Re: [opensuse-project] Google Code-In

On Tue, 2012-10-02 at 09:24 +0200, Matt Barringer wrote: I think it is great that we have this opportunity once again to mentor young adults in such a wonderful environment, I do have some concerns that we need to think about. While last year, some people expressed that we did not have good focus for GCI, it could be debated that the nature of the program last year made focus a difficult thing. But the biggest problem I saw while mentoring students is that most of these students were just coming in to "grab the money and run." These tasks were, IIRC, for a two week period, but frequently, these students would come in with just 2-3 days of available time because it was so close to their school finals and didn't have much time for anything else. So they would come in, rush through their tasks and then disappear and we never see them again. It seemed like all they were interested in was cashing in on their GCI cash award benefits without any real care for the work nor the relationship building that we get from GSoC students. I get that these students were faced with bad timing, and they saw dollar signs in their eyes, but we, as mentors, are volunteers and we do this not to help some poor unknown kid halfway around the world get some cash in their pockets, but to develop good long-lasting relationships and to really help these kids develop a proper approach to the great opportunities we give them which go far beyond just the immediate cash reward. I think we should be firmer somehow and ensure these kids stick around at least for the duration of the GCI program. It is our unpaid time that benefits their paid time and they need to learn to appreciate what we do for them. Bryen M Yunashko openSUSE Project -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse-project+unsubscribe(a)opensuse.org To contact the owner, email: opensuse-project+owner(a)opensuse.org