I'm honoured to have served as a GitHub star

Find my archived GitHub star profile here: GitHub star profile. I served as a GitHub star for 2022 and 2023.

GitHub Stars Program

The program is summarized as follows:

GitHub Stars are a diverse set of individuals that inspire, educate, and influence those around them. They are experts and technical leaders who passionately share their expertise with others. From open source innovators and content creators to speakers and offline community leaders, they can be from anywhere, pursuing any project.

Participants use the platform to widen their impact and contribute to the greater tech community.

Backstory

The program was announced in 2020. Among the stars' profiles, I have seen lots of familiar faces in the global tech scene. Overall, I have nominated 3 individuals twice (3 was the limit of nominees you can make at one go). The only feedback one gets from the program is a banner that the nomination(s) has been accepted.

Nominate someone or nominate yourself for the GitHub Stars program here.

Accepting the nomination

Thank you everyone who nominated me.

Despite the main path being of being a GitHub star being through nomination, I believe I applied directly and with existing nominations already in place. I was considered.

In January 2021, I got an email that read in part:

"Hi Stanley, thanks for submitting your profile and your community contributions for the GitHub Stars program. I’ve reviewed your application and you’re definitely someone who is clearly passionate and supportive of the GitHub developer community."

Like any nomination, you accept or reject it. I accepted!. Reasons:

• I get to reach more people (Hopefully I'm of service 😄)
• This is not a job
• I get to showcase my work
• I help shape the future of GitHub (A glorified beta-tester for GitHub. This is right up my alley, read beta-tester)
• As a bonus, there are some perks.

The unique chance of previewing early features and releases, sharing my feedback, and joining in discussions with the GitHub team via exclusive Insight Calls was a big plus.

Kenyan GitHub stars

To the best of my knowledge, I've been the first GitHub star in Kenya. I am aware of an acquaintance who hails from Kenya and was part of the program: Serah Rono 👏. She was the first Kenyan GitHub star, but not while in Kenya. Like me she's no longer a GitHub star. Her archived GitHub star profile is stellar! (She served her term in 2021 and decided to step down)

We are now 2 Kenyans in the GitHub stars alumni.

Conclusion

I'm honoured to have served as a GitHub star. I'd like to see more of you in the program. Overall, it's wonderful seeing people you know on a global pedestal creating impact!