Winning the Women In Open Source Award
If I were to describe the whole experience in one word, honestly, I won’t be able to. However, ‘supercalifragilisticexpialidocious’ can be a word. Don’t get in a flap if you don’t know that one (I too came across it just a week back!).
Setting the context, I won the Women In Open Source Award 2019 by Red Hat. I was invited to Red Hat Summit in Boston, Massachusetts to accept the award on stage. Also, to shoot my introductory video that was to be shown on stage during my award ceremony, Tom had visited me in India along with a movie director and a crew of cameramen, a month back. I and a friend Amit had a great time showing Tom around in Jaipur, India.
Just after my end-semester exams ended on 4th, I hopped on the flight to Boston on 5th of May. It was the first time, I was going so far, alone. My family was in a stew over letting me travel alone. However, since Tom had already met me earlier in India, so it was a bit easier to convince my family that he will take care of me in Boston. He was my personal assistant for the event there. The flight had a layover in Qatar, which ticked away pretty fast in excitement. And, I reached Boston airport!
The limousine chauffer was waiting with my name’s sign (It looks supercool to have a chauffeur with your name at the airport!)
Then, I met Tom at the hotel. While checking-in, they said there’s a gift basket for me (OMG! ❤). The hotel was ritzy with a beautiful Atlantic Ocean view from the window. I opened the gift basket, admired all the gifts in my head, had a video call home and it was time to get ready for the Women in Open Source Award Celebratory dinner with DeLisa Alexander (EVP and Chief People Officer), award judges, Red Hat executives, etc.
I met some people from Red Hat in the hotel. They were all very warm and the best part was that they knew me and had read about me before. After a chat about my long flight and the interesting events lined up for me for the next days, we headed to the party with them. There we met a lot of Red Hat employees, and DeLisa too. Everyone was having a great time chattering. I also met Limor, the Community award winner and founder of Adafruit.
Dinner kicked off with DeLisa introducing us and everyone raising their glasses to celebrate our victory. It was amazing, and quite different from the celebrations we have in India. It was organized in Strega Waterfront, an authentic Italian food place. I had authentic Rigatoni Pasta, for the first time, and it was way different from the ‘Italian Pasta’ we have in India (wrapped under a thick coat of spices ✨). Since I’m used to the extravagance of spices, I asked the waiter to bring me a Jalapeno or any hot sauce.
The euphoric night, with all techies celebrating Open Source, made me feel like I’m on cloud nine!
Next day, I and Tom visited Franklin Park Zoo. Had a great time watching Animals and birds! We had plans to visit MIT but I was exhausted and jet-lagged, so I had to get back to the hotel to crash, but couldn’t sleep (Jet Lag😦).
Next morning, we attended the Women’s Leadership Community Luncheon with Dr. P. Ellen Grant. We had a VIP table reserved with Dr. Ellen and DeLisa. It was inspiring to listen to her story. Right after the Luncheon, we left for preparing for the keynote, during which I was to be receiving the award. We were miked and then we waited for our turn in the green room. Soon, we were called to the make-up room. I just can’t describe how chuffed I was to experience it all.
Then, we were asked to be ready as we were going LIVE in a minute. Limor was all calm and cool. She has won several awards and has given lots of interviews and talks before. But I, it was the first time I was gonna speak on such a colossal stage. I was nervous, indeed. Finally, we were indicated to step on the stage.
It was amazing (lot more than amazing) to see lots of people cheering us up and clapping for us while we were receiving the award.
After a few pictures with DeLisa, holding the award, I and Tom went to the expo for visiting booths and collecting swags. Tom called it a ‘Swag Quest’.
It was very heartwarming to see people attending the conference coming to me and telling me that they watched me on the stage. We collected lots of amazing swag at the conference, pairs of socks and also, a blanket! :D
Then, we headed for an interview with John Walls from theCube. We made ourselves comfortable as John and DeLisa talked about how we liked the conference and asked me about the swags I collected. The interview began and went like a breeze. I’m absolutely in awe of John’s energy.
Later that day, I also had a dinner with Red Hat APAC team planned for the night, for which I was pretty excited since the last day, but the day was extremely hectic and I was exhausted, so I couldn’t attend :(
The next day was a free day. We went for the Boston Segway Tour at first. A great tour, learned about the rich history behind buildings of Boston while trying to balance the segways.
After that, Tom took me to a Comic Merchandise store. It was a store where they had lots of merch for all fandoms- Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Avengers, etc. etc. etc. I shopped for some GoT stuff. The evening was reserved for Red Hat Summit Closing Party. It was a live concert featuring ‘Neon Trees’ and ‘Fitz and the Tantrums’.
I attended the Neon Trees concert, which was quite similar to the concerts we have at our college fests. It was a chilly evening, but the energy, the verve of attendees was enough to make the concert lit.
The last day we had the Whale Watching Tour planned. We boarded the cruise and sailed down the Atlantic Ocean in search of Whales for a 4-hour ‘voyage’. We were lucky enough to have watched 7–8 whales. The waves were so enormous that our boat jolted in the middle, and the water splashed the screens of the cruise to make it all look dramatic ❤. Make sure to have a slot reserved for whale watching if you ever tour this city.
I had a great time in Boston, the city is really beautiful and the people I met were very warm. Tom was very caring and is really funny. Limor, as she calls it ‘I and Saloni are best friends now’, indeed we’re great friends. She’s a down-to-earth person. DeLisa, too, is a jolly person and warm by heart.
A big thanks to the Award judges, Tom, DeLisa, theCube and the entire Red Hat family for putting this together and being such lovely hosts. Also, thanks to everyone who took time to vote :)
