One Wednesday, last year, I got this email. It was one I had not been expecting as days had passed, though I did my best all through the application process. My heart melted as I read, "Congratulations! You are now a DSC Lead! ". Immediately, I went on and shared the good news to all who knew I was applying to be a DSC Lead at Riara University.

Finally, I was going to enhance the exposure of my fellow students to be on the know. An extra dime of knowledge outside the lecture room's walls. And maybe then they would be more driven to align themselves to the tech-industries, new technologies and stop leaning too much on their "Data Structures and Algorithms" assignment. Basically, OPEN THEIR EYES!

But did I really? Take a guess after reading through the highs and lows of my experience as a DSC Lead.

THE HIGHS

Opportunity to attend DSC SSA SUMMIT

I got the opportunity to attend the DSC SSA SUMMIT in Lagos, Nigeria. "Pssst....it was my first time in Nigeria", and believe you me, I enjoyed every single bit of the 3-day fully-funded trip. Once again, thank you Google!

Networking with Fellow Leads and Googlers

My Oh My, words cannot express the amazing family that has been formed within the DSC SSA Community. I love and treasure it so much. Together as Leads we appreciate each others' achievements, motivate one another and keep up the momentum. Also, the Googlers we interacted with were very much approachable and nice to us. Just to mention a few: Solomon Awopusin, Komal Sandhu, Aniedi Udo-Obong, Erica Hanson, Galen Hornsby and Olaiwola Bolaji. This team worked super well to ensure the program was a success and I'm so grateful to them.

Access to Google Resources

As my role was to facilitate sessions within the club, maximising the use of Google resources and technologies, I chose the Android and Google Cloud paths. Half of my term as a DSC Lead, we had sessions on Android with the assistance of one of my colleagues. Later on we ventured into the Google Cloud Platform, doing labs on Qwiklabs, which I facilitated.

Discovery of Self

As I facilitated the Qwiklabs sessions, an iota was aroused in me. I kept on doing more labs and enjoyed every bit of it. For the first time I would face a problem in running codes and could not sleep until I got to know what the issue is. Hence, my passion to work on the Google Cloud Platform.

THE LOWS

Number of Attendees

In the beginning, I thought that any human being, who would like to have bread on his/her table would know what's good for them, how to make use of opportunities, how to seek knowledge even if it is the last thing they do on earth; shock on my face, not everyone thinks as I do. The number of attendees were not as much as I expected and at some point I got discouraged. Was I pressuring the members? Was I having the sessions at the wrong 'seasons' of the semester? No, they were just not interested. And that was when I changed the plan-NO MORE NUMBERS,FOCUS ON THE IMPACT.

No matter the turnout, ensure you deliver your very best to the few who have taken their time to come to the session. You might not see the impact you have had on them immediately but that simple spark you've lit in them is what make a change!

DSC Core Team Members

I did not do an analysis of who was going to be part of my core team but left the floor open for anyone who was interested. Hmmm, never take that approach. The team I selected were so unreliable for the longest time and I had to change my core team members. You would rather have one core team member, who will perform his/her duties well than have five core team members who you have to follow up every single time.

All in all, I very much appreciate the chance to have been a DSC Lead at Riara University.

• It increased my self-confidence to lead others within the tech space.

• I developed the passion to work on the Google Cloud Platform, and I'm currently looking forward to get my certification as an Associate Cloud Engineer.

• It was the first technical club at Riara University that was sponsored by a company outside campus. This opened the eyes of the students and students seeked to be ambassadors of other companies within the campus.

Thank you all!