Although I have never seen myself as truly left-brained, I have had a longstanding interest in science, technology, and creating. Whether as a kid putting together miniature houses with knick-nacks, writing stories, or searching up Khan Academy human biology videos for fun, I enjoyed building and learning new subjects.
I pursued an English degree at a small liberal arts college, the University of Dallas, to support my writing goals. However, I have had an ongoing interest in technology that bore fruit in supporting my decision to join Public Invention only a few years later.
Joining Public Invention
In the fall and winter of 2023, I was looking for new internship opportunities on LinkedIn and came across a Public Invention volunteer posting. I submitted my resume and set up a time to meet with the recruiter Miriam Castillo.
To prepare for the interview, I reviewed the projects on the website and quickly got excited. These were projects that were innovative and unique, and they used volunteers’ expertise to make freely available, innovative technology that was meant to support humanity.
During our meeting, Castillo shared more details about the volunteer position. At first, I was hesitant to move forward with joining; I had no real experience with engineering topics outside of a few popular science books I read as a hobby, and was unsure how my skillset might fit the organization’s needs.
However, I was inspired by the projects and the information Castillo shared over the course of the interview. I was also excited at the prospect of growing my skills as a technical writer and communicator. In the end, I decided to join Public Invention, and I am exceptionally glad I made that decision.
Volunteer Experience
I became a volunteer with Public Invention in February 2024, and have been an official part of the admin team since June 2024. I began editing documents for grammar and style, learning GitHub and Discord, optimizing our WordPress site, formatting technical papers through LaTeX, and more.
During this time, I met the rest of the wonderful admin team, including Volunteer Coordinator Miriam Castillo, Outreach Coordinator Megan Cadena, and Public Invention Founder Robert Read. Each of them has been a great mentor and teammate as I have learned new software and skills to support the organization.
Learning GitHub
One of the first tasks Robert Read assigned was the project of line-editing the VentMon Readme page. Over the course of this initial task, I learned the basics of GitHub, including pull requests and Markdown formatting. I continue to use GitHub to manage tasks and keep up to date on projects.
Blog Articles
I write articles for the Public Invention blog. I had experience writing interview-based articles from the University of Dallas, where I wrote for the student-run newspaper The Cor Chronicle. Thus, I knew AP style and general conventions.
However, learning to write about technical engineering projects was definitely a learning curve. The first article I wrote was published in March 2025: Mentorship and Teamwork: The Story of the Krake. It featured an interview with Inventors Nagham Kheir and Forrest “Lee” Erickson.
Since then, I have learned to collaborate with Inventor teams to ensure articles accurately depict their projects and contributions. I enjoy speaking with many volunteers across the organization and the world.
Learning WordPress
Under Cadena’s guidance, I learned the basics of WordPress. Recently I updated the project pages, and I continue to optimize the website’s SEO so that our projects, blog, and mission can naturally reach a wider audience.
LaTeX Formatting
I used LaTeX in Overleaf to format and proofread two articles that are now published at HardwareX: General Purpose Alarm Device and The PolyVent Educational Platform.
These were large projects where I learned both technical editing and professional formatting styles.
The OKH Project
In collaboration with Open Source Medical Supplies (OSMS) and OSEGermany, I created a database of TOML files for the many mask, ventilator, and other open-source projects created during the Covid-19 pandemic. This project was an attempt to preserve these projects for future use, rather than allowing them to fall into obscurity despite their makers’ hard work and efforts.
Learning Social Media Marketing
More recently, I have been expanding Public Invention’s social media outreach on its YouTube channel and LinkedIn account. This includes creating and posting consistent content to engage with the volunteer and open-source communities.
Volunteer Onboarding and Recruiting
Working closely with Castillo, I recruit directly for volunteer openings on new projects such as the robotic Yeah Hand. This has been an exciting new task, as I work to directly support the growth of the organization and help others discover the great opportunity that is volunteering with Public Invention.
Take the Plunge: Volunteer and Grow
Although I am now a staff member rather than a volunteer, I highly recommend volunteering. There is a saying that if you do something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. Another way of thinking about this, is that if you pursue a profession you would have done for free, it won’t feel like work.
If this is true, then volunteering is one of the best ways to find a good career fit. After all, a volunteer is completing work that they would, and are, doing for free. Thus, this is a low-stakes path to exploring new fields and opportunities. Additionally, if you find a fit, you can build critical skills and work experience in that area. In a job market where entry-level roles ask for multiple years of experience, these benefits are more important than ever.
Beyond these specific career benefits, working with Public Invention will connect you with a community of passionate, creative technologists who are working to make the world a better place.
I am grateful to be a part of Public Invention, and highly encourage anyone, no matter whether your skillset is technical or non-technical, to reach out and find a place in the organization. Public Invention welcomes everyone to explore, contribute, and innovate in their own way.