The Foundation for a Meaningful Life Kindergarten - Grade 9 in Southborough, MA
Fay Magazine: Fall-Winter 2018
Andrew Orobator '08: Solving Everyday Problems, One Line of Code at a Time
by Jeremy Navarro '14
"That feeling of helping others understand—that ‘lightbulb’ moment—is a huge motivator."
If you find a problem, you fix it—one line of code at a time. It’s that simple, at least, to Andrew Orobator. An Android developer proficient in nearly ten programming languages, Andrew has launched a career using his computer prowess to tackle real-world problems.
Andrew’s work as an app developer began in the summer of 2013, when he was unable to find an app that would allow him to queue and play music on his smartphone in the way he wanted. So he did what any programmer would do: he bought a book on Android development, taught himself new skills, and developed a solution to his problem. Ultimately, Andrew’s idea turned into Auracle, a music application on the Google Play store with over 10,000 downloads to date.
After graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science degree, Andrew began working at SmartThings, a subsidiary of Samsung that develops products for the ‘Internet of Things’. The company creates tools for consumers to interact remotely with Internet-connected devices that control things like light, heat, and security. Andrew currently focuses on audio and video platforms for SmartThings; his most recent work centered around Internet-connected security cameras that stream back to a consumer’s phone.
These days, Andrew devotes significant time to helping other programmers navigate the issues he has faced as a developer. He writes articles and speaks at conferences around the country, most recently at droidconNYC.
Andrew is also dedicated to inspiring the next generation of developers through teaching and mentoring. For the past several years, Andrew has volunteered as a mentor for Coalition for Queens, a Google-funded coding “bootcamp” whose goal is to increase diversity in the tech sector.
“Teaching has always been a passion,” Andrew says, noting that “it’s kind of like coding—as your brain breaks a larger concept into a linear, logical procession, you end up learning more about the process yourself.” Andrew adds that helping students pursue their interest in tech is also rewarding. “That feeling of helping others understand—that ‘lightbulb’ moment—is a huge motivator.”