Yoast Care fund: An interview with Ihtisham Zahoor

This week’s Yoast Care fund goes to Ihtisham Zahoor! Ihtisham was nominated by Mobeen Abdullah for his contributions to the WordPress community. He speaks at different WordCamps in Pakistan and was part of the organizing team for WordCamp Islamabad 2019. But that’s not all! Ihtisham also develops plugins and themes for WordPress and has made contributions to both core and translation. Let’s learn more about him and his love for WordPress!

Why did you start contributing and what was your first contribution?
That moment would most definitely be when a random guy approached me during my second WordPress meetup and excitingly started querying about WordPress. That’s when I realized that no matter how little I know, there will always be someone needing that little knowledge I have. This led me to grab the mic and explain everything I know about WordPress to attendees at the very next meetup.

Who is your WordPress hero?
Chris Lema. Remember that realization I had while attending my second WordPress meetup? Chris Lema talks about this at WordCamp PHX (watch that talk here) and that’s exactly what I experienced in my second meetup. Please, have a look at his talks and be amazed ^_^

Who is your WordPress mentor?
Someone who was there to give me his 100% focus, to guide me when I was stuck, and who told me that I was enough even when I was sure I was not. That person is Mobeen Abdullah, one of my best friends, to whom I am forever grateful. I am also grateful to my #WCKHI18 Train Buddies <3 for their unconditional love and support as well as the organizing team of WordPress meetup ISB/RWP for their encouragement at every step I take while working for the WordPress community.

What contribution or moment are you most proud of?
Working as a WordCamp Organizer, doing different chores while learning the art of patience, collaboration and everything else from other organizers was indeed fun. It’s what I am most proud of: being a member of the WordPress community.

Where can people find you? Online or at what events?
Most definitely at local WordCamps and Meetups. But I’m also easily reachable online on all the popular social media platforms. Yet, I am super responsive via the good ol’ email. Come say hello!

Do you know someone like Ihtisham, who does a lot for our WordPress community? Make sure to let us know by nominating them for our Yoast Care fund! You can do this by filling in the form on the Yoast Care fund page. This takes about 2 minutes and you’ll help us give someone the recognition they deserve!