I joined the ChatGPT Lab back in May 2025, right before starting my AWS internship. Since then, I’ve been part of projects like Study Mode, Pulse, and even co-authored 100 Chats for Studying, Career & College Life.

Being in the Lab has honestly been one of the most fun and meaningful things I’ve done this year. It’s not like an ambassador program where you promote a product. Our mission is to learn how people actually use ChatGPT and help make that experience better and more natural. In a way, we’re kind of the middle ground between humans and AI.

About how I got into the Lab: I came across the application randomly, filled it out, and got invited to an interview with Katie. She’s one of the main people behind the Lab and easily one of the sweetest people I’ve met. The interview wasn’t formal at all. It was more like a chat about how I use ChatGPT daily and what I find interesting about it.

One of the coolest perks of being in the Lab is getting invited to DevDay in San Francisco. It happened right in the middle of my midterms, but there was no way I was missing that, so I booked a flight and studied in airports between connections.

The night before the event, we had a dinner at China Live. It was a fancy full-course styled meal. We were finally meeting everyone in person after working together online for months. Putting faces to names felt surreal.

After dinner, a few of us decided to explore the city, which was probably not the smartest idea 🙏🏽. We ended up at a small community motel where another Lab member was staying, and somehow that turned into karaoke until 2 a.m. with people from all over the world. Easily one of my favorite memories from the trip.

The next morning, my friend and I took a Waymo to the venue. It was my first time riding in one even though I see them all the time in Arizona.

DevDay itself was such a mix of excitement and inspiration. I met a lot of people, including a distinguished engineer from eBay, a YC founder, a data scientist at Julius, and even the San Francisco's mayor. Everyone I talked to had such unique perspectives on where AI is heading. I showed a few people what I worked on at AWS, and we ended up talking about startups, research, and what it’s like being a student in tech right now.

The highlight of the event for me was seeing the new Agent Builder demo, meeting the CEO of Cursor, and just walking around talking to other builders. The food was also ridiculously good.

What made it really personal, though, was seeing our ChatGPT Lab book being displayed and handed out. Seeing people pick it up and flip through the pages felt surreal. Something I helped create was actually out there in the world.

Sam Altman also mentioned ASU during his keynote, which made me quietly smile in the crowd. Though I didn’t get a photo with Sam, but I did get my book signed by Greg Brockman (and failed the claw machine three times trying to win OpenAI stuffed toy 😭).

I had to leave early to catch a flight, but I shared a ride to the airport with a senior director from Abbott. We talked the whole way about careers, taking risks, and building technologies to help people in healthcare. One thing he said stuck with me: “You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just keep learning and keep showing up.”

That kind of sums up the whole experience for me. DevDay wasn’t just about seeing new features or meeting big names. It was about connection between people, ideas, and curiosity. It reminded me why I love being part of tech in the first place.

I came home tired, but inspired and grateful for the community, for the people I met, and for the chance to be part of something this special.

Thank you to the community team at OpenAI for an incredible time at DevDay [2025]