I Remarkably did it — Pioneer GDSC Lead

Many of us struggle when it comes to talking about our own accomplishments. It can be an especially difficult subject for members of underrepresented groups. I was determined to play my school on the map — globally, after several attempts to cause a commotion in the tech space.

My goal was to build a conducive technological ecosystem that accommodates every student on my campus.

A rare picture of Google Developer Student Club — Federal University Lokoja

Just a quick one, my name is Paul Stephen Edache — a pioneer GDSC Lead for Federal University Lokoja 2020/2021.

Prior to my selection as a Lead for my campus, I have been feeling really low due to impostor syndrome which I let rule over me before the news of me being selected as a pioneer lead came.

Summary Introductory Slide of Paul Stephen Edache (Google slide)

Overcoming the plight that comes with imposter syndrome was not easy for me, but after series of #IamRemarkable workshop.

GDSC Core Team Members 2020/2021

I applied to become a lead in 2019, and I got a sorry message — NOT Selected. I encouraged myself, attended some tech event — where I got schooled on how to get Selected.

I reapplied in 2020, where I got thoroughly scrutinized and finally emerged a pioneer lead for my campus — Federal University Lokoja.

AR/VR Session

Becoming a GDSC Lead comes with a lot of responsibilities, these tasks can not be handled alone — a Leader needs a team to make it more efficient. Selecting core team members and a staff adviser was quite easy as many techies on campus — had a similar goal and vision.

My first Awareness Google Developer Student Club — Call for meetup Design

As a pioneer lead, I encountered quite a number of challenges. I was limited to resources, but Google gave us access to unlimited resources. The guides on the resource platform — gave me deep insight into how to lead a community.

Picture taken after Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Meetup Session

I organised tech events — hackathon, workshops, bootcamps — live coding session while being the lead, as certifications were given to every attendees These attendees in return mentored newbies who are trying to find their path in the tech world. Check out some of our community photos here

NACOS — Week Organisers

Event organised during my tenure include but not limited other activities, virtual events, talk shows and tech event collabo (speaking at Xysec-Labs, NACOS Week, tech hubs, and GDSC in neighboring states) :

• Google I/O Extended
• Hackathon — Federal University Lokoja Hack
• Beginner/Advanced Workshop on How to Collaborate with GitHub.
• Techposium: How to get to the company of your dreams.
• 6 — Weeks: Web Development Boot camp.
• Deep Dive into Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality.
• Info Session: Career Paths in Tech.
• #ChooseToChallenge — International Women’s Day
• #IamRemarkable Fridays
• Meet and Greet and End Of Year Party
• Android Study Jam: Beginner
• Intro to Version Control | Git and GitHub

The Developer Student Club gave me a deep dive into knowing my weaknesses and strengths. Many students who attended these sessions do leave with a smile — after a practical session.

Speaking at a conference

My entire journey while leading this community was inspired by my goal and plan. Persistence coupled with determination made this journey of mine a huge success. I loved this entire journey in the community so far and I wish to take this community to greater heights with a wonderful team.

It was indeed an amazing engagement — I teach to energize, train to impact, write to educate/inform and research to develop. I have a positive mindset to produce good results in my discipline. I have achieved certain measures of success in the past and I am ready to achieve more with you, now!

Connect with me via Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, Github.