Meet The First Voyagers Crew (Part 3)
Tags: showdev, community, opensource, vonagevoyagers
Published: 2020-11-19 13:53:51

---
title: Meet The First Voyagers Crew (Part 3)
published: true
date: 2020-11-16 14:26:38 UTC
tags: showdev,community,opensource,vonagevoyagers
canonical_url: https://www.nexmo.com/blog/2020/11/16/meet-the-first-voyagers-crew-part-3
cover_image: https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/i/s7urlvggg7nvvw0z75bg.png
 
---

So far this month we’ve met six of our inaugural Voyagers crew members in parts [1](https://www.nexmo.com/blog/2020/11/02/meet-the-first-voyagers-crew-part-1) and [2](https://www.nexmo.com/blog/2020/11/09/meet-the-first-voyagers-crew-part-2) of this series. [Vonage Voyagers](https://developer.nexmo.com/voyagers) is a one-year program for developers who want to get their hands on new communication technologies first and be part of a community of like-minded peers who support and learn from each other. It’s an opportunity for us to reward and recognise the valuable contributors in our community. You can become a Voyager by [applying directly](https://developer.nexmo.com/voyagers) or [nominating](https://airtable.com/shrI1b8WWx4B85ZSZ) a colleague, friend, or another community member.

This week, we’re moving over to the other side of the Atlantic to highlight yet another group of Voyagers and learn more about them and their interests. Please meet [Mary Jo Staebler](https://twitter.com/maryjostaebler), [Matthew Groves](https://twitter.com/mgroves) and [Hector Zelaya](https://twitter.com/inuxero).

[![Mary Jo Staebler - Vonage Voyager](https://www.nexmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mary-Jo.png)](https://www.nexmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mary-Jo.png)

### Where are you based?

_Mary Jo_: Bellevue, WA, USA

_Matthew_: Central Ohio, United States

_Hector_: I am from El Salvador, a small (and beautiful) country in Central America.

### Tell us about a project you worked on recently.

_Mary Jo_: Lately, I’ve been helping projects for Hacktoberfest and implementing changes and features needed for them.

_Matthew_: I’ve been working with Azure Functions to help automate forum reporting and event announcements.

_Hector_: Recently, I’ve started working on setting up a web application by myself, taking care of frontend and backend development, UI/UX design, DevOps, QA and planning. It has been a very challenging experience that has allowed me to see things from each role’s perspective and understand all the details that are involved in web development.

![Matthew Groves - Vonage Voyager](https://www.nexmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Matthew-G.png)

### What are you most looking forward to doing as a Voyager?

_Mary Jo_: As a Voyager, I am looking forward to meeting other great developers, learning new features put out by Vonage, and being a part of a fantastic community.

_Matthew_: I’ve enjoyed hanging out with other Voyagers and Vonage developer advocates, and I look forward to when we can do that more in-person!

_Hector_: I want to contribute to the adoption of technologies that allow people to connect beyond geographical boundaries.

### What do you think is an exciting part of working with communication APIs?

_Mary Jo_: I am excited to work with voice and text APIs by Vonage and how they can be used to connect people and drive change in the world.

_Matthew_: I like the idea of delegating some of the hard work of communication behind a simple API. It gives me more time to focus on business logic.

_Hector_: The most exciting part of working with communication APIs is how easy it is to be able to interact with multiple communication channels: SMS, Video, Voice and also social media like WhatsApp and Facebook.

![Hector Zelaya - Vonage Voyager](https://www.nexmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Hector.png)

### Tell us a fun fact about yourself!

_Mary Jo_: I’m a Twitch streamer who loves to code on stream and help others learn about how to develop, learn new technology, and do so in a fun way.

_Matthew_: I have dabbled in stand-up comedy, I used to work as a cable guy (climbing ladders and crawling through cellars), and I met my (now) wife in a church puppet troupe!

_Hector_: I enjoy learning new things. Whether it’s the latest trend in programming, the chords of the newest pop hit or the reasons why the chicken crossed the street, it is always exciting to discover and understand how things work.

Join Mary Jo, Matthew and Hector by [applying directly](https://airtable.com/shrOGdDIjGXQYclXx) or [nominating](https://airtable.com/shrI1b8WWx4B85ZSZ) a colleague, friend, or another community member to become a Voyager. Stay tuned for more Voyager spotlights to come!

The post [Meet The First Voyagers Crew (Part 3)](https://www.nexmo.com/blog/2020/11/16/meet-the-first-voyagers-crew-part-3) appeared first on [Vonage Developer Blog](https://www.nexmo.com).