A journey worth recounting

There are no limits for possibilities and Lyle Rodericks, a third year engineering student of electronics and communications at Reva Institute of Technology, is a proof of this statement. He swims in the sea of technology and music and is afloat in both these realms. One can easily spot Lyle coding away or working on his music all the time.

Lyle’s tryst with coding began in college but he never took it seriously until his friend needed his help to develop a code for anti-glare headlights. “It was an idea where the headlights hit the road at all places except on the oncoming drivers. We used projectors instead of lights and it turned out to be a pretty cool concept,” he recalls, excitedly. He also bagged the first place for a paper presentation on this code in college.   

Soon, he figured out he could take this interest forward and participated in a lot of hackathon events. “Most hackathons are centred around various themes, where we are required to develop a software or hardware around that theme. The themes vary from healthcare to Android apps and we code all night,” he explains. Lyle’s achievements include emerging as one of the top three contestants in a hackathon organised by PESIT and bagging the first place in an event organised by ‘Yourfry’.

Lyle loves the energy that fills the atmosphere at such events and hence doesn’t mind staying up late. “I am usually a late night person and these hackathons are a learning experience. There are a lot of like-minded people who come with different perspectives on technology, engineering and work in general. I am in a different environment from that of my classroom and that excites me. Besides, they give you coffee and Red Bull to stay up!” he laughs.

Such hackathons have turned out well and in one of them, Lyle met the co-founder of a company which is currently into making 3D printers and he is interning with them. “It’s quite hectic to manage college and work but the experience is something that lasts for a lifetime. I learnt practical ways of designing circuits and receive hands on experience, which is very different from the normal classroom teaching.”

However, apart from carrying the ‘geek-tag’ on him, Lyle is also musically-oriented. When he was five years old, he was initiated into learning the flute, until he turned 10. He then attended guitar classes and was an active member of various choirs at school, church and other independent choirs. Along with his band in college, he has also emerged as a winner in many competitions at fests, including the ones at St Joseph’s Boys’ High School and Bishop Cottons Boys’ School.

His passion for technology shows in music too as Lyle also has his own YouTube channel, ‘lyle963’, which has more than 2.5 lakh views. He works on making mashups with his friend, Shenelle La’Porte, and his channel consists of pop numbers to classic covers.

Lyle says, “My mother confiscated my guitar when I was in the tenth standard because she wanted me to concentrate on my board exams. I began to apply the theory that I had learnt on the guitar to the piano that year. I also invested all the money that I won through competitions and converted my room into a ‘home-studio’. I make my own music using multi-track recording on cheap software. I also learnt audio recording and production on my own.”

The driving force seems to be his school as Lyle owes his success to St Joseph’s Boys’ High School. “My school had a lot to do with building my confidence and played a major part in seeing that I received the right exposure,” he says. To get away from the daily humdrum of life, he dabbles with the two ends of one spectrum and advises young techies and musicians to pursue what makes them feel productive.