Where are you from? I was born in Malaysia but grew up in Hong Kong . I’ve also lived in Boston and Los Angeles for a few years. I’m pretty new to the Bay Area.
School/grade/major/area of study?: I’m a sophomore at Claremont McKenna College where I’m working on a double 
major in Economics and Computer Science in addition to a minor in Studio Art.
Why did you choose to intern with Microsoft?
Microsoft’s mission to create smarter cities really resonated with me. Growing up in different cities across the globe you start to recognize common problems most cities seem to face: the lack of government transparency, a digital literacy divide, transit overflow. While each city is nuanced, Microsoft’s Technology and Civic Engagement team is dedicated to working with civic leaders and government representatives to solve inefficiencies that root from both dated practices and emerging technologies.
What projects are you working on for your position as tech fellow for Microsoft Bay Area?
I will mainly be working with Code for San Francisco to organize available data and create technologies to improve community engagement. Additionally, in collaboration with the Neighborhood Empowerment Network, I will be working on creating a community resilience toolkit for the city.
What excites you about civic tech?
Civic tech is unique in the way that it requires collaboration from people of all different interests and talents to solve problems that pertain to our daily lives. Engaging with the local community plus programmers, designers, and entrepreneurs is the key to the achieving “wins” in this field. Knowing that the technology I help create can then be used to fuel social change deepens my desire to innovate.
What’s one problem you hope civic tech will solve for cities?
The ultimate goal is to eliminate inequalities and inefficiencies in resource access by creating sustainable solutions that allow a city to prosper socially and financially but not at the cost of the environment or others.
What gets you excited about digital design and open data?
The overload of information presented to us on a daily basis is extremely difficult to process effectively. By presenting data through public platforms in a way that is visually practical and equally appealing, citizens can access data that they can interpret and build on. A world of shared resources is necessary to improve the digital divide we face.
