My Journey as a Postman Student Leader

Guest Author

May 14, 2021· 6 mins

This is a guest post written by Aanchal Mishra, Postman Student Leader at SNDT Women’s University.

As a junior attending SNDT Women’s University in Mumbai, communities have a very special place in my heart, and I’m involved with some of the most active technical communities and organizations in India. Engaging with Postman’s educational programs specially designed for students has been one of the most strengthening and fulfilling experiences that I’ve had thus far in my student career. In this blog post, I’d like to share about my journey with Postman Student Programs and how you can excel through these programs as both a student and a mentor.

How I first got involved with Postman Student Programs ‍

I initially heard about Postman Student Programs in January of 2021 from Postman Student Community Manager Ali Mustufa Shaikh, who has been a good friend and mentor to me since I got involved in technology communities. We discussed the process of becoming a Postman Student Expert, and I was amazed to know the possibilities of this program and how it provides an incredible learning experience to the students who are API enthusiasts. So I applied instantly, seeing this as a great opportunity. After submitting the Postman Student Expert program application with my personal details, I began the process of completing the Postman Student Expert Training. Upon successfully completing my training, I submitted my Postman Collection and received my certified Postman Student Expert badge.

Tips about Postman Student Programs:

• Learn more info and apply to become a Postman Student Expert here.
• If you get stuck at any point during the training, you can easily ask questions and get help from members of the Postman Community forum.

Exclusive access to the Postman Galaxy conference

Once I received my Postman Student Expert badge, I was invited to join the Postman Student Programs online community. As part of the online forum, I connected with so many like-minded people to discuss ideas, communicated with experts about my technical queries, and took part in captivating challenges designed for Postman Student Experts to leverage the full benefits of the program.

One such engaging challenge given by the Postman team to Postman Student Experts was “Explain APIs to Your Grandparents and Win Free Tickets to Postman Galaxy.” Postman Galaxy 2021 was a global, virtual Postman user conference that took place February 2 to 4. The event gathered the world’s most enthusiastic API builders, testers, managers, and executives for a rocket-load of action-packed online events, activities, and content about all things API. And I’m happy to report, my submission in that challenge was one of the winners selected to receive a free entry to Postman Galaxy.

Postman Galaxy 2021 was indeed one of the richest and most applicative conferences that I’ve ever attended. It was three days of leveling up API approaches, key resources, certifications, and mind-bending talks with Apple Co-founder Steve Wozniak, NASA veteran Dr. Ellen Ochoa, and AWS Chief Evangelist Jeff Barr.

Bonus perk: I also received an exclusive conference gift pack upon completing the workshop activities and challenges.

Becoming a Postman Student Leader

After becoming a Postman Student Expert and receiving immense ongoing support from Postman, I asked the forum how I can contribute more to the community and help other tech enthusiasts. Ali provided access to amazing Postman resources for organizing events—including tools, kits, and more. The Postman Student Community managers team has structured these resources systematically and transparently, all to help those who want to excel as a mentor or a learner.

Hosting an APIs 101 workshop for my campus

I then hosted an APIs 101 virtual workshop for my school campus for the first time, presenting to 65 curious students. After hosting that first session on APIs 101 with Postman, I submitted the event report with detailed feedback on the experience to the Postman team. I received an email notifying me that after evaluating my report, they wished to move forward with my candidacy for the Postman Student Leader program. I am proud to have achieved this milestone and feel fortunate to be one of the very first Postman Student Experts across the globe to be promoted with the official Postman Student Leader badge as the first cohort of the Postman Student Leader program.

• Read the blog post announcing the complete list of initial Postman Student Leaders here.
• Learn more info and apply to become a Postman Student Leader here.

Highlights of my Postman Student Leader journey thus far

As a Postman Student Expert, you receive a ton of amazing opportunities and access to Postman resources, as well as an invitation to the Postman Student Leader program online community. The Postman Student Leader program then specifically focuses on empowering Postman Student Experts to become leaders on their campuses promoting API literacy amongst their peers.

Also, after announcing the inaugural group of Postman Student Leaders, our Postman student community managers—Ali and Mei’lani Eyre—hosted a meetup so that we could be introduced to our fellow Postman Student Leaders in the United States and India. (Postman even sent us all vouchers to order food on the meetup day!)

• Conducting the APIs 101 workshop with one of the other Postman Student Experts from my campus, Anika Tibrewala:

• Participating in the Postman Student Leaders virtual meet-and-greet-and-treat:

I’ve absolutely loved being part of the Postman student community for the past five months, and I’m looking forward to learning, growing, and connecting with more and more like-minded tech enthusiasts joining the community in the upcoming months—all with the constant support of my student community managers and mentors, Ali and Mei’lani.

For me, being a Postman Student Leader also means being a mentor, and it’s really satisfying to help other tech enthusiasts learn the skills that will help them reach their goals. So if you’re interested in learning and joining Postman Student Programs as a student or an educator, I highly recommend starting your own journey here.