The Story: Fusion and making a change
The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself.
C. JoyBell C.
It all started when i got sick back in summer 2016, i was in my bed browsing the internet looking for a new challenge. The summer was boring not because i didn’t go out much, but because i didn’t have a challenge.
Then a friend of mine told me that there is someone looking for a C#/Unity instructor, so i told myself why not? It will be the first time to do such a thing and of course i will have the opportunity to share the knowledge that i acquired in the last 6 years in C# and software development. My challenge was to teach 12–22 years old people about Unity which i didn’t know and most importantly to challenge my knowledge transfer skills.
The 19 y.o CEO contacted me in the end of July and interviewed me, until now i think that he doesn’t know the whole story, but that was not the point at that time he needed to know if i could do it or not and that was his first interview with me.
In 26th of July, he contacted me again and wanted from me to develop the E-learning platform (freelance). It was a very basic platform that he requested to be available in 48 hours in order for him to put the content in it. So i called my friend Amine and told him that we have a challenge, he agreed, and then we waited for the specifications for 24 hours. We received them Wednesday at 1 pm, we shipped Thursday 1 pm. It was a very basic platform that included:
- User management/Authentication + ACL
- Dashboard for admin and content creation
- Chapters and lessons management
- Tests management
- Student progress page/dashboard
- Assets store containing resources
The platform was written in PHP my friend an i kept the GIT active for 24 hours (when he sleeps i wake up). It was a team effort and i must say, he is a great team player that i worked with for more than 2 years.
In 1st of August, i started a new journey alone, I met new people that taught me new things. At the beginning i was a geek in the football field, i wasn’t socializing like the others but it was okay, i guess it was a bit of shyness.
A week passed and i learned that C# was not enough, i needed to learn Unity in a weekend to help the students reach their goals. They were passionate and I’ve seen a light in their eyes, so i took a challenge that i won. I did learn all of the basics that helps you make a 2D game in a weekend.
It wasn’t enough, our team lead was not that kind of a lead, which pushed me to recommend my friend Amine. If it wasn’t him, we wouldn’t have made it with the student to the end. I collaborated with him and the students in order to make it happen, and we made it. We were involved in 90% of the students projects and we shipped all of them. It was a great experience that not only made them do something, but changed the life of all of them.
This was the starting point of a professional work experience that impacted people lives directly, despite my years of experience, I learned that sharing with others is a purpose worth living for.
To be continued…
