 Hello again, everyone. The theme of this KubeCon Cloud Native Con is architect your future. When I learned about the theme of the conference, I immediately decided this was going to be my topic because I've personally experienced and witnessed how this community has helped shape the professional journeys of so many people. One of the wonderful things about KubeCon Cloud Native Con is this is a conference where we celebrate not only the technology, but also the power of the community. And this community has been instrumental in launching numerous carriers, helping people level up their skills, and helping them get technical leadership roles through their impactful contributions. In my role as a co-chair for this conference, I have the incredible opportunity to meet so many contributors, get to know them, and be inspired by their personal journey. And I'd love for you to experience that too. So today, I've asked a few of our contributors to share a little bit about their personal journey, how they contribute to the community, and one pro tip that we can all benefit from. So now we'll dim the lights and play the video. Hi, my name is Divay Dalhazi. I'm a developer, advocate, and KCD organizer. I got into the Cloud Native community just last year when Chris, the city of CNCF, Shady, KCNE, Boucher, the open source community Africa conference, I studied root certification exam, and I was drawn into the world of Cloud Native, and since then, I've never looked back. Though I have a background in electrical engineering and back-end development, I do not contribute code to the Cloud Native community. I contribute documentation, I write technical articles, and also I speak at conferences. I really enjoy my work in the Cloud Native community because right from high school, I've been involved in public speaking, and I loved it. And also, before going into code, I had newsletters and I was writing something that I loved doing. The Cloud Native community have given me the opportunity to do what I love doing, right, and also go technically. Pro tip to anyone getting involved in the Cloud Native community is to reach out and ask specific questions. People in the Cloud Native community are very approachable and I can measure a lot of people that have reached out to that helps me. So this is my pro tip, reach out, ask specific questions, and yeah, you will go. Hi, I'm Kasper, TNTF ambassador, community leader of Cloud Native Nordics, co-chair for KubeCon, Cloud NativeCon 2024, and I'm super excited to be part of that awesome team of co-chairs. So we were adopting Kubernetes back in 2016 and Lunar, and we needed someone to share our experiences with. So I created this local meetup group in Ohus, the city that I live in. It's a city of around 300,000 people and it really took off. We found a lot of great like-minded people that were on the same journey that we were on. So that was super great to share our experiences with them. Since then, we've had over 50 meetups within this Cloud Native Ohus group and it's just been amazing to be part of. This has since also evolved to a larger meetup alliance across the Nordic countries, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland called Cloud Native Nordics. We really tried to help each other across the Nordic countries. My contributions has mainly been no-code contributions. I've done a few PRs here and there like docs and stuff like that, but I run and organize meetups in Denmark primarily and help facilitate the different groups around the Nordic countries as the CNCF ambassador and part of this meetup alliance, Cloud Native Nordics. We are currently putting the final touches on the first ever Kubernetes community days here in Denmark. It will take place on November 14th, so just right after KubeCon. I'm super stoked to be part of this amazing event and this amazing group of organizers. So what is my pro tip? There's so many ways to contribute to this awesome ecosystem. My advice would be find the one thing that fits you and go full speed in that direction and stick to it. Hi, my name is Nikita Ravanath. I'm a Kubernetes maintainer and I'm a member of the CNCF Technical Oversight Committee. I got started in the community as an intern and over the years have gradually grown up the contributor ladder. Just looking at the impact of the code I write and the people I mentor and how life-changing all of this can be, that's what keeps me going on in the community. My one pro tip for y'all would be to help the maintainers help you. Go attend the maintainer track sessions, do your research and ask very specific questions and I guarantee you that you'll have a smoother experience in getting started. Hi, I'm William Ritso, lead architect consultant at SUSE. Beside organizing KCD events and CNCF meetups in the Netherlands and doing my day-to-day job, I do enjoy writing code and documentation. I've recently attended the Zero to Merge Court where I've got an absolute buzz where my first PR got merged. At the same time, I've joined the CNCF Tag Environmental Sustainability where I wrote and donated tooling code. One pro tip I have for aspiring contributors is don't be afraid to make your first step. It doesn't matter how good or bad you think you are, I guarantee you your offer to help will be welcome and you will receive valuable feedback that will motivate you to go further and further with your contributions. And who knows? Maybe one day you will see contributors for your own project. Ciao. Hi, my name is Kailen Edwards. I am a member of Kubernetes SIG Security and an infrastructure security engineer at Shopify. How did I get started with this community? In 2022, I attended my first KubeCon in Spain. It was lovely and while I was there, I attended a SIG security update. I was immediately taken aback by the passion and kindness displayed on the stage. And from that moment, I knew I wanted to get involved in Kubernetes. I set myself the goal to become a Kubernetes org member within a year by the next KubeCon actually. And I was able to do that and in doing so, I was awarded one of the contributor awards for SIG Security, which felt amazing. And I've been with them ever since. What is it that I do in the community? A whole bunch of things. Primarily, I work with SIG Security. I'm also a CNCF ambassador. What I've been doing lately is a lot of this kind of stuff, outreach, talks at KubeCon, community days, any kind of security conferences internally at