&hacks X raised the bar!
William & Mary’s annual hackathon, &hacks, took place from October 4-6, 2024, setting a new standard for future hackathons. From Friday to Sunday afternoon, students across all majors and multiple schools came together to create interdisciplinary projects that address real-world challenges. With William & Mary’s unique identity as a top liberal arts school, &hacks encouraged participants to go beyond coding, inspiring them to become problem-solvers, leaders, and innovators in tech, showcasing their “&”.
This year saw record-breaking attendance, with over 250 hackers, the highest turnout since pre-COVID, and 29 project submissions, all viewable at https://andhacks-x.devpost.com/. Hosted in Swem Library and Small Hall, &hacks featured 20 workshops led by students, alumni, and campus organizations, 7 major events—including an industry panel, career fair, and research poster session—and more, all organized by a dedicated volunteer team. For the full schedule, workshop list, and prize details, visit https://go.wm.edu/6lxBNt.
Participants enjoyed free catered meals, &hacks merchandise, and competed for over $4,000 in prizes across 12 open-ended challenge tracks, such as “Best Data & Maps Hack” and “Best Health & Wellness Hack”. This year, &hacks also expanded its partnerships, collaborating with the W&M Institute for Integrative Conservation to propose specific sustainability challenges for hackers to tackle, furthering the institute’s crucial conservation work. &hacks X also secured sponsorships from top companies such as Accenture Federal Services, Northrop Grumman, JFTaylor Inc., and Marathon Consulting. Support from the W&M Computer Science and Applied Science Departments was also invaluable to the event’s success.
More than just a hackathon, &hacks is a cornerstone of W&M’s computer science and technology community, fostering collaboration and creativity. “There are so many people across different departments that are really fun to work with, and it’s great to have that interdisciplinary experience,” said one hacker and volunteer. “I come for the social aspect; &hacks is a coming together of the computer science community,” shared another hacker. Beyond expanding their technical skills, &hacks provides students with an opportunity to work on projects they are truly passionate about. “I think the hackathon is a great opportunity to sit down and work on a project that is not exactly what you'd work on in class – something you feel really passionate about. It’s a great opportunity to explore new tools and learn what it's like to work with other people,” noted another participant.
The event is entirely student-run, led by a team of seven undergraduates from William & Mary’s Association for Computing Machinery (ACM): Jackson Kubin (ACM Chair & Technology Lead), Carlo Mehegan (ACM Vice-Chair & Marketing/Outreach Lead), Emmanuel Sampson (ACM Social Media Director & Sponsorship Lead), Wilson Lin (Finance Lead), Xuzhong Wang (Logistics Lead), Vedha Navudu (Chair), and Libby McClough (Chair). When asked why these students dedicate so much time to organizing &hacks, Chair Libby McClough shared, “I think there are so many problems in the world that can be solved by using the power of technology in creative ways, and I hope &hacks is an incubator for some ideas that will go on to improve people’s lives.” ACM Chair & Tech Lead Jackson Kubin added, “I’m really proud of the way we engaged with our alumni this year as mentors, speakers, and judges. Nearly all of them came up to us on their way out to say how impressed they were by all the projects, and that they were happy to see that the computer science community at W&M is even more vibrant than they left it.”
Hackers also had the exciting opportunity to hear from Joe Soultanis, the founder of &hacks, during the opening ceremony as the keynote speaker. Joe shared his journey with founding the event back in 2014, and expressed his amazement and gratitude that the event has grown so significantly. He mentioned that founding the event “changed his life”, and helped him land his past positions as a Software Engineer at leading companies.
This year, &hacks was co-located in Swem Library with TribeCTF, W&M’s first-ever cybersecurity challenge. Participants tested their skills for $5K, $3K, and $1K prizes, and had the opportunity to compete in both events, sharing their passion for technology under one roof.
Looking ahead, organizers are focused on supporting project development beyond the hackathon, collaborating with the W&M Entrepreneurship Hub. &hacks is offering an additional $500 donation to projects that participate in the Entrepreneurship Hub’s Spring Tribe Ventures program and plan to connect participants with relevant on-campus organizations to help turn their solutions into reality. Be sure to join us next year at the &hacks 11 opening ceremony to hear how the projects from &hacks X have developed!
&hacks 11 is scheduled for September 2025 and will be hosted in the newly built ISC4, the future home of W&M’s School of Computing, Data Science & Physics. Organizers are aiming to expand the event, attracting more hackers from colleges across the Mid-Atlantic region, bringing in more company recruiters, and encouraging even more project submissions.
We would like to extend our immense gratitude to all of those at W&M who supported this event, including but not limited to, Dr. Evgenia Smirni from the W&M Computer Science Department, Dr. John Swaddle from the Institute for Integrative Conservation, Ash Gonzales and Lisa Nickel from W&M Libraries, and all of those at the Office of Career Development and Professional Engagement, the W&M Entrepreneurship Hub, and the W&M Applied Science Department.
If you’re interested in supporting or being involved with &hacks, email computing@wm.edu for more information!
