My Conference Speaker Journey to NSSpain
The NSSpainXIV conference took place last week on September 17–18th, 2026 and I gave my very first public speech.
Talk acceptance 🎉
Whole journey started with a very surprised and unexpected email from the NSSpain organizer, Luis, at Wed, Jul 22, 12:20 AM just before falling asleep. Of course, I didn’t sleep well after getting this email 😂
It was:
I say unexpected because after a 10-month job search period (I’m still in a search if you’re looking for a talented 8+ year iOS Engineer you can always hire me!), imposter syndrome and learned helplessness hit me really hard! Especially because of the non-deterministic local companies acting disrespectfully by applying a “ghosting” strategy! At least, most international companies send you an answer by mentioning the rejection reason like “we don’t provide a relocation/visa support” or “we decided to freeze this position now” or “Deeper articulation of testability principles and scalable code design.”, and you feel yourself a bit valuable and more human. Believe me, I found myself in this horrible shitty situation with at least 5 out of the 15 companies I interviewed, so far.
Anyway, after dealing with that disrespectful, shitty situation, getting accepted to the NSSpain conference really lifted my spirits! 🌱
Schengen Visa 😤
Next shitty process for me was getting a schengen visa which applies to the non-EU citizens like me as a Turkish passport holder. Since Spain is one of the most touristic destinations especially in summer, it was really hard to find an appointment from the intermediary visa application center! I still don’t understand why Turkish people are super willing to go to Spain for their summer holidays since we have exact same beaches and wines in Izmir 😋. I tried getting an appointment for 5 days straight and gave up instantly, then I sent an email to the Spanish consulate in Istanbul by explaining my special situation kindly. Next week, on Monday, I got an email which says “collect your documents for a cultural visa type and be at the doorstep of the visa application center on following Thursday at 09.30 AM”.
Navigating the visa process while between roles was stressful. I ended up submitting a huge amount of paperwork (more than 50 pages of documentation) just to prove my intentions were strictly to speak at the conference and return home.
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Surprisingly, the Spanish consulate in Istanbul processed and approved my application in just 4 days. I highly appreciate their efficiency! 🎉😎🙏🏻🇪🇸🇹🇷
that super introvert, quiet, and a shy child…
As a super shy and quiet kid, twenty-five years ago, when I finished first grade, we threw a big party to celebrate learning how to read with my classmates. I remember each of us stepping onto the stage, holding the microphone, and reciting our memorized poems. We also dressed up in traditional outfits to perform folk dances. Believe it or not, I was part of the team doing the Greek Sirtaki! 🤣 I first felt the stage adrenaline just over there when I was 7 🚀
After two and a half decades, before my NSSpain talk, I always imagined myself with shaky hands, my mind completely blank, and sometimes I stutter over the first few words and have to just push through it. Literally and literally those things never ever happened! My anxious brain was catastrophizing once more! It went very well! I managed my nervous system during the talk even though sometimes it tried its best to trigger my anxiety and shake my voice but I didn’t allow it. More, I even drank water during my talk 😂 (Yes, that means a lot to me). Another concern for me was the timing since every speaker has 30 minutes of speaking time and 5 minutes for Q&A, “what if my talk doesn’t take around at least 20 minutes?!”. It didn’t happen as well and my presentation took 24 minutes + 1 question. Yesss, another fear for me was getting a question. What if I couldn’t give a proper and reasonable answer or “what if I couldn’t answer it at all?!” Our beautiful host Daniel Steinberg ❤️ asked me if I want a question and I answered “yes, I want!” without a doubt. I even got a question and I believe, I answered in a quite reasonable way in front of the 214 attendees + 20 speakers + staff 😎
In the end, it was a really really good experience. After my presentation, attendees asked me interesting questions and shared their own knowledge. Through all of this, I gained confidence in my skills and I learned how to create a not bad presentation. I feel super confident to apply to other conferences by improving my presentation skills and giving the beautiful AppleOS community a lot more.
Another life goal unlocked! 🔓
I’d like to thank Matthew Cassinelli, Pietro Messineo, and other speakers and organizers who were super friendly, enthusiastic, and dedicated throughout my entire experience at the NSSpainXIV.
See you next year!
One more thing…
Here is the NSSpainXIV Journey VLOG:
