It was the CenCal of Dreams. And it was. It really was.

Another CenCal Dreamin’ has come and gone and we couldn’t be happier to see the Central Valley Salesforce Community come together to network, teach, and learn. Over 150 Salesforce superheroes joined us for the third annual virtual event, and the reviews are in–it was a complete success! We had the treat of connecting with three attendees, all Salesforce apprentices in different cohorts here at Bitwise Industries, to tell us about their very first CenCal Dreamin’ experience and what the most memorable highlights and takeaways were.

Karma Drupka: Aspiring Salesforce Developer

Karma Drupka, a Bitwise Industries apprentice and recently certified Salesforce Administrator, has been assisting withvarious in-house builds as well as improving our existing Salesforce org. This was his very first CenCal Dreamin’, with an emphasis in attending breakout sessions on both the Admin and Developer tracks. 

A highlight for Karma came from attending a session on the Pinnacles Stage, Evan Ponter’s Fantastic Frameworks for Fast, Feature-filled Flows; he described Ponter’s talk as fruitful. “The flow session was incredible–he demo-ed so well. Flows can be so powerful, and can solve complex problems. It was a treat to learn and know the kinds of features that flows can do–to know that you can solve business problems without having to code. I really want to keep working on improving my work with flows.” Karma mentioned a takeaway was getting to witness folks tuning in from different locations and different Salesforce ecosystems, “There’s always someone to support you in the Trailblazer community. I enjoyed every session CenCal had–all of them were so informative–and getting those perspectives was amazing. Why not go next year?”

Jay Downing: Apex Apprentice

Jay Downing is another apprentice in the Salesforce apprenticeship and has had a few months of experience doing admin tasks in Bitwise’s Salesforce instance. When he’s not working on admin-level tasks, he’s going full-force into learning introductory-level Apex coding (the programming language of Salesforce) with Bitwise’s Vice President of Salesforce Delivery, Miranda Ragland.

Because of this special apprenticeship connection, Miranda’s talk, Intro to Apex for Admins and Declarative Developers on the Pinnacles Stage, rang especially true for him. “It felt like the perfect trifecta: I get to be at CenCal Dreamin’ learning about Salesforce. I get to watch the person who’s been teaching me intro to Apex, and what is she demonstrating? The exact thing she’s been teaching me. It was cool to see that information be received by people in the Salesforce community of all knowledge bases.” An additional talk Jay appreciated was on the Yosemite Stage, Build Versus Buy: Deciding What’s Right for You, featuring Bitwise’s own Salesforce Project Manager, Joe Wheelock, and Callum Hurry of Proven Works. 

A highlight for Jay included “seeing that Bitwise is a very, very fierce force within the Salesforce community amidst the large ecosystem and realizing the large knowledge base and influence our company has, and getting to witness the impact that Salesforce has in Bitwise and beyond.” He looks forward to future CenCal Dreamin’ events, and hopes to even present or participate in a panel discussion.

Maria Mayorga: Community Dreamin’

Also in Bitwise’s Salesforce apprenticeship, attendee Maria Mayorga has enjoyed having a hand in familiarizing herself with the org and creating different objects, and is especially interested in the consulting aspect of the admin role–seeing how we can help businesses of all sizes solve issues using the Salesforce platform. 

Community was at the core of Maria’s first CenCal Dreamin’ experience, “Anytime you do anything with Salesforce, there’s so much support. The environment felt like a mini-Dreamforce.” She also enjoyed Miranda Ragland’s Intro-to-Apex demo, but the true highlight for her was seeing Bitwise Co-founder and Co-CEO Irma Olguin Jr. speak. “Getting to hear her speak makes me feel so appreciative for what she’s done for our community; I never thought with my background that I would get to be in tech, and knowing what she and Bitwise are doing for so many people is such a great reminder,” Maria shared.

Something for Everyone 

Whether it was a coding demonstration or a Q&A panel, this year’s CenCal Dreamin’ really brought something to the table for everyone; whether that’s someone digging for knowledge, for community, or networking. Each year, this event seeks to fill the gap of Salesforce events in the Central Valley and does so with grace and ease, bringing together CenCal Salesforce users and connecting them with admins, developers, and managers all over the country (and world)!

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Bitwise Industries specializes in custom software development, Salesforce implementation and administration, and Contact Center-as-a-Service. Our technology professionals have deep experience applying cutting-edge technology solutions to help entities of all sizes navigate the technology landscape to find solutions to optimize their operations.

This post was written by Amber Carpenter, Jr. Copywriter for Bitwise Industries. When she’s not watching old-timey movies like Titanic for the first time, you’ll find her debating whether there was enough room on the piece of wood for both Jack and Rose. Also, she feels strongly that Fabrizio should have lived.

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