About Me - An Outreachy Blog

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

Hi, I am Tambe Salome, and I am an Outreachy Intern! In this blog I share my journey as a software developer and how I became an Outreachy intern in the OCaml organization.

Background

• Name: Tambe (tam‑bear) Salome
• Age: 22
• Location: Buea, Cameroon (Central Africa)
• Education: B.Eng. in Computer Engineering, University of Buea, 2024
• Interests: Building secure software, contributing to tech communities, volunteering with Google Developer Groups (GDG) Buea since 2020

Early Outreachy Experience

I first applied to Outreachy in 2021 when I had just started learning C with C Programming: A Modern Approach. I was accepted for the contribution phase but quickly became overwhelmed by the number of projects, which prevented me from making any contributions at that time.

Challenges with C

• Difficulty finding projects where I could apply C meaningfully.
• Most GitHub projects using C appeared foreign and complex for a beginner.

I later explored web development with Laravel and React, but those experiences didn’t feel “exciting” enough for me, prompting a search for something different.

Exploring Cybersecurity

When internet access was cut in my area around 2017, I imagined myself as a hacker trying to restore connectivity. This curiosity led me to cybersecurity:

• Platform: tryhackme.com
• Program: CyberGirls Fellowship – a one‑year program encouraging women in cybersecurity. I completed the Vulnerability and Penetration Testing track.

While the fellowship was exciting, I didn’t write much code and had limited time for personal projects due to engineering studies. This realization made me want to both test and build secure systems.

Community Involvement

Contributing to tech communities has always been fulfilling. Organizing workshops and talks at GDG Buea—where the motto is “A Community that Codes”—has allowed me to help others discover tech careers and feel part of something larger than myself.

Transition to Functional Programming and OCaml

Before this internship, my exposure to functional programming was limited to a brief school course on programming paradigms. I discovered an OCaml library for reading and writing TIFF files, which sparked my interest. The project aimed to extend support for GeoTIFF files (geospatial data), an exciting challenge for me.

Key resources that helped me:

• Book: Real World OCaml

I picked an issue, worked on it, received mentorship, submitted pull requests, and eventually secured the internship with the OCaml organization.

Current Internship

I am continuously learning OCaml while contributing to the TIFF library under the guidance of my mentor, Patrick Ferris. My daily focus is on enabling the library to write TIFF files.

Inspiration

One of my favorite talks is by Olumide Balogun, who constantly reminds me to “Do Hard Things.” I keep this mantra in mind whenever I encounter obstacles.

Future Goals

I look forward to:

• Working extensively with OCaml and collaborating with other OCaml developers.
• Contributing to the mission of making OCaml mainstream.

Thank you for reading about my journey!