Mashiur Rahman never worked with software programming language prior to entering Ohio State
Yet when Rahman, a senior in computer science and engineering, was still a freshman he enrolled in classes only seniors have the privilege to take.
“When he was a freshman, he was already taking 560, a class I take when I am a senior,” said Ping-Yin Chan, a senior in computer and information science and a grader for CIS 311.
Rahman grades for classes he has never taken before. His success is bolstered by instructors’ confidence in his capability to fulfill, or even surpass, the requirements as their assistant.
“Rahman is the only student I always request for as my grader,” said Paolo Bucci, an instructor for CIS 694J and a post-doctoral researcher for the Reusable Software Research Group at OSU. “He is truly interested in helping people and gives me extra help in teaching the students.”
Rahman is a grader for Bucci’s class this quarter.
In addition, Rahman was one of the first international students at OSU hired by Microsoft Corporation as an intern. He was hired his junior year.
Working for Microsoft is one of the top positions for a CIS student because employers know the company is picky in employee recruitment, not to mention the rare opportunity for an international student to be employed by Microsoft, Chan said.
The 22-year-old from Bangladesh credits his ability to shine to the passion he has for logic – developed as a debater in high school – and his conscientious attitude.
“I will tell myself to keep working hard whenever I face difficulties,” Rahman said. “When quarter breaks, I will read additional books that are not related to classes I have to take or do some projects about software.”
During his freshman year, Rahman improvised an applet gradation to help other graders display students’ records with more ease.
Rahman learns from everyone, even children, because one of the tactics he uses to tackle the problems appearing in his programs is consulting others, he said.
When Rahman was an intern for Microsoft in Seattle last spring, he worked as a software-testing engineer in a content management team composed of three to four people. The members in the team worked under the guidance of a mentor who was responsible for the completion of the project.
Raj Jain, Rahman’s mentor for the team, said Rahman was a commendable intern.
“Rahman was involved in many areas of the project he was working on, and that included being part of the design, framework and implementation of the project,” Jain said. “He has good intelligent acumen and has a marvelous skill of quick learning and implementing the knowledge required.”
Jain said Microsoft is the contemporary place to develop knowledge in technology, and Rahman is one of the people who possess the passion to learn.
To Rahman, the most valuable insight he gained from the internship is the significance of communication.
“Communication is important for any job, culture, and it is especially so for software development, because you have to be careful and exact in whatever you say so that other people will catch it,” Rahman said.
Being passionate and friendly to every group member also requires the art of communication, he said.
Rahman’s friends and colleagues are unfaltering adherents to his theory.
“We all have a very positive attitude about Rahman because he is approachable, honest, willing to listen to your stories and truly cares about his friends,” said Sally Kao, a senior in information system, who has known Rahman for two years.
Unlike a lot of ambitious and competitive people, Rahman is pleasant to work with, said Bucci, also the advisor to Rahman for his project in the Europa Club, a club for undergraduate students to participate in computer science research at OSU.
“On top of Rahman’s successful curriculum, he is one of the nicest people I know, and I treat him like a peer,” Bucci said.
Rahman’s grade point average is 3.94 for CIS and 3.85 overall.
Rahman has affected his students’ life in ways he did not expect.
“Unlike other graders I had before, I know Rahman has a reason whenever he wants to deduct any points, because he will make very good comments,” Chan said. “He is part of the reason I want to be a grader – I want to do the same to the other students too.”
Rahman is planning on graduating in the fall of 2003, and he wants to go to graduate school.
“Work hard and do things you really love – that is what works for me,” he said.
