Meet our Co-Directors

Welcome to Hack Western 8’s first blog post! We sat down with our co-directors, Alyssa Yan and Justin Zhang to ask them about their experience with hackathons, tips for hackers, and the vision for the upcoming year.

Alyssa: Hey! I’ll be one of the co-directors this year. I’m heading into my fourth year of school in the fall, and outside of school and extracurriculars, I live outdoors. I love all things camping and hiking-related- definitely planning for some big trips this summer!

Justin: I’m the other co-director this year, and this will be my 3rd year on the team! I started out on the design team for Hack Western, and it’s been exciting to step up and try new things every year. Outside of all this, I’m also a videographer — I’m trying to get back into shooting short videos!

Favourite Hackathon Memory

Alyssa: My favourite hackathon has to be Hack Western 6 (unbiased, of course!). I came into university not knowing what tech was, much less what a hackathon was (I genuinely thought people were coming together to hack into something!). I volunteered during the event, and those 3 days completely changed my life.

I met some of the most incredible mentors who shaped the next 3 years of my university experience. Also, they had the chance to connect with experienced and seasoned hackers.

By the end of the chaotic weekend, I had consumed an absorbent amount of donuts, bubble tea, and fried rice, and I walked away knowing that tech was something that I was interested in and hackathons were the place to start.

That event changed my perspective of what it meant to be “someone” in tech, and little did I know that shift would change my perspective on tackling university and post-grad life.

The Upcoming Year

Justin: Running our first virtual hackathon last year definitely taught us a lot about the process and best practices. It was an exciting experience, trying to understand how we could put on the event and meet the needs of all attendees. In the end, I think we did an incredible job with the resources and time that we had, and we also learned a ton along the way.

This year, we have many new initiatives and ideas in the pipeline and a new perspective on things. Since the event is likely to be virtual, we’re not constrained by time and space anymore, which opens up a ton of new opportunities that we can’t wait to take advantage of!

Beyond the event, I’m also so excited to be working with a fantastic group of people. The team this year is so talented and just bursting with cool ideas!

Keep watch for announcements on our social media channels as we continue to roll out our brand and plans for the year.

Inclusion in a Virtual Environment

Alyssa: Here are some things we plan to implement this year:

• Recognizing the reality of Zoom fatigue and finding ways to reduce eye strain.
• Scheduling workshops before the hackathon to ensure ample time for learning and more exclusive time for hacking.
• Creating accessible tools and sites to support all attendees. Our web team has some big plans!
• Increasing our outreach efforts to engage historically underrepresented groups in hackathons through campus partnerships. For instance, taking a more focused approach to involve women in tech, the LGBTQ+ community, people of colour, and first-generation university/college students.
• We are also hoping to partner up with other organizations and student groups across Canada. We know that if we combine our resources, we can have a far wider reach to students across the country!

Hack Western 8’s Vision

Hack Western aims to help students of all backgrounds excel in the tech community by providing the necessary resources, mentorship, and platform for students to innovate, think outside the box, and build their ideas.

This upcoming year in our 8th iteration is no different. We are excited to bring more events, workshops, and fun components into the hackathon, so stay tuned on our social platforms!

Getting the Most out of a Hackathon

Justin: To make the most of your experience at the hackathon, understand what you really want to get out of the event. Are you here to learn? Network? Or just build something cool? At Hack Western, our priority is to ensure that everyone can find value in attending, no matter your background or experience. Take advantage of the posted schedule to plan out what activities and workshops you actually want to attend. There’s always so much to do, and having a clear goal will help you and your team stay on track!

Another underrated strategy is to take advantage of sponsor booths. Hackathons are an amazing way to meet the people that are interested in hiring YOU! Personally, I’ve met a lot of amazing people at these events and even would credit one of my internships to a hackathon!

Even if you’re shy or are nervous, don’t worry! Everyone here is willing to hear you out and help you grow. It’s amazing what a simple conversation can do to learn more about the field, find the help you need, or even secure an internship!

Final Thoughts

We are beyond stoked for Hack Western 8 and have unbelievable events, workshops, and resources lined up. Over the summer, we will be using this blog to share what’s happening behind the scenes. Stay tuned for stories from our web team and their hectic week before Hack Western 7, and interviews from winners of Hack Western 7!

Connect with Justin and Alyssa!

Let’s get in touch!

Email: hello@hackestern.com

Twitter: @hackwestern

Facebook: Hack Western