Field Operators level up over Summer

Twilio Field Operators are student leaders improving their skills and helping fellow students learn. Schools across the US have been closed for the summer, but that hasn’t stopped the Field Operators from continuing to learn and build. Read on to see what you can expect from becoming a Field Operator, and how to join the next cohort.

Levelling up with La’Kaleigh

La’Kaleigh is a student at Schoolcraft college, and a C# developer. La’Kaleigh learned about Field Operators at Hack-cade, where she built an amazing TwilioQuest Extension over the weekend.

La’Kaleigh has shared her experience with building and learning using TwilioQuest with fellow Field Operators in our weekly workshop and hack sessions, and recently joined the TwilioQuest Tuesdays Twitch stream alongside Twilio interns. With Twilio Developer Educator, Margaret, they spoke about intern life, and La’Kaleigh showed off her latest TwilioQuest Extension progress.

La’Kaleigh’s latest TwilioQuest Extensions use cyberpunk tilesets, and experiment with perspective in ways we haven’t seen in the game before! This level with its almost-parallax background gives us big Streets of Rage vibes.

As Field Operators complete activities, they earn XP, which helps them rank up. Every Field Operator starts at Rank 1. Through her participation in TwilioQuest Tuesdays streams and creation of TwilioQuest Extensions, La’Kaleigh is the latest Field Operator to hit Rank 2! At Rank 2, Field Operators unlock new content and workshops, and are able to order swag packs to reward their fellow students.

Building community through Twitch and TwilioQuest

Arthur was one of the first Field Operators, but is still finding new ways to use TwilioQuest with his community. Recently, Arthur held his own virtual operation. A TwilioQuest Operation is a timed event where any XP earned by players is counted, and shown on a leaderboard.

Arthur streams games and TwilioQuest playthroughs on Twitch. The operation gave Arthur a new way to connect with his audience: Arthur set up an operation to run for the duration of a 2 hour Twitch stream, encouraging his viewers to play and learn along with him.

Players joined Arthur’s Discord, where a bot delivered instructions on how to take part in the operation, and players could share their progress. At the end of the operation, Arthur announced the winners and prizes.

It should be no surprise that Arthur currently holds the most XP as a Field Operator, with a whopping 29,000 XP. Arthur is not only prolific in supporting his community, but also the Field Operators community as a whole. Recently, Arthur delivered a game development workshop to the other Field Operators.

Learning together with your cohort

Speaking of workshops, every Field Operator is invited to learn useful skills through our regular workshop series. These workshops help Field Operators grow and nurture their communities, but also cover many professional skills. Rank 1 operators learn about topics such as technical writing, live streaming, Twilio development, and community building. Starting in Rank 2, they begin to deep dive into areas such as community moderation, virtual event production, and specific areas of technical expertise.

All of our workshops are recorded and available to Field Operators through the Operator Console. Here, Field Operators can see the video recording, as well as grab links to resources.

However, Field Operators attending live get to ask questions, and hear from fellow Field Operators. Linus, a student at Lewis &Clark College, has made the most of the workshops available, joining us live for every session. New Field Operators join the program in monthly cohorts, ensuring every student has a group of like minded peers to collaborate with.

How to join Field Operators

Applications are open now for the current cohort. Students joining in the next 2 weeks will be able to get started immediately. Not ready to join yet? Don’t worry! We have a new cohort start every month, so you’re only ever just around the corner from beginning your Field Operators journey.

You can learn more and apply on the TwilioQuest students page. Once you’re ready to go, sign in to the Operator Console, and select the Field Operator tab. Field Operators is currently open for US-based college students. If you are a college or university student outside of the US, and want to see Field Operators come to your country, you can let us know.