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Technica-lly, Another Success

At World’s Largest Hackathon of Its Kind, Female and Nonbinary Participants Aim to Change the Face of Tech

By Maryland Today Staff

University of Maryland freshmen Sage Leone, left, of Elkton, Md., and Genevieve Sampson, right, of Severna Park, Md., take part in Technica on Saturday at the Armory.

Photos by Stephanie S. Cordle; Karlie Kloss photo via Karlie Kloss/Instagram

University of Maryland freshmen Sage Leone, left, of Elkton, Md., and Genevieve Sampson, right, of Severna Park, Md., take part in Technica on Saturday at the Armory.

Tired yet inspired, more than 900 coders from around the country and beyond stepped into the daylight yesterday after completing 24 hours at the world’s biggest hackathon for women and nonbinary people.

Run entirely by Maryland students, Technica opened with remarks from Liz Wessel, co-founder and CEO at WayUp, and closed with a talk from supermodel Karlie Kloss, an advocate for girls in computing. In between, participants innovated and collaborated, and attended workshops on topics such as design thinking, geotracking and mobile augmented-reality development.

They stayed awake with giveaways of succulents and snazzy caps and breaks for body art and Maryland Dairy ice cream. They demonstrated their all-niter efforts for prizes in categories including “Best Hack for Social Good” and “Best Use of Public Financial Data.

And when it was all over, they left with swag bags of sheet masks and fuzzy socks along with new energy to pursue careers in technology and computing.

Renee Yang, press coordinator for Technica, said organizers the huge turnout was “extremely shocking," but they had to cap registration at 928 due to the venue’s limitations.

“At the same time, we couldn’t be more grateful for this overwhelming response, and we look forward to expanding toward the future,” she said.

Scroll down for scenes from the hackathon:

The cycle of hacking, resting and back to hacking was in full swing for the 900 female and binary participants at Technica on Saturday.

The cycle of hacking, resting and back to hacking was in full swing for the 900 female and binary participants at Technica on Saturday.

Catoctin High School junior Addison Eyler, left with yo-yo, and senior Jean Pembroke, both of Thurmont, Md., participate in Technica for the second time. "Technica is really fun, there is a lot of good energy. It gives us an opportunity to be with girls who do what we like to do,” Pembroke said.

Catoctin High School junior Addison Eyler, left with yo-yo, and senior Jean Pembroke, both of Thurmont, Md., participate in Technica for the second time. "Technica is really fun, there is a lot of good energy. It gives us an opportunity to be with girls who do what we like to do,” Pembroke said.

Aasta Frascati-Robinson, left, of Connecticut, works with Drithi Iyer, a graduate student at George Washington University, to code software that works with internet-connected light-up shoes for kids.

Aasta Frascati-Robinson, left, of Connecticut, works with Drithi Iyer, a graduate student at George Washington University, to code software that works with internet-connected light-up shoes for kids.

Annalise McLarnon, standing, a junior at Temple University, attended Technica for the second time this weekend.

Annalise McLarnon, standing, a junior at Temple University, attended Technica for the second time this weekend.

Karlie Kloss makes silly faces with participants of Technica

Karlie Kloss—supermodel, entrepreneur and advocate for girls in computing and STEM—gave the event's closing remarks and got to catch up with a few scholars from Kode With Klossy, her coding camp for girls.

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