My Major League Hacking (MLH) Hackcon 2022 Experience
Tags: mlh, majorleaguehacking, mlhhackcon, hackcon
Published: 2023-07-03 16:12:57

Hi, nice to meet you! My name is Grace, and I participated in 2022 MLH Hackcon. As a part of 2022 MLH Top 50 class, and event organizer for eHacks last year, I was invited to participate in Hackcon. Now, you might be wondering what is Hackcon? On the official site, the definition:

“MLH Hackcon X is an in-person conference and retreat that takes outside New York City and takes place at a summer camp organizers skills to build their communities and hackathons.

Hackcon is the only conference where hackathon organizers and hacker community leaders can come together, learn from each other, and build relationships. This is a unique opportunity to meet community leaders in person after the past two years of virtual collaboration.”

This year, (I believe it was around 400) students who organize hackathons and lead tech initiatives in their community from across the world gathered to develop their leadership skills in bettering their community organizing, whether it be for hackathons, community events and more. (I met a few individuals from Slovakia and India in addition to Canada and the USA)

We learned skills in making hackathons and events more inclusive, and diverse, how to iterate and improve, pitch to sponsors, build better teams and host more effective meetings, amongst other topics. Of course, I also met a lot of inspiring and amazing peers (younger and older than me, both offering a different perspective) who I now look up to, and who have given me a lot of insight into the experience of being a software engineer intern, and working in other areas of tech.

I love participating in conferences and community gatherings like this, because everyone comes from unique backgrounds and walking around new york city and exploring new areas is super interesting me. 2 weeks ago at the impact labs summit at columbia university was my first time travelling alone in a different country and it was an eye opening experience. Again, at that summit I was able to learn a lot and meet really cool people. I was also able to get a lot of inspiration and that article is also published if your interested in learning my experience as well.

Now, onto the key takeaways:

-> Although often as comeptitive as some as can be, it can be argued that the goal of hackathons and other events like these is not just to win, but to learn, be surrounded by a supportive community, and have fun

->when making inclusive events, it is important to consider what else students can get out of it beyond hacking (although hacking is an important part) and to make / have options for individuals to pick what to do

-> Pre—event ressources can make more inclusive events because often the fear of uncertainty can often make or break the experience for first-timers and beginners due to the overwhelming demands of learning new languages, frameworks in addition to making a new project in a short period of time

-> Guidebooks / youtube q&a prior to large events can help

-> If you do nothing, nothing changes. I was at Governess’ workshop and not only was it inspiring to hear her story, but being able to learn about how to get and receive feedback constructively, and improve after events has definetly helped me to develop frameworks and consider more factors when it comes to anything really. Hackathons or life, being able to prioritize and make decisions with the longterm vision in mind are important, and it was great to learn about the types of factors to consider, and how to approach those conversations especially the ones that may be hard to have with yourself and others.

When getting Feedback, take it constructively. Talk to other people during AND after events and ask for feedback.

If actions don’t match your perspective of yourself, then you should reflect on that — why, and how you can align it towards improving next time. prepare early.

-> At hackathons, Emotional support is also important. (As worded on one of the slides- People are going to cry.)

->Not always about winning , community / learning is just as important.

->Celebrate completion, not just winning. Little wins.

-> Quality (Retaining and developing participants) is just as important as quantity.

-> Time + preplanning are important. For example, If your going to host an event during exam season, you might anticipate a dip in participants/organizer availability.

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Ive also had a lot of conversations with other individuals at the conference, and although Im not able to share those, I would like to highlight some general things that were cool.

ability to meet with MLH coaches, and icons from the tech community
I had read their bios from the mlh top 50 description and I was blown away by the commitment, contribution, and ambition of all the people there. These individuals inspire me to think bigger, work harder, and not give up when things get hard.

support systems, positive affirmations and clear action items for making more inclusive spaces
As a women in tech, its hard to find that representation in school. I was at cabin “Mouse2” and my cabin mates were really kind, and it was great to hear about their experiences in tech, and hearing about their experiences from their respective universities and tech communities. There were also workshops on this topic, where learned on how even wording and how we address different audiences can play an important role in drawing in the right people and retaining them.

speaking with other youth organizers
with the pandemic, it has been hard to participate in in person events, and the ability to connect with other peers has been quite limited. This experience enabled me and others to chat with each other, and help each other out. whether it be about school, careers, or hackathon organizing, this event gave space for youth to be genuine and have a safe space to get support and form connections, whether it be directly or indirectly.

with the rise of social media, there are many youth who are leveraging it for positive change. I was able to meet with a few. It was also mindblowing to think about how just 2 weeks ago I was watching their video on a particular tech concept and next thing I was talking to them in person. As someone who also loves sharing my experience and helping others, I hope to also develop those channels to bring more clarity.

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