Diversity Scholarship Recipient talks Node+JS Interactive

OpenJS Foundation is excited and proud to offer the Node+JS Interactive Diversity Scholarship. The Node+JS diversity scholarship program provides support to those from traditionally underrepresented and/or marginalized groups in the technology and/or open source communities (including, but not limited to: persons identifying as LGBTIQ, women, persons of color, and/or persons with disabilities) who may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend the event for financial reasons.

The scholarship application deadline is August 30, 2019. If you have been considering applying, don’t delay! For details, check out the application form.

To learn more about Node+JS Interactive from the vantage point of a previous diversity scholarship recipient, we asked Amanuel Ghebreweldi to give us his thoughts on attending the event.

What did you get out of attending Node+JS Interactive?

Since this was my first foray into the Node.js Community and Canada, I had meticulously worked out a schedule of which talks and workshops I want to attend. The plan was to attend those talks and workshops that are most relevant to my knowledge and skills. But my flight got canceled, and I arrived later at the conference with jetlag straight from the airport. So, I decided instead to go with the flow and attend rather talks covering unfamiliar topics (and try to stay awake  )

In retrospect, it was the right choice because it allowed me to learn more about things outside of my comfort zone like IoT, ML, and Kubernetes, etc. And it made me realize how vast the Node.js and JavaScript ecosystem has become.

One of my highlights was Code + Learn, where I made my first Node.js core contribution. The whole setup of the event was great. Also, out of curiosity, I briefly attended Contributor Days. It was really interesting to get a rare “behind-the-scenes” look at the foundation and community.

Would you recommend attending? 

Yes, absolutely. It was a well-organized conference with many friendly faces, excellent speakers, and a broad range of topics covered (and Vancouver, Canada is wonderful  )

What would you tell folks considering applying for the Diversity Scholarship? 

If you have the chance, go and apply for the scholarship! NodeJS + Interactive was a fantastic experience. The best moment I had during the conference was when I looked around and saw faces who looked like me and were interested in the same things as me. I felt absolutely inspired! I’m so thankful I had an opportunity to attend all the way from Germany.

With the deadline closing soon, head over to the application form and apply today! Good luck to each applicant and we hope to see you in December!