Travis' DrupalEasy Fellowship Experience: Success through trying big, failing hard, and always learning

There is no one way to change a career path. Palantir.net’s four most recent fellows - Paak, Tessa, Travis, and Yang - all joined us through the DrupalEasy program. With their different professional backgrounds and experiences, each offers a unique perspective into what interested them in Drupal and their journey to becoming integral members of Palantir.net.

In each of their written entries they share, among other insights, how they have each adjusted to a fully-remote workplace, how their own skills supported their success as a Fellow, and the importance of Palantir.net’s culture which encourages asking questions, remaining curious, and reaching out for help.

Here's Travis' story.
 

Where I Started

What was I doing before my Palantir.net Fellowship to attend DrupalEasy? It’s simpler to describe what I wasn’t doing before the Palantir.net Fellowship to attend DrupalEasy! 

I have a degree In Musical Theater Performance, so I have several years of stage and on camera acting experience. That also means I’ve spent several years working odd jobs to pay the bills, including customer service, restaurants, retail, office management, building furniture, and personal assistance. I’ve even sold kitchen utensils!  

I have always had a “try anything, and fail big!” attitude to life. I learn fast and I’m not afraid to try new things, and I pride myself on my skill of adaptability (second only to my ability to do a pirouette while belting a C#).  

Then COVID happened.

During lockdown, I started investigating things I could learn in my own time.  I took various  “boot camps” and classes, including coding classes. I was very fond of MySql and how databases worked but had no idea how any of it would apply to my everyday life.

Then a lovely opportunity presented itself with Palantir.net and DrupalEasy. Although I can make my way around a computer like most Millennials, I had never even heard of Drupal before! But I jumped at the opportunity to learn, and now, as a front-end developer, I get to learn every day - from site building, to theming, to Drupal code.

During my time as a Fellow, I’ve found out that even senior developers are constantly learning new skills because technology is constantly and consistently changing. It’s amazing - everyone at Palantir.net is willing to share their knowledge with me, which not only helps me grow as a developer, but makes me feel like I’m part of the Drupal community as a whole.
 

Where I am Now

I am still at the very beginning of my Drupal career. My immediate plan is to learn as much as I can! I’m beginning to identify what I find interesting and what my passions are, and hopefully this information will inform where I go next. It may sound strange, but I’m planning to make as many mistakes as I can, because this will further my professional boundaries and my knowledge.

An ultimate goal of mine is product ownership - while it may be a ways away, it remains an important goal. In order to get there, I will be shadowing product owners within Palantir.net while continuing to gain as much experience as I can in project work. Since starting my journey I do honestly feel like the sky's the limit!