Over spring break, I spent 36 hours in a row coding a full-fledged website, meeting other girls passionate about technology, and learning new languages and skills. This amazing experience was at my first hackathon, TechTogether Boston, Boston’s largest all-female & femme non-binary hackathon. The event brought together an incredible community of girls with diverse backgrounds and unique interests to produce a truly empowering weekend. I was able to form a team with a few girls from across the US and together, we developed a functioning website, attended workshops where we heard from inspiring leaders, and experienced all the engaging activities the hackathon had to offer.
The website that we coded using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript exemplifies a more approachable, accessible, and affordable way to address mental health. We were inspired by the lack of resources available for people struggling both in our immediate communities and all over the world. The website contains resources for situations ranging from urgent matters day-to-day frustrations, offering a one-on-one online chat or relaxation techniques to the user. We named the website “Vent” as a representation of the way that users express their emotions and achieve the necessary help and relief they seek through the program.
This weekend was not only inspiring to me because of our polished final product. I was able to learn how HTML, CSS, and JavaScript interact to create a complete website, participate in a surprisingly competitive and very strategic cup-stacking challenge, work alongside accomplished mentors, and hear from many motivated women who are enthusiastic about STEM. This experience further strengthened my passion for STEM and drove me to become more involved in closing the gender gap in technology. Events that lift up women and encourage them to succeed like this hackathon are essential, and I hope that I can contribute to this effort as much as possible. Learn more about our project at this link.
