Pulkit Bhasin
Can you give an introduction with your year, major, hometown, and a fun fact about yourself?
Sure. So my name is Pulkit Bhasin. I'm currently a sophomore intending to major in Computer Science and then hopefully Business Administration as well. I was born in California, but I spent most of middle school and high school in Delhi, India, and then I moved and now I'm in Milpitas. And fun fact about me, I've met a lot of professional cricketers, if that's something cool.
How did you choose your majors?
So before coming to Berkeley, I was really interested in Computer Science and Economics, like the interdisciplinary nature of them. And in India we follow the British curriculum. So I had always considered that and in India and the UK, Econ is really considered as much more prestigious, I would say. Or I wouldn't say prestigious, but I was never really exposed to Business as a major. So for me it was Computer science and Econ, and I felt like I was a bit scared whether I'd be able to manage CS or not. So I was considering Data Science plus Econ. But when I came to Berkeley, I fell in love with CS. I was like, it's really good. I was enjoying it. Then during the summer, I thought maybe I should also try out for Business administration, because I thought that Econ and CS, with both being math intensive, might be harder to complete. So I thought I could try out Business Administration, which is a good, perhaps combination of theoretical math type stuff and then more conceptual domain expertise stuff. And as someone who's interested in fintech, it seemed like a good idea.
What are your professional experiences and interests? Why are you interested in those fields?
In terms of professional experience, during high school, I interned as an Android development intern at this fintech company called IndiaLends. That was pretty fun. So even though I was on the Android development side, I was really exposed to more of the fintech side of things. What they were essentially doing was they were making the process of issuing credit cards and issuing loans much more transparent by making the process much more objective and automated, that they don't have to go to banks, but rather, the company mediated the process. And then if you were denied the issue, they told you why like, oh, is your credit score too low? And why is it? For me, that was really interesting because it was making a previously subjective process much more objective, much more transparent. I thought that was really powerful, especially in a country like India, where a sense of ambiguity has led to a lot of problems in the past both on a micro and a macro level. And that's really why I was interested in fintech to be honest.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I love both playing and watching soccer and cricket. I play a lot of FIFA on my PS4. I watch a lot of Netflix, a bit too much, to be honest. I mean, most people don't consider it as a hobby, but yeah.
What's your favorite show on Netflix?
I love Bojack Horseman. It's wild. I wouldn't recommend it during lockdown simply because it's pretty existentialist and stuff. Yeah, it's a good show.
Are you involved in any other organizations on campus?
I'm a part of FinTech at Berkeley and DataGood at Berkeley.
How did you find out about SAAS and why did you join?
I found out about SAAS freshman year. I was just walking through Sproul, everyone's handing out flyers. I stopped and I got one from SAAS as well, and initially, because I thought it was a stats oriented club, I wasn't sure because I wasn't too interested in stats. But then once I checked out the committees, I really, really loved the Career Exploration committee. As a freshman, I didn't really have a strong theoretical background in data science, but it was something I was really interested in, because it's super interdisciplinary and spoke to me so I was really excited for that. And then once I became a part of SAAS, I liked both the professional development that it provided to me and also the sense of community because I felt like when I came, club culture just seemed so competitive at Berkeley, and when you come as a freshman imposter syndrome is riding high anyway. Club culture was brutal but I felt like something about SAAS was very comforting and just helped me realize that you're still a part of college, you're here to make friends and have fun and learn. And the committees are just so good. Like, I started off with Career Exploration, but then Research and Publication was great. There's a lot of opportunity for growth as well, which is why I've been sticking around.
How long have you been involved with SAAS and which committees have you been on?
This is my third semester. My first semester, I was a part of Career Exploration. Second, I was a member of Research and Publication. And now I'm one of the directors of Research and Publication.
What did you do in those committees?
So the first semester was really about learning. It was weekly workshops and stuff, and then we worked on projects, but mostly education. But the second, my experience as part of research and publication was super cool because we got to work on an independent data science research project. I worked on a cricket project, because like I said, I really like cricket. So I worked on this research project on cricket and it was super fun. I felt like I was super motivated. Because A) it was my own project, and B) I was working on something I'm genuinely interested in, not just a class project. And the satisfaction of completing it was pretty cool. Now it's mostly about helping others. Even as a director, I need to learn so much. Because I have to teach workshops now, and I have to make sure that I understand everything properly, so even that process is pretty enriching.
What would you say your proudest accomplishment in SAAS is?
Oh, definitely completing the project. Even within the project, I'd collect the data. So once I completed the web scraping it felt like okay, I've really learned something.
