I cannot help but feel a little nostalgic while writing this last blog post about my Outreachy internship. This post marks the end of my three-month internship where I worked with the community members to revamp the web application housing IRC meeting logs and summaries. I cannot believe how the time flew by – from applying, to getting selected, to contributing, and finally ending the journey. So today, I would be summarising my overall experience of this beautiful journey and will introduce the people who have helped me throughout the way.

Getting started

I still remember the nervousness I had back while answering the application questions. I was not sure if my efforts would amount to getting selected for the opportunity. But still, I never lost hope and gave my best in every phase of the selection process: the initial application form, the contribution period, and the final application form. I had contributed to various free and open-source programmes in the past but even then, I had this fear in my mind: “What if I don’t get selected Outreachy?”

More specifically, I was determined to make the best of the contribution period as that phase decides whether a contributor makes it in or not. My focus was always on the quality of my contributions, rather than racking up as many issues as I can. Project maintainers/mentors observe how well you are acquainted with the code and how it functions. They are more favourable when they see you fix existing bugs and bring new features to the table, not when you change just one line of code.

When the selection results were out, I could not believe the fact that I have made the internship. My parents had tears of joy in their eyes and blessed me saying that efforts never go in vain. And that is when I started working on my project “Revamp web application to aggregate and distribute IRC meeting minutes and logs” – a Python Flask project to aggregate and distribute the minutes and logs for IRC/Matrix meetings of the Fedora Project community.

Doing the work

I discussed ideas with my mentors Akashdeep Dhar and Francois Andrieu and implemented the solutions under their guidance and supervision. They were always available for me whenever I needed any help or I had to clarify any doubt despite being in different time zones. I worked on using Poetry for dependency management, building a calendar view, and creating a quicker search. To start with, I knew only JavaScript, Python, and Flask but my mentors helped me learn the skills I needed.

My journey of working with a variety of community teams like the design team and the Red Hat Community Platform Engineering team has been a great learning experience. I would recommend Outreachy as one of the best opportunities to start with for folks keen on free and open-source software. I will always cherish the journey of my Outreachy internship. I am thankful to my amazing mentors and all the people who have supported me throughout this journey.