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HeroPress: I Don’t Have It All Figured Out. I Show Up Anyway.

jaswantkaurm@gmail.com4 months ago6311 mins

Here is Indira reading her own story aloud.

My background is in Quality Assurance: testing features, observing behaviour, and making sure things work as expected. For a long time, I believed open source contribution mostly meant writing code. Since I wasn’t a developer, I saw myself more as someone learning from the community than contributing to it.

Finding My Place

I grew up in Akola, a small town a few hours from Nagpur. Our school computer lab had one computer for every ten or twelve students. I was shy, so I rarely got a turn at the keyboard. Most of the time I watched from a few rows back, trying to understand what the others were doing.

I went on to complete a diploma and then a degree in Computer Science. Fast forward to today: I started a role at rtCamp, a company where contributing to open source is part of the culture rather than something people do in their spare time. Even then, I was too reluctant to ask whether there was a place for a QA engineer in the WordPress contributor community.

Then, at a Contributor Day, I watched a few people test a feature, open tickets, report bugs, and translate strings. They weren’t writing code, but they were clearly contributing. I remember thinking: this is exactly what I do. I eventually understood that testing is an important part of building better software, and that there is space for many different kinds of contributors.

While browsing WordPress Slack one day, I came across the WordPress Contributor Mentorship Program. It felt like the opportunity I had been waiting for. Without consulting anyone or giving myself time to second-guess it, I signed up. The program did what the best communities do. It didn’t focus on teaching me how to code. Instead, it showed me how to collaborate: how to work with a team, support each other, communicate clearly, and encourage one another. It helped me understand why the WordPress community feels so welcoming to so many people.

One Step at a Time

From there, I started contributing to the Polyglots team, then Core, Test, and Photos.

Being part of these teams helped me understand open source in a new way. I started to see how many different kinds of work go into building and supporting a project. Not just writing code, but testing, translating, documenting, and helping each other. Every contribution, no matter how small, helps move things forward.

I became a contributor on consecutive releases: WordPress 6.7 “Rollins,” WordPress 6.8 “Cecil,” and WordPress 6.9 “Gene.” I still feel the butterflies, and a lot of pride, every time I’m listed as a contributor in a release post. The community had quietly been helping me overcome my fears, and I no longer felt the jitters about coming forward and putting my name in for different roles.

A recent example: there was an upcoming Contributor Day at WordCamp Asia, and I signed up to volunteer at a table. I didn’t apply to lead or co-lead. That felt like too much. Volunteering was enough. Then I got a call from the organisers asking if I would be open to co-leading the table.

For once, I said yes.

I am still a month away from WordCamp Asia 2026 as I write this. I am thrilled and nervous in roughly equal measure. The person who used to watch from the back of the school computer lab is going to stand and address a room full of people.

I don’t know yet how it will go. But I said yes, and that feels like something.

For Anyone Watching from the Sidelines

It wasn’t always easy. I completed my primary schooling in the regional language, and things as basic as speaking and writing fluent English required a lot of effort. On many occasions, I doubted myself.

I feel very fortunate to have been welcomed into this community with open arms. From the very beginning I felt at home, and I have never been made to feel like I don’t know enough. I am still learning every day, finding my path and trying to make an impact.

There are many accomplished contributors and talented women in this community, juggling multiple responsibilities, quietly taking on leadership roles, contributing consistently without making a fuss about it. None of them waited to feel ready. They started anyway, and the community met them where they were. I am sure that by simply continuing to show up, I will learn a great deal from them and keep finding my voice along the way.

If you’re someone who is on the fence about starting a contributor journey in the WordPress community, know this: there is no hierarchy here. Everyone is welcome and equally valued. The work you already know how to do is needed. You don’t have to learn to code, unless you want to. You don’t have to wait until you feel ready. You just have to show up.

It’s okay if you’re not ready to lead yet. It’s okay if you’re still watching from the sidelines. Start where you are. Your yes will come.

My name is Indira Biswas. I am a QA Engineer at rtCamp. I have contributed to WordPress Core, the Test Team, Polyglots, and Photos. I have spoken at WordCamps, and in a few weeks I will stand on the WordCamp Asia stage as emcee and co-lead the Core table at Contributor Day.

I am grateful beyond what I know how to say, to the community that kept the door open, to people like Michelle Frechette, Amit Kumar, and Pavan Patil who were encouraging from the very beginning, and to the Mentorship Programme.

The WordPress community gave me a place to put my work and a reason to keep doing it. I hope to keep giving that back for a long time.

If you are coming to WordCamp Asia in Mumbai this year, please come say hi. I would love to meet you, hear your story, and yes, probably add a few more photos to my selfie collection.