Grace Gong

Grace Gong overcame early challenges to blossom into a bona fide hacking influencer. Her compassion for the community is evident in everything she does, and because she wants to give back to that community, she continually shares her knowledge with others.

In childhood, Grace enjoyed expressing herself through blogs and would enthusiastically customize her website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Her first computer science class in 10th grade, however, dashed some of that enthusiasm. Because she felt alienated by that group, she dedicated herself to supporting the broader highschool community. She remembers, “lunchtimes were for learning new things, volunteering, or participating in student club initiatives that benefited the community.” Tackling social justice issues and school club administration became her priorities. She realized that she wanted to turn her challenges into lessons other kids could learn from, but realized that, to do so, she would have to confront her past discomfort.

Accordingly, in September 2020, she rejoined the computer technology community in her first hackathon, Wonder Women Tech’s Hacks 4 Humanity. She had an incredibly positive experience, feeling accepted, valued, and treated with patience and understanding. As a result, her team’s project won 2nd place! That welcoming community feeling was what she had been seeking, and she wanted to keep it going.

Hackathons kept her at the top of her technology game, but more important was the sense of pride and contribution she felt. She says, “I used to underestimate myself, [but] Hackathons were my way of meeting others, being able to apply the skills from the theory that I had learned in class to relevant applications that excited me (with large potential to make an impact!) and [they] opened my perspective to the world around me.” She had found her place.

She has attended many Major League Hacking (MLH) hackathons and enjoys the friendships she makes, the interactions with like-minded hackers, and the lessons she learns along the way. She has acquired both technical and people skills through her hackathon experiences. Many of the speakers at hackathons inspire her with their stories of overcoming obstacles like hers.

Community organizing is another strong point for Grace, one she thanks MLH for encouraging. As an events operations manager with eHacks, she has grown as a planner, teammate, and leader. She continues to explore her strengths and needs, and how she can use that knowledge in her tech journey.

With her “positive growth mindset,” she has channeled early hardships into making a positive impact. She started a nonprofit, Youth180, that supports middle, high school, and early university students and provides crucial resources to help them achieve their dreams. Today, her posts have surpassed 2.5 million views on TikTok, and she mentors numerous younger hackers, especially girls, counseling them on how to reach their technology goals. For example, she posts about opportunities for free learning certifications for Microsoft Azure courses and events for girls in tech, like RBC Code Crunch and Tesla’s Girls in Engineering Day.

By paying it forward, Grace has become much more than another hacker community member. She is a counselor, a source of inspiration, and a guide for others on their journeys.