Ropensci iconRopensciSep 15, 2026 ~1 min source read

Happy Birthday rOpenSci — My Journey from First-Time Developer to Current Opportunities

At an ornithological conference in 2023, I was chatting with my bird friend / colleague Steffi LaZerte, who highly recommended that I apply for the rOpenSci Champions program given my strong interest in developing R packages. My first time hearing about rOpenSci was, interestingly, at a bird conference.

Happy Birthday rOpenSci — My Journey from First-Time Developer to Current Opportunities

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My first time hearing about rOpenSci was, interestingly, at a bird conference.

At an ornithological conference in 2023, I was chatting with my bird friend / colleague Steffi LaZerte, who highly recommended that I apply for the rOpenSci Champions program given my strong interest in...

I mentioned my concerns and hesitation about whether I am "qualified" to make an R package, which at that time sounded like what professional developers do.

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The useful part

My first time hearing about rOpenSci was, interestingly, at a bird conference. At an ornithological conference in 2023, I was chatting with my bird friend / colleague Steffi LaZerte, who highly recommended that I apply for the rOpenSci Champions program given my strong interest in developing R packages. I mentioned my concerns and hesitation about whether I am "qualified" to make an R package, which at that time sounded like what professional developers do.

How it works

  • She simply asked, "Can you write functions in R?" "Yes, I can." "Then you are good to go!
  • R packages are simply putting functions together in an organized way!" So here we go, I took the motivation and sent out my application for the 2024 rOpenSci cohort.

Example or evidence

  • People would fund me and mentor me building my own R package?

Details worth keeping

I was probably even more excited than when I got my PhD admission!

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