My First Hackathon

3.5 years ago, I participated in my first hackathon and it changed my life. This is that story. Having no coding experience and with no idea what a hackathon was, I wasn't sure what to expect. But I had lots of fun, learned many new things, met some cool people, and somehow won second place! Most importantly, this hackathon got me interested in computer science and technology, so I did more and more hackathons (14 and counting), and now I'm a Computer Science student at the University of Waterloo.
If you've never participated in a hackathon, I recommend trying it out to learn, meet new people, have fun, and get free stuff!
If you're reading this, comment: propulsion 🚀
Also, if you want to hear more hackathon stories, let me know in the comments!
Sub Count: 551
#hackathon #computerscience
Music:
steezy prime - explore

[@nicholast]

drop a like for more hackathon stories 😎

[@goodhuman1]

Yeah give us some more stories ❤️

[@hurricanetwister24]

cant wait :o

[@aracoixo3288]

😎 k

[@johnkevin6134]

You saying that you have to talk to people, introduce yourself and such? That, I think, is the most relatable thing to me. Not participated in any hackathons, though but social interactions are very challenging

[@whocares8567]

Girl carried you guys so hard her entire lineage will have inherited back pain, arthritis and muscle atrophy

[@nicholast]

😂

[@Omar-gr7km]

frfr xDDDD

[@KF-zb6gi]

Loll XD

[@tofjackn8376]

isn't muscle atrophy caused by lack of movement of the muscle

[@damianbhatia4501]

lol I was the HTML guy in your group! glad i came across this video 😀

[@nicholast]

Yoo Damian! Long time no see haha

[@PrinceLobo-es8kl]

Lol I was trying to see if there are members of those team in comment section

[@lightdropp]

Bro i have the same name as yours. Cheers

[@Bad_Chad]

This was cool to come across. Really motivating stuff.

[@voizek]

@@asdasdadsv tf lol

[@osmokm9182]

Wow...You really hold a grudge against the girl who rejected you 😂

[@nicholast]

😤

[@fraction37]

"Oh, wait. I don't know how to code. So, I did homework or something." hahaha soo good

[@nicholast]

had to blend in somehow haha

[@tireg47]

Know your strengths 😂

[@sameershrestha7818]

That girl who carried yall is the mvp. You owe her a lot Nicolas.

[@nicholast]

s/o to her

[@lukesun7241]

Epic

[@bhabiecorleone3764]

He doesn’t owe her shit? Lol

[@keeIie]

@@bhabiecorleone3764 me when i dont get the joke

[@infected9693]

Haha sacchai hota?😂

[@heetshah4490]

Anyone who has stickers on their laptop knows what they’re doing 😂

[@nicholast]

Professional hackers 💻

[@huhwhatwho7895]

More stickers -> Someone who wants to look like a Programmer / Hacker Less stickers -> ;)

[@RawBert]

@GigaramsYT truer

[@engine_man]

I get free stickers all the time and just give them away. Maybe it's just me but I like the uninterrupted pristine metal feeling of the laptop as I pat it after it's done a good days job.

[@parthaprateempatra4278]

@@engine_man I completely agree with you. I haven't given away my stickers, but I love the raw metal body. Maybe someday I will use a sticker but peel it out in the evening 😂.

[@huonsmith]

Whoever that graphic design girl was, she did a damn good job. I would legit get that app if it existed, it actually looked really clean

[@my-vn8nw]

"...so therefore my background is in ... business" 📈 so funny!!! I nearly snorted 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@nicholast]

hahaha

[@robdeluksschmidt]

This was really funny and such a wonderful story. I really enjoyed it! I am a third year CS student and I can relate to so much here, except that I am much older and most of my stories are probably more embarrassing and have less of a happy ending. Regardless, I would love to hear more about your journey. Keep up the great work Nick!

[@nicholast]

thanks! glad you enjoyed :)

[@likeohmygeerawr]

I was doubting going to my first hackathon this weekend but I'm glad I came across this video. I'm trying to remind myself that it's ok to not know everything, it's uncomfortable but it's for the sake of growth!

[@lily-roseday2912]

Same exact situation with me! I’m going to my first hackathon this weekend as well and this video single-handedly convinced me it was a good idea lol

[@grogu_2003]

How did it go???

[@floguo]

Also 14 hackathons is pretty impressive :o kudos to that + your gr 10 win

[@nicholast]

haha thank you :)

[@haroon420]

I also get intimidated by people with stickers on their laptops.

