Not too long ago, I was selected as an intern for the May to August 2024 Outreachy internship round, and now I am halfway through it and nearing the end of my internship. On May 27th, I officially began interning with Fedora on the project "Create an outreach strategy, write documentation, run a marketing campaign, and measure results". Working on this project has broadened my knowledge and given me a sense of direction in my career. As my Outreachy internship with Fedora draws to a close, I am taking the time to document the projects I am working on and re-evaluate my career goals and aspirations for the next level of my career.

Before diving into my career plans, I will highlight the projects I have completed and a long-term project that is in progress. I will also share my past internship experience with the CNCF-Notary Project as a Linux Foundation Mentorship mentee since it perfectly aligns with the things I currently do as a Community Architect intern with Fedora.

Fedora Project: Contributions and Ongoing Work

What’s new in Fedora Workstation 40

During the Outreachy contribution phase, I wrote a blog post that garnered nearly 5000 views within a few hours of publishing. This article remains my biggest contribution made during the Outreachy contribution phase. It covers major improvements in GNOME’s core app, under-the-hood performance improvements in GNOME 46, and under-the-hood changes in Fedora Linux 40. I collaborated with the Fedora Magazine editorial team to write and publish the post.

Fedora Social Media Contribution Model Docs:

I led the documentation of a contribution model for Fedora's social media. Working with my mentors, Joseph and Justin, I published a post explaining the Fedora Marketing Team’s three-tiered model for social media contributions:

Social Media Manager
Content Contributor
Community Contributor

The post also explains to both new contributors and other Fedora community contributors who are not part of the marketing team the details of each tier, the types of contributions made within them, and how someone can get involved.

Search Fedora Package Repositories Using Sourcegraph article:

I wrote an article reintroducing Fedora developers, contributors, and maintainers to Code Search. Code Search is a powerful search capability in Sourcegraph and it is integrated into Fedora dist-git, a repository hosting over 38,000 packages.

Long-term project: Launching the Fedora Program

I am currently working on the Fedora Ready program, a long-term project aimed at launching a new program for hardware vendors to work with the Fedora marketing team. This program is both user-facing and vendor-facing. For vendors, it supports those who confirm their hardware is compatible with Fedora Linux. For users, it helps them identify hardware that either has Fedora preinstalled or can run Fedora Linux.

For this program, I have:

Developed brand concept for the new program to define and structure the program.
Created a compatibility list for listing Fedora Ready approved devices
Requested trademark approval from the Fedora Council for the “Fedora Ready” name.
Created a brand kit for the program.
Developed a process for hardware vendors to enrol in the Fedora Ready program.

Internship with Linux Foundation Mentorship Program

In 2023, I was selected as an LFX mentee to work on the CNCF-Notary Project, focusing on developing content for Notary documentation and blogs. When I started, the troubleshooting guide was outdated, so I updated it to reflect the latest behavior of Notation.

During this internship, I:

Developed content for Notary documentation and wrote blog posts to educate users about Notary use cases
Restructured the existing docs layout to enhance readability and ease of finding information.
Created a glossary page describing Notary Project terminologies such as Notary, Notation, Notary Project Specifications, TUF, etc.
Wrote a blog post on using Notation with other cloud-native ecosystem tools like Harbor

These experiences have boosted my confidence in looking for a full-time role.

My career goals

My primary career goal is to leverage my three months of experience as a community architect intern to look for a full-time role in community management, technical writing, marketing in tech, technical support, or open source program management. I am particularly interested in roles that focus on open source community. I am also looking to explore speaking engagements at tech events. Broaden my knowledge in community management, marketing, and event organisation.

Career aspirations

My career aspirations include taking on roles that involve:

Open source program management: I am open to working on expanding a company’s initiative or program in Africa for a wider reach and inclusivity
Internships with the potential to transition into a full-time position. I am open to both relocating and working remotely from my country.
Community architecture or community management.

Skills and Experience Summary

Ability to work full-time and remotely
Strong organizational skills
Ability to quickly learn how to use new software and tools
Passion for open source and working collaboratively
Experience with program development and community engagement activities
Interest in Linux, Cloud Native tools and open source communities
Familiarity with Docker, OCI, and CircleCI
Experience with technical writing and blogging
Knowledge of Git, GitLab, GitHub, AWS, and CI/CD

Work Preferences

I am currently seeking a position in community management, technical writing, tech support, marketing, or program management. I am available to start immediately after my internship concludes, and I am open to both full-time and part-time paid roles. I excel in remote work environments but am also open to relocating. Please feel free to contact me for further discussion.

Scaling up in Career: My Career Goals and Aspirations