Why I Give Back to the Tech Community: A Year of Speaking, Organizing, and Mentoring 🌟
"Why do you spend so much time in communities? What’s the benefit?"
This is a question I get a lot. My answer is simple: I love helping the community.
Sharing knowledge, mentoring, and seeing others grow is incredibly fulfilling. For me, community engagement is not just about professional achievements—it’s about building connections, exchanging ideas, and making a real impact.
As I reflect on 2024, here’s a month-by-month breakdown of how I contributed to the tech community and why it continues to inspire me.
January: Kicking Off with AWS CDK
Speaking: Delivered a session on AWS Systems Manager for 90days of DevOps channel and it was fun recording it.
Organizing: organized an AWS CDK hands-on session, AWS UG Vadodara’s first monthly meetup of the year, helping attendees understand infrastructure as code and empowering them to build better solutions.
💡 Why: Starting the year strong with hands-on learning sets the tone for continuous growth—for me and the community.
February: Re:Invent Recap and AIML Announcements
Speaking: Shared insights on AIML innovations announced at AWS re:Invent during the AWS UG Vadodara monthly meetup.
Mentoring: Guided aspiring AWS learners, helping them navigate certification paths and leverage new AIML tools.
đź’ˇ Why: Empowering others with the latest tech trends fosters curiosity and keeps the community ahead of the curve.
March: Exploring ECS and EKS
Speaking: Delivered a deep dive on EKS and container orchestration during an AWS UG Vadodara monthly meetup.
Organizing: Co-hosted above meetup where we also discussed ECS vs. EKS, providing actionable insights for choosing the right containerization platform.
đź’ˇ Why: Bridging knowledge gaps in Kubernetes adoption helps teams build scalable, resilient architectures.
April: Terraform Meets EKS
Speaking: Co-led an EKS and Terraform workshop in collaboration with HashiCorp Vadodara.
Organizing: Coordinated a hands-on session with AWS UG Vadodara, enabling attendees to manage cloud infrastructure effectively.
đź’ˇ Why: Cloud-native skills are in high demand, and hands-on workshops empower learners to tackle real-world challenges.
May: Scaling with Cost Optimization
Speaking: Presented on cost optimization strategies at AWS Summit Bengaluru, sharing practical ways to reduce cloud costs without compromising performance.
Mentoring: Hosted focused sessions on budgeting and cost management, particularly for startups.
Organizing: Coordinated a session on Platform Engineering with AWS UG Vadodara, helping attendees learn about different best practices on AWS when it comes to platform engineering.
đź’ˇ Why: Cost-efficient architectures unlock innovation, especially for organizations working within tight constraints.
June: AIOps and Open Source
Speaking: Participated in an AIOps panel discussion, highlighting AWS tools for automation and observability.
Speaking: Spoke at a CNCF event, delivering a session on integrating AWS solutions with open-source tools.
Organizing: Coordinated a meetup with AWS UG Vadodara where attendees learnt about Serverless and AWS.
💡 Why: Building bridges between AWS and open-source communities enriches everyone’s toolbox.
July: Data Engineering with AWS
Speaking: Delivered sessions on AWS GenAI at a local university and security best practices at my alma mater.
Organizing: Coordinated AWS UG Vadodara’s monthly meetup, focusing on Data Engineering with AWS and ClickHouse.
đź’ˇ Why: Introducing foundational concepts like Data Engineering to aspiring professionals sparks curiosity, fosters creativity, and lays the groundwork for innovative problem-solving.
August: GenAI Edition and Global Stages
Speaking:
AWS Community Day Pune: Spoke on real-time analytics with Amazon Timestream.
JAWS Pankration 2024: Explored Amazon Timestream in action, showcasing practical use cases at Japan User Group Yearly Event.
Organizing: Hosted the AWS UG Vadodara GenAI Edition, featuring hands-on workshops and inspiring talks on GenAI and also spoke about security when it comes to building applications on generative AI.
đź’ˇ Why: GenAI represents the future, and fostering understanding early ensures the community is ready to lead.
September: Certifications and Career Growth
Speaking: Delivered a talk on AWS certifications at ITM University with AWS UG Vadodara, demystifying paths to success.
Mentoring: Helped mentees refine career strategies and prepare for AWS certification exams.
💡 Why: Certifications open doors, and I’m passionate about guiding others through their learning journeys.
October: Community Day Leadership
Speaking:
AWS Community Day Hungary: Shared insights on AWS Cost Optimization for Developers.
AWS Community Day Vadodara: Spoke on Using Amazon Q for QuickSight, ensuring responsible AI development.
All Day DevOps: Showcased how Amazon Q can enhance AWS CDK workflows.
Organizing: Led the AWS Community Day Vadodara 2024, hosting over 600 attendees with diverse technical tracks and workshops.
đź’ˇ Why: Large-scale events amplify learning and create opportunities for collaboration across diverse communities.
November: Mentorship and Multinational Platforms
Speaking:
AWS Community Day Jakarta: Delivered an insightful session on Using Control Tower and Landing Zone for Multiple AWS Account Management, highlighting strategies for effective governance and streamlined operations across multi-account environments.
AWS UG China Marathon: Presented on Amazon Timestream for Real-Time Insights in Finance Use Cases, showcasing its capabilities for analyzing trade data and optimizing financial operations.
Organizing: Coordinated AWS UG Vadodara monthly meetup on security with genai and community day highlights.
Mentoring: Supported mentees in transitioning to cloud-native roles and building impactful projects.
đź’ˇ Why: Global platforms help scale the impact of community-driven knowledge sharing.
December: Wrapping Up with Gratitude
Speaking:
Hosted a LinkedIn Live for AWS UG Vadodara to recap AWS re:Invent 2024 innovations.
AWS Community Day Kochi: Spoke on Control Tower and Landing Zone for Multiple AWS Account Management, emphasizing best practices for setting up scalable and secure multi-account architectures..
Organizing: Planned and executed AWS UG Vadodara’s final meetup of the year.
đź’ˇ Why: Ending the year by reflecting on achievements inspires both me and the community to aim higher.
Why I Do It: The Heart of Community Engagement ❤️
For me, community engagement is about more than sharing knowledge; it’s about:
Empowering Others: Helping individuals unlock their potential through mentorship and hands-on learning.
Fostering Innovation: Building spaces where ideas can thrive and spark transformative solutions.
Creating Impact: Seeing someone land their dream job, ace a certification, or overcome a challenge makes every effort worthwhile.
To everyone who joined me on this journey—thank you for your trust, collaboration, and passion. Let’s continue to grow together in 2025!