my company as well. And I work with SIG Security docs. I really like making sure that Kubernetes security information is discoverable and well-documented for any users out there. Why do I enjoy doing this? I enjoy doing this for a whole bunch of reasons. The biggest one being that I found my people when I started contributing to open source. Everyone is so kind and smart and I just have the best time working with them. On top of that, it's been a really great opportunity for me to grow my own skills, working with tools and technologies outside of the ones that I'm exposed to every day at work. What is one pro tip encouragement that I would like to offer? Go to the meetings, turn your camera on, introduce yourself, pick up little tiny issues, contribute any way that you can, review PRs, whatever you can do to show up and keep showing up and let the community know that you're there is going to make a massive difference. It's really important that you remember just because you might not have as much context or knowledge as some of the long-time contributors, your opinion is super valuable and often fresh eyes are exactly what we're looking for. Thank you so much. Devine, Casper, Nikita, William and Kailin. I also want to thank Priyanka Sagu and Dimms for sharing their insights on this topic with me. By the way, did you all notice that we dropped a hint about the new co-chair who will come on board studying KubeCon Paris? Yeah, you did. If you did not notice, that's okay too. We'll keep the suspense a little bit longer. Just one more day to go and tomorrow we'll invite them on stage. All right, so coming back to the video, I'm super inspired every single time I watch it. What personally stands out to me is while these contributors come from very different backgrounds, there is one common thread that unites them all. Each of these contributors have experienced personal growth and development through their involvement in the community and they continue to give back to the very community that has nurtured them. So now let's look at why you should consider contributing to community projects if not already. I like to call it the joys of contribution. First is learning from the best. Great projects attract great people. By contributing to these projects, we have the chance to learn from the best and the brightest minds in our industry. Their expertise will inspire us to push our boundaries and enhance our skills. I personally believe that peers and mentors play a significant role in developing our craft. And like Kailin mentioned in the video, you will find your people here. Next is about solving problems together. Open source projects bring together people from all around the globe. Working with individuals from different backgrounds and perspectives enhance our communication skills, collaboration skills and our ability to understand and appreciate multiple opinions. And sometimes it teaches us how to convince others that our approach is the right one while also respecting their opinion. And other times it's about that humility and empathy and understanding and appreciating why a different approach is the right choice. And all of this collaboration and the conflict resolution and navigation creates better overall outcomes for that project and our community. And the next is establishing our reputation. Contributing to open source projects is a very visible way to showcase your skills and demonstrate your impact. It's a fantastic way to establish your reputation and pivot your career in exciting new directions. And last but not the least, let's be honest, sometimes our day jobs can become monotonous. Contributing to open source can be a refreshing break allowing us to work on projects that truly excite us and reignite our passion for technology. I often get asked how to choose an area of contribution. And here's my straightforward way of thinking about it. Consider areas related to your current work. This greatly reduces the learning curve and allows you to leverage your existing knowledge and context. It's a great way to deepen our expertise while being able to have a meaningful impact right away. If that's not an option, look for projects that align with your personal interests and prior experience. And like William mentioned in the video, when you work on projects that you're truly passionate about, your motivation and dedication will shine through leading to a more fulfilling contribution. And if you're still discovering your area of interest, that's okay too. Casper provided us with a very useful reminder. Remember, open source projects are not about code contributions alone. You can contribute through documentation, design, organizing events. So draw on your expertise and find a way to just get involved. And I promise you that before you realize it, you would have found what interests you and you will also meet so many contributors who will help you navigate the path to your next contribution. After getting involved, how does one grow their influence in the community? Building influence in the community may seem like a daunting task initially, but it is a natural progression that will happen over time. And here are some tips to accelerate that progress. First is consistency. Kalin talked about this. Keep showing up and consistently do good work. By actively participating and contributing regularly, you establish yourself as a reliable and a valuable member of the community. Help other contributors, your willingness to help them and your dedication to contribute will not go unnoticed. And this one is important. Embrace new opportunities. Opportunities often come knocking when we least expect them. So always be open to exploring an opportunity and be ready to seize that opportunity if it interests you. Whether it's a chance to review a PR, whether it's an opportunity to lead a CAP or speak at a conference, embrace these moments and let them propel your career forward. Before I end, I do wanna thank James for putting together the VDL, featuring our contributors. You will see his magical touches throughout KubeCon manifesting in the various videos that he helped put together entirely voluntarily. Thank you so much, James. And I'll end by my presentation by saying, please remember that there are so many ways to architect your future right here within this community. Embrace the opportunities, contribute passionately and watch your career soar to new heights. Thank you for your time.