[@nicholast]

they are pro hackers

[@SadKris]

My first hackathon was in 9th grade, where it was secretly just a CTF. We placed higher than any other group of students in the years the teacher had taught. I got a stupid T-Shirt, and lost my girlfriend to aggressive keyboard typing

[@SadKris]

Should’ve made the teacher have the t-shirt say “I placed higher than any of my other classes, and all I got was this lousy shirt.”

[@GkTriesToBeOk]

How was it as an overall experience?

[@lesshumanmoredead]

relationships are temporary, programming skills are eternal

[@osenazl]

@@lesshumanmoredeadpurr

[@eavyeavy2864]

"i dont like to speak" *Bring 3 older people (including a girl) under his banner*

[@nicholast]

LOL

[@edabbas]

Bro, you’re a great storyteller, amazing experience, thank you for sharing!

[@lu-codes3737]

this is such a cool and inspiring story!! it's quite cool that you took part in your first hackathon so young. wow, such a feel good story

[@0xSingularity]

Just found your channel yesterday, and these videos are hilarious. Thanks bro!

[@nicholast]

Glad you enjoy them :)

[@natashajchen]

Wooo so inspiring! 🎉 Crazy how one event can change career prospects

[@nicholast]

i know right!

[@fluxtheory3136]

I'm guessing she called it momentum because she wanted to use the magic of compound interest to help achieve financial independence. To keep your "momentum" by not spending any money.

[@theodayo1025]

Genius

[@KF-zb6gi]

Yep, i think designer is usually more sensitive to what majority user likes

[@epijaxixiwoaa9836]

What a great inspirational story before I enter the world of programming👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@eehyunjae]

Great storytelling and I appreciate the included bloopers! Keep it real~

[@sebipoiana1768]

That girl didn't deserve you in her team. Many CS students miss the bigger picture in these hackatons and decide to partner up only with those who have the experience, but they don't realise that asking for experience as a coder is the same as an employer rejecting 'them' for not having enough. People should have retrospective in terms of 'hmmm, how will his background be useful in this project?' - they may find out that some skills are transferable to the task at hand and that you can even aim for the top! Great Story Nic! :)

[@aytekinfamily8088]

man your videos just making my day! thank you

[@manasrastogi504]

Hey buddy, I end up watching your video before my hackathon and from that inspiration I also moved forward and also end up getting the 2nd position in my First Hackathon. It was nicely described by you and helped me deciding many turning points. Thank You!

[@ifraikram4301]

Bro what project did u build? Can you tell something about ur journey in Hackathon project

[@CaptainCookie1572]

The story was really good! Congrats for the first win!!

[@nicholast]

Haha thanks!!

[@darynatkach1743]

Amazing video! It actually motivated me to join a few online hackathons even though I barely know anything.

[@nicholast]

That’s awesome, hope you enjoy them!

[@cru2006]

I'm doing a hackathon with Hack3 in a week and the fact that no one on your team knew any coding is encouraging to me because I don't know a ton lol

[@philmanyeung]

Reminded me of my first hackathon! Great video :)

[@sierrapangilinan9241]

I'm going to my first in-person hackathon next week! I've competed in two virtual hackathons prior to this, but I'm looking forward to work with others face-to-face and making new friends. ☺

[@lyrisio]

thanks man, there's a hackathon event in school but I'm kinda intimidated but this vid pushed me to join

[@Night-Owl89]

I love your voice, so calming.

[@nicholast]

thanks :)

[@user-zq2py5tm8k]

I really enjoyed watching this video. Thanks Nicholas.

[@georgialive]

"free swag" I suddenly want to learn how to code, wonder why? 😂 (thanks for the video btw, I was thinking about trying to go to some hackathons, but I am not to experienced in coding, this was a confidence boost thanks!)

[@blackraven6049]

Damn, just noticed I watched this while wearing my university's hackathon's shirt.

[@nicholast]

what a coincidence!

[@lusion7800]

551 subs two years ago. Now at near 150,000 that's amazing growth congrats.

[@isaacgonzalez4606]

fake it till you make it is my life motto

[@nicholast]

Wise words

[@luciouswong1848]

Your story truly motivates me to participate in the Hackathon event at my school, despite the fact the I just know a little bit of coding. :D

[@nicholast]

that's awesome to hear, let me know how it goes!

[@sandraviknander7898]

Nice to see that estimates people’s skill by the amount of stickers on their laptops. I wonder what that says about my evaluation of my self having no sticker on my MacBook 😂

[@lidestudios5094]

Woah, nice story! I placed third in my first hackathon - I still feel proud xD propulsion 🚀

[@nicholast]

Haha nice job 🚀

[@haoli6403]

So a group of conmen tricked their way into victory.

