Volunteer at DevFest Surabaya 2025 📸✨

A reflection on learning, growth, and meaningful experiences through volunteering.

12/6/2025

Hi! I'm Naufal Harits Prasetia, and this article is a personal reflection on one of the most memorable experiences in my journey so far: becoming a Volunteer at DevFest Surabaya 2025, organized by GDG Surabaya.

🌱 First Encounter with DevFest

Honestly, my relationship with DevFest didn’t start with excitement.
I first attended DevFest Cloud Surabaya 2024, even though some of my friends had already joined DevFest Surabaya back in 2023. At that time, I wasn’t particularly interested. DevFest felt like just another tech event—interesting, but not compelling enough to make me want to dive deeper.

Everything changed when I finally decided to experience it firsthand.
Once I was there, I realized DevFest was more than just talks and technology. It was a space filled with passion, curiosity, and people who genuinely wanted to learn and grow together. From that moment, a thought stayed with me:

“What if one day I could be part of this, not just as a participant, but as a contributor?”

🤝 Becoming a Volunteer

That thought turned into action when GDG Surabaya opened volunteer recruitment.
Without overthinking, I applied for the Documentation / Registration division. Alhamdulillah, I was accepted as a Photographer and officially joined the Documentation Team of DevFest Surabaya 2025.

It was a moment of pure happiness—one that I’ll always be grateful for.

😶‍🌫️ Facing Insecurity and Choosing to Learn

Excitement didn’t come alone.
When I met my teammates, I couldn’t help but feel insecure. Most of them were incredibly skilled—some had volunteered at many major events, some were still in vocational high school with impressive experience, others were just in their first semester but already far ahead in terms of skills.

Meanwhile, I came with experience mainly from campus organizations in the Publication Division. I had experience, yes—but not as advanced as theirs.

For a moment, I doubted myself.

But then I remembered my original intention: to learn.
I chose to become a “glass kosong”—an empty glass. Age, background, or status shouldn’t stop me from learning from anyone. Whether younger or older, I believe everyone deserves respect, especially those who carry knowledge and experience we don’t yet have.

🛠️ Lessons from the Field

Volunteering at DevFest Surabaya 2025 gave me lessons beyond what I expected—both technical and non-technical.

From a technical perspective, I learned about:

• Task distribution and workflow during large-scale events
• Camera setup and color matching for consistent documentation results
• How the design and documentation teams collaborate professionally

Beyond that, I gained invaluable soft skills:

• Teamwork in a diverse environment
• Communication and coordination under pressure
• Building new connections and friendships
• Practicing social skills and professionalism

🚆 The Cost Behind the Experience

Of course, all of this came with sacrifices.

Currently, I live in Depok. Back when I was still studying in Ponorogo, attending events in Surabaya felt much easier. But after graduating, distance became a real challenge. Traveling from Depok to Surabaya required significant cost—not to mention meals, daily needs, and energy.

My nights were also spent working on design tasks and preparation for DevFest. Time, effort, energy, thoughts, and money were all part of the price.

Yet, none of it felt wasted.

Experience is the best teacher.
Time can be replaced.
Money can be earned.
But experience and opportunity cannot be bought—and they don’t always come twice.

✨ A Message to My Future Self (and You)

If I could give one piece of advice, it would be this:

Take every opportunity, no matter how small it seems.
You never know what kind of luck, growth, or turning point might come from it.

Never be afraid to make small sacrifices for something that may never come again in the same way.

🙏 Gratitude

Thank you to GDG Surabaya for such a priceless opportunity.
Thank you for trusting me to be part of DevFest Surabaya 2025 and allowing me to contribute to the success of this event.

I hope I can continue to be involved in future GDG events and meet all these amazing people again—at another time, in another opportunity.

---

Thank you for reading. If you’d like to talk about volunteering, DevFest, or creative documentation, feel free to reach out. Let’s keep learning and growing together. 🚀📸