Getting Noticed by CHECK24
I was selected for CHECK24's Generation Developer Stipend, and honestly, it caught me off guard in the best way possible. CHECK24 goes beyond just funding students. They're hunting for developers who can actually ship code that works in the real world. The whole thing culminates in a coding challenge that's designed to separate the people who can talk about code from those who can actually write it under strict requirements.
The Challenge: Making Sense of API Hell
They wanted me to build a real-time internet provider comparison site. Sounds straightforward, right? Wrong. The catch was integrating five completely different third-party APIs that seemed designed by people who actively hated each other. I'm talking ancient SOAP services, CSV files disguised as APIs, and REST endpoints that would randomly decide to take a coffee break for 30 seconds.
My approach was to treat each API like an unreliable friend, assume they'll let you down, but have a plan for when they do. I built a FastAPI backend that could gracefully handle the chaos, paired with a snappy Next.js frontend that kept users happy even when the backend was fighting for its life.
The Fun Technical Stuff
Building this thing taught me that the difference between a demo and production code is about 90% error handling. Here's what I'm actually proud of:
Failure-First Design
Built with Circuit Breaker patterns and smart retries. When APIs inevitably crashed, the system just shrugged and kept working with whatever data it could get.
WebSocket Magic
Used real-time updates to make slow APIs feel fast. Users saw results streaming in instead of staring at loading spinners for 30 seconds.
Data Sanity
Pydantic schemas turned the API Wild West into something resembling civilization. No more guessing if a price was a string, number, or interpretive dance.
Want to see more?
Dive deeper into the projects and write-ups behind this work.