Interested in mentoring for Summer of Code 2008? Comment here! :)

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webchick's picture

It's never too early to start thinking about the next round of Summer of Code. If you're interested in joining the mentoring team, leave a comment here!

What are the requirements for becoming a mentor?

  • You are friendly, patient, and approachable, and passionate about helping new contributors to feel welcome.
  • You should have knowledge about some basic Drupal development fundamentals (how to maintain projects in CVS, what a 'hook' is, and so on). You don't need to be an expert in everything Drupal (we always have two mentors per student, so your co-mentor can help back you up), but at least knowing where to find information so you can point it out is a huge asset.
  • However, if you don't know that stuff, you can still help; other folks who are very valuable assets to the mentoring team include those who are really good at breaking down large, complex problems into more manageable tasks, or those who have specific knowledge of a particular sector/technology (such as education, mapping/geo systems, and so on).
  • You will have a decent amount of availability over the summer months (approx. May - August) to help answer student questions in #drupal-soc, via e-mails, and/or in the SoC group. Again, with two mentors per student, don't stress too much if you're on vacation for a week or two.
  • You will also have some availability in March/April to help come up with project ideas, rank and review student applications, and otherwise help out with some of the "bootstrapping" stuff.

What are the rewards?

  • That "feel good" feeling from helping out someone else. Awww! You get directly involved in fostering the "next generation" of Drupal developers.
  • You get to directly help students scratch "itches" that you've had bugging you for a long time. Especially if they're itches that are really fun or would have a powerful impact.
  • Many of our SoC alumni have gone on to careers as full-time Drupal consultants, which means if you're looking to hire fresh new talent, well...

If this sounds like something that interests you, leave a comment here, and we'll add you to the list for next year. :)

Comments

Count me in!

benc's picture

Hi Angie,

Count me in, as usual :)

Also: add in the qualities of a mentor -- can be a good coach, to goad and cheer the student as deadlines approach!
In the rewards for being mentor -- expand your knowledge through the mentoring experience

benc

"Work smarter, not harder."
The Power of Drupal Categories

You betcha!

bonobo's picture

Count me in!

I'd also add that part of the reward of working on the SoC involves thinking big picture about the various needs of the Drupal community --

That, and, of course, Rock Star status ;)

Glad to help however I can --

Cheers,

Bill


FunnyMonkey
Tools for Teachers

Rock Star!

rwohleb@drupal.org's picture

Bill, you are DEFINITELY a Rock Star! However, you were my mentor so I might be biased.

Now that I will no longer be a student, I would love to mentor. I will be going through the whole graduation and job hunt dance around May, so that could be an issue.

~Rob

me too

deekayen's picture

I think that should read at least two mentors per student. Aggregator had 4.

When it is snowing?

kbahey's picture

Wow Angie

You post this when we have a dusting of snow over night. Not the first instance, perhaps the second time.

What is this? A conspiracy to cheer us in preparation for a loooong winter?

Seriously, I am in too.

Drupal performance tuning, development, customization and consulting: 2bits.com
Personal blog: Baheyeldin.com

Drupal performance tuning, development, customization and consulting: 2bits.com, Inc..
Personal blog: Baheyeldin.com.

i wont be a student next year, so... ;)

snufkin's picture

I will have that camp during this summer again, which means three weeks off at the end, but otherwise I would be happy to help out.

+1

drewish's picture

yeah, i think i'm in for mentoring though it does depend on what i end up doing for work once i'm done.

I'm probably going to take

sime's picture

I'm probably going to take the same approach as last year, putting up an idea or two of things I'd like to mentor.

Balasz, we should put up a drawing related proposal and co-mentor. The time you have away is less problematic if we team up.

cool

snufkin's picture

this would be really cool!

I'm interested

dwees's picture

As a high school teacher I have loads of spare time during the holidays. I've also got a variety of different projects under my belt so I have experience with coding in Drupal in many different contexts.

Of course my interest is improving the learning management aspect of Drupal so I'm particularly interested in that field.

Dave

Sure

I'm a good scratcher :)

marcrobinsone's picture

Hello Angie,

May I ask if this one is limited for those who live in the U.S.?

I'd love to join but right now I'm stuck in Asia. We also have a lot of people here who have different itches with Drupal.

thanks & regards,

marc.robinsone

not limited

Gábor Hojtsy's picture

Neither mentoring nor student participation is limited to US students. So any student from around the world and any mentor could be matched up for a project.

the madness must go on

shiveringweb's picture

Ready for another year....

I'm in

dldege's picture

<h1<>I'm in

Dan DeGeest
Software Developer
Somewhere or Another

Me too :) Hopefully, this

Jhef.Vicedo's picture

Me too :) Hopefully, this would be my second time.

in a dilemma

garthee's picture

i participated in 07 as student
guess this time i would prefer to mentor ..

1st time mentor applicant

rpfilomeno's picture

Hi guys,

I meet Ruben aka cryptonomikon last PH GoogleTech Talk, I wasn't aware there's a group of PH devs thats actively uses Drupal -- BTW thanks to Ruben for introducing me to this group.

I have been using Drupal for 3 years now and I'm ashamed to admit its only recently I was able to contribute back mainly because of work schedules (excuses).

My developments strength on Drupal is mainly focused on Views, CCK, custom themes, third party authentication, and mobile gateway integration.

I'm also working right now on OpenSocial related modules, Services with OpenLaszlo, Maps and Media CCK especially the mobile video format conversion from using ffmeg on Linux -- It seems this one is harder to setup for someone without Linux experience.

Hope i can help back.

Thanks.

I'm in

wmostrey's picture

Hey Angie, I'm definitely in for this year as a mentor.

Completely here!

cwgordon7's picture

I'm completely here for mentoring! This is going to be so awesome! Yay! I'm also willing to be a co-administrator of the program to lessen some of the load on you masterminds if you would find it helpful! This is going to be exciting! I can't wait for it!!

-cwgordon7!!!!!

I'm up for it

gdd's picture

Would love to help

count me in

sugree's picture

I'm ready.

Sure.

keith.smith's picture

I'll be happy to help as needed.

SoC 2007

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