Written by Maryblessing Okolie
In this article, I talk about:
- What I learned during my mentorship program
- What I did as a mentee
- My next move
I think am naturally not a technical person, because, if I was, why did I fail twice at mobile development? 😆 But that’s a story for another day!
Anyway, today I’m excited to share my experience as a summer mentee on the Mainframe Open Education (MOE) Project. When I first heard about it, I was intrigued by the team’s goals. I applied for the mentorship program to learn more about mainframes, which was alien to me until one of my many searches led me to realize that mainframes have been a part of my daily life without knowing it 🤯
Like anyone else, I joined the team with a lot to learn. My mentors were patient and understanding, giving me time to adjust before jumping on tasks. I took that opportunity to feed my curiosity about mainframes.
I gradually started completing tasks, one at a time. One of the most challenging assignments was when I was asked to speak at the student user group. I thought it was nice but what could I possibly say…? However, the questions I received during the session helped me reflect on my motivations for joining the project. You can watch the recap here on YouTube.
I’ve previously written about my journey into the LFX Mentorship Program, including an overview of MOE and its parent project here. You should catch up with it before we continue!
My mentorship goal
Increasing awareness of the Mainframe Open Education program within the mainframe community and outside, reviewing content, and providing feedback and new ideas on what else our project can do to attract those who consume and contribute.
As someone with a background in community management, I believe that strong communities are essential for the success of tech-driven solutions. That’s why I like the MOE project’s focus, which is on open-sourcing mainframe learning roadmaps and fostering community knowledge transfer.
Each task I’ve worked on has been an opportunity to go deeper into the world of mainframes. To complete these tasks effectively, I had to explore different aspects of mainframe technology and its community, which was incredibly fun.
What I learned
Contributing to the MOE project is like stepping on my feet in a deep ocean. I initially had limited knowledge of mainframes, but I quickly realized their significance in my everyday life. This discovery made my involvement in the project even more exciting as I deepened my understanding of mainframes through my research. There was always something new and fascinating to learn.
While I’m not always a disciplined writer, the opportunity to educate others about mainframes and the MOE project rekindled my passion for writing. I went through several drafts before finalizing the article. lol, jokes.
Patience isn’t my strongest virtue, so reviewing our GitBook and webpage was a challenge. However, I understood the importance of gathering feedback for our community resources and approached the task with focus. The review process was actually quite enjoyable as I learned a lot along the way. cool for real!
What I did
I wrote about what I achieved in the first half of my mentorship and you can read all about it here.
I want to highlight one particular achievement: organizing a meetup at a university in Nigeria.
When I first thought of it, I didn’t think it was possible. I’ve never really organised something for myself (except that one time I organised a home party with close friends at mine and events I organised for organisations). Also, the school year was over, so I anticipated low attendance. Despite these challenges, I decided to proceed with the event. I booked a venue, contacted a vendor for snacks, and created a registration form. I have the cool folks at the Open Source Community Africa OAU (OSCA OAU) and She Code Africa OAU (SCA OAU) to thank.
The meetup was a success, with 10 out of 15 people in attendance. It was a great outcome, considering my initial concerns.
During the meetup, we discussed mainframes, open source, and how students can contribute to the MOE Project. We reviewed Chapter 1 of our GitBook, and three students sent a more comprehensive review after the meetup. It was so lovely to witness their initial curiosity about mainframes turn into excitement and a desire to join our Slack community.
I got this message from an attendee and I was impressed.
What’s next for me?
I have a saying: Everything ends, no matter how good our intentions are. My time as an LFX Mentee has concluded, but my journey with the MOE Project core team is just beginning. I’m committed to carrying forward the project’s vision and continuing to contribute to this incredible community and movement.
The MOE Project is more than just a project; it’s a movement to open-source mainframe resources. It’s such incredible and important work we’re doing and the future is so bright!
I look forward to us (as a community) adding more content to the GitBook, organizing additional meetups to raise awareness and forge partnerships with other mainframe-focused communities.
In conclusion…
A big shoutout to everyone contributing to our vision, one piece of content at a time. Thanks to the MOE core team members for their hard work behind the scenes.
I’d also like to express my sincere gratitude to my mentors, J.J. Lovett and Lauren Valenti, for their exceptional support and guidance. I’ll miss our weekly mentor-mentee calls, which were always a chilled and productive time.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! Please consider contributing to our Gitbook. You can find information on how to get started in this section.
Stay tuned here and the Open Mainframe Project social channels for more mentee blogs and videos.
- Follow us on X at @Openmfproject
- Connect with our LinkedIn page
- Subscribe to our Youtube Channel
- Sign up to get our newsletter
