From Newbie to Contributor

Hey there!

I’m Berra, a self-taught developer from Turkey.

As I approach the end of my first year of programming, I have embarked on a new journey into open source, marking my initial experience in this field.

This is the first entry of a series of posts where I’ll be sharing my journey as an Outreachy intern working with Unstructured Studio. If you wish to learn more about Outreachy and this community, follow along!

Outreachy

Outreachy is an internship program fostering diversity in the tech industry by offering opportunities to individuals who are underrepresented in the field, allowing them to contribute to open-source projects. I first learned about Outreachy in April 2023 while listening to one of Anjana Vakil's talks.

As someone studying a non-tech-related field, this program caught my attention for its inclusiveness, not demanding any prior tech experience. I decided to apply for the December cohort, and luckily, I managed to get in on my first try.

Unstructured Studio

As the deadline for the initial application approached, I started checking out different projects and communities from previous years. I specifically looked for projects whose requirements aligned with my skill set. That’s when I encountered Unstructured Studio’s Zubhub.

Along with the fact that the project is written with React, its overarching goal, centered around activity-based learning, resonated with my academic background. This compatibility gave me confidence in making a meaningful contribution to the project. I was aware that project selection plays a crucial role in getting selected, thus, I made this decision with careful consideration. Now that I am an official Outreachy intern in Unstructured Studio, it is safe to say that I made the right choice.

It’s been over 2 months since my first contribution to this project, and I’ve already learned a great deal. I look forward to making more contributions to the project and collaborating with this amazing community!