my responses for the mlh top 50 application

1. What affiliations do you have with clubs, hackathons, organizing teams, etc?
   • I founded and served as President of Google Developer Student Club at Iowa State University, where I grew the club from 0 to 150 students. I've participated in over 25 hackathons ranging from university events to major competitions like ETHGlobal and Anthropic Builder's Day. I was also selected as the youngest HP Data Science Global Ambassador from 1,400 applicants, creating technical GPU guides for data scientists. My hackathon journey includes everything from local events like ISU Fall 2021 Hackathon to high-profile AI competitions where I've won various prizes totaling over $65,000 in cash and credits. I was also one of the organizers of Chinatown Hacks, the largest hackathon for high school students in the Bay Area in San Francisco sponsored by HP and NVIDIA, bringing in over 50 students from 25 high schools.
2. How did you start in technology or coding? How did you discover your love for it?
   • My coding journey began in high school in Malaysia on a buggy Toshiba laptop, where I taught myself by watching YouTube videos, coding simple linear regression models and creating graphics with PyTurtle. I started sharing what I learned about data science and AI on Medium.com, which eventually grew to 42k followers (as of April 2025). In Malaysia, we didn't have a strong hackathon culture - programming was limited to classes and assignments, never about creating real products. It wasn't until I transferred to Iowa State University that I attended my first hackathon, which opened my eyes to the possibilities of turning code into impactful projects. Through these hackathons and side projects, I was able to secure an internship at Tesla, where I met fascinating people in the tech industry and attended numerous events. It showed me how exciting the Bay Area tech ecosystem is, with its unique blend of innovation, opportunity, and collaborative energy that I hadn't found anywhere else.
3. Can you tell us the story of how you joined the hacker community?
   • I joined the hacker community in Fall 2021 through a small hackathon organized by the Iowa State CS department, where my team built "Ekans," a reverse snake game that won Most Creative Project and sparked my passion for building with code. From there, I dove headfirst into the hackathon scene, participating in over 25 events ranging from university competitions to major hackathons like ETHGlobal and Anthropic Builder's Day in SF. I've built projects across various domains - from healthcare solutions at Hacklytics to financial tech at HackWashU, and from data visualization tools at HooHacks (winning 2nd place for Best Data Science Hack) to AI applications that earned 3rd place at both DragonHacks and HackPrinceton. What kept me coming back was the collaborative intensity of these events - the shared excitement of building solutions to real problems under time constraints, and the community of like-minded builders who valued creativity and technical excellence. I'm still doing that today, while I'm not in class for my master's in data science, or working on cancer research at UCSF as an ML engineer, I'm attending hackathons and events every week, having fun building interesting solutions with my friends and with the community.
4. How have technology, hackathons, or the hacker community changed your life?
   • Hackathons completely transformed my life's trajectory. They were my ticket into the Bay Area and the tech industry, opening doors I never imagined possible for someone from Malaysia. These projects became my portfolio, helping me secure my Tesla internship when I had no Silicon Valley connections. Each hackathon taught me something valuable - from technical skills to the art of pitching under pressure and collaborating effectively with new teammates.
   • The Bay Area hackathon community expanded my horizons in meaningful ways. At the Anthropic Builder's Day, I found myself casually chatting with YC founders about their startup journeys over late-night snacks. During various hackathons, I connected with engineers from established companies who treated me as a peer rather than just a student. These connections created a supportive network that helped me navigate job searches, technical challenges, and even the complexities of being an international student in tech.
   • What I value most is how the hacker community embraces diversity of thought and background. At hackathons, I've collaborated with people from various countries and disciplines, each bringing unique perspectives to our projects. The community taught me to embrace the hacker ethos of building, sharing, and problem-solving without judgment. These values have shaped not just how I code, but how I approach challenges in life - with curiosity, resourcefulness, and a belief that problems can be solved systematically through collaboration and creative thinking.
5. How have you made an impact on the hacker community?
   • I had the great privilege to organize Chinatown Hacks 2025, the largest hackathon for high school students in the Bay Area with my friends, bringing together over 50 students from 25 high schools and securing $15k in prizes through partnerships with sponsors including HP, NVIDIA, TwelveLabs, Cloudflare, and Vercel. Alongside my friends, we created opportunities for the next generation of hackers to experience the thrill of building and collaborating while celebrating culture, innovation, and community. Miss Chinatown Hannah Chea even joined us, highlighting the cultural significance of our event and creating a welcoming atmosphere for students from diverse backgrounds.
