Pratibha Thakur
Computer Science Specialist
Trinity College
During her time at the University of Toronto, Pratibha Thakur helped shape student life in computer science through her leadership with the Computer Science Student Union (CSSU) and Women in Computer Science (WiCS). Drawn to both community-building and academic exploration, she embraced opportunities to support her peers.
Now, she is building on those experiences as she begins her career in software engineering, carrying forward a strong sense of community.
This Q&A has been edited for clarity and length.
You’ve been deeply involved in both CSSU and Women in Computer Science (WiCS). What kind of community were you hoping to help build through those roles?
My involvement with both CSSU and WiCS began in my first year. I found their events were not just great places to connect with peers, but also one of the best ways to get real, first-hand advice on navigating university life. Over my time at U of T, I’ve realized that having a community that supports your academic, professional and personal growth is invaluable, and both CSSU and WiCS offered exactly that.
I joined their executive teams to pay it forward and help strengthen our initiatives. Although I'm graduating, I am excited to see how these groups will continue to evolve. The student community here is so dynamic, and I know they'll keep doing amazing things.
Having stepped into leadership during a period of transition, what did you learn about leading teams through change?
When I first stepped into my presidency with CSSU, we hit the ground running. Many previous executives had graduated, so most of the new team was stepped into their roles for the first time. On top of that, we had several major events coming up, with hundreds of students expected to attend.
Leading a new team under that kind of pressure was challenging, but it was also energizing for all of us. I truly believe that a little bit of transition “chaos” is great for a team — it pushes teams to innovate. We used that period to restructure roles across our nine committees and build several new initiatives from scratch that simply didn't exist in previous years.
What first drew you to computer science, and was there a moment during your degree when you knew you’d made the right choice?
Through competitive math, I was exposed to problems in areas like combinatorics and number theory. I found their applications in computer science especially fascinating and decided to try it, knowing I had the flexibility at U of T to change my program if it wasn’t the right fit.
There wasn’t a single moment when I knew computer science was the perfect choice for me, but I remember a conversation in second year when a friend and I realized we couldn’t think of another subject we’d rather spend so many late nights studying. It also helped that my professors and peers were so encouraging.
If you could give one piece of advice to a first-year computer science student, what would it be and why?
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the past four years, it’s that it’s totally fine if things don’t go as planned. In first and second year, I took everything so seriously. I worried over midterms, course selection, interviews and more, but things were rarely as serious as they felt.
To gain perspective, I found it helpful to share concerns with peers — we’re all in this together, and chances are, their worries are similar to yours.
What are your interests outside of computer science?
I’ve always loved a good book, and recently I’ve been dipping into both creative and technical writing. This summer, I’m also hoping to catch up on the 2025 Oscar-nominated movie list and maybe revisit playing the flute.
What's next for you, and how does computer science fit into that?
In July, I’ll start as a full-time software engineer with Amazon Robotics. I’m looking forward to learning more about the field and applying what I’ve learned over the past four years!