My GSoC Journey Begins: Community Bonding
Hello folks
It’s time for celebration, I just got selected for Google Summer of Code 2024 for the organization of OpenMRS. After facing all the rejections in my College Campus placements, GSoC has provided me with an incredible opportunity to showcase my skills. In this Blog, I’ll be sharing my Community Bonding Experience with the organization OpenMRS and how fun it was.
First and foremost, a heartfelt thank you to my mentors: Grace, Dennis Kigen, Hadijah Kyampeire, and Jayasanka Weerasinghe. Without the help of the community and mentors, it wouldn’t be possible for me to get into Google Summer Of Code.
Google Summer of Code
For those new to Google Summer of Code, let me give you a brief introduction. Google Summer of Code is an open-source internship program organized by Google every summer, especially for college students. Now Google encourages early professionals also to participate in GSoC. Throughout this program, Students will gain industry exposure and get mentorship from Experienced Software Engineers. It will bridge the divide between college students and real-world codebases, fostering a seamless transition from academic learning to practical application in professional environments. Students can build their GitHub portfolio and resume, which can significantly benefit their future careers.
OpenMRS
Speaking about the organization I’ve been selected by OpenMRS. OpenMRS, as its name implies, is an Open-Source Medical Record System. Their mission involves building an electronic medical record (EMR) platform specifically designed for use in low-resource environments, particularly in developing countries.
Community Bonding
The first week of Google Summer of Code kickstarted with Community Bonding. This was my first and sweetest moment ever when everyone in the community got to know about who am I and what am I doing. I also had an opportunity to have a cool conversation with my fellow GSoC students and the community members via Zoom calls. Got to know about each other, our hobbies, fun facts about ourselves, and kinds of stuff like that.
And now, some guidance for GSoC students
While in college, we’re accustomed to following strict rules like waking up early and completing assignments, and Assessments. However, GSoC operates differently. We’re all aware that everyone comes from diverse time zones and juggling professional commitments. Therefore, it’s crucial not to disrupt this delicate balance. Thankfully, our supportive OpenMRS community has imparted valuable lessons in this regard. They welcomed us with open arms and provided mentorship that extended beyond technical advice. We learned the art of asking good questions, how the community will help throughout the GSoC, what we can expect from the community ( like future opportunities), and what the community expects from us ( giving back to the community), stuff kind of like these.
From a technical standpoint
We got to know about how can we gear up the work, best practices, and suggestions like avoiding last-minute PR, rather than early draft PR is best practices. Finally evaluation of our progress, it’s not only about PR, but rather how we are engaging with the community, and sharing our progress regularly in public, of course, it is open-source. After a fruitful session, we winded up the call with cheers and smiles.
About Me
I’m Senthil Athiban, a final-year undergrad from India. Days are for VS Code, nights for GitHub — a constant journey of coding and exploration, fueled by passion and curiosity.
GitHub: https://github.com/senthil-k8s
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/senthil-athiban-m/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/senthil_k8s
