VandyHacks is an organization dedicated to fostering creativity, collaboration, and inclusion within the Computer Science community (and beyond!) here at Vanderbilt University. Our mission is to build a strong and welcoming Computer Science community for all – regardless of background. We accomplish this by hosting an annual hackathon — a 36 hour software development marathon during which attendees think of an idea and build it — alongside hack nights, workshops, study nights, and building an organization of hardworking, engaged, and caring team members.
VandyHacks board consists of Vanderbilt undergraduate students who work to plan events for the organization in several different areas: Content, Design, Development, Hacker Experience, Marketing, Operations, and Sponsorship. Many board members are involved in multiple committees and contribute to a variety of tasks. All members participate in our General Board Meetings – where we discuss the large-scale aspects of the event and our organization.
Being on board means being a part of a rich network of peers and alum who drive for excellence, and spirit of inclusion and community that many continue to participate in after their departure from Vanderbilt.
Interested in applying for a Director position?
Descriptions of our director positions can be found here:
Content oversees the creation and teaching of workshops on computer science and hacking throughout the school year and during the larger VandyHacks event. Content members are passionate about teaching and know how to clearly explain a topic to both beginners and more experienced coders — past tutoring/teaching/mentoring experience is a plus. If you are looking for ways to engage a wide audience and share your love of computer science with others, this committee is for you.
Dev produces all of the technical infrastructure behind our event. Previous projects have included the VandyHacks application portal, the hackathon judging platform, the NFC check-in system, Slack and Discord Bots, and the tool we use to interview applicants to our board. For this team, having experience building real-world web apps and services is a bonus, but we’ll teach you what you need to know. Regardless of your experience, excitement, motivation, the ability to learn are critical components to your success. Check out our Github to learn more about the exciting projects being developed here at VH.
Design brings beauty to our humble organization. Crafting both the micro and the macro of our brand image, the design team curates the branding on our swag items, websites, and presentations, and designs all of our graphics for advertisement and publication. We are especially looking for people who know their way around Illustrator, have vector art experience, can design a great UI/UX for our software, and are looking forward to bringing some of their designs to life on front-end development projects. Being well-versed in one or more of these makes you a great fit for this committee, but anyone with a great eye for design and the tenacity to bring their ideas to life should consider applying to Design.
Hacker Experience is dedicated to building the hacker community both here at Vanderbilt and at VandyHacks events. HE polishes everything that hackers see, touch, and interact with, and help realize VandyHacks’ vision during all of the events. Members of HE are always trying to engage a more diverse audience and make sure that our events are fun and exciting by planning prizes, swag, presentations, and mini-events. Past HE events include a hand spa, karaoke, cookie decorating, and tie-dye. HE also coordinates the judging process for the hackers, and finds technical mentors to help hackers with their projects throughout the event. HE is looking for hard-working individuals with creative ideas about how to build and engage the community who also possess great communication skills and a love for the VandyHacks community.