Day: March 10, 2025

How did we find ourselves at the Hack@Davidson weekend?

Somewhere between challenging myself and the desire to one day tell my sisters that I participated in a hackathon, I found myself registered for the 2025 Hack@Davidson. Another major reason why I ended up signing up was that a friend reached out to ask if I wanted to team up. On top of that, the supportive co-workers at the Hurt Hub kept encouraging me to do it.

And I believe it’s important to mention that I had no background in coding. And a big part of why I was able to constructively participate in this hackathon was because there was a No-Code Track. A huge thank you to the organizers for their inclusive decision to include the track.

So what is Hack@Davidson?

Hack@Davidson is an annual student-led hackathon at Davidson College that brings together participants from both within and outside of Davidson for a weekend of brainstorming, creativity, and innovation. 

This year, Hack@Davidson brought together 88 participants, more than 50 of these were from outside Davidson, and 32 tech projects that were created over the course of 36 hours. The hackathon included various tracks, such as:

• Best AI Hack
• Best No-Code Hack
• Best Accessibility Hack
• Best Msg2AI Hack
• Best Cybersecurity Hack
• Best Games Hack

Check out some of the 2025 projects and winners!

On the final day of the event, participants presented a demo of their projects to a panel of judges, who then decided which teams deserved to win in each track. Several organizers from Major League Hacking (MLH), sponsors, alumni, and speakers generously lent their resources, time, and expertise to support the weekend.

Thank you so much to the 2025 sponsors: https://hackatdavidson.com/#sponsors

So as a No-Code Hacker, what exactly did we do at the hackathon?

I met Natalia Descombe ‘26, during one of the Davidson Entrepreneurship Speaker Series events. We connected then and later grabbed tea. This year, we reconnected and decided to team up. Neither of us had participated in a hackathon before, so from the beginning, we agreed that we were here simply as two young Wildcats drawn to business—learning and bonding along the way. Although we had no prior experience with hacking, we knew we were creative thinkers. Confident in our ability to identify problems and design solutions—entrepreneurial, as Natalia calls it—we decided to give Hack@Davidson a shot.

Seoyoon Song ‘26, another brilliant-minded friend of mine, later joined us, and just like that, we had our little trio of innovators.

We began brainstorming our project idea on Friday night. From the start, we all agreed that we needed to tackle a genuine problem. So, we spent the entire night and initially struggled to settle on a problem and decided to sleep on what we had brainstormed. The next morning, we finally landed on Post-Harvest Loss (PHL). We chose this issue because, based on our research, it was clear this was a significant issue across the world, especially in developing countries. Personally, I strongly advocated for this issue because I had grown up in an agriculturally rich community and had a deep understanding of the impact of PHL.

The solution we “coded” was SEED (Sustainable, Equitable & Efficient Distribution). SEED is a community-driven marketplace that empowers and connects farmers and local consumers to buy, trade, sell, and donate produce, reducing food waste and improving food security.  Deep down, we knew it also stood for Sleep, Eat, Exercise, and Drink—one of our earlier ideas that we had to let go of. I hope you’re picking up something from this about compromising: when pivoting to a final idea, it’s okay to find connections and borrow from previous inspirations or ideas.

So what did I take away?

Spending 36 hours with my two new friends taught me a few valuable lessons about teamwork and tech innovation:

• Every perspective, skill, and effort counts. Natalia’s exceptional design skills gave us a fire PowerPoint and logo. Seoyoon’s knowledge of Bubble.io made it possible to build a no-code prototype. My understanding of farmers’ experiences in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially Kenya, plus strong storytelling skills helped SEED find roots. We also appreciate all those who provided support in one way or another, including stopping by to give us moral support.
• Division of labor isn’t always equal—And that’s okay. To claim that all three of us contributed the same amount of time or effort in building SEED would be an outright lie. We worked together, no doubt, but the reality is that a significant portion of the work involved designing and prototyping—both skills I have yet to build. Personally, I couldn’t contribute as much to those technical aspects, so I focused on shaping our project’s narrative—our why, the problem we were addressing, the challenges we faced, and our vision for SEED. At the end of the day, we didn’t split the work equally, but we all gave our best.

As I reflect on this weekend, I keep thinking about a phrase I recently came across from Your Business Venture by Linsey Mills ‘92 — technology is a disruptor. It’s a powerful tool that has the potential to disrupt multiple industries simultaneously. Looking back at our thought process before landing on SEED, I remember considering so many different directions we could take. The possibilities felt endless, and our own solution itself was going to disrupt a lot of things, including FinTech, agriculture, and education.

I also got to network and meet brilliant people. I recommend looking into the mind-blowing projects that were submitted. Additionally we received  an invite from one of the attendees to present at an upcoming tech showcase, such amazing connections!

Women in Tech brunch

Another key part of the hackathon was the various workshops available to participants. While I attended a few, one that stood out to me was the Women in Tech Brunch, an open session designed to inspire women in technology and tech entrepreneurship. Sponsored by Women in Computer Science, Hack@Davidson, the Hurt Hub@Davidson and the NC IDEA Engage grant program, this casual roundtable discussion featured accomplished women who have made their mark in the tech industry including:

• Norah Avellan-Senior Managing Director, Head of Legal Data Privacy & Cyber at Sabre
• Rebecca Rice -Senior Software Engineer at Danti
• Robin Pugh-President and Founder of DarkTower Cyber intelligence

Here are some of my key takeaways from the panelists:

• Tech is not limited to those with a traditional tech background. There is space for people from diverse disciplines to contribute meaningfully to this industry.
• The value of mentorship. Not just in receiving guidance but in creating mutually beneficial relationships. As mentees, we should strive to add value to our mentors, whether by offering genuine feedback, promoting their work, or simply being intentional about the connection.
• Success in tech is about continuous learning. The goal should be to build a strong skill set and remain relevant to your team, project, or organization and be willing to learn, pivot or grow.
• Diversity in skill sets can be an advantage. Norah Avellan, for instance, drew from her military experience to complement her expertise in cybersecurity, information security, and law.

Sitting across from these incredible women, I felt a rush of inspiration. You sure can be anything you want!

Why I would do it again

Would I participate in another hackathon? Absolutely. Hackathons push you outside your comfort zone, force you to think critically, and provide an incredible learning experience. They help you foster meaningful connections, expose you to new ways of thinking, and spark ideas that could turn into real ventures. And you could win prizes—we won Best No-Code Hack, and each of us took home a brand-new Kindle!

To anyone considering a hackathon or any new experience: Just do it. You will learn something, meet someone, or discover a new interest. 

A huge congratulations to the Hack@Davidson organizing team. You executed an amazing event with great collaboration, communication, and event management skills. Well done!

Adiós, and see you at the next Hack@Davidson!