[@hybridgamer4105]

@Vladimir Peter damnn that was deep

[@meep7895]

ive only done 1 hackathon so far as a sophomore cs major and i pretty much spent that hackathon just inputting data into a json file. it was definitely an interesting experience and while i didnt get much coding done at all, i think i learned a decent bit about web dev with apis and all

[@potatoPayload]

Man, you're an inspiration! Today I am going to my first hackathon, and I too don''t know anything about hackathons. I am going for the free food. Let's see what happens : )

[@-CE-Hazeerabee-S]

Nice 😍and fun story 😅..... And now I am practice for my hackthon.....

[@nawm8]

Hey my dude, what mic do you use? Hella pleasant quality. Good vid!

[@nicholast]

thanks! its the Boya by-M1 Lavalier Microphone

[@zara-jm4vw]

the app looked really good tho i think ur team maybe won bc of that, the girl who did the mockup put in work tho! 🤞🏾

[@nicholast]

yea she carried us big time

[@rewrose2838]

Man, I wish I knew about hackathons and stuff in grade 10 😂 we're all just messing on photoshop

[@xiongbenjamin]

Awesome story bro. Thanks for shsring

[@floguo]

Wooo new video!

[@Nita-dp1mt]

I'm going to a hackathon tomorrow with no coding experience and this video was definitely reassuring :')

[@nicholast]

how'd it go?

[@Nita-dp1mt]

@@nicholast Won one of the top prizes! I had a great team haha it was fun

[@moyeajinomisanghan8160]

Keep the great videos coming 👍

[@nicholast]

thanks, more coming soon!

[@jamesmontis488]

yea i cant wait for hackathons to go back in person

[@nicholast]

online hackathons just aren't the same 😥

[@amankushwaha8180]

i will definitely attend next hackthon i was really feared that's why left my first chance

[@Omar-gr7km]

Lotsa funny little moments/tidbits in here ahah. That grudge though 🤣🤣🤣🤣 Anyways, nice moral of the story: When doing a hackathon, focus on the concept and mockup; worry about implementation, code, etc if time (+skills) allow. Even if you have the coding chops, do a mockup first.

[@boltlessOffical]

I just recently got in a hackathon team for the second time this year

[@shammahkyssando2191]

The free food thing is major 😂

[@AmpleMirror]

You inspired me to learn coding "again" 😂. Thanks btw can you please give everyone some tips for beginners like what language should we choose and where should we start if we are still in school

[@BobbyFisaher]

Maybe python can look up Corey Schafer he has a beginner playlist

[@kashisharif2720]

i remember attending my first hackathon and every oneeee from my class and ... had a surprised pikachu face

[@descartes451]

Great video!

[@hassanismailtech]

Wow thanks for this Motivation

[@amandinelevecq6664]

You are very lucky... I had a pretty bad experience in my first (and only) hackathon, which is a pity. We were a few people who couldn't code (I have a major in maths though), so nobody wanted to team up with us and ended up together. We had a data set to analyze, and couldn't do more than some calculations in Excel, nobody wanted to help. Very bad.

[@DappInsights]

I feel bad for you and your team ...

[@farihaanjum2106]

I like how the reason for you going to hackathons turns out to be the excellent food :p

[@elianaalzate03]

Wow, this is such a cool coincidence but I also joined my very first hackathon which was organized by AlphaHacks last summer, and our team won 2nd place even if none of us knew how to code😂😂 It was an online hackathon though haha, but it's still really cool to hear about your in-person hackathon experience! Hope I can join one of those face-to-face events too someday🙏

[@nicholast]

LOL WHAT A COINCIDENCE 😂 and yea hopefully you get to participate in an in person hackathon soon!

[@isawnothing_]

Now I'm gonna apply for a lot of Hackathons

[@Ayushkumar-sc5ix]

the sadest thing about cs for me is the jobs and hackathons become more online

[@nicholast]

Yeah online hackathons just aren’t the same :(

[@murphybed7919]

You are awesome

[@hiwotbayu9550]

Hey, I am a student applying for a hackathon this Saturday. To be honest we don't have any experience and also knowledge for this competition. The only thing that we have is self confidence and we believe in our self. As I said before the competition is this Saturday and we are trying to learn online courses but it's not enough. Your video motivates us a lot and thank you so much and if you can we need your advice.

[@miguellm03]

how has it been??

