My #1 Call with WIT program coach Paavini Nanda

Getting to know my WIT program coach :)

The 15th of September 2018, was the day when I had my first ever appear call with Paavini Nanda — my WIT Learning Program Coach.

The call was scheduled to happen at 7:45pm. I was ready by 7:40pm and decided to join early and guess what ? Paavini was already there! We started by introducing ourselves, she said a little about herself — A GHC 18 scholar, GSoC 18 mentor, RGSoC scholar for Servo Mozilla. She is currently in her 4th year at NSIT, Delhi.

She briefed me about all the opportunities we have and should apply for which includes RailsGirlsSoc, GSoc, Outreachy, GHC etc.

Further I asked her about how I could contribute to open source, she explained to me that its not so difficult! I just have to look for a organisation or a project I like and then talk to people in that community of how I could help or setup the project by going through the README.md file in the projects and look for how I could make it better!

She has asked both me and amiya abraham to contribute to at least one open source project before our next appear call. I am soo excited!! I am going to follow her tips and get to work.

Contributing to Open Source — It’s about finding a small feature you could add or anything that could make the current project better!

My key take aways from the talk :

1. Time Management is extremely important. Give at least 2–3 hours everyday to code or do any productive work.
2. Being Self Motivated is the key.
3. Don’t limit yourself to your current knowledge, rather look for projects that interest you and learn what it takes to get them done.
4. Stay on top of all social media and mailing lists to get the latest updates on all opportunities
5. Find a project that interests you and work towards how you can make it better, even if it’s a small thing.
6. IRC and slack channels or tech groups can really help you with absolutely anything.
7. It’s never too late.
8. Rather than over-thinking about it and spending hours on research, just start working and get to it.
9. Scholarships applications are not that tough if you really want to get them. Just think of why you actually want them and what benefits you would get from them.
10. Code challenges on websites like HackerEarth, HackerRank, Codechef etc are great to practice problem solving questions.

A few things to keep in mind for any Appear call :

1. Appear calls on phone can get buggy, it’s best to use a laptop with really good Internet Connection.
2. Always keep a pen and paper ready and jot down key points from the call.
3. Prepare well before the call as to what you want to ask your coach.
4. Be on time.

Thank you so much Paavini Nanda for guiding me to the right direction, you are an inspiration for me. I hope to learn a lot more in the upcoming activities.

Thankyou Arya Murali and Rethink foundation for giving me this wonderful opportunity.