Sher! Transitions into new role: Workshop & Logistics Manager

Sher! Shares the News

Five hundred twenty-nine is a very exciting number… Can you guess what it is?!

That’s right, 529 is the number of days I have worked for The Carpentries to date. It has been an amazing experience. On August 31, 2017 I began working part-time as the Workshop Administrator. From my very first virtual meeting, I soon discovered that I belong in The Carpentries.

I never dreamed of having a desire to learn to code and even use the shell as part of my daily routine. After my first Software Carpentry Workshop I was so eager to learn more. I always thought the black screen with all the code was terrifying. Now, even though I am still a novice, I find myself trying to impress my family and friends with my skills. I will have the shell open and type ls, ../, cd, whoami, or pwd several times, just to fill up my screen and to look cool. :)

Words cannot express my excitement and gratitude to step into my new role as Workshop & Logistics Manager! Having worked as Workshop Administrator for 518 days I was able to engage with the community and ensure that the host and instructors had everything they needed to execute successful workshops. Myself, along with the Regional Workshop Administrators, were able to assist in organising 586 workshops worldwide in 2018!

In my new role, I will work closely with the Workshop Administrators to focus on community building, develop ways to automate our workflows, and identify ways to increase the number of workshops we run globally. I understand the challenges faced with organising workshops and cannot wait to begin to work with the Workshop Admins to begin implementing ways to eliminate some of our pain points organising workshops from the administrative side.

When I first began working for The Carpentries, I recall hearing everyone talk about their various meetings across time zones. I could not wait to have my first late/early meeting. Now, I get to have them more frequently as I work with our Workshop Administrators in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and all across Africa! I am still challenged with switching back and forth between daylight savings time and UTC/GMT, but I’m certain I will be a pro in a few months :)

I will also work with the CarpentryCon Task Force to plan CarpentryCon2020. Last year, I worked with a great team to organise the inaugural CarpentryCon in Dublin, Ireland, where we brought together 120 members of the community to meet, greet, learn and explore. Another reason I love my job is that I’m able to merge my hobby (planning events) with my role in The Carpentries.

I may have said this before, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE my job. Being able to work with a wonderful team, and a community that always shows their gratitude for the work we do for them is rewarding in itself. I’m looking forward to adding more days to my count of 529. I will be seeing everyone throughout the community!

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