Do not let the bad grades on your certificate or transcript dictate your life.

He's no exemption and he felt it too before having his 34 Adroid Applications which are now available in the market. That is what always a student would feel if he/she gets bad grades.

Shadrach Jaungere said in an interview: “The most significant hurdle in my career was to prove that my terrible academic results in computer science at university would never reflect my sheer and stubborn determination to succeed, against all odds, as a software developer.”

Shadrach Jaungere is no genius, according to his University of Papua New Guinea transcripts, but that didn’t stop him from becoming a software developer. He has created a total of 34 android applications for organisations like Transparency International PNG, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of PNG, EMTV and Telikom PNG, among others.

Born in 1984 to Gomi (father) and Tewai Gipe, both from Morobe Province, Jaungere had a childhood that he referred to as “very unusual”.

“I used to love visiting dump sites to collect old discarded electronic appliances. I used to remove their electrical parts and then re-assemble them to create new electronic devices,” recalled the developer, who will be turning 32 in October 17.

“I was always passionate about creating things such as building miniature models of cars, boats and airplanes. I then create electrical circuits to power up the models and make them work.

“My upbringing was under a very disciplined father. He emphasised the importance to be educated but he allowed my siblings and I the free-will to choose our career paths.”

Jaungere, who’s from Gitua village, Tewae-Siassi district, and Sappa village of Huon Gulf district, did his Grade One and Two at Kelanoa Community School from 1990-91. (Kelanoa is in the Huon Gulf district, where Jaungere’s father is from.) The following year, he went to Australia to do his Grade 2, again, at Towradgi Public School, Wollongong.

“I have no idea why my parents made me repeat Grade Two,” he told Loop PNG. “It’s probably because the Australian curriculum is more advanced than ours.”

After a year Jaungere returned to Lae, Morobe Province, where he did his grades Three and Four at Coronation International School. He transferred to Taraka Primary School where he completed his primary school level (from 1995-97) then moved to Lae secondary and did grades Seven, Eight, Nine and 10 (1998 – 2001).

From Lae secondary he went on to do his grades 11 and 12 at Bumayong Lutheran Secondary School.

In 2004 he enrolled at UPNG, doing first year science foundation. This was where life started to get rough for the young computer enthusiast.

“I failed the course ‘Introduction to database and C++ programming’ and other courses,” he admitted. Jaungere had to re-enroll the following year to repeat the failed courses.

In 2007, while doing his third year, he “failed again at the course ‘Data structures and algorithms in C++’ and other elective courses in environmental sciences”. This resulted in him redoing his third year in 2008.

The year 2009 saw a more determined Jaungere returning to studies. “I finally completed fourth year and got my first A grade in Java programming language from Mr. Janos, my lecturer. On April 16, 2010, I graduated with a Bachelor of Science.”

Loop PNG asked the software developer: “What got you interested in computers/gadgets”?

“The thing that got me into computers and gadgets is the ability of smart devices to perform most of what common computers can do, but with more features.

“I started very late in life at the age of 30. I started developing android apps straight after my 30th birthday after realising that I was getting older and I wasn’t achieving much in life.”

Within the space of approximately one-and-a-half years, Jaungere created 34 different applications, including Telikom PNG’s 2014 PNG Games and 2015 Pacific Games apps that were published online at Google Play.

His 30th app previously named Longon, has been changed to Alinga. “Longon comes from my mother’s language (Gitua) which means ‘hear’ or ‘to hear’ and refers to hearing of audio and music. Alinga means ‘voice’, referring to a software platform to make people’s voices be heard.

“The most significant selling point of Alinga is that it uses the Opus audio codec and is capable of receiving quality audio even at low internet speeds. Users of Alinga can still play music via slow internet connection like at 8 kilobits per second.”

The Opus audio codec is a totally open, royalty-free, highly versatile audio codec. It is unmatched for interactive speech and music transmission over the internet. It can also be used for storage and streaming applications.

Jaungere is currently working on his 32nd app for the PNG Sports Foundation, called the Athmon. The app will be used to monitor the performance of PNG athletes who are overseas for training.

“The challenges or struggles I face in my line of work are mostly by being a pioneer in most aspects of smartphone software development. I do not have mentors to provide me guidance and advice. As a result I spend so many hours in thinking, prototyping, testing and failing. Only a few times I find solutions.

“I took huge risks by promising my bosses to deliver results even when I had limited skills and expertise.

“My biggest encouragement to school drop-outs and youths is to never give up on their dreams no matter how badly circumstances become. Because those who give up on their dreams have no purpose for living. Those who give up on their dreams will have no impact in life and to society.

“Those who give up on their dreams won’t know what it is like to live to their full potential. So work very hard, even if you don’t see results. Keep pressing on even if you are alone. Keep running after your dream even if people let you down, mock you or abandon you.

“You are never competing against others. You are only trying to fulfil your God-given purpose in life. Your God-given gift is associated with your God-given dream.”

Source: www.looppng.com