Hack the Northeast: Behind the Scenes
In the fall of 2019, a group of hackathon-loving friends came together to create the largest, most accessible event possible for any student. That ambition blossomed into Hack the Northeast, which today is the largest northeastern hackathon open to high school and college students.
Since our beginning, Hack the Northeast has always retained its original spirit of community. This past summer, we held an online hackathon where participants connected with over a thousand other hackers, mentors, and judges.
WHY ORGANIZE A HACKATHON?
We asked our team members why they joined Hack the Northeast.
One of our favorite parts about hackathons are their “fast-paced” and “educational” nature. At HTNE Beyond, we encourage everyone to complete a project during the time allotted. We not only provide a safe and collaborative environment, we are inviting speakers and mentors who represent these communities to inspire the next generation of innovators.
We also aim to “empower the next generation of developers and spread awareness about new, rising technologies” through letting anyone, anywhere participate. Through holding workshops at all levels and emphasizing working in a team, our event is the place for beginners and experienced hackers.
One of our youngest members “enjoyed the team environment that hackathons brought and wanted to see what it was like working as a team to reach a long-term, impactful goal” by providing this access to other people. We will be broadcasting everything onto an online live-streaming platform for hackers to watch and interact remotely. As long as you have a computer and internet connection, you are welcome to create with us.
EVENT PREPARATION
Our team is pretty large, with 16 people working on several different committees:
📜 The logistics committee takes care of the event details, which includes securing venues and prizes and recruiting mentors, workshop hosts, and judges! They make sure that the hacker experience is as best as it can be for all of our awesome attendees.
🖼️ The graphic design committee is responsible for everything a hacker, participant, sponser, or viewer might see. They create all the promotional material and assets for our brand. They strive to keep a consistent sense of energy and identity in our work.
📢 The public relations committee works on outreach and the public image of Hack the Northeast. They are working on a campus ambassador program, community partnerships, and maintaining our social media accounts.
🖥️ The technology committee creates and maintains our site and live streaming sites. They ensure that everything is running smoothly and is accessible to anyone online.
💲 The sponsorship committee secures our funding! This goes toward our huge prize pool, merchandise, and food for in-person events. Reach out to hello@hackthene.com if you are interested in supporting us.
We work all year to bring you the best events we can; all of our members work for hours each week from contacting relevant parties to drafting up designs. We reconvene at our weekly committee meetings to update each other on the progress we’ve made and plan out the next week.
But we do more than just work. At our whole-team meetings, we play games like skribbl.io to promote productivity and stay connected.
GETTING THE WORD OUT
Our months of preparation would be meaningless if we didn’t have a way to let people know what we’re about. So, we partner with other STEM-related student organizations to mutually democratize STEM education.
We also wanted to find a way to get our hackers and readers involved to expand our community, so we opened up our Campus Ambassador Program. You could become involved and even join our team!
As a representative for Hack the Northeast, students can:
- Get connected with professionals in the tech field
- Earn exclusive prizes
- Gain volunteer hours and marketing/PR experience
The responsibilities? Let people know about us through social media, clubs, and even hosting your own events!
We are still accepting rolling applications from high school and college students at https://hackthenortheast.typeform.com/to/W6M5xScM — but the spaces are filling up fast. We encourage anyone to apply even if you have little experience. After all, you could step into our tech-driven world with the help of our team ~
As always, we hope you can blast off with us 🚀
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out on https://hackthenortheast.com!
