Meet a Postman Student Leader: Abir Pal

Meet Abir Pal, an accomplished Postman Student Leader. In this special Q&A, Abir reflects on his journey as a Student Leader, shares how he impacted the Postman community by helping boost API literacy, and offers his advice for current and future Postman Student Leaders.

Name: Abir Pal
Postman Student Leader: Since 2021
School: Chandigarh University
Degree: Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science
Current Company: Software Engineer at GetCerta.com
Open Source Activity: Creator of AsyncAPI Problem Interface (used by Walmart global tech); Google Summer of Code 2023 Mentor, Postman; AsyncAPI Mentee 2022 by Linux Foundation
Internships: Major League Hacking Fellow (2021); Software Engineering Intern at Affinidi, Singapore (2021)

You’re very active in the Postman student community. What do student communities mean to you? 

Being in the Postman student community has been an enriching experience. It’s an environment where we gain awareness and are able to explore our true selves. When I started learning about programming and software engineering, I was unfamiliar with the best practices, and that lack of experience was not getting me anywhere. The Postman student community helped me by providing a platform where I could not only communicate with other students who were on the journey, but also network with engineers who had been working in the industry for years. All of this helped me grow and develop my skills. Student communities offer you a lot of things—such as upskilling, networking, and help with job hunting. I would recommend this experience to anyone who is getting started with their career.

You have been part of multiple student programs throughout your student journey. Can you help us understand how Postman Student Programs are different from other programs you’ve been in?

The Postman Student Program is one of the most inclusive communities I have been in so far. The most intriguing part of the community is that its members know something about APIs, which helps lay a strong foundation. Even the members who are entirely new to APIs have trained in API 101 sessions with Student Experts and Leaders every weekend, which helps make sure the whole community is aware of the context around APIs and why they hold a strong position in the industry. The Postmanauts during my tenure—Ali, Claire, Aanchal, and Smit—always went the extra mile to help the community members. I remember, during the student conference, all Student Leaders were given an opportunity to have a 1:1 with the CEO and co-founder of Postman, Abhinav Asthana. This is another thing that makes the Postman student community stand out from others. The Postmanauts themselves are so dedicated to the program. We were always encouraged to explore new domains and help other community members.The Postman Student Program also helped me with my job search. We had a session with Smit Patel, head of partnerships at Postman, where he showed us how writing cold emails can lead to better results during a job search. Learning this skill was really important, and I got my first gig at Codiga from the tips Smit shared. I am forever thankful to Smit and the Postman Student Program; it significantly impacted my whole software engineering journey. If you can choose between two communities, I encourage you to believe in the Postman student community. It will skyrocket your career, as well as your network in the industry.

What were some events you’ve hosted to help promote API literacy in and around your campus? What are some insights you’ve gained from that process?

I organized API Hacks 2.0 during the pandemic, which was a hackathon focused on building remote products with APIs. From our registration survey, we discovered that 60% of the students were completely new to APIs. So, we extended the hackathon with a pre-hackathon series, where we exclusively taught these students about APIs from scratch. It was challenging work, but we were able to do it as a team by explaining APIs in layman’s terms. We also organized standard sessions touching cross-platform APIs like gRPC. Here is one of the videos that explains gRPC. You can watch these videos at any time; they are uploaded to our community channel, “Tech Phantoms.”The most exciting part was that the students received job offers from different recruiters after they showcased their hackathon project on Twitter and talked about it in public channels. It made our whole team feel that we have achieved something outstanding and impactful.

What advice do you have for other Postman Student Leaders or students who are thinking of applying to become a Student Leader? 

Being a Student Leader comes with a lot of responsibility, as it impacts the campus around you. It’s important to make sure that you communicate your ideas with your audience—while also allowing them to ask their questions and giving them a space to think about the problem creatively. Additionally, Postman Student Leaders should always keep their knowledge about APIs up-to-date. As a Student Leader, it’s your duty to deliver current information and experiment with the technologies around you.Finally, prioritizing inclusivity and collaboration will take you to new heights in your journey.

How to get involved with Postman Student Programs

• Interested in becoming a Postman Student Leader? The first step is applying to be a Postman Student Expert here.
• Already a Postman Student Expert? Become a Postman Student Leader by applying here.
• Are you an educator? Learn about our Postman Classroom Program for educators here.