Part 1 of My Week at DrupalCon

Part 2:

As our community grows, so do our programs.  This year in addition to hosting trainings and both the Community Summit and Business Summit, we offered a Higher-Ed Summit at DrupalCon.  As soon as it was announced folks clamored to sign up, and the tickets sold out at a rapid pace.  We at the Drupal Association feel like this is a great example of how the growing variety of offerings at DrupalCon illustrates the increasing diversity of our community’s interests and skillsets.

The Higher-Ed Summit was a huge hit and that was due largely in part to the efforts of the Summit Leads, Christina and Shawn.  They worked hard to understand what the Higher-Ed community wanted and needed from the Summit and strategized to provide it down to the last detail.  Their planning and experience were integral to the popularity of the event, and we look forward to working with these awesome volunteers again in the future.    

Maybe I’m naive or a wide-eyed optimist, but meeting and speaking to people from all over the world is invigorating and exciting to me. Throughout the course of DrupalCon I had the opportunity to meet with community organizers from near and far. While it’s true that many attendees came from the United States and Canada, there were also organizers who came from as far away as Latin America, Europe, India, and Japan, and talked about how Drupal has affected their communities and their livelihoods.  It is always such a pleasure to see Drupal changing lives and bringing opportunities for personal growth and business everywhere.  

After an exhausting week of keynotes, and BOFs, and meetings, and dinners, I launched into the sprints on Friday with the purpose of understanding Drupal more.  I always enjoy discussing Drupal’s unique qualities with developers, site-builders, and themers, but this DrupalCon I really wanted to engage in more than just conversations.  I wanted to experience what it is like to directly develop and work with Drupal.  At the Friday sprints, my friend and new mentor Amy agreed to sit down with me and help me put together my own blog, run on a Drupal website.  During the process, I realized that there is no better way to start to understand the complexity of Drupal than to use the product myself.  

When learning to use Drupal in the sprint, I realized that we really are about fostering a friendly, inclusive, and diverse community. We talk the talk and we walk the walk.  Amy sat down with me and patiently showed me step-by-step how to start my site.  We picked a hosting site, domain name, downloaded Drupal, and began the process of organizing our modules and features. Finally, I started to really get it, which was incredibly exciting. Both personally and professionally, it meant a lot to me that someone would take the time to help me on my journey. It really brought home the fact that Drupalers genuinely care, are excited and willing to share knowledge, and have fun while doing it.  

DrupalCon Los Angeles was a spectacular event.  I feel like this blog wouldn’t be a proper message from LShey without some shout-outs and kudos, so please join me in celebrating others. I’d like to say out a big thank you to our talented Events team at the Drupal Association for organizing a seamless and beautiful event.  Thank you to our sponsors who help us put on this event with their support.  Thank you to our dedicated volunteers: whether you were a sprint-mentor, room-monitor, or speaker, your time and expertise is appreciated and valued.  Our volunteers truly make DrupalCon a wonderful event.  I’d like to share a special shout-out to the team who keeps us all informed, too: thank you to Alex and Paul for running the @drupalconna twitter handle.  Thank you to Emma Jane, who was our MC this DrupalCon, and who engaged our keynote speakers with witty and thoughtful interviews.  Lastly, thank you to you all, our community.  DrupalCon would not be the same without you.  I’m looking forward to seeing you all at the next one!  

Drupal on, 

Lauren Shey
Community Outreach Coordinator
Drupal Association
@lsheydrupal