What were some of the biggest challenges of your project?
Collecting the data for me, especially. It was a really niche project idea of like, under 19 cricketers, so there was no ready made data set or anything available for it. So I had to really, really look for it, scrape it, and I felt like 60% of my project was just collecting the data. After that it was pretty okay. So I think that was definitely the hardest part.
How has SAAS helped you with your career and professional development?
I think definitely, you know, like I said, it's the perfect balance between both theoretical and practical skills. First semester, it provided me with a plethora of skills, like different modeling techniques, visualization, the data science lifecycle, and in the second semester, I got the opportunity to really apply those directly on an industry product. Well, I wouldn't say industry, but something that would help me for the industry really, and being able to go through the data science lifecycle yourself rather than someone telling it to you is also just a really good learning experience I feel.
Of the three SAAS values of community, exploration, and mentorship, can you choose one and explain what it means to you?
I think for me, especially as an aspiring data scientist, like someone really interested in data science, the word exploration means a lot simply because you need to be fearless and really like going forward and working through and playing around with data, working through stuff and being able to ask questions, and I feel SAAS committees really encourage that, and it gives you the platform to be able to. And of course, it's guided by mentorship. So that's a good principle. It's also really helpful, it allows you to take that step forward, and that I really like that so far.
How did you meet people and make friends in SAAS?
First semester, I felt like I didn't really engage a lot socially, because first semester, the workload was pretty high and I was getting used to Berkeley. Second semester, I felt for Research and Publication, whenever we go to meetings, I talk to people around me, we discuss projects, we used to walk back home, like walk back from Moffitt to the units, and things like that. And this semester, I feel like I've been involved a lot more socially and otherwise. I think through social events, even through the Slack channels, I like the fact that the Slack channels aren't just limited to academics or committees. You have people communicating and engaging on so many different levels. There's so many people who make so much of an effort to make SAAS not just a professional organization, but where people can have fun. And yeah, so I think through club and Slack channels and socials, all three.
Do you have a favorite SAAS memory?
I'd say completing that project, definitely my favorite SAAS memory. So after I completed my project, I got the opportunity to present it at the banquet in front of all the members. And I think Professor Shewchuk was also there. So that for me was a great opportunity, really being able to share my findings with everyone was a good memory.
Favorite class you've taken at Berkeley?
Ah, I think it's Data 100. It is super fun. I took it over the summer, and it was my only class so I wasn't expecting it to be too bad. But I never really felt like I was studying, you know, it was pretty interesting. So practical, so industry oriented, and the project, it was a lot of fun.
Favorite professor?
It's a tie. First of all, I think Professor Rao has been really, really good. Because for CS 70, you know, taking CS 70 in an online semester, I was really scared because people had mixed feelings about taking it online in spring and over the summer, they had an okay-ish experience so I was a bit scared, but Professor Rao did everything he could to really make it a pleasurable experience for us. He's been really compassionate. And I think the Romers for Econ 2, they're just so knowledgeable, so nice. It's always great learning from them.
Do you have a favorite spot on campus to study?
I haven't explored a lot of studying spots. I usually like studying in my room. Another spot I studied at a lot was the Putnam lounge, or even the Rec room, like the Academic room in Unit 1. It's like when you want to study with people, you go down there. And when you want to study alone, I was in my room.
In your opinion, what is the prettiest building on campus? And what is the ugliest one?
I mean, I won't say that Evans is the ugliest, because even though it looks a bit weird from the outside, I feel like the basement rooms are beautiful. So I will not mention it. I think the most beautiful one is like the Hearst Mining Building that's right in front of Evans actually, ironically. Yeah, it looks super fancy. I think that's its name. Yeah. It looks super fancy. Ugliest, I wouldn't say there's like an ugliest building. Actually I feel like there are a couple, and I don't remember their names. But yeah, I feel like there are just these tall buildings, and they're good to look at, you know, so I wouldn't call any ugly.
What's your favorite restaurant in Berkeley?
I really like Thai Basil. I went there a lot. I felt like it was also because it was like really, really close to Unit 1. So I didn't have to walk a lot.
Do you have a favorite boba shop?
Yeah, actually, even though I don't like boba, well okay, it's not too bad. But yeah, I don't love it. That's a better way to phrase it. But Feng Cha was one that I went to.
Do you have a favorite Berkeley memory?
Just meeting people. I feel like I wouldn't say any one particular memory. But I feel like it's been a good experience so far meeting new people, both professionally and personally, and experiencing new things. And maybe like just hanging out in the lounge is a good memory for me. Because I feel like that's what I did most of my freshman year, to be honest.