I made it to the 3rd year of being an AWS Community Builder! Let’s review the past years, and how the AWS Community Builder program supported me on my journey. Grab a cup of tea and enjoy reading!
All the images in this post are either drawn or photographed by or for me. No AI used.
I know, I did a lot for the community in the past, but it was such a relief when I eventually got the notice of renewal. Since I took a break in 2024 from all my community activities, I was a teeny-tiny bit afraid to not be renewed for the 2025/2026 circle. What a nonsense!, my fellow community people like María, Markus, Suzana, Sana, Johannes or Linda would say (haha, I all had your voices in my head 😜).
But it’s true: Taking a break and not focussing on things you worked so hard for, is hard. If you don’t pay close attention to you and your well-being first, it’s easy to fall in the ‘not-doing-enough’ anxiety trap again. Been there, done that.
Having this in mind, I’m even more conscious with the things I now start doing, bringing back into my community work or leaving-behind. But this is a whole blogpost for another day.
Let’s check out, how three years being an AWS Community Builder brought a vibrant community into my life.
The humble beginnings - my application in 2022
I remember the first time I saw the application form for the AWS Community Builder popped up late August in 2021. I sat in a really nice little vacation stay close to the Baltic Sea, totally stressed out because my time-management for preparing a Terraform workshop collided with my vacation plans (my poor husband…). Somehow I got my hands on the Community Builder’s application website. Phew, I still feel it like it was yesterday. I was so stressed out, but really wanted to apply. I did not apply. First of all, I had the feeling that I had no time for it at this point in time. And second, you probably guessed it, *drum rolls* I thought I’m not doing anything good or enough related to AWS community. Although I had talked in numerous sessions and meetups about AWS until then, starting in 2019… Phew, Nora, don’t be shy!
A year later, I sat down for a beer at the community event of the AWS Summit Berlin in 2022. Since my lovely AWS Usergroup co-host Frank dragged me with him, I was introduced to other AWS Community Builders, like Iain, Gustavo. What a fun evening! They all encouraged me to finally apply for the Community Builders Program. And afterwards (FINALLY), I did apply and got accepted for the cohort of spring 2023. And now here I am in my third year! Thank you guys <3
My first year (2023)…
… was a blast!
First, I was overwhelmed with all the new things which rained down on me! So much new Slack channel, possibilities to contribute, to network, to make an impact in the community. Yeah, I was truly overwhelmed. But this is how it is, when you join a huge community with already established processes and people contributing. Bit-by-bit I gained an overview about the things which were going on. Getting to know new people, new services and new opportunities to contribute. Our German AWS Heros, Johannes and Markus, helped me a lot during my first months to have a calmer entry point to all of it! Thank you <3
Honestly, I still don’t have it all together in the Builders Community 😅 I find new channels, recognize announcements too late, or don’t have time to answer people quickly. But on the other hand, I found out how I contribute best: Through speaking, joining events and organizing my AWS Usergroup in Nuremberg. And I did indeed speak at lots of events! This was awesome in 2023. One of my highlights will always be speaking at re:Invent 2023 in Las Vegas. A thing which I always dreamed of, but never thought it would come true.
📸 Me speaking at the Community Developer Lounge at AWS re:Invent 2023
… and onwards
2024 was more of a silent one for reasons. And now in 2025 I’m back again excited for everything to come! Kicked-off the year with my session at AWS Women’s Usergroup in Berlin, I can’t wait to contribute again with lots of blogpost, talks and events. 💪🏻
How the AWS Community Builder program helped me grow
Since I actively joined the AWS Community in 2016, a lot of things have happened: I cultivated new friendships around Germany, went to my first Summits (The first was in London in 2017 🤯), joined Cloud Dev Days and started regularly speaking about AWS and cloud computing in 2019 at meetups, Summits, Community Days and more.
Joining the AWS Community Builders program accelerated all of this:
- I made connections with numerous members of the international AWS community.
- I got more speaking opportunities.
- Being more active as an AWS Usergroup leader and meetup host.
- I was invited to re:Invent 2023 as speaker (a dream came true since visiting first Summit in 2017!).
Until today, I’m so honored to be part of this little more exclusive, but also hands-on focused part of the AWS community. And I know it comes with certain benefits (like extra credits, certification vouchers, or cool merchandise), but honestly, these aren’t as important to me as connecting with a vibrant tech-community. I know this sounds cheesy, but it is how it is. I love connecting with fellow peers more than any exclusive merchandise I might get from the program. 😅
So a huge thanks again to all the brilliant minds behind the program like Jason, Corey & co.
What I don’t want to miss
To sum it up, what I cherish the most are the wonderful connections and friends I made during these three years! 💜 Thinking of the shy women I was in 2016 when I first joined an event of the AWS Usergroup Nuremberg, and now being so proud of what I accomplished and on what I had an impact on during the last years. This is truly awesome!
Thank YOU, for following me along this journey through the AWS community!
I can’t wait to be active another year!
Cheers,
Nora 🥂