My Hack4Impact Story
The University of Illinois has many engineering clubs on campus and even more non-major specific Registered Student Organizations, so it can be hard to figure out which group you should join. Even within the CS department, there are countless opportunities to get involved, from Reflections | Projections to SAIL, Women in Computer Science (WCS) to ACM Special Interest Groups. Freshman me tried them all out, but the RSO I ultimately stuck to was Hack4Impact.
Hack4Impact initially appealed to me simply because it was unique from all the other RSOs I was in. I knew these people worked on cool projects directly with nonprofits, and it seemed like they were creating meaningful work with use cases that extended beyond a final project for a coding class. Plus for some reason all my teammates on the marketing team of Reflections | Projections were also in Hack4Impact. A lot of the other groups I had previously tried out revolved around preparing for an event that happened once a year (such as the Reflections | Projections conference). At Hack4Impact, each team partnered with one nonprofit every semester and created finished products that were directly usable by the nonprofits. Unlike the apps I worked on in class for final projects that sat on GitHub untouched after the project deadline, I was able to see the projects I contributed to within Hack4Impact being used in real-world settings. It felt good to write code knowing that it would be useful for others. The projects I worked on as part of Hack4Impact also provided me with valuable technical experience which I applied to interviews and during internships :)
After two semesters of projects as a software developer, I took over the role of community director when the previous one graduated. Covid turned the entirety of the school year virtual, but we still found ways to run remotely. We had conversations about accessibility within tech, mental health and wellness, the reliability of mainstream and social media, and personal values and actions around sustainability. We also had fun — we streamed The Social Dilemma on Netflix Party, hosted a Spicy Ramen Challenge over Zoom, and mailed everyone painting supplies for a virtual painting session one afternoon. Within Hack4Impact, there are many roles you can take on if you want to try something new. Product manager, technical lead, and product research are just some of the pathways to explore within the organization. Whether you start out at Hack4Impact as an academy member, product designer, or software developer, there is always space to grow and explore.
Despite being a collegiate club, Hack4Impact turned out to be more than just a student org. It is a community of people passionate about creating something impactful and long-lasting; a community that uplifts and inspires; a community built around the marriage of tech and social good. There are Hack4Impact chapters across the country (and one in Canada!), each one run slightly different, but with similar end goals: to help further nonprofit and humanitarian missions through tech. It underscores just how popular and important the sector of social good tech is.
I joined Hack4Impact for the tech and stayed because of the people. Hack4Impact truly shaped my college experience: from honing my technical skills to getting advice for job hunting, establishing a space for personal and professional growth, and creating friendships filled with endless laughter and joy. I loved my time in Hack4Impact and I know you will too, so apply to join the group this Fall. Recruitment begins this August :)
