the experiences that bring people closer.This wasn’t just about cloud or code—it was about collaboration, curiosity, and connection.

🔖 Closing Thoughts

Walking out of the event, I wasn’t just carrying notes from sessions—I was carrying stories, friendships, and the motivation to keep building.Here’s to more such events where learning goes beyond slides and into real experiences. 🌍💡

🚀 Hashtags

AWSCommunity #AWSCommunityDay #AWSUserGroups #ACDVadodara2025 #ACD2025 #TechCommunity #LearningTogether #Networking #Builders

How to become an open-source contributor ?

Aric Pandya — Sat, 05 Jul 2025 07:22:34 +0000

Last year, I used to scroll through LinkedIn and see people building open-source projects, getting internships, and making their first pull requests.
And I kept thinking to myself:

"Bhai, mujhe bhi karna hai... par start kahan se karun?"

I knew how to code, but open-source felt like a big scary world. GitHub looked like NASA’s dashboard. 😅

But this year, I found out that GirlScript Summer of Code (GSSoC) 2025 is back — and it’s more beginner-friendly than ever thanks to their brand-new app:
👉 Insights by Smartly 📲

🔧 What is GSSoC?
Girlscript Summer of Code is one of India’s biggest open-source programs. It's designed for beginners and experts alike who want to contribute to real-world projects, grow their skills, and network with awesome people.

🎯 3 Roles You Can Apply For
You can choose one of the following:

👨‍💻 Contributor — Learn, Code, and Contribute to real projects
🧑‍🏫 Mentor — Guide newcomers and support project contributors
🛠️ Project Admin — Submit and lead your own open-source project

📲 How to Apply (Step-by-Step)
Here’s how I applied in just 5 steps:

Install Insights by Smartly from the Play Store
Select your role (Contributor / Mentor / Project Admin)
Fill in your basic details — name, email, GitHub/LinkedIn, etc.
Mention your tech stack & experience — languages, tools, past PRs
Answer why you want to join GSSoC — share your motivation, passion & goals

🧠 Pro Tip: Be honest and clear. They’re looking for potential, not perfection!

🏷️ Use My Referral Code!
If you're applying, consider using my referral code:
9c0701df-5b38-4725-9e5b-ec234fccfb0b
This helps support me as a Campus Ambassador 🙏

Your work makes open-source accessible to thousands of students like me ❤️

💬 Have Questions?

Feel free to DM me on LinkedIn or comment below.
Let’s grow together, build real projects, and contribute to something bigger than ourselves. 🌱

🚀 Let’s GSSoC 2025 !

opensource #gssoc2025 #girlscript #devto #techforgood #developerjourney #firstpr

🚀 Wore Many Hats, Captured Countless Moments – My Journey with AWS Community Day Ahmedabad!

Aric Pandya — Thu, 26 Jun 2025 05:15:32 +0000

Just wrapped up an unforgettable ride as part of the AWS Ahmedabad Community core team — and what a ride it’s been! 💥

From building the official event website 🌐 to handling social media buzz 📱, capturing candid moments 📸, designing vibrant creatives 🎨, and ensuring smooth coordination 🔄 — this experience was truly about wearing multiple hats and loving every second of it. 🧢❤️

💡 More Than Just Tasks

It wasn’t just about ticking off checkboxes. It was about:

Learning 📚 new things every day,
Networking 🤝 with experts and passionate peers,
Growing 🌱 through challenges,
and Collaborating with a crew that truly inspired.

Whether I was behind the lens or behind the scenes, I poured heart into every detail — ensuring the energy and excitement of the day was felt across every channel and every moment.

🎤 Power-Packed Speaker Lineup
We had an incredible slate of experts who delivered valuable insights:

🔸 Pritish Mhatre – The Future of Data & Analytics on AWS

🔸 Shubham Londhe – Log Analysis with Amazon Q CLI

🔸 Annie Mattoo – Unified AI Dev with SageMaker Studio

🔸 Anand Mehta – Managing Data at Scale with Data Lake

🔸 Anuj Teli – AI Transformation Story

🔸 Dipali Kulshrestha – Modern Data Architecture

🔸 Manthan Tripathi – Our Energetic Host for the Day!

🙌 Hats Off to Our Rockstar Volunteers
This event wouldn’t have been possible without our amazing team of volunteers:

🎯 Mission Accomplished:
✅ Website

✅ Photography

✅ Social Media

✅ Creative Designs

💯 Vibes? Absolutely Immaculate.

🧠 Final Thoughts
Being part of AWS Community Day – Data Analytics Edition wasn’t just an event; it was a movement. A celebration of tech, teamwork, and tenacity.

I’m beyond proud to be part of this vibrant, heart-led community.
Let’s continue to learn, build, and grow — together. 💪💙

AWSCommunityDay #CreativeTech #EventLife #VolunteerWork #DevTo #AWSUGAhmedabad #TechWithHeart #Innovation #Leadership #CommunityBuilder #BlueTeam #Gratitude

☁️ Clouds, 💻 Code & 🤝 Connections — That’s a Wrap!

Aric Pandya — Mon, 16 Jun 2025 11:47:55 +0000

What an electrifying two days it has been at the AWS Academy Workshop powered by Gujarat Technological University (GTU)! 🎓⚡

As a speaker, I had the incredible opportunity to not just share knowledge but also witness the spark of curiosity ignite in so many eager learners. From hands-on cloud concepts to real-world implementation stories — this workshop became a melting pot of innovation, passion, and purpose. 💡🔥

✨ Highlights
🧠 Rooms packed with questions, curiosity, and young minds hungry to grow

💬 Interactive discussions, real-time demos, and career kickstarters

🌈 A community vibe that turned tech talks into meaningful conversations

🕗 Late-night planning, 🌅 early morning energy, and endless moments of “Wow, I didn’t know that!”

🙌 Shoutouts
This experience wouldn’t have been possible without an incredible crew:

💼 Volunteers who worked beyond roles — hats off to Dhaval Mojidra & Umang Kothari

🎙️ My fellow speakers whose insights sparked new ideas —
Ashwin Raiyani, Ashay Doshi, Ashish Gajjar, Nilesh Vaghela

🏛️ A big thank-you to GTU & AWS Academy for providing a platform where learners and leaders could connect

This wasn’t just about cloud tech — it was about building bridges between today’s learners and tomorrow’s leaders. 🌉🚀

🚀 What’s Next?
Here’s to:

💭 Bigger dreams

💻 Better code

🌍 Bolder communities

Let’s keep pushing the cloud ceiling higher — together 💪✨