Announcing the DrupalCon Minneapolis scholarship & grant recipients

Burkina Faso, Brazil, India, The Phillipines — these are a few of the home countries of our scholarship and grant awardees for this DrupalCon!

We extend a hearty congratulations to all the recipients; ten are receiving a community development scholarship, and four are receiving contributor grants. A global team of community members were tasked with reviewing the applications and distributing more aid than ever before for a DrupalCon; including upcoming speaker scholarships, a total of approximately $70,000 is committed to scholarships and grants. This reach also extends the goal of having a cross-section of recipients in attendance at DrupalCon Minneapolis 2020. 

As a result, the Drupal Association is proud to extend this DrupalCon’s aid to people from nearly every continent: three attendees from India, three attendees from Europe, four attendees from the Americas (representing U.S.A., Central America and South America), two attendees from Africa, one attendee from Southeast Asia, and one attendee from Australia.

Our grant and scholarship program provides assistance to those in the Drupal community who may not otherwise be able to attend DrupalCon Minneapolis. We encouraged potential first-time attendees, underrepresented minorities, and individuals with low-income status to apply. Funding is through the support of our generous conference partners, as well as conference registrations from Drupal community members. 

The impact of having these recipients attend is far-reaching. 

For one person, this will be his first DrupalCon. His involvement as a core contributor and a presenter at Drupal Camps sparked his interest in attending.
“I have contributed a little for D7 and D8 core, and I wish to contribute a lot more for D9,” wrote Alessandro Feijó of Brazil in his application. “It would be a fantastic experience, after so many years that I’m using and fighting for Drupal.” 

Another first-timer — who is a front-end developer from Nicaragua — is excited about the experience as a whole: “I’ve always wanted to go to a Drupalcon. I’ve been in many Drupal Camps, helping in my community, and contributing in drupal.org. I will love to meet the amazing people who grow this community around the world,” wrote Carlos Espinoza. 

Alyssa Hanson, who will also be experiencing DrupalCon for the first time, works as a public library web specialist, and was inspired by attending Drupal Camps as well.
“I am the only web person at my job and being a new developer I have had to do a lot of learning on my own. With just one camp, I learned so many things that I would have otherwise missed. I brought back so many new ideas that have helped shape my projects at work and helped me feel more confident when working with Drupal. I want to continue learning as much as I can because I'd like to grow into a long-time Drupal developer,” Hanson wrote.

“Gatherings like this make me feel less alone as a developer and I hope that I'll have the opportunity to help others feel welcome as well.”

Many recipients also applied with specific future outcomes in mind.

“I think that attending a DrupalCon of this magnitude, meeting the inspiring people and witnessing such an event first-hand will help me learn what it takes to make contribution sprints effective,” wrote Sushil Hanwate from India. 

“I also believe that it will help me learn how to drive successful local Drupal Camps, and make them helpful and effective for all types of attendees.”

For an applicant in Australia, receiving a Contributor Grant makes it possible for her to attend a DrupalCon at all. 

“Living in Australia, it can be difficult to connect with overseas contributors because of conflicting time zones. And attending DrupalCons from Australia is very expensive and time consuming,” wrote Pamela Barone. “Having attended DrupalCons in the past, I know what an incredible experience it can be to connect with the larger community, put faces to names, and generally to be inspired to continue contributing.” 

Another Contributor Grant recipient is interested in both offering assistance onsite as well as taking in new information.

“It is very important for me to attend the conference because of mentoring and helping others,” wrote Gobinath Mallaiyan, whose job title is Solution Architect. “And learn new implementations of Drupal.”

Community Development Scholarship recipient Sushil Hanwate also recognizes the far-reaching results that come with attending a DrupalCon. 

“I wish to encourage more people from all the backgrounds in the local Drupal communities in India to participate more in Drupal activities. There is a huge number of talented Drupal Developers here who want to make a mark in the ecosystem with their contributions but lack self-confidence, mentoring and representation,” he wrote.

“I was able to do this with the help of some wonderful mentors and peers. This scholarship will make it possible to meet more people and see the nuts-and-bolts of DrupalCon. And in turn, will accelerate my efforts towards educating and supporting Drupalists like me.”