Nicole Brown   •   over 2 years ago

First Time Hacking

This weekend, I participated in my first hackathon ever. At 51 years old, with a background in education, empowerment and entrepreneurship, I was feeling green and quite optimistic. For me, the experience of being in the hackathon began before I got to the campus. @#$%, I was so eager that I showed up at the main campus on the first day of the event, only to learn that the actual location was only 10 minutes from my apartment. Once I arrived at Geffen Hall, I was vexed. I was disrespected by a woman who was assisting a visually impaired man across the street while we disembarked from our taxi. The disrespect continued when my daughter and I entered the building. We were ignored by several people while the person with the least experience made his best efforts to assist us. Then when someone else approached the table a registration member joyfully assisted the next woman who entered. I dare not say that any of this poor treatment came from us being of a different culture, yet it could occur that way. However, I am a perpetual optimist so I went forth to see what the hackathon had to offer my daughter and me. We entered a room with people from a multitude of demographic backgrounds which felt inviting. Once I was matched with a team, and we got to work, everything eventually turned out. I will say that I learned many things about myself as a learner, leader and now hacker. My greatest takeaway is to keep forging forward. Keep forging forward into new, unfamiliar spaces.