Holiday Countdown 2020 - The lost days part 6 - Kat Warner - Fazila Ashraf
Due to the article size limit, older days have to be removed from the main article.
Here are day 9 and 10:
Song of the day: We Three Kings by Chilly Gonzales (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOlkbGV3H7Y)
We Three Kings is a traditional Christmas carol - a very special New Zealand version recommended by Kat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZT2HHDuXFVc
But there are a lot more Christmas carols from New Zealand. Look here:
http://folksong.org.nz/nzchristmas/
Why New Zealand? Well, from today on we move the other way around the globe - from America to New Zealand. Today is Kat Warner’s day. Give her a warm welcome!
Kat, first of all: congratulations to level 10 - Kat is the third leader who reached this expert level on our community platform - and this happened just a few days before. Look here:
https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Feedback-Forum-articles/The-Kat-s-out-of-the-bag/ba-p/1549942
Where are you from?
I live in Wellington, New Zealand. Christmas here is about spending time with friends and family, often outside in the sun.
Another kind of White Christmas :-)
How and when did you become one of Atlassian’s Community Leaders?
I joined the Atlassian Community when I started working for the Gold Solution partner TechTime Initiative Group Limited in April 2018. At Summit 2019 I was given a Community Leader goodie bag and told “of course you are an Atlassian Community Leader” but it took until August 2019 for the virtual paperwork to catch up and for me to (finally) get access to the Community Leader Slack and other tools.
Kat, what motivates you being a Community Leader?
Becoming a Community Leader was never a goal, it was something that happened along the way as I interacted with the community both learning and helping others by writing articles about Atlassian products, training and certification, and of course TechTime products.
And which was the first Atlassian product you ever used?
I first used Confluence and Jira in 2010 at a fast-growing start-up where I was quickly given admin permissions so I could implement all the requests I was making after learning about the tools and the configuration options.
Cool - a New Zealand Snowman :-)
Do you have a favorite holiday meal?
Ambrosia is a classic dish to bring along to a BBQ or eat around Christmas time made from yogurt, whipped cream, marshmellows, and optionally berries and chocolate.
That looks awesome - if you want to try Kat’s favorite: here’s a recipe: https://www.nzfavouriterecipe.co.nz/recipe/easy-ambrosia/
If you could change something about the way we celebrate the last days of the year, what would it be?
Less focus on things that cost money, freeing up our attention, money, and time for being in contact with our loved ones. Remember, traditions are just peer pressure from dead people
Kat, thank you for being our number nine and for all you do for our community. Enjoy your Christmas time on the beach and have a great new year 2021!
Song of the day: Christmas in Hollis by Run DMC (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OR07r0ZMFb8)
This is a song request by @Lars Maehlmann - Community Leader from Hamburg, Germany - I'm hosting events there with him - Lots of greetings - it's fantabulous doing this with you!
But let's move on to our number ten:
Hooray, right away from New Zealand, we’re back to India! And there we meet Fazila Ashraf, one of Bangalores Community Leaders.
Together with Vishnukumar Vasudevan, Sandesi Nagaraju and Girish Shenoy he hosts Community events. This year, they received the “Setting the Standard” - Award for their successful work:
Fazila is originally from Coimbatore in India.
(Picture by Durai.velumani, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=52518171)
He moved to Bangalore ten years ago - Bangalore is the IT hub of India.
Welcome, Fazila! We are very happy to have you here in our calendar.
Fazila, how and when did you become one of Atlassian's Community Leaders?
I was a member of the bangalore atlassian community for many years. I loved it and when co-leader Vishnu refered me to the online Community Leader program in the early 2018 and then for the Bangalore Community event leader in 2019, I was thrilled and grateful for the opportunity to give back to the community for all the help i got!
What motivates you being a Community Leader?
Networking with amazing people and the opportunity to give back to the community.
Do you remember your first contact with an Atlassian product?
It was in 2012. Love at first sight! Even the first time I started using it, I didn't have to look at any docs or training.. The UI was very intuitive…
Love at first sight - awesome!
Do you have a favorite Atlassian memory to date?
Oh so many memories!
the moment when I passed all the Atlassian certifications
Las Vegas Summit 2019
Bangalore ACE getting the 'Setting the standard' 2020!
many many and many more to come!
These are great memories, Fazila - did you meet these two guys in Las Vegas?
If you could go back in time to give yourself an advice, professional or personal. What would it be?
"The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. Take actions without fear"
That’s a really good advice - we all should have that in mind!
What is your fondest holiday memory?
The family trip we took to Goa before the pandemic started.
What is your favorite holiday meal?
I love seafood.. Especially when on coastal holidays.
Tell us more about India - what makes living there so special?
Incredible India! Living in India is very special because of it's diversity. We have so many different cultures, languages, cuisines, philosophies, spiritual thinking.. Living in India gives so many experiences that I never get bored of it.
What was the most unsual thing you did this year?
Not stepping out of the house for many weeks!
What are you grateful for?
Everything that i had, have and will have.. But especially for my family who loves and supports me.
Oh yes, family and friends are the most important ingredients in the recipe of life.
It was a pleasure to learn so many things about you, Fazila. Thank you for being a part of this little calendar project and of our Community and of course, we're all gonna visit you in Bangalore, right after we met Soumyadeep Mandal in Kolkata!
All the best to you, have a great year 2021 and many greetings to your family! Í hope to see you soon - in India or at the next Summit!
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Thomas Schlegel
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