Introducing Team Omnia Extares
We are Team Omnia Extares.
Giving ourselves a Latin team name makes us look pretentious. I know you were thinking it. But it’s way more awesome than you think.
Lyz and I both graduated from what they call The Evergreen State College, which is a smallish hippy alternative college in Washington State. That description makes Evergreen seem very…I don’t know, eye-rolly? But it’s more than just pot clouds and discussing sustainability and driftwood art, while sitting barefoot in a circle. (But, to be clear: these things ABSOLUTELY happen there.) Evergreen is also a really flexible learning environment, and it was really formative for both of us, and holds a special place in our respective and collective hearts.
Here’s why I just waxed poetic about our alma mater (more Latin - we really are pretentious). Omnia Extares is Evergreen’s motto, and it’s way more awesome than boring college’s mottos. Instead of meaning something like “Striving for pompous glory, or whatever”, our motto means, “Let it all hang out.”
So here we are, two Greeners getting letting it all hang out as we hurl ourselves bodily into our Rails Girls Summer of Code project.
How did you hear about the SoC and why did you apply?
Utah: My first exposure to coding was using MatLab for an Ecological Modeling course in grad school. I really enjoyed it, but had to set it aside after the course was over. After finishing my Masters, I was finally able to spend more time learning to code, and I fell in love. After I took my first RailsBridge workshop, I knew that I wanted to focus on web development, and that I had found my people in the Ruby/Rails community. I have been having a blast since, and am so grateful for all of the resources available to women looking to enter tech fields!
Lyz: I have always been interested in software and web development, and tinkered around with coding some while I was in college but I earned my degrees in Anthropology/Archaeology. I’ve been working as an archaeologist for some time now, but am now coming full-circle back to development. The Rails community is what drew me in - there are so many great people and amazing Rails driven sites. I had to find out what all the excitement was about, so I attended RailsBridge last year (and again this year), and have been learning ever since! I’m also really interested in getting involved in the open source community, and in helping to even out the gender ratio in scientific and engineering professions, so RGSoC is one trifecta of awesome to me!
What was your happiest moment? Merging our first pull request!
What was most challenging moment? Merging our second pull request.
If you could code anything in the world, what would it be?
Utah: Interactive biology teaching website or lightsaber kittens (in MC Hammer pants) vs laser sharks.
Lyz: Online museum documenting creative ways to destroy a completed Master’s thesis or PhD dissertation…think http://brokenships.com/ for academics….