Why Spectra?
If you haven’t heard, Spectra 4.0 is coming very soon! The virtual hackathon will take place on August 8–9 2020 and we want you to be a part of it.
Visit sospectra.com to register as a hacker or mentor!
What is Spectra?
Spectra is all about creating a safe and inviting environment for those who identify as female or other underrepresented genders in the tech space. We focus on learning new skills and connecting with like-minded people to help these young participants advance themselves in the tech world.
Spectra believes it’s important to host events like these to help students and new grads get comfortable using skills they’ve learned to make their cool and creative ideas tangible.
Spectra has held 3 hackathons before Spectra 4.0, and are glad to be continuing the mission of creating an environment that fosters a tech space for underrepresented communities.
So, what was it like in previous years? Spectra 3.0 was held at Make School in San Francisco, where 200+ people composed of tech professionals, sponsors, mentors, and hackers met to create some amazing hacks! Here are some testimonials from two of our Spectra 3.0 winners:
“From the cleverly organized setup of the hackathon venue to the wide array of workshops led by experienced individuals — not to mention the tons of snacks and swag available to participants — it was clear that the Spectra team had put an incredible amount of time and effort into organizing this event. I went into Spectra 3.0 expecting to just have fun and try my hand at building something new with a really low expectation for winning anything because I was just used to it from previous hackathon experiences. In particular, I sadly had a lot of experience running into confidence-crushing bugs and obstacles that prevented me from finishing my hackathon projects on time. But over the course of the day, I became more and more immersed in the Spectra experience through the MongoDB workshop, vibrant Spectra staff, and meaningful connections made with fellow hackers. At the peak of the hackathon, I ultimately ran into a frustrating hurdle figuring out the Fitbit API, which I had never worked with before and which made me want to completely give up the project I was working on, but with the Spectra mentors’ encouragement and patience, I managed to get my web app working. It was at this point that I was too invested in my project to back out, and I ended up staying for judging despite the fact that I had originally planned on leaving early to avoid heartbreak. Finding out that I won the Fitbit API prize category was a moment I’ll never forget — with it being my first hackathon win, it helped me learn to believe in my CS skills and my ability to learn and grow, and I’m so much more motivated to go into hackathons with confidence in myself. I’m super thankful for the Spectra staff’s thoughtfulness and creativity in organizing this entire hackathon experience. :)”
-Thu Nguyen, Best Use of Health/Fitbit API
“I began my journey in tech during my sophomore year at UC Berkeley. Being surrounded by such smart, intelligent students who had been coding for years before college I was quite scared and intimidated. Spectra 3.0 was my first hackathon. As an all girls hackathon, I felt so much more comfortable to be open about my intro level technical skills, what I was interested in working on and ask the simplest questions that I’d probably never have the courage to ask at a larger hackathon. At Spectra, I got to engage in some great conversations with mentors and sponsors and I met two great team mates with whom I built a wellness iOS app and together we were able to delegate roles and act on our strengths. Make the most of it, don’t be afraid to ask mentors and sponsors all your questions (about the project or even career-wise) and learn as much as you can!”
-Sneha Somaya, Best Mobile Hack
Why Should You, Your Friends & Your Family Attend Spectra?
At Spectra, you’ll be able to engage in workshops (i.e. introductions to machine learning and UX), talk to tech professionals, collaborate with other hackers, get some swag, and most importantly walk away learning something new or having completed a project!
It’s no lie that technology is extremely ubiquitous nowadays, yearning the growth of its presence in many industries that didn’t actively use it before. So whether you’re a techie or not, learning the tech space can be really helpful for creating solutions to problems you care about.
Spectra’s hackathons are beginner-friendly, and non-competitive!
Spectra’s roots lie within leveling the playing field of entering the tech industry. Your background, college, major, gender, and race should never be a reason for your skills to be turned away.
Regardless of if you have never touched a line of code or if you’ve coded a few apps, Spectra welcomes you! We hope to provide this unique space for hackers that identify as non-binary or female. We want our hackers to know that they have a place in tech and have the power to yield technological solutions in any industry. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! We’re here to change the status quo, and we are so grateful for all of our sponsors, hackers, and mentors that have shared this sentiment.
We are bummed to not be able to bring this event to you in person, so our team is working hard on creating this hacking space virtually! We hope that you can find it a space to socialize, work on a project, and learn something new in this unprecedented time.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at hello@sospectra.com!
