Team Fedex++ Signing Off
When you do something best in life, you don’t really want to give that up.
- Roger Federer
image taken by Sahar’s Mom when we were working on the project together
As appropriately quoted by Federer, when you start with something really good, it becomes so close to your heart that you don’t want to let it go. So is our connection with the RGSoC program and the community. It’s been 4 months since we became a part of it and it seems this journey had just begun a while ago.
It all started with our selection to Rails Girls Summer of Code as a volunteer team to PyDSA project. Eventually, we have come to the stage where the learning process and bond with the community has become so strong that we wish to be connected to it forever. During this journey filled with so many experiences, some moments were so memorable and cherished that now it is really hard to go back and bid our goodbye.
Experience working in open source
- This was our first proper experience with the Open Source community.
- We had primarily taken up the RGSoC project to get exposure to Open Source, to foray into this never ending space filled with excitement, to get to know how to code into an actual live project repo and the feeling when your PR gets merged. We learnt a lot about community bonding, for instance it is not about what you learn but what you return to the community, how even a small change or input from your side may impact someone’s life deeply.
- We got to interact with many people as part of conferences (PyCon India) and some very inspirational ladies (PyLadies Pune Chapter)
- It is always a challenge to handle your academics along with your passion when you are a student but through the summer program we realised the importance of being a part of the community and what the world of open source can teach you which you might never learn under the bounds of an institute.
Snapshot of the video call attended by all coaches, mentor and supervisor taken by Mansi
What we achieved - Majorly Web App
- In the second half of the program, we focussed upon the frontend part of the WebApp of PyDSA.
- We explored D3.js, tried some things in it and finally made the visualisation of Bubble Sort Algorithm and Graph Data Structure using it.
- Though the PyDSA App is still in development mode, stay tuned for it first official release :)
a gif to show the working of Bubble Sort Visualisation created using D3.js by Sahar Siddiqui
Key Learnings
- Never be hesitant to ask your doubts. Clarify as soon as possible or else you would be losing your own time.
- Consistency matters a lot!
- You will find good guides everywhere! However, help comes to people who ask for it! :p
- We understood the importance of community involvement as it helps us interact with some great people working in various fields.
- Never be scared to try different and new things. You will always find yourself more satisfied after learning about something new everyday :D
Experience of PyCon India
One of the good things that happened in the duration of RGSoC project that luckily for us PyCon India took place in our hometown Delhi. Pycon India was the first major conference we attended. It not only served as a major inspiration to us but also opened the doors of new opportunities. With so many brilliant and enthusiastic people gathered to discuss about the topics which you are passionate about, it definitely boosts up your confidence to further delve into the field as much as possible.
- Met Andreas Mueller and attended talks by awesome people.
- Major Breakthrough - We will soon have our very own PyLadies Delhi chapter! Go girls! :’)
image with Andreas Mueller who was present as a keynote speaker taken by a friend at PyCon India 2016
Thanks to PyDSA Team
- On this journey, we met a lot of great people who inspired us at every step and motivated us to push our boundaries and target more.
- Supervisor ( Vaishali Thakkar and Sophia Takeva ) - We got a great support from their side throughout. They were truly an inspiration to us. Vaishali not only guided us but also helped us whenever we required.
- Mentors ( Amit Kumar and Sanyam Khurana ) - They are the first people we met during this journey with Open Source and we are thankful for the guidance they gave us and approaches they taught us throughout the journey.
- Coaches ( Anuvrat, Saurabh, Ankit and Dr. Rahul ) - Anuvrat and Saurabh helped us to realise the importance of community bonding and encouraged us to always learn and try new things. Ankit and Dr. Rahul helped us a lot in understanding the data structures and different models that can be used to implement them in the generic way.
- Also we like to thank the entire RGSoC community. They have done a great job in motivating us and keeping up the spirit all throughout.
image taken by Mansi Goel with PyDSA mentors - Amit and Sanyam
What’s next?
- We will be working on the project further and will keep contributing to it.
- We will be looking for an opportunity to work on an Open-Source project next summer as well through different programs like Outreachy and GSoC.
- Mansi will be continuing her journey of Open-Source in GHC India in December 2016.
- With the help of other Python Enthusiasts we met at PyCon India, we have started the PyLadies Delhi Chapter. :D We will work to make it reachable to the community and we are hoping for a meetup soon.
- We have already formed a ‘Women in Tech Chapter’ in our institute (IIIT-D) along with the other RGSoC participants and Anita Borg Scholars from our institute.
Last Words - Signing Off!
Some experiences in life leave such a great impact that all you can remember are the positivities and learnings. They encourage you to carry the legacy forward, inspire others and motivate them like anything. Our journey in RGSoC was one such experience for us so we can happily say that it is not the end here, it’s just the beginning. :D
image taken by Mansi Goel