Zynga’s celebration of Women’s History Month continues as we spotlight the stories of some of the amazing women who work at our global studios. We are excited to be featuring Bhagya Gopalakrishna, a Senior Software Engineer based out of our Bangalore studio in India.

Bhagya has been with Zynga since 2012 and joined the team after graduating from a computer science and engineering program. She was drawn to Zynga’s talent pool and “Work is Play” motto that we strive to practice and live by every day.

Continue reading to learn more about Bhagya, her role as a SSE, her experience being a member of WAZ (Women at Zynga) and the quote that inspires her to #ChoosetoChallenge.

Tell us a little bit about your background and what brought you to Zynga.

I am originally from Kochi, Kerala, a small coastal state in the southern tip of India. I joined Zynga after graduating in Computer Science and Engineering from Govt. Model Engineering College in Kochi. The amazing talent pool that Zynga housed and the “Work is Play” motto are what brought me here.

What is your current role and responsibilities at Zynga?

I am a Senior Software Engineer on the Gameservices Tech Enablement Team. My role is to design, develop, test and deploy microservices that offer solutions to common gaming requirements.

Tell us about joining WAZ (Women at Zynga) and what the group has brought to you & your career.

It is encouraging to see a platform emerging at Zynga for women to share their diverse grievances, needs, experiences and expectations. While the fight for recognition and equality is still self-owned, having a forum where one can express themselves freely has definitely brought us closer and stronger as a community and as individuals.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Worry less about small things and what others would think of you.

Give 100% to your dreams, there is nothing that you cannot achieve if you believe in yourself.

The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) is #ChooseToChallenge (collectively, we can all help create an inclusive world. We can choose to challenge and call out gender bias and inequality. We can choose to seek out and celebrate women’s achievements. From challenge comes change, so let’s all choose to challenge). How have you chosen to challenge? Or have you been inspired by a leader or mentor in your life who has chosen to challenge?

I choose to follow David Brinkley’s words with a small alteration. The quote is, “A successful woman is one who builds a strong foundation with the bricks that others throw at her.”

Throughout the years that I have been working, I’ve realized that we all have obstacles thrown at us but what is most important is to keep moving forward, even when it feels like it is more than what we can take. Use the constant barriers to make ourselves even stronger than our former selves. As long as we are moving forward, we are succeeding.

What is your favorite Zynga game (past or present) and why?

My favorite Zynga game is Words with Friends because words and friends have the power to bring change!