I volunteered at Catalyst Africa_2019.

Imagine a room full of almost every co-founder you’ve always wanted to sit down and have tea with, a foyer full of passionate experts and people who are impacting lives, that’s Catalyst Africa 2019, and I was fortunate enough to volunteer there.
My time volunteering there included but was not limited to; setting up parts of the venue, signing in speakers and attendees, directing people to various facilities, and making sure the speakers' wants were met throughout, etc.
A multi-disciplinary event that runs for two days, to learn, to improve mindset skills, to think creatively, an understanding of technology and to have fun! And so, I decided to volunteer my time, and these are reasons why.
Alrene Mulder was a speaker. Well, that probably makes me seem creepy, but I promise I am not creepy. I happen to be one of the receivers of her idea to revolutionize education in Africa, a student at We Think Code_, a grateful one for that matter, whose entire look on the horizon changed the moment I received an email that I was indeed born to code. Surprisingly, the young adult in me trembled in her presence and I only spoke to her for less than 3 minutes, her being in front of me had me forget how much I admire her. An interesting finding, her favorite book is also my all-time favorite read, a friend of mine once told me!
Creatives, experts, and people who are really passionate about what they do were there. My ultimate favorite intersection, people meeting technology. Let's talk about code I’ll be curious, let's talk about people and their mindset and I’ll be very interested, but it’s when we bring code, people, and people's mindset- that I see the best possible version of a future me, a person who’ll code for more than just myself, that will be me, and that’s what conferences make me feel. And hence, I volunteered, to get that feeling again.
I have end-of-semester burn out. A few weeks left to 2020, projects still waiting for my attention, decisions eye-ing me from the sides. Everything seems to be happening but nothing really is happening. Catalyst Africa came at exactly the right time. For me to get away from sitting in-front of mac every day, to be surrounded by new enthusiastic energies and people, and to help me see my mind clearly. I am so ready to finish my current group project, time out of campus and volunteering at Catalyst Africa definitely did me good.
Absolutely lots of learning. I know I always learn at conferences, but I learned more than just tech stuff, I leaned fun stuff as well. I learned new games to play when I feel like my mind is wandering off, the highlight of my conference. Talks ranged from mindset to technology, diversity101 to future-proofing your business. Music performances, and a massive mini-throwback from Kabelo Mabalane and Danny K! I walked around, spoke to a lot of influential people, listened, learned, I even sang and danced, yes I can do a few dance moves I think.
Freebies, what is a conference without freebies? I love freebies, especially from conferences. I knew I’d get a new free T-shirt so to look like their teammates, which I did get by the way. Another pretty T-shirt bagged, my uniform from free T-shirts is increasing, and I have a great story to tell for this story. Guys, I love free T-shirts!
And lastly, which I did not know in time when I decided to volunteer. Three and a half-hour of drinks and live music at the end of the conference, at an art gallery, tell me if it gets any better than that!?
And so to everyone out there who would like to attend that conference but does not have a ticket, maybe try volunteering. The benefits are more than just free attendance and amazing pictures with speakers, there are so much more than I can think of and put down… Until my next conference, probably.