Thank you, Next
The tradition continues — it’s time to reflect, write, and share another year-end blog! 🤩 I’m starting this year by looking back at 2024, reflecting on the lessons learned, and sharing my aspirations and goals for 2025. This year, I made some big decisions and learned so much along the way, and I’m excited to share it all with you.
Professional
Moved to the U.S., Graduating in May 2025 from Cornell, and Exploring Opportunities in Product Management, Program Management, or Developer Relations
This year, I decided to move to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in Management at Cornell University. The reason for moving was simple: I wanted to learn from the best, gain a deeper understanding of how things work here, and have the opportunity to work and collaborate with amazing people. It wasn’t an easy choice emotionally, and I’ve shared more about it in detail at the end of this blog.
During the course, I’ve been gaining invaluable insights into Product, Business, and Leadership, which have greatly enhanced my perspective and way of thinking. I’ve always wanted to understand how the entire funnel works when running a business, and school has been greatly helpful. It’s amazing to be back at school, learning from professors at Cornell who bring a wealth of experience and industry expertise ✨
I will be graduating in May 2025 and will be looking to explore opportunities in Product Management, Program Management, or Developer Relations. I have previously worked as a DevOps Engineer at Blinkit and Developer Advocate with LocalStack and Gitpod — gaining experience in both the tech and people aspects of business.
In all my roles, what truly excites me is involving people throughout the journey — from ideation to execution 🚀 I always look forward to leveraging my skills to enhance communication and understanding between diverse stakeholders. Currently, I’m eager to deepen my expertise in product management and developer relations, aiming to bridge the gap between technology and its users.
If you would like to work with me or have something in mind for me, please feel free to DM me or book a call - https://cal.com/nancychauhan 💚
Delivered 2 Talks on the International Stage at KubeCon (Paris & North America) and Received an award at KubeCon NA
This year was full of surprises 🎉 I had the incredible opportunity to present at KubeCon for the first time! I participated in a panel discussion on “Savoir Faire: Cloud Native Technical Leadership” at KubeCon Paris, alongside amazing leaders in the cloud-native space: Arun Gupta, Nikhita Raghunath, Lin Sun, and Emily Fox. To be honest, I felt a lot of imposter syndrome presenting before this panel. But eventually, I loved the experience!
Later this year, I had the opportunity to present at the Co-Located Cloud Native University event at KubeCon North America. I loved sharing my journey in open source and the CNCF with the amazing folks there!
And finally, on the second day of KubeCon, I received the community award, which was completely unexpected 🎉 “The Community Awards recognize CNCF community members who work tirelessly to advance cloud native technology.”
Here’s the announcement blog: Cloud Native Computing Foundation Announces the 2024 Community Awards Winners
I feel grateful for all the opportunities I had in 2024, and I am looking forward to contributing even more in 2025 ✨
Led CNCF Sustainability Week Project
Cloud Native Sustainability Week is a global event where the CNCF TAG Environmental Sustainability community organizes local meetups around the theme of Cloud Native Sustainability.
This year, I had the opportunity to lead CNCF Sustainability Week 2024, which was an amazing experience. Together, we organized meetups and initiated discussions on the topic of sustainability in tech at various locations around the world.
If you’re interested in contributing or participating in these discussions, please visit the TAG Environmental Sustainability Website. TAG’s goal is to advocate for, develop, support, and evaluate environmental sustainability initiatives within cloud-native technologies.
Quit Full-Time Job at LocalStack: Built LocalStack Academy, Organized Meetups & Talks
I quit my full-time job at LocalStack to pursue higher studies. I deeply admire and look forward to the work the LocalStack team continues to do. During my time there, I had the opportunity to contribute to several projects and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. One of the highlights was building and working on LocalStack Academy, aimed at improving the onboarding experience for new users. I am grateful for the opportunity to work with an amazing team and learn from great mentors. I also got the chance to give talks and educate people about LocalStack and its features.
Visited Two Major Conferences in the U.S. & Organized a Meetup in New York
This year, I had the chance to attend the TAPIA Conference in San Diego, California, and KubeCon North America. The best part of attending conferences and meetups is reconnecting with old friends and meeting new people. It felt so good to meet the community in person 💙
Later in October, I also got the opportunity to organize a meetup in New York on Sustainability in Tech, thanks to the amazing community of CNCF Ambassadors who made it possible. Having just moved to a new place, I had no idea how to go about it, but Karen, Scott, and Tony stepped in and made it happen. And this truly highlights the power of community ❤️
Community
- Women in Cloud Native
Cheers to the amazing women in the Cloud Native community! A special thanks to Bhavani for being an incredible co-organizer for all the events we host at Women in Cloud Native. With my move to the US and being busy settling in, she stepped up and played a significant role in supporting and growing the community this year.
