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Experiences applying to Outreachy

Guess what! You are not the only anxious one! Applying to Outreachy was challenging for me too.

I enjoy learning. I was motivated to apply because I saw an opportunity to grow while working on products that are in use by hundreds of thousands of people. I was hell-bent on participating. "We help newcomers to Free and Open Source Software" - this sentence caught my attention on the application page. The thought of making contributions to projects in the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) communities got me excited.

Ask! Times when you are not so sure, are great for questions. So are times when you do not even have clues of what you are to do. Ask questions when in doubt. That way, you don't spend too much time in the "Confused" state. Google (or any other search engine)  is your friend. Make out time to interact with it. Also, make it a habit to reach out to your mentors with updates, questions, and blockers.

Outreachy accepts people who are new to the software world! I liked the fact that I didn't have to be a badass to intern with Outreachy. The icing on the cake was my mentors. They did an amazing onboarding and support for the contribution phase of my application. Some whipped cream kinda experience came when I had issues setting up the project on my PC and one of my mentors linked me with Adam Shorland (A Wikidata Tech Lead) who walked me through setup step by step. I had blockers that ranged from setup to pushing for review but my mentors supported all through and made learning fun.

To sum it up, your anxiety is totally normal. All you need is to be open-minded and mentorable. Now, it's time to ease your mind and explore.:)

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Comments

  1. Amuzu PelumiFebruary 11, 2020 at 11:17 AM

    Good evening, I am writing concerning the outreacy internship, I actually came across the internship and while making my research for the first stage application I decided to reach out to alumni and present interns concerning the best way to go about the first stage application and handling the essay questions. Am a passionate frontend developer with about two years experience, skilled with HTML, CSS, javascript, SQL and I have a good knowledge of java.
    Please any instructions or advice concerning passing the first stage application will be largely appreciated. Thanks in advance

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Esther AkinlooseJuly 8, 2020 at 8:11 PM

      Hello Pelumi,

      I sincerely apologize for the late reply.
      I have not been available for a while. I would love to know how the application went for you.

      Thanks!

      Delete

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