Hi, I’m Tarun. I enjoy listening to people and understanding what they’re going through especially when life feels confusing, heavy, or overwhelming. Alongside my work as a DevOps Engineer at Amazon and Co-Founder of StudentsBoat, I’ve spent years mentoring students, teaching, and working with diverse communities. I’ve often been the person friends, students, and peers turn to when they need to talk things through and I’ve seen firsthand how much a calm, non-judgmental conversation can help someone breathe a little easier. During my Master’s in Computer Science at Portland State University, I was deeply involved beyond academics by serving as a Teaching Assistant for Machine Learning, Treasurer of the Indian Student Association at Portland State, a Robotics & Coding Instructor for the TRIO Upward Bound Program, and a Guest Speaker and Instructor with Saturday Academy for HighSchool. I’ve also been invited as a panelist for entrepreneurship programs, received Leadership Excellence and Volunteer Appreciation awards, and won 3rd Prize at the Everyday Entrepreneurship Challenge at PSU. As an entrepreneur, I’ve completed five pre-accelerator and accelerator programs, currently incubated by Portland State University and Janus Innovation Hub in San Diego, building StudentsBoat with the mission to help students feel at home wherever they go. Through these experiences, I’ve learned as much about people, emotions, and resilience as I have about technology and leadership. These sessions aren’t about “fixing” you. They’re about giving you space to be heard, understood, and supported as a human, not a problem to solve. Sometimes, clarity begins with simply talking. I believe the strongest strength is having a passion for it. "Remember You should only shine the way you are" - Tarun Kumar Yerra.