Participate in a virtual hackathon to fight COVID blues

This past weekend (Friday night through Sunday) I took part in my first virtual hackathon. Run by Startup Weekend Silicon Valley Womxn, there were about 80 participants from across the world.

In these 56 hours, I interacted with more people than I had in the last 3 months.

I sent out surveys, cold-called potential customers, spoke with mentors, hackathon organizers, and my fellow participants. I worked through problems that were completely out of my realm of expertise (such as machine learning, sensors technology, manufacturing, and more.)

I will admit my social skills are a bit rusty after quarantining since March 2020. At first, these interactions took a lot of effort. But by the end of the weekend, I felt I had “oiled” my social and creative gears while making productive use of a cold, rainy weekend.

I look forward to participating in more virtual hackathons this winter as a way to enjoy human connection in these socially distant times. (Governor Inslee just proclaimed even stricter social distancing measures to be reevaluated in mid-December. Source)

Even though I will not be able to spend time in person with friends and family for the holidays, I can still find excitement and form relationships virtually.

Check out folk’s pitches here.

My team which included Lina Lakoczky-Torres and Annika Behnke focused on streamlining waste processing facilities.

Best & Take Care of Yourself,

Sarabeth