July was a quieter month on my end, which gave me the space to complete a highly requested feature for coordinators. I opened and got merged a pull request to the Outreachy website that gives community coordinators visibility into internship feedback for interns in their own community. Previously, only Outreachy organizers could view internship feedback, which meant coordinators had no way of seeing how things were going for their own interns unless they were told directly. The change grants approved coordinators access to feedback from only interns in their community. It is a small but meaningful improvement, and one that communities had been asking for.
Outside of the website work, I continued the usual rhythm of supporting mentors and communities through the internship, staying available for questions, following up where needed, and processing feedback as it came in.
Planning for the December cohort usually starts around this time of year, and the Outreachy team will be meeting soon to discuss what the next round looks like. We have also been having some conversations about improvement measures for the program, and we will see if these changes, which we think will make a meaningful difference, can be implemented. One of those discussions has been around creating a guide for mentors and communities to help them navigate the new era of AI-generated contributions, which is something more and more open-source programs are grappling with. I have been working on this documentation and am hopeful it will be ready in time for the next cohort.
I am glad this long-requested change for coordinators has finally made it in, and I look forward to continuing to make the program a good experience for everyone in our community.
Tilda's Thoughts 