Introduction

Greetings Avid reader, my name is Temiloluwa, I am an open source software developer with keen interest in iOS development. you can call me Temi for short or Tello as I am called by my peers, friends and colleagues. if you are wondering how I got my nickname (T.E.L.L.O),. it was extracted out of my full name.

I am currently interning with the wikipedia iOS team this summer via Outreachy open source internship. And for the first time as an iOS Dev, I will be building some jaw dropping search features for the Wikipedia iOS users using technologies such as Sirikit, Widgetkit, Apple intelligence and App intents.

In this blog post, I will be telling you a glimpse about myself as a developer and the core values that shape me as a person. Take a stroll with me through my story.

Background

I have a degree in computer engineering and I have been an active open source contributor since 2023. over the years I have contributed to open source projects such as Wikipedia, Sympy, Cypherock, BitcoinDevkit, and Pyasic. My journey on how I started as an iOS Dev started back in 2019. It has been a rollercoaster to have specific niche due to buzz words always springing up rapidly in tech but I have learnt how to ignore the noise and do away with distractions so I can be a better mobile developer.

Core values

I often ask myself, who am I, what are my attributes, what are my characteristics, what defines me as a person and over the years, I finally got the answers to my questions.

At my core, I realize I have so many attributes but I will only be talking about 4 in this blog post.
my core values are Optimism, Grit, Determination and Empathy.

I must say reading books also made me discover myself more, one book that taught me more about myself is The Power of positive thinking by Norman Vincent Peale. consuming the knowledge within its pages made me discover I am an optimist who sees light even in the faintest flicker, and believes that a positive mind is a powerful engine. on to my second core value Empathy, I have discovered Empathy is my compass, I strive to listen before I speak and put myself in people’s shoes to share their feelings.
Determination and grit completes my last two core values because I have learnt how to weather the storm during tough times, to keep showing up when it’s easier to quit, and to turn setbacks into stepping stones.
These values aren’t just traits that defines me they are the pillars I stand on, the quiet rhythm behind every decision I make, every challenge I overcome, and every line of code I write.

Outreachy Motivation

Growing up, I have always been fascinated by how gigantic codebases are written and maintained. And eventually my curiosity led me to open source software development.

Open source software development involves creating software where the source code is publicly available, allowing anyone to view, modify, and distribute it. It is a collaborative and community driven way to develop software that fosters transparency, innovation, and higher quality. Outreachy is a paid remote internship that support underrepresented groups in open source and open science development. my motivation to get into outreachy has always been to help humanity in any way I can with computer code. open source software promotes liberty, transparency and Trust. we live in a world where we can be watched, monitored, tracked and censored with software without our knowledge and open source software mitigates that. Outreachy gives new open source contributors, interns and students a chance to do meaningful work. it fosters collaboration and communication across borders, continents, timezones and jurisdictions. I wouldn’t have gotten into outreachy without my core values. my determination and grit to forge through despite the rejections finally gave me the opportunity to contribute to free encyclopedic knowledge.

I am thrilled to be working with the iOS team at the Wikimedia Foundation this summer on improving search entry points for the Wikipedia iOS app.

Conclusion

I plan to remain a full time contributor at Wikimedia so my work will continue after my internship. I am grateful to my mentors (Joseph Seddon, Marina Azevedo and Grey Olson) for their mentorship this summer, I look forward to do meaningful work this summer.

See you in my next blog!