Embarking on an Outreachy internship is a great start into the heart of open-source , a journey I’ve longed to undertake. December 2023 to March 2024 marked this exhilarating chapter of my life, where I had the honor of diving deep into the GNOME world as an Outreachy intern. In this blog, I’m happy to share my experiences, painting a vivid picture of the growth, challenges, and invaluable experiences that have shaped my journey.

Discovering GNOME: A Gateway to Open-Source Excellence

At its core, GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment, pronounced gah-NOHM) is a graphical user interface (GUI) and set of computer desktop applications for users of the Linux operating system. Many major Linux distributions , including Debian , Fedora Linux , Ubuntu , Red Hat Enterprise Linux , and SUSE Linux Enterprise distribute GNOME as their default desktop environment; it is also the default in Oracle Solaris , a Unix operating system.

Why GNOME Captured My Heart

The Outreachy internship presented a couple of projects to choose from, but my fascination with operating system functionalities—booting, scheduling, memory management, user interface and beyond—drew me irresistibly to GNOME. My mission? To work on the implementation of end-to-end tests, a challenge I embraced head on as i dived into the project documentation to understand the project better.

From the moment I introduced myself on the GNOME community channel in the first days of contribution phase, the warmth and promptness of their welcome were unmatched, shattering the myth of the “busy, distant mentor.” This immediate sense of belonging fueled my determination, despite the initial difficulties of setup procedures and technical trials. My advice to future Outreachy aspirants? From my experience is to start early; Zero down on a project, try to set up early as this took me almost 2 weeks to finally make a merge request to the project.Secondly ask questions publicly as this helps you easily get unblocked faster in cases when your mentor is busy.

Milestones and Mastery: The GNOME Journey

Our collective goal was to work on GNOME’s accessibility features through rigorous end-to-end tests, both for desktop and mobile tests for core GNOME OS apps. The creation of the gnome_accessibility test suite marked our first victory, followed by the genesis of gnome-locales and gnome_mobile test suites. Daily stand ups and weekly mentor meetings became our compass, guiding our efforts and honing our focus on the different tasks.

Technically ,I learned a lot about version control and Git workflows, how to actually contribute to a project with a large code base,writing clean, readable, and efficient code and ensuring code is thoroughly tested for bugs and errors before pushing it.Some of the soft skills i learned were collaboration ,communication skills and the continuous desire to learn new things and being teachable.

Overcoming Obstacles: Hardware Hurdles and Beyond

The revelation that my iOS-based machine was ill-equipped for the task at hand was a stark challenge. The lesson was clear: understanding project specifications is crucial, and adaptability is key. This obstacle, while daunting, taught me the value of preparation and the importance of choosing the right tools for the task.

Beyond Coding: Community, Engagement, and Impact

I have not only interacted with my mentors for the project but also participated in sharing about the work we have done on TWIG and discourse channel.I have had public engagements on contributing to Outreachy over twitter spaces in my community and shared more about my internship with GNOME AFRICA Preparatory Bootcamp for GSoC & Outreachy .These experiences have not only boosted my technical skills but have also embedded in me a sense of community and the courage to tackle the unknown.

A Heartfelt Thank You

As this chapter of my journey with GNOME and Outreachy draws to a close, I am overwhelmed with gratitude.To my selfless mentors , Sam Thursfield and Sonny Piers for the guidance and mentorship . I appreciate you all for what you have planted in us. To Tanjuate you have been an amazing co- intern I could ever ask for. To Kristi Progri and Felipe Borges for coordinating this internship with Outreachy and the GNOME Community.

To Outreachy, thank you for this life-altering opportunity. And to every soul who has walked this path with me: your support has been amazing. As I look forward to converging paths at GUADEC in July and beyond, I carry with me not just skills and knowledge, but a heart full of memories, ready to embark on new adventures in the open-source realm.

Here’s to infinite learning, enduring friendships, and the unwavering spirit of contribution. May the journey continue to unfold, brimming with success, learning, and boundless possibilities.