Outreachy Blog Series: Introducing Myself, Core Values, and Motivation behind My Application to Outreachy

Over the next few months, I'll share my experiences, lessons, and growth (and a few stumbles) as I navigate my internship. In this series, I'll share a bit about myself, my core values and the motivation that led me to apply to Outreachy, for the third time.

About Me

I'm Roseline Bassey from Akwa Ibom, Nigeria, and I'll work as a Community Architect Intern with Fedora for the Outreachy 2024 summer cohort. I hold a degree in English and Literature. While my background is non-technical, I am interested in technical writing, building tech communities, Cloud, Golang programming, and open source. These interests have played a big role in shaping my tech career till this moment.

When I'm not doing tech related stuff, you'll find me hanging out with my friends, shopping, gyming, or reading. These activities help me maintain a balance between life and work.

My Core Values

There are core values that have shaped my approach to life and work. In this blog post, I'll share three values: persistence, growth, and integrity, and how they've guided my tech career and motivated my application to Outreachy.

Persistence

The journey towards achieving success is rarely straightforward. There will inevitably be highs and lows, but the key is to remain persistent. I applied to Outreachy twice before now and got rejected. However, being persistent has taught me not to give up easily. It's taught me to see challenges as chances to learn and grow.

Growth

I embrace every opportunity to learn new skills and gain new knowledge. I place great importance on continuous learning for my personal and professional development. I like to push my boundaries and set challenging but achievable goals.

Integrity

I value my integrity. It's the foundation for building trust, credibility, and respect. I strive to be honest and transparent in my interactions and dealings with others. I always strive to build strong, and trustworthy relationships.

Motivation Behind Applying to Outreachy

After listening to a talk by some Outreachy alumni at OSCAFest 2022, I felt motivated to apply for Outreachy. They spoke about the impact of Outreachy on their career. They also talked about the welcoming environment Outreachy provides for women and people from underrepresented groups. I got inspired and decided to apply.

The first time I applied, I was accepted into the contribution phase but wasn't selected as an intern. I embraced the experience as an opportunity for growth. The skills and knowledge I gained during the contribution phase were invaluable. They helped boost my resume and contributed to my success in the Linux Foundation Mentorship program.

The next Outreachy internship round came, I reapplied, but then my initial application was rejected. During this time, I stayed motivated by viewing each Outreachy round as an opportunity to improve my approach, showcase my skills, and learn from my experiences. This ultimately helped me secure my intern position on the third attempt.

Thinking about applying to the Outreachy internship? I've put together a guide with some helpful tips to navigate the internship process. You can find it here.

Image by Lisa Doherty on Linkedin

As they say, the third time's a charm. I reapplied yet another time and finally got accepted as an intern. My persistence and dedication have undoubtedly paid off.

To recap, within the three months of my Outreachy internship, I'll share insights into the projects I'm working on, learnings, growth and challenges in a biweekly blog series. So check back often to learn more about these things.

Also, feel free to leave comments or questions and, I'll do my best to respond to them.