My First Hackathon: Sankeerth Boppana — Director of Day-Of Coordination and Events
I first heard about hackathons my senior year of high school. At the time, I only knew C++ and a bit of Java, which discouraged me from going at first, since I felt like I didn’t have much to offer. Also, I was skeptical of going because I thought it was a highly competitive environment. A friend of mine reassured me that I didn’t have to be proficient in a language, and said that the primary purpose of a hackathon was just to learn and not compete.
Soon I went to my first hackathon, which was HackRU, to try to make a project with a few friends of mine. We were all very new to programming but we wanted to go for the experience. Our idea was to make a mobile app game similar to Flappy Bird. We started working on it and we came across many obstacles, trying to fix one bug in our code caused a lot more. This is when I realized the hard work and determination that it takes in order to make a simple app, which caused me to appreciate the works of other people. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to finish on time, but we learned a lot along the way. I learned about how to use APIs, how to test your code and how to work in a team to find out the most effective path to take in the process of working on a project. I learned from my failure and I was glad that I went because of all that I learned.
My biggest takeaway from my first hackathon was the importance of teamwork and a good work ethic. I was also really inspired by the other teams’ projects, and that motivated me to pursue computer science.
Since my first hackathon, I went to HackRU two more times, and decided that I wanted to help organize such a great event. I became an organizer for the day-of coordination and events team in the spring of 2016. The next semester I became a co-director of that team. On another note, the stuff I learned at HackRU — both as a hacker and an organizer — helped me obtain my first internship.
I would encourage people of all backgrounds to come to a hackathon because hackathons are not just for those already in computer science. First time hackers should learn the importance of collaboration and know that winning a prize shouldn’t be their first concern. They should focus more on the learning experience and making a conscious effort to connect with other hackers and build your network. You can share your knowledge and also ask for help if you need it.
Hackathons are a great stepping stone to grow professionally and personally, and we want as many people as possible to have that opportunity.
Sankeerth Boppana is the Director of Day-Of Coordination and Events for HackRU XII. He is a sophomore at Rutgers University, majoring in computer science with a minor in economics. He really likes memes and wishes the meme-a-thon was not just an April Fool’s joke.
