by Marianeli De Leon
This article was updated at 10:27 PM on Dec. 9.
Hack4Impact, a national organization teaching members skills like coding to help non-profits demonstrated several student-run projects from this semester Monday night.
Each group presented a prototype of their design for the nonprofit they’re helping. These prototypes were shown from coding tools like GitHub, Facebook-owner React.js, and a Javascript based site called MERN stack.
Surabi Ramamurthy, a junior computer science major and executive board member of Hack4Impact, said that the chapter focuses on teaching members how to use the MERN stack but also uses other technology.
“The executive board creates teams of students based on their skill set and experience and designates a project for each team,” Ramamurthy said.
Hack4Impact is a national student organization that teaches its members technological skills such as coding to assist the public with various tasks such as creating websites for non profit organizations.
The projects presented by the student groups are meant to assist various organizations such as 2Unstoppable, YKnot Inc., and the Sustainability Solutions Group.
Miranda Song, a sophomore computer science major, worked alongside YKnot, which provides mentoring programs to high schoolers near D.C., to create a mentor application site. It would allow potential mentors to apply for a position in the organization through the group’s applicant portal.
“We used React.js on the frontend and Google Firebase for the backend,” said Song. “We also used various Application Programming Interfaces, and of course GitHub to track changes and merge our team’s code.”
Song hopes that her group’s project will be finished and presented to YKnot by the end of the semester.
Hack4Impact has only been at UMD for a year, said Ferzam Mohammad, a 5th year computer science major and secondary education minor. The group is still getting used to everything being in person instead of virtually, Mohammad said.
“We’re hoping to continue to improve and involve more students in the future so that working with our organization can be as enjoyable as possible for all the parties we’re involved with,” said Mohammad.
Featured image: Students look on during a Hack4Impact meeting. Photo by Marianeli De Leon.