Introducing Myself: The Beginning of My Outreachy Internship Journey
Rejection is part of the process. Try, try, and try again
Have you ever felt extremely happy and depressingly sad at the same time? It is a weird sort of feeling and you can’t really define the exact emotion coursing through your bloodstream. That was exactly how I felt when my friend and close buddy giddily announced that she had been selected to be an Outreachy Intern last year.
We had both applied to Outreachy and made it to the contribution phase. Sadly, during this phase, I became quite intimidated and overwhelmed by the presence of other contributors around me who were way more talented than I. I struggled to make meaningful contributions to the open-source community I selected and at some point, even gave up.
So when the selected interns were announced, I felt sad because I knew I could have done so much better but also extremely proud of and happy for my friend because I knew exactly how 'grueling' the contribution phase was. That night, I made a promise to myself to apply for the next round and never give up no matter how hard it might seem.
Fast forward to a year later and I am an Outreachy Intern with Public Lab; a testimony to how failure is not the end but simply an opportunity to create a new beginning .
Who Am I?
My name is Peculiar Erhisohwode. I’m a fullstack software developer presently based in Lagos, Nigeria. I’m well versed in HTML, CSS, and the JavaScript programming language, front-end and backend frameworks such as VueJs and NodeJs, and both SQL and NoSQL database management.
When I’m not coding, you can find me curled up with a good (or cheesy) romance novel or hunched over a particularly tricky crossword puzzle.
What Are My Core Values?
Core values are your personality traits. They are what make you YOU; the ideals that drive you and form the bedrock of every decision and action you take.
My core values are:
Knowledge: I am a strong believer in the pursuit of knowledge. The world is so vast, and there are a million things that we do not know. Everyday, I strive to learn either something new or a better way of doing something I’ve always done. I value knowledge because it not only gives me a sense of confidence, it also exposes me to new horizons and opportunities to better my life as well as that of those around me. Socrates summed it up perfectly when he said: "The only true wisdom is in knowing that you know nothing."
Determination: I value determination because it takes guts and perseverance to hang on to one's dreams and pursue one's goals especially in the face of overwhelming odds and obstacles. To pursue and gain knowledge, I must be determined. I understand that success is not a sprint but a marathon and only the very determined racers make it to the finish line.
Kindness: It is so easy to push others aside in your quest for success, and that is why I value kindness. Being kind is a conscious decision to help others around me succeed just as I’m succeeding. Kindness is taking that extra step to be welcoming and friendly, motivating and encouraging others, and offering a helping hand even when it’s hard to. Most importantly, kindness is loving myself even despite my flaws and mistakes.
What Is Outreachy?
Outreachy is a program that offers a 3-month paid summer internship in open-source and open-science projects to people who are underrepresented in the tech industry of whichever country they reside in.
Outreachy encourages diversity in the tech space. And by diversity, I mean diversity in all areas, be it ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or even disabilities. If you feel underrepresented in the tech space, then you should apply to the next Outreachy round. Do follow Outreachy on Twitter to get notified once the next application round opens up around August - September.
You don’t have to be a coder to apply to Outreachy. You can contribute to open source as a designer, a technical writer, a researcher, or even a data scientist.
Why did I apply to Outreachy...AGAIN?
I had applied to Outreachy previously but didn’t get selected because I chickened out during the contribution phase. I got intimidated by the sheer volume of talent on display, started to doubt myself, and gave up even though giving up went against what I believed in.
I knew I could have done better so I decided to apply again. To prove to myself that I was not a quitter and that I could do and complete whatever I set my mind to.
While this was one of my major reasons for applying, it wasn't the only one. I applied again because:
- I had only worked on closed source projects and wanted to work on and improve a public software or an open-source tool
- Be part of a welcoming open-source community
- Improve my programming skills
- Nothing beats the feeling of seeing people from all around the world (wow!) using what you’ve built
- Give back to the tech community in my own little way
Why Public Lab?
I chose the Public Lab community because I wanted to work on something that hits close to home. Public Lab is focused on providing easy-to-use, easy-to-access technologies that help communities monitor and investigate environmental pollution and fight against environmental injustice. Coming from a country where environmental pollution is an everyday occurrence and rural communities are often left feeling powerless and affected, it was a no-brainer for me.
The fact that the community is very welcoming to newcomers and the feeling of camaraderie and teamwork is encouraged fully reinforced the feeling that I truly made the best decision ever.
Credits: Cover Photo by Ales Krivec on Unsplash