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About TSE

Triton Software Engineering is a student organization at UC San Diego where we develop software pro bono for local nonprofits. Our members are developers, designers, engineering managers, product managers, and executive officers—all student volunteers committed to our mission of using technology for social good.

TSE has grown a lot since its founding in 2017. We had over 90 members each year that I was in the org, and we've partnered with more than 30 different clients as of my final undergraduate year.

I was accepted into TSE in my first year at UCSD and was a developer for two years, during which I worked on four unique projects for the org. I then served as VP Engineering for another two years—my responsibilities were to lead our engineering managers, ensure all projects were progressing smoothly, and help resolve conflicts and technical issues. I gained invaluable experience, skills, and connections from TSE, and I'm glad that the things we make are helping communities in San Diego, across the country, and even around the world.

Projects

These are the projects that I worked on as a developer at TSE. You can also check out our entire GitHub portfolio at github.com/TritonSE.

Onboarding Guide (2023)

During my second year as VP Engineering, I designed a guide/tutorial for newly recruited TSE developers to introduce them to web development with the MERN stack. The guide takes students through our complete software engineering process, from analyzing a design prototype (shown in the above screenshots) to implementing React components and Express routes to testing and debugging. We originally wrote the guide's starter code to use Create React App, but due to the tool's deprecation, I later migrated it to Vite instead. My experience with Vite led me to use it for my personal website too.

Distribution Web App (2020–21)

A web application designed for Feeding San Diego, a local food charity organization, to track information about food distribution schedules and the agencies they partnered with. It greatly streamlines the process of viewing and editing the data they had stored.

This project was my first at TSE, and I learned a lot about JavaScript, React, and the rest of the typical MERN stack while working on it. I also began to understand how software engineers come together to solve problems, which I suspect will be a lifelong learning experience.

Green Home App (2021)

A mobile app designed for Your Clear Way, a nonprofit focused on helping people adopt more sustainable practices, to "gamify" the process of making one's home and lifestyle more environmentally friendly. Users earn badges for completing various tasks.

This project was already near completion when I was assigned to help finish it up. It actually took a lot longer than expected due to some strange deployment issues, broken dependencies, and client miscommunication, but as an organization we drew valuable lessons from it which will guide our approach to future projects and clients.

Moneta (2021–22)

An online database application that nonprofits can register with for free and customize for their own needs. While most of our projects are tailor-made for individual clients, Moneta (named after the Roman goddess of memory) is more like software as a service hosted and maintained by TSE.

By the time I began working on this project, I had learned even more about React and general software engineering principles, and I was able to apply much of that knowledge. I also discovered that I enjoy code review (unpopular opinion?) because it's a good opportunity to reinforce my understanding of said principles, in collaboration with a team, and to maintain high standards.

Goods Transport App (2022)

A mobile app designed for Laktaa, a nonprofit dedicated to providing logistical support to farmers and other rural citizens in Bhutan. The app connects farmers to truck drivers who can deliver their goods to markets, ports, and other destinations.