Earlier this year, I had the incredible opportunity to apply for the HashiCorp Scholarship to attend HashiConf 2024 in Boston, MA. Only 10 people were selected for this scholarship, making it an even more meaningful and special experience.The scholarship aimed to make the conference accessible to people from all backgrounds, offering support based on where the applicant was traveling from. For me, this was a chance to deepen my understanding of Terraform and other HashiCorp tools while building connections in the DevSecOps and SRE space.
The Application Process:
The HashiCorp scholarship application asked several thoughtful questions, encouraging applicants to share their experiences, engagement with the tech community, and how attending HashiConf would benefit them. Key questions included:
How do you participate in the technology, cloud computing, and/or open source communities?
Why do you want to attend this conference?
What HashiCorp tools do you have hands-on experience with?
In my responses, I emphasized my hands-on experience with Terraform, my role as a Software Tools Product Manager at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and my aspirations to move into Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) and DevSecOps roles. I also highlighted how attending HashiConf would allow me to bring more diverse perspectives to the community, particularly as someone who is neurodivergent, Hispanic, and a woman in tech.
I applied under the Regional Attendee category, which covered travel within the U.S., hotel accommodations, and a complimentary conference pass. After submitting the application, I eagerly awaited the results, knowing this could be a pivotal moment in my career.
The Exciting News:
A few months later, I was overjoyed to receive an acceptance email confirming my selection as a HashiConf Scholar! The scholarship covered everything—airfare, hotel, conference registration, and even incidental expenses. I was especially grateful for the thoughtful details provided, including a "Know Before You Go" guide that outlined logistics, from transportation to social events.
Before the Conference:
HashiConf generously provided the opportunity for scholars to fly in early, allowing us extra time to explore Boston before the conference. I took full advantage of this, visiting Harvard Square, MIT, and immersing myself in the local culture by navigating the city's public transportation system. One of my favorite pre-conference experiences was attending the HashiCorp User Group (HUG) harbor cruise. It was a unique event co-created by HashiCorp and AWS. During the cruise, I met Fadia, a DevSecOps engineer from Paris, France. Her advice about focusing on specific tools and creating projects around them was invaluable for my career development.
The Conference Experience:
HashiConf itself was an amazing blend of learning and networking. The keynotes focused on two main areas:
Day 1: Infrastructure Lifecycle Management updates.
Day 2: Security Lifecycle Management updates.
I primarily attended sessions in the Cloud Engineering Track, which were directly relevant to my goals in SRE and DevSecOps. Some key sessions I attended included:
Secrets at Scale with Vault and Waypoint
Simplifying Remote Access in Dynamic Environments with Boundary
Building a Global-Scale Data Platform with Kubernetes, MongoDB, and HashiCorp Tools
Manage Your RDS Using Terraform, Ansible, and GitHub Actions (led by a fellow scholar, Lays, who did an amazing job!)
I also attended a Q&A session with Armon Dadgar, co-founder of HashiCorp. His humility and wisdom, as shared by other scholars who had met him, made a lasting impression on me.
I was also excited to attend a book signing with Mark Tinderholt for his book Mastering Terraform. Having a physical copy of the book signed by him felt like an extra boost to dive deeper into the world of Terraform, and I can’t wait to get started with it!
One of the highlights of the event was the Scholar Breakfast, where all the scholars got to network and share experiences. Being a part of this community reinforced my aspiration to become a HashiCorp Ambassador one day and contribute even more to this ecosystem. Additionally, I attended the Women in Tech Breakfast, which was an amazing opportunity to hear from women leaders in the industry. Though I didn’t get the chance to ask many questions due to time constraints, their stories were inspiring and made me feel connected to a larger community.
Social Events and Networking:
In addition to these activities, it was an exciting time to connect with HashiCorp’s ambassadors and the tech community. I met some amazing people like Fadia Hasnaoui, Anderson Sato, Claire Hodge, Jose Rivera, Gary Lewis,Harsh Patel,Meghana Vattikuti,Jared Jamieson, and many more. It was also wonderful to reconnect with AWS reinvent grant alumni like Brian H. Hough, Sully M., Jackie Ore, Amanda Ruzza, Ernani Castro, Olumuyiwa Kolayemi, Lays Rodrigues, and Elyas Syed. Meeting old and new friends made the conference even more special.
HashiConf wasn’t just about learning—it also fostered an environment where networking was easy and fun. We had social outings, including a trip to Flight Club for darts and a bowling night. Special shoutout to Elyas, who helped me improve my bowling skills after some rough starts with bumpers!
I also distributed crocheted rubber ducks during the conference, a personal touch inspired by my full-stack development days when talking to a rubber duck helped me debug problems. I plan to continue this tradition at KubeCon, where I was also awarded a scholarship to attend.
Post-Conference Invitation and Reimbursement Process:
After the conference, we received a follow-up email from Jasmine and the HashiCorp team inviting us to continue our involvement in the community. They encouraged us to:
Join or start a HashiCorp User Group (HUG).
Deliver a talk through HashiTalks.
We were invited to connect with other HashiConf Scholar Alumni through a private community.
In addition, HashiCorp made the reimbursement process seamless. We were provided with detailed instructions for submitting receipts for incidental expenses like meals and local travel. The process was straightforward.
Certification Exam Opportunity:
HashiConf provided scholars with the opportunity to take a HashiCorp certification exam for free during the conference. However, I opted for a voucher to take the exam at a later time. At the time, I had just finished a fellowship with Colorwave and Keyfactor and am currently in the middle of Stage 2 of the Women in Cybersecurity (WiCyS) scholarship competition. Additionally, I am participating in the Clicked Career Catalyst program, focusing on AI + CRM + Data, while balancing my work on the Fortnite Network Security Certification with Latinas in Cyber. Given my current commitments, I felt it was best to focus on the exam at a later date. I am also enrolled in the AI en Acción course through the Latin American Association .
Looking Back and Moving Forward:
Even though I am currently unemployed, I remain committed to my career path and am open to new opportunities. I will continue my learning journey, as I mentioned through my involvement with Clicked, WiCyS, and now KubeCon, where I was awarded another scholarship. The support I’ve received from these programs encourages me to keep moving forward despite the challenges.
Attending HashiConf as a scholar has been an incredibly rewarding experience. It not only allowed me to expand my technical skills in tools like Vault, Consul, and Nomad, but also helped me forge valuable connections with others in the tech industry. While I remain focused on pursuing a career in SRE and DevSecOps, I’m excited to stay open to new opportunities the universe may bring.
For anyone considering applying for future scholarships, I highly recommend it. The HashiCorp team goes above and beyond to support scholars, and the experience is truly transformative. I’m excited to take what I’ve learned and continue on my journey in the world of DevSecOps and SRE.