Cindy Mata

Cindy Mata expresses herself creatively through so many mediums: fashion design, ceramics, and even metalsmithing. She applies that creativity to the generative world of programming. Since high school, she has been coding constantly, pushing her own boundaries and providing opportunities to other members of her community. Rising from Major League Hacking (MLH) hackathon attendee to hackathon organizer, Cindy has brought her creative mindset and dedication to each of her roles.

In the summer before her junior year, Cindy joined Girls Who Code and instantly clicked with coding. A mentor there told her about hackathons and how they could expand her horizons. She jumped on the opportunity, joining Bytehacks NY, an all-women-identifying event in the fall of 2018. The whole experience inspired her. She and her team stayed up late and woke up early to finish their HTML/CSS website. She says, “We would show off our Twitter API (the coolest thing ever for some 16-year-olds to figure out) and ultimately won an MLH prize for the best domain name (Grief Relief). It was amazing to feel like we accomplished something and didn’t go home empty-handed.” The energy and potential to create and grow was addictive to Cindy, and she’s never looked back.

Electrified by her first hackathon, she signed up for TechTogether Boston in her senior year, which she calls “a life-changing experience.” She and her team attended workshops, developed a fantastic project, and fully immersed themselves in the community.

During her time as a student at New York University, Cindy’s participation in hackathons led her to organizing her own. She strived to recreate the amazing experiences she had at hackathons for others. Whether fundraising, advertising, or directing, she has given back to the hacker community in myriad ways. Some of her achievements include serving as marketing director for TechTogether New York Fall 2021, sponsorship director for HackNYU Spring 2022, co-executive director for HackNYU in the spring of 2023, and planner for MLH Pizza Fund events from 2022-2023. Much of Cindy’s appreciation for hacking comes from how much she enjoys community events. For example, at Hackcon 2022, she bonded with other organizers while eating s’mores, sitting around a campfire, sleeping in a cabin, and eating her first cronut.

HackNYU 2022, one of the events she helped organize, brought in over 800 participants and created a buzz throughout the hacker community. Many participating hackers were featured in their local newspapers and media outlets for carrying the torch of tech’s future. Cindy saw how inspiring hackathons can be and how many people they can affect. Though Cindy’s focus has shifted away from computer science—she majored in Cinema Studies and now works in Marketing and HR—her dedication to the hackathon experience has stayed strong.

Cindy Mata is an excellent example of how hackathons can draw people into a new community. She loved attending hackathons so much that she went on to organize them and link others to resources even as her career interests changed. Her passion and drive have paid off, not just for herself, but also for those lucky enough to attend her events.