For the shortest month in the year, February was sure packed with the most activities. Initial applications opened for the June 2025 cohort, community signups opened and the professional skills feature went live (I talked about it in my last report). So like I said, it was a busy month.
The professional skills feature was a success. With the short timeframe in which we had to get it developed and deployed to the website, I was a bit concerned about bugs coming up once applicants started making use of it. We did have a minor issue come up but everything else worked fine. Some applicants initially faced issues adding certain skills due to a back-end validation rule we implemented. Thankfully, it was a quick fix, and with just a few lines of code, everything was back on track. I’d say the team is pretty satisfied with the outcome.
Community sign-ups were also ongoing this month. We had some very interesting new communities sign up to participate and I’m excited for Outreachy applicants to have more interesting projects to work on. Project lists will be available for applicants to view from March 10th and the contribution stage will commence.
As the December 2024 round wraps up, it’s incredible to see how much our interns have grown. The internship wrap-up chat is scheduled for March 4th, and it’s always a highlight for me. During this chat, interns reflect on their journey, sharing their experiences and future plans. It’s one of my favorite chats because you can clearly see how much confidence they’ve gained in their skills and the direction they want to take in their careers. We’re also planning a video chat so that the interns can socialize and connect with more interns from other communities. Mentors/coordinators are also invited. This round has been truly rewarding, and our interns have been fantastic. I can’t wait to welcome the next cohort and see what they achieve!
Tilda's Thoughts 