From Isolation to Involvement: Where my tech journey started

During the pandemic, I often wondered how designers and tech enthusiasts gathered in Davao City or Mindanao in general. I grew up in a family composed of doctors, politicians, government employees, and teachers. It was hard for the people around me to relate to me or give advice in the field I chose, so meeting people in the same field excited me. I kept scrolling through various social media platforms looking for different organizations. By the time I became a second-year college student, I was not involved in any community or organization and felt left out.

One day, a friend invited me to an event organized by GDG called Devfest 2022. Even though I had class on the day of the event, I insisted on joining. However, when I was about to buy a slot, it was immediately sold out. Coincidentally, I also had a friend who was a volunteer at Devfest 2022 and paid for my slot. I was very thankful to her for that. I thought everything was smooth sailing, but then our exam was rescheduled to that date. I was very devastated by this, but fortunately, I only had two exams, and the event was held near our university. I decided to go back and forth between the school and the event.

It was the event that opened my eyes to the diverse culture in tech. That is where I discovered how active tech organizations are in Mindanao and how open they are to students who want to be involved in the tech industry. Since then, I have been very interested in joining tech events and becoming a volunteer in several organizations. My friend and I at the University of Mindanao founded the UM-Student Community Developer, and I became Chief Operations Officer. We connect tech enthusiasts at the University of Mindanao to the different tech organizations in Davao. This is also my way of sharing my experience in the tech organization with my fellow students.