Onboarding GDSC
I was just appointed as lead…
Auwal and Aniedi (our program managers) had just finished telling us, DSC SSA (Sub Saharan Africa) leads how to get started on DSC. That was on Wednesday, 26th August. Our next steps, as leads were clear:
* Choose a faculty advisor
* Choose core team members
* Host an info session
Those might seem simple but were a milestone for me, probably because I was the pioneer lead. I was literally afraid to embark on this one year tenure. I complained to Geek, alumni DSC Unilag lead, how scared I was to start. In his words: “It is a good thing that you are afraid. You being scared means you are ready to do your best.” I think I’m doing my best. Thanks, Geek.
I sincerely didn’t know how to do what I was to do. I needed more info and confidence. I read different articles from then outgoing (and experienced) DSC leads. How to (successfully) onboard your next DSC lead by Jonathan, 12 Months of Awesomeness: Lemons or Broccolis? by Bello, and of course Now, My Watch Has Ended by Geek himself. Was that enough? believe me, No!!! At that point, I wished that someone had handed over their tenure to me rather than me being a pioneer. After all, na me apply for DSC lead.
The story changed after spending time on CLP (Community Leads Platform). In CLP, you find all DSC leads, GDG organizers, WTM ambassadors, and all other Google Developers Community heads. In the platform, they share their experiences, inspirations, guides, and resources, you will ever need to build/grow a community. The first time I entered the platform, I spent 5 hours straight without leaving the browser. I learned things I will ever be grateful for. Consequently, I spent more time there (which I still do till today), and got the inspiration I needed. At that point, I was ready like an animal in its heat period.
Core Team
For faculty advisor, I chose Engr. Dr. Ngozi Eli-Chukwu, AE-FUNAI’s ICT director. She is the best matron DSC AE-FUNAI will ever have. Her agreeing to guide sincerely delighted me. Thanks, ma!
Choosing core team members was a fun adventure. In school, I’m in medicine and surgery and none of my coursemates are techie. Techies in my school, who should be willing to volunteer were suddenly scarce. Response and willingness were low. Later on, Precious came on board and he recommended the majority of the team.
The core team got us started in various ways: like creating and maintaining DSC AE-FUNAI’s social media handles and promoting the community. Their contributions to make DSC AE-FUNAI stand cannot be overemphasized. In fact, our core team Whatsapp group’s name is “You are the BEST!!!”. Shout out to the best core team ever. Some core team members joined the team much later, from the community. Whereas some left as they had become unavailable. For example, Victor Amaechi became ambassador for TheRootHub Abakiliki and had to build that community as well. Everyone in the slide below was once ever part of us. Thank you all for your inputs, especially Obiora for all the flyers and graphics he made for the community.
The Community
In the core team, we actively used (and are still using) the 7Ps of community. Our purpose was to create a peer-to-peer learning environment. The people comprised of any interested in computers, the majority being fellow students. Place was online (thanks to COVID19), over Whatsapp given that it's the most commonly used messaging platform here.
I created the Whatsapp group on 3rd Sep. and we all shared the link. We progressed to welcomes and introductions the next two nights after many had joined. The intros were one of a kind. Aside from sharing pics, details, and hustles, all who introduced themselves answered how they were into tech/computers and what they wanted to achieve in it. Answers were baffling and networking was strong. Those who were business persons also made sales. Well, that’s why it’s a community. The community members called my attention to also explain how I came this far. I ended up telling my story. Please read “My Developer Story” on Medium later on.
Info session
The Whatsapp group was all fun, jokes, and banter (and it's still till today, that’s the joy after all). We were to start with DSC related activities after the info session. The info session was to serve as a formal introduction and definition of DSC (which it did). For speakers, Precious recommended two AE-FUNAI alumni, Chinedu and Ezra, who are both developers at Cregital and Genesys, respectively. During the info session, they explained how much the community will help our student-lives and how the community culture will fuel each person’s progress. The event was held on Friday, 11th Sep. over Google Meet with 20 attendees.
Know more about it at https://dsc.community.dev/e/mm72hn/
My take-home
Helping to start DSC AE-FUNAI reaffirmed to me two solid principles
1. Everything is possible.
2. In life, you need people.
I was also exposed to other DSC communities. I got to know other leads in DSC SSA and was a speaker during DSC McPherson University Info Session.
Next steps
The Solution Challenge was to come in 4 months (by January 2021) and we were to prepare and guide our community members in taking part. We thought of organizing a 30 days Bootcamp to teach and help prepare the community members against the solution challenge. However, we didn’t embark immediately because it needed much planning and mentors were not readily available. To begin activities we embarked on a month-long Firebase Series. Every Friday we had a workshop and during the week we had follow-ups on what was learned.
Read on the Firebase Series …
