Code to Give 2025

Imagine a hackathon at the end of a term - just as you think you are done with all the midterms and assignments and prepare yourself mentally for the upcoming finals, here comes another hackathon. Sounds like a perfect timing? Think again and make the hackathon start on Thursday and last till Monday. Maybe not bad yet. Now add 2 midterms after it on Tuesday. Now the stakes are high. And for the cherry on the cake, make the first midterm at 8:30 am and the second midterm be for a course with a historic B average.

The above description sums up my weekend - juggling a hackathon project with a big team and preparing for one of the hardest courses at McGill. But in retrospect, it was all worth it since the hackathon was not an ordinary one. It was Code to Give by none other than by Morgan Stanley!

Since the hackathon focuses on partnering with a non-profit company and solving their pain points, I knew our final project was going to be primarily UI and front-end driven. It was a good learning experience to be doing and leading front-end development for the team. The biggest challenge/decision was switching from Next.js to Vite because of our updated project expectations.

On the final day, my team and I had a great walk to the Morgan Stanley office while preparing our demo speech in the middle of the 0-degree Celcius winds of Montreal. The office was big, lavish and aptly decorated for the evening event of the hackathon’s final presentations. What followed was some great ideas and pitches made by the different teams. A perfect end to a wonderful event!

Despite the obstacles we faced as a team, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire process. From working with a bigger team than what I have worked with in the past to brainstorming ideas and executing the entire project online, there were a lot of firsts. The great teammates with a mix of different backgrounds made the entire process lively despite the long duration of the program.

After a fun and memorable learning experience, it is now back to the exam season. Until next time!