Project #How I Got Here
In August of 2020, I had the opportunity to participate in my first ever hackathon. I had always wanted to participate in hackathon, but felt intimidated because I do not know how to code. Then I came across a post from Girls In Tech SF about their “Hacking For Humanity” event and the opportunity to work with 3 amazing non-profits in the bay area fighting against homelessness. It felt like a return to my Challenge Detroit days, packed into a 24 design sprint.
It was such an amazing opportunity to meet so many phenomenal women. Winning was pretty cool too!
Check out the full devpost project.
The Challenge
Three non-profits participated in this event and each selected their own design prompt. As a team, we decided to partner with the Bay Area Rescue Mission and ideate around their prompt of, “How might we engage the Millennial and Gen Z population in the battle against homelessness and increase donations?” We decided that an interactive, social campaign that generated empathy among its users would be the best avenue to reach new donors.
My Role
I acted as Product Manager throughout this experience, leading the team through ideation, scope of the project, prioritization of work, and ultimately the create of our Prezi presentation, as seen above.
What I learned
Some teams just work.
In the midst of the pandemic, it had been awhile since I had met new people or worked with a new team. This was an amazing experience to randomly come together and work with people very different from myself. We were all united by our passion for the project and desire to gain experience as we switched careers. I am very lucky to now call the 3 women I worked with on this project friends.
It’s okay to have no idea what you are doing.
A common theme in my life learnings, but especially true in this area. I had no expectations or real coding experience, but I relied on my team and we were able to create a really fantastic product in 24 hours and walk away as winners.
I’m most passionate when I’m working on something for a good cause.
If I’m being completely honest, I was a little nervous to give up a weekend for this project. I hate late nights and really value my routines. It was easy to put all of that aside to help this non-profit and their incredible mission. I learned to challenge my assumptions and am definitely a better person for having worked on this project.
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