All-nighters and technology are part of most teenagers’ lives. For dozens of area high school students, one particular late-night event will give them a taste of the techie marathons that are becoming increasing popular on college campuses.
Andrew High School in Tinley Park will host District 230’s first hackathon, Hack230, on April 29 and 30. The all-day and overnight inventors’ marathon will bring together students from the area whose creative sparks will ignite as they create new apps, programs, websites or other solutions in the realms of health care/biopharma, energy efficiency or human services. The “hack” in hackathon doesn’t mean breaking into government servers or committing other cyber-crimes, but rather the quickly inventing a solution to a real-world need.
Cathy Wojcik, who teaches an app development class at Andrew, is leading Hack230. She said she was inspired by a CNN episode of Lisa Ling’s “This Is Life” series titled “Silicon Savants.”
“She was showing a hackathon, and I’d never heard of one,” Wojcik said, noting that she’s since learned hackathons are common in colleges, and are beginning to take off in high schools. Wojcik talked with the students in her app development class about hosting a local hackathon, and they agreed it was a good idea, she said.
Wojick began assembling volunteers who can be on hand as mentors as teams of teens work through the day and night on their ideas. The students don’t need programming experience, only a laptop, pillow, and sleeping bag. Food will be provided. The students will spend the day and night in Andrew’s gym from 9 a.m. April 29 till the end of the closing demonstration ceremony, which will start about 10 a.m. April 30.
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Hack230 is designed to give students a taste of what a college-level hackathon will be like. Across college campuses, businesses are involved in hackathons as a way to recruit new employees with fresh ideas and skills.
“(Businesses) want young creative minds,” Wojcik said. “This is the future for them to get jobs. It’s resume-building, and personality-building.”
Warren Township High School was among the first to host a hackathon in Illinois, said Rico D’Amore, director of education technology for the Gurnee school. D’Amore worked with the company Major League Hacking to bring a 26-hour hackathon to his campus in January. Major League Hacking provided some equipment and a mentor. The Warren Township event drew about 100 students, about 40 of whom were girls, D’Amore said, which was encouraging to see in a field traditionally dominated by men.
The Hack230 is a little more DIY, and Wojcik said she is still seeking more sponsors, mentors, and donations of food for the event.
“I’m hoping that this is an experience for the kids that gives them a taste of a hackathon,” Wojcik said.
Warren Township junior Elizabeth Carpentier, said the hackathon at her school was a great experience, even for people who aren’t even sure they’re all that into technology.
“I’m interested in technology, but I don’t know everything,” Carpentier said. The event was a good way to team up and learn from others. Her team designed a service to help people communicate more easily with their doctors after they receive a diagnosis.
“There were several kids who said tech is not their main thing. … I think it opened their eyes,” said Carpentier, who plans to study music therapy and may minor in something more technology-related.
“I wasn’t too sure what to expect. … It was very open and accepting. It was really fun.”
Hack230 is free and open to any high school student in the area. More information, registration forms, and sponsorship forms are at https://sites.google.com/a/d230.org/hack230/home. Students may register as teams or as individuals who will be assigned a team at the event. Space is limited to 150 participants, and registration is due Friday .
Paige Fumo Fox is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.