Just Have Faith, Just Keep Doing What You're Doing

About a month ago, I was questioning everything about my approach to tech, especially as a university student. Today, I’m writing this with a Vercel internship offer in my inbox, still trying to fully understand how my life completely changed in a matter of weeks.

When Everything Goes Wrong

Let me start with the lows, since that’s where most stories start.

I was supposed to do a research internship with what I thought was a great company. I’d gone through their process, chosen a research proposal I was excited about, and then… nothing. I was ghosted by the company.

I was pretty new to job searching, so this rejection hurt since I thought I’d be doing a Summer internship. It’s not just about the opportunity, it messes with your self-worth. I started questioning maybe my portfolio was too weak, or maybe I did certain things wrong.

The interviews after weren’t all that much better. I kept facing rejection, mainly because I didn’t know how to prepare properly for DSA questions I didn’t study for.

The Hackathon I Almost Skipped

About a few weeks after, one of my friends invited me to a hackathon at Y Combinator. I almost didn’t go since I started thinking hackathons were a waste of time since most projects are ditched after the hackathon.

That decision to show up changed everything.

I got teamed up with some people at UBC I’d never met before, and this one person completely shifted how I thought about opportunities. He said something that stuck with me: “You can literally just reach out to anyone you want. Want an internship with Vercel? Email Guillermo and ask. Want investors to look at your startup? Just email them.”

I thanked him for his optimism, but honestly thought he was living in a different world, or was insanely delusional. As someone with limited professional experience, this perspective was genuinely helpful, even if I didn’t fully believe it yet. He had faith in me throughout the hackathon when I didn’t have much faith in myself.

Taking the Leap

We flew from Vancouver to SF for the YC hackathon. I decided to fly out a bit earlier and, remembering my teammate’s advice, started reaching out to people on X (formerly Twitter). I realized that the tech distribution on that platform is incredible, I got invited to Founders Inc and different offices just because I asked.

During the hackathon, we created Spec2MCP, drop an OpenAPI spec and our project turns it into a ready-deployed MCP server. We didn’t win any prizes, but heard after from judges that we got 4th place and were battling for 3rd.

Guillermo, one of the judges, mentioned that he really liked the UI/UX of the project (which is what I was mainly responsible for).

Send That Email

I decided to follow up and email Vercel directly. My expectations were pretty low, but I kept thinking about what my friend said earlier about having a delusional sense of optimism. To my surprise, I heard back. A staff technical recruiter contacted me and invited me to the San Francisco office.

That feeling was incredible. I thought “what the heck” and went in with zero expectations.

We had a great conversation. The recruiter walked me through the process and what to expect. A few rounds later, I got an email I had to read a few times to believe. An offer. I accepted and I’m starting my Vercel internship in September.

What SF Taught Me

While in SF, I kept reaching out to people on Twitter. I connected with Sonith @ Z Fellows, reached out to folks at Railway (they were too early for interns but were encouraging), Hugging Face, and discovered how accessible people actually are. People want to help in any way they can.

Through Z Fellows, I had the opportunity to be a photographer and met incredible people. Through them, I got introduced to Cluely and even crashed at their office for a couple nights. The CTO at Whop invited me to their office too.

If you want to build and make real change, I can’t recommend SF or a major tech hub enough. It’s remarkably easy to make connections and find people who are willing to help if you just ask.

DSA or Projects?

So far, throughout university, I made a choice that made me nervous about the future: I decided to build cool projects instead of grinding DSA. I actually avoid DSA unless it has real-world applications. I’m more interested in how different systems work together to create something applicable.

Most people around me focused on algorithms while I went against the wave. I kept questioning this approach, constantly doubting myself because it felt like I was running away from something “inevitable.”

But I’ve realized that by choosing projects, I learned how real-world systems actually work. I can plan projects, understand what components are needed, and figure out how things should fit together. When I don’t know something, I have the tools to learn it.

I just build projects that are fun for me, but my advice would be to choose projects that challenge your thinking and push you to understand how systems really work.

What I’ve Learned (So Far)

I want to be clear: I haven’t “made it.” I’m still figuring things out, still learning. But here’s what this experience has taught me:

• People are more accessible than you think. That CEO or founder you wanna talk to? They’re probably reachable if you approach them thoughtfully and genuinely.
• Your path doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s. Going against conventional wisdom (like choosing projects over DSA grinding) can work if you’re intentional about what you’re learning.
• Patience pays off, even when you don’t know the direction. A month ago, I had no idea this opportunity would come from a hackathon I almost skipped.
• Show up. Half the battle is just showing up—at the hackathon, in SF, in conversations with people who might change your views.
• Have faith. Sometimes you won’t see the path forward, but if you keep building, keep learning, keep putting yourself out there, things have a way of working themselves out.

This isn’t a success story, it’s a story about mindset shift. About realizing that the game is more open than I thought, that people are more willing to help than I expected, and that sometimes the best opportunities come from the risks you almost don’t take.

Whatever you’re building, whatever path you’re on, have faith. Just keep doing what you’re doing. You might be closer to something amazing than you think.