For those new to my blog, I started the Women in Cloud Native community at the end of 2022 to bring together inspiring women in the field, celebrate their leadership, and foster learning from one another. It has been an incredible journey so far, and I’m excited to share a few podcasts and a series of workshops here. You can check out more on our YouTube channel.
If you’re interested in contributing to the community or participating in our initiatives, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to check out our page or reach out to me or Bhavani directly. You can also join the conversation on the CNCF Slack channel:
#cncf-women. Together, we can continue to build and grow this amazing community!
2. State of Open Source: KCD Islamabad
I got an opportunity to share about the State of Open Source along with amazing panelists. We delved into the dynamic landscape of open-source licenses, exploring the latest changes, trends, and best practices shaping the industry.
3. Geeking Out Podcast
Kudos to Adriana for her amazing work on the podcast! I love all the episodes and always look forward to the next one. It is the podcast about about all geeky aspects of software delivery, reliability, and everything in between.
Thank you so much for inviting me to be a part of it! Please do check out the podcast.
4. Cornell Hackathon
It was amazing to participate in the Talent 2.0 Hackathon hosted by Cornell University alongside awesome teammates Jocelyn Wong Mengzheng Yao Delphine Tamborello Andrew Perless Isha Madhurendra. The experience of brainstorming, refining our ideas, and collaborating as a team was fantastic. It’s inspiring that we could come up with such a great concept together. Truly, the journey is what matters most! 🚀
5. Data Journey By Sayantika
Also, I would like to give a shoutout to my friend Sayantika, an incredible data engineer who has started working on an amazing project that you should check out:
Personal
Here, I am going to reflect on what I learned from the year 2024 and share what I aim to carry forward into 2025. 🌟
Ignore the naysayers! Go for it if the time feels right for you ❤️
It’s interesting — I’m 25+ and decided to pursue a master’s degree and a career in the US because I felt it was the perfect time for me — financially, emotionally, mentally, and career-wise. At this point, I’m completely independent — I pay my bills and handle my responsibilities without relying on anyone else.
It’s surprising, how, many people questioned the decision. I find this especially relevant for anyone considering a big change after 25, which is why I want to share my experience. I’ve been asked, “Aren’t you too late?” and “How did you get the courage to do it?” “I want to do the same”. Some even judged me, assuming I was indecisive. And yes, there will always be people who pass negative comments — I’ve faced them, too. Yet, ironically, many colleagues and friends encouraged me, saying, “Wow, you’re going to learn new things!”
I believe each person’s timeline and environment differ — there’s no right or wrong age to pursue your goals. Yes, people will judge, especially in places where I come from, where rigid timelines are the norm. However, it’s far better to try than to live with regret. Ignore the naysayers — it’s your timeline, your life, and you should be the one driving it.
As a matter of fact, starting a master’s program with some work experience can be a major advantage. With experience, you generally have a clearer sense of your interests, and that clarity kicks off your journey here. Moreover, you won’t be starting from scratch — your past experience will build upon your new experiences.
Taming the ego for continuous growth 🌱
Starting from scratch, learning new things, making new friends, and meeting new people gave me the chance to experience various cycles of emotions. I encountered new situations in a place with a diverse set of people. When you work in the same environment for a long time, you often interact with the same set of people and handle the ‘same’ situations. But it’s when you face unfamiliar challenges that you truly discover more about yourself.
After a long time, I came across unfavorable situations 😅. This experience allowed me to reflect on how I handled those situations. Initially, I wasn’t proud of my response, as the ‘Nancy of 2019' would have handled things differently. However, this experience became a turning point for introspection. I realized that when the ego takes over, it can distort one’s inner world, overshadowing qualities like patience and compassion.
I realized taming ego allows you to maintain a mindset of continuous improvement, making you more empathetic, grounded, and open to understanding others.
Do we leave people behind when we change countries? ✈️
Thank God for the internet — it allows us to stay connected with friends and family. Haha! It was incredibly tough for me to leave behind the life I had built in India. I had lovely friends, my cats, and, of course, my favorite cafes & places. But what really bothered me was the thought: Will I lose contact? Will my friends forget me?
I realized that when you create an impact in each other’s lives, it’s not about the time spent together but the moments you share that truly matter ❤️. Connections don’t rely solely on physical proximity; they grow through shared experiences, and memories, and the impact we leave on each other’s lives.
Here are some of the Goals for 2025
- Get to work with an amazing team and on amazing projects — I am looking for a new Job Opportunity
(just putting it in words, in case it was not clear already 😃). - I would love to blog more, speak more, and attend conferences in the US.
- Bring my cats 😸 from India to stay with me!
- Work more on personal projects and share them with others.
- Grow Women in Cloud Native community & contribute to TAG Environment Sustainability
- Read more books on product and business.
- Learn to balance emotions and physical health better. Go on a few treks
- Visit Antarctica 🇦🇶
