A team of four Fort Hays State University students placed second and won a $20,000 award at the Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Wash. during the Be U Hackathon Friday night. The Hackathon was a student competition for app development sponsored by the United Athletes Foundation and Microsoft with a goal of promoting diversity in the field of computer programming.
Student teams from 12 universities across the country arrived Wednesday on the Microsoft campus, which houses nearly 45,000 employees. Groups toured the Microsoft Visitors Center and were able to try out new interactive games and applications.
“It’s truly an amazing experience,” said Brittani Tran, team member. “We were not expecting to place at all, there were so many good teams.” But, she said, what pulled them through was teamwork.
“It was all teamwork,” Tran said. “We relied on everyone’s strengths and used it to our advantage.”
The team was accompanied to the competition by Mirta Martin, FHSU president.
“I am just so proud of our students, so very proud,” Martin said.
“This team, under the leadership of Dr. Dmitry Gimon (assistant professor of informatics) exemplifies the people of excellence who make Fort Hays State University a destination of choice.”
Special guests in attendance were UAF President and Executive Director Reggie Howard, formerly of the Carolina Panthers and Miami Dolphins; UAF Vice Chairman and two-time Super Bowl champion Ray Lewis; and Thomas Mensah, the man credited for patenting fiber optics.
“It doesn’t matter what you look like, where you’re from … . It matters what you do,” Mensah said, to the FHSU team.
On day two, Hackathon teams were invited to the Microsoft Garage to spend the day finalizing their presentations. The Garage is a Microsoft building full of creative spaces for meeting and brainstorming, all equipped with the technology needed to work efficiently.
“That was my favorite part,” Tran said. “It was great to see the Microsoft workers and watching what they do every day.”
Students presented on the third day of the hackathon. Each team was given seven minutes to present to a panel of six judges. App development ideas ranged from gaming to social media. The FHSU team’s app was URHere, a system to allow indoor navigation, similar to GPS, in large commercial buildings such as hospitals, malls, and airports.
The full team was made up of Josh Gale, Agra senior; Nick Hoffmann, Allen, Texas, sophomore; Eric Stumon, Oakland, Calif., sophomore; and Brittani Tran, Liberal senior.
Congratulations to the FHSU team!! I’m a Microsoft employee at the Redmond Campus stopping by to say you made me proud. I raised my family on a farm in rural Kansas. Always remember anything is possible.
Thank you Jeanne. we really appreciate your congrats! and for your tip? noted!
Thank you so much!