First Hackathon: My Experience

A month ago I participated in my first hackathon and it was amazing!

As a data science boot camp graduate, I was eager and excited to put my skills to the test and join a major league hackathon. Due to the times we live in now, all the hackathons were virtual which had its cons and pros. One of the positive aspects of virtual hackathons was the ability to join one anywhere around the world! The negative aspect of it was, it can be more intimidating and confusing due to the seclusion especially as a hackathon newbie.

Alas! I found AthenaHacks, a hackathon for women, femme, and non-binary inclusive, dedicated to filling in the gap in tech. I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate women’s month than by participating in a hackathon that supports and empowers women in tech. The hackathon was held over the weekend with a 24-hour time frame to complete a coding project.

The Virtual Experience

Closer to the event, I was given access to AthenaHacks discord server and numerous channels within it. The channels felt like actual rooms in a physical environment that had different functions. Some of the more key channels were dedicated to rules information, links, event announcements, live sessions, general questions, introductions, and my favorite, the team building channel.

After taking a tour around the discord server, it was time for me to enter the introductions and team-building chat rooms. Even in a virtual environment, entering those rooms felt like the first day of school. The chat rooms were filled with people who not only you never met before. To make things even more awkward, you have to mingle with everyone without meeting them face-to-face. Initially, I felt a little dubious about introducing myself as the chat was filling up introduction pitches that listed skillsets and accomplishments. Thankfully, my moment of self-doubt was short-lived. I realized we were all here for the same reason and even though it was a competitive event, it was also about collaboration. I remained my authentic self by giving an awkward introduction that included my skills I can bring to the table along with my love for video games.

The team-building chat room was an interesting experience. We were selling our skills and experience while recruiting at the same time. It was Friday afternoon and the coding event was kicking off Saturday morning. The rush to find a team was apparent. Towards the end of the day, we formed a group of four and I could not have asked for a better team.

We wanted to work on a project with a focus on mental health. After a couple of hours of brainstorming, we decided to create a mental health app designed to help children cope with stress, lack of focus, low-self esteem, and anxiety. I was very excited to work on my first web application with software engineers and developers. For the next 24 hours were were all feeling excited, motivated, stressed, tired, and illuminated. Most importantly, we were all very supportive of each other which is something we all need a little more during these unprecendent times.

The Project

To implement the web app, we used HTML, Javascript, CSS and bootstrap. For storing user signup and login information, and mood responses, we deployed it to Google Cloud’s SQL database using python’s flask. The graphics were done using Adobe Creative Cloud. It was an amazing experience seeing our idea come to life especially with a team that complimented each other’s skills and worked relentlessly for 24 hours to make it happen. Not only did I learn new skills, but I also met some wonderful women who shared and confirmed my passion. Although we did not win a prize this time, we accomplished what we wanted if not more.

You can view our Github Repo here.