Blog Post
Travis' DrupalEasy Fellowship Experience: Success through trying big, failing hard, and always learning
Travis talks about his background, the projects he’s worked on, and the vision for his professional future
There is no one way to change a career path. Travis Porchia joined Palantir in 2022 through our Fellowship Program. Here's his story.
Where I Started
What was I doing before my Palantir.net Fellowship to attend DrupalEasy? It’s simpler to describe what I wasn’t doing before the Palantir.net Fellowship to attend DrupalEasy!
I have a degree In Musical Theater Performance, so I have several years of stage and on camera acting experience. That also means I’ve spent several years working odd jobs to pay the bills, including customer service, restaurants, retail, office management, building furniture, and personal assistance. I’ve even sold kitchen utensils!
I have always had a “try anything, and fail big!” attitude to life. I learn fast and I’m not afraid to try new things, and I pride myself on my skill of adaptability (second only to my ability to do a pirouette while belting a C#).
Then COVID happened.
During lockdown, I started investigating things I could learn in my own time. I took various “boot camps” and classes, including coding classes. I was very fond of MySql and how databases worked but had no idea how any of it would apply to my everyday life.
Then a lovely opportunity presented itself with Palantir.net and DrupalEasy. Although I can make my way around a computer like most Millennials, I had never even heard of Drupal before! But I jumped at the opportunity to learn, and now, as a front-end developer, I get to learn every day - from site building, to theming, to Drupal code.
During my time as a Fellow, I’ve found out that even senior developers are constantly learning new skills because technology is constantly and consistently changing. It’s amazing - everyone at Palantir.net is willing to share their knowledge with me, which not only helps me grow as a developer, but makes me feel like I’m part of the Drupal community as a whole.
Where I am Now
I am still at the very beginning of my Drupal career. My immediate plan is to learn as much as I can! I’m beginning to identify what I find interesting and what my passions are, and hopefully this information will inform where I go next. It may sound strange, but I’m planning to make as many mistakes as I can, because this will further my professional boundaries and my knowledge.
An ultimate goal of mine is product ownership - while it may be a ways away, it remains an important goal. In order to get there, I will be shadowing product owners within Palantir.net while continuing to gain as much experience as I can in project work. Since starting my journey I do honestly feel like the sky's the limit!
