The Road Not Taken: The Adventure of a Post Google Summer of Code Student

Suranga Nath Kasthurirathne | Open Source at Google | February 15, 2012

It all started with last year’s Google Summer of Code where I, along with over 1100 others, took part in the program designed to pair university students with open source organizations for a three month project writing code over the summer. I was accepted by OpenMRS, which is an Open Source Medical Record System used by healthcare service providers the world over. I decided to stick around with OpenMRS after the final deadlines went by. That, plus my decision to apply for Google Summer of Code, were probably the wisest decisions I have made in my entire life.

My association with OpenMRS brought me many noteworthy achievements over the past six months. These victories are priceless, and I wouldn’t have been able to achieve any of them if not for my decision to ‘stay on’ with the organization. It all goes to show that a little commitment and goodwill can take you a long way...