Tomorrow, the WordPress Foundation will be announcing the recipient of this year’s Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship. In advance of that announcement, we’d like to honor Kim by sharing some memories of Kim from her friends in the WordPress Community, and how Kim has impacted their lives even today.
Living in rural Ohio, Kim connected with many online via Twitter and Slack. She actively contributed to the WordPress Open Source Project as a member of the Documentation Team. According to WP Tavern, “Kim has worked on improving documentation in WordPress as a member of the docs team. She substantially contributed to the effort of adding inline documentation to every hook in WordPress…She’s contributed to every release of WordPress from 3.7 to 4.1. “
Kim was able to attend WordCamp San Francisco in 2014 (the precursor to WordCamp US) in part due to a WordPress Foundation scholarship to attend. It seemed fitting to the Foundation that a newly created scholarship to attend WordCamp US in 2015 should bear her name.
Several of Kim’s friends shared memories of Kim with us
“Her legacy lives on in by me encouraging people to be generous with knowledge, welcoming to “newcomers” to WordPress, and being helpful just for the sake of being helpful (i.e. without expectation of gain).”
Carrie Dils
“Kim taught me a lot about perseverance in the face of adversity. She had this motherly quality that spread love and pride in a way that I had never experienced before. I saw it in the community, in our friendship, and in her professional life, and it was a recipe for inclusion and success. Kim helped me realize that I live a life limited only by my own ambition and that what other people think of me was none of my business.
Over the years, this mantra has had a profoundly positive effect on the way I approach life and work and love without being bound by so much fear or insecurity. I can choose to be successful, she always told me, the only thing that’s holding you back is you.”
Drew Jaynes
“I wasn’t Kim’s best friend or closest confidant (nowhere near it), but her warmth and encouragement impacted me greatly. Between Kim, Andrea Rennick, and Mika Epstein, I learned what it looked like to be a welcoming member of the WordPress community and I’ve strived to follow their examples since.”
Mary Baum
“Kim Parsell’s nickname in the WordPress community was #WPMOM and for good reason. She exhibited motherly tendencies on Twitter to those in the community reminding them to stand up and stretch, to eat lunch, take breaks, and to calm down when in a heated discussion. Typically, people wouldn’t do these things unless they’re told to do so, especially if it’s from their mother. Kim struck a balance of being firm and caring at the same time.
Each time I perform an action of self-care, I like to think it’s Kim nudging me in the right direction.”
Jeff Chandler
“Kim Parsell, with just her friendship, made me want to become a better person. She never said or asked anything like that but she was just that sort of person.“
Jan Dembowski
2019 Kim Parsell Memorial Scholarship Recipient Announced June 28
Make sure you come back tomorrow to see who will be receiving the award this year. If you haven’t done so already, buy your ticket for WordCamp U.S. and tell a friend.