[@gloriamaaji8253]

It's the "because of the food thing" for me😂

[@Mizuki_2008]

Really I swear I really needed this.. Today I got to know about hackathon And I am pretty Interested in it but I don't know how to code 😅 but I am interested to learn it and I have to participate. Wish me luck 🤞🏻❤ Thanks for your story. Im also a grade 10 student who does not know how to code 😂

[@DrunkAndPissedOff]

so wholesome

[@dima1815]

Man funny videos you should add like some time spaces after like a joke then just excuse it with something like “but… anyways.” And also new subscriber keep it up 👍

[@hassanamir2838]

How did you then learn coding over the next couple of years and make it to Waterloo

[@dragon1353]

That's so cool. So I'm into tech and all. The thing I never liked about technology was coding. Let's say that I just don't understand it more then I don't like it lol. I tried python for a while and made a calculator after following a video on Yt. I'm saying this because I'm interested in your thoughts in all of this and want to hear how you got in coding. Thanks a lot if actually made it to the end of this lol. Great vid!

[@nicholast]

i mainly got into coding because i liked making stuff. sure, it was hard it times, but i was determined to build what i wanted and seeing the final product was an amazing feeling!

[@dragon1353]

@@nicholast Appreciate the response. Thanks!

[@Techjustcode]

Very nice video cool 👍

[@HawkeGaming]

2:59 You actually have to do that in AP computer science.

[@stephenlin5995]

Great video.

[@nicholast]

thanks!

[@durianjaykin3576]

Oh ny god, i wish someone also carried me in hackathons lol

[@cindaellas]

You encouraged me to participate in the next hackaton 🎉

[@absolutewisp]

Hackathons are like "Time crunch: The Experience"

[@wideblue4231]

"Why do these people keep talking about animals?" 🤣🤣

[@vic_710]

My first and till now only one was in 9th grade where programming wasn't even involved lol. They had 5 total topics and we took the basic "Best out of Waste" topic and somehow our 3 person team won with a bootleg fire alarm made from reverse wiring a specific water heater part (iirc it wasn't even reverse wired we just said it was 💀) we got a trophy + 3.3k (rupees) each for a stationary type shop in our city. Overall pretty fun experience

[@felipemedina7738]

Nice story bro How did you find all this hackathons ?

[@AnshumanAtrey]

Great video bro. My first Hackathon was HacktoberFest2021 in class 11th which was online and I got t-shirt and lots of stickers(without coding) and I really loved it. (sadly in India there are not much Hackathon taking place and also to get good collage you have to be top 1000/1000000 in JEE exam, that's why I am planing to give SAT and move to US for Undergraduation) I would love to get any advice from everyone.

[@81_monish_roy74]

Actually that's a smart idea but in India hackathons are also frequent if you follow well specially sites like geeks for geeks, coding ninjas, etc as u may know the holy grail of programming! U will find a lot of free hackathons in sites like these.

[@parijatbosebose1538]

i am a cs student from india.. idk about anyone but i surprisingly find you so funny.. the way of your talking.. youre not even trying to be sarcastic or funny but your straight face joke make everything so funny

[@andreidumitrescu6656]

I swear I won my first hackathon and a 70 euro mouse whilst being in the exact same situation

[@nicholast]

haha congrats!

[@kennyly23]

Subtle free food thing! I would for the same reason!!

[@nicholast]

free food is the best food

[@BambooOnFire]

Free stuff good stuff

[@yak654]

did you put the wealth simple stickers on your laptop afterwards? 🤣

[@nicholast]

maybe 👀

[@aydtsang]

ahh, the legend himself

[@nicholast]

no thats u

[@harshith_takkala]

Is she that girl, made the mockup at the hackathon ?? Nice to see you !

[@gypsysniper8219]

"and also the free food thing" LMAO

[@rileyhowley7113]

Crack up vid bro!

[@_toph]

From the background music I can tell you listen to Daniel Caesar. Nice taste in music!

[@cungthinh1040]

bro got a revenge

[@xyzzy64]

food and free stuff yep, that's a hackathon alright

[@nicholast]

best part

[@BoredTAK5000]

I’ve never gone to a hackathon because I thought that you would need to hack stuff

[@siddarthrock]

Bro you inspire so much👍

[@nicholast]

glad to hear that :)

[@rifkiarza6590]

Aight, so the moral of the story is to pray that you get 1 person who can win the competition by his/her own skill as your team

[@anowarjradwan7288]

He: Obviously I give some inspiration BEHIND this, His mind : bro are you sure 🤣🤣

[@AliNategh]

Bro got carried by the team, ggs

[@navjotsingh2457]

Great