   • My writing on Medium.com, where I've gained 42k followers and 2 million views, has allowed me to share technical knowledge, hackathon experiences, and project insights with a global audience. Through detailed articles about projects like embedcurius (which visualizes bookmark collections as 3D embeddings) and ClassGPT, I've inspired others to build and launch their own projects.
6. What about your story do you think makes you stand out in the hacker community?
   • What makes my story stand out is my persistence despite being an international student and facing numerous obstacles. Coming from Malaysia to the US to pursue tech, I've had to work twice as hard to create opportunities. I turned hackathons into my pathway to success - winning competitions while building a network that eventually led to internships at Tesla and UCSF. Throughout this journey, I've made it a point to mentor other international students, helping them navigate similar challenges.
   • My journey demonstrates how hackathons can be more than just weekend projects - they can be career-defining opportunities. I've shown how someone from outside the traditional tech pipeline can leverage these events to break into the industry, while giving back to the community through organizing events, sharing knowledge, and fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels welcome to build and learn together.
7. What is your favorite programming language or framework?
   • Python has been my go-to language for years, especially for data science and machine learning projects. I love its readability and the massive ecosystem of libraries like Pandas, NumPy, PyTorch, and Sentence-Transformers that make complex tasks accessible.
   • For web development, I've grown to appreciate the React and Next.js ecosystem with TypeScript. Building apps with this stack has shown me how powerful these tools can be for creating modern interfaces.
   • What I value most in any language or framework is how it enables me to build solutions quickly while maintaining quality. I value simplicity; the best tools are those that get out of your way and let you focus on solving the core problem.
8. What tool or platform could you not live without?
   • I couldn't live without GitHub and AI code editors like Cursor. GitHub has been essential for all my projects, from hackathons to research work. It's not just version control - it's where I collaborate, share my work, and learn from others.
   • AI coding assistants have revolutionized how I work. Using tools like Claude and ChatGPT I can turn my ideas into reality within hours, making building fun instead of frustrating.
9. What's a favorite hobby of yours?
   • Writing has become one of my most fulfilling hobbies. I maintain a blog where I write about technology, programming, psychology, and personal reflections. Writing helps me organize my thoughts and share knowledge with others. It's a form of thinking in public that forces me to clarify my ideas.
   • I've also developed a love for photography, especially during my six-month break after graduation. There's something magical about capturing moments and telling stories through images. It exercises a different creative muscle than programming but shares the same attention to detail and composition.
10. What's a random fun fact about yourself?
    • I trained professionally for table tennis from age 10 through college. I practiced 3-5 times a week, playing against older players, and repeating the same serves and smashes hundreds of times during my training sessions. I also have a custom racket that my coach made specifically for me.
11. Tell us a few memorable stories of your time in the community! They can range from a funny moment to a life-changing interaction - we want to hear them all.
    • When I first started Google Developer Student Club (GDSC) at Iowa State, I organized an ML workshop and discovered the universal truth of campus events: pizza guarantees attendance. I was genuinely worried no one would show up, but the room filled with hungry, curious students. This small success gave me confidence to organize larger tech events and build collaborations with other clubs across campus.
    • As a GDSC lead, I attended a North American leadership conference at Google's campus. Walking through those hallways, riding the famous Google bikes, and meeting other student leaders from across the continent was surreal. I remember standing there thinking, "Maybe I'll work here someday," feeling both inspired and slightly intimidated by the possibility.
    • During 2021, most hackathons were virtual, which led to an unexpected advantage. My best friend in Malaysia and I developed a unique strategy - I would work on projects with US teammates until I couldn't stay awake, then he would pick up where I left off due to the time difference. We became the perfect team - me handling front-end and AI, him taking care of the backend. Today we're both living in the same apartment in Chinatown SF, still going to hackathons.
    • My first tech conference was Airflow Summit in Toronto, which I attended on scholarship. It was my first time ever in Canada, and I felt lost and completely out of place until I met another attendee from Singapore. That small connection to home made all the difference, and suddenly I felt comfortable exploring and networking with industry professionals.
    • Anthropic Builder's Day stands out as my most unexpected hackathon success. Walking in, we were intimidated by the 50 teams filled with big tech engineers, YC founders, and PhD students. We initially planned to just enjoy the free food and networking, but ended up building a CAPTCHA system to detect AI agents in just two hours. When we won second place, I was completely shocked - it taught me never to underestimate what you can build in a short time with the right idea.
    • Organizing Chinatown Hacks came full circle for me. After experiencing rejection from selective hackathons myself, I wanted to create an accessible event for high school students. My friends and I spent three months securing sponsors (HP and NVIDIA through my ambassador connections), reaching out to every high school in San Francisco, and arranging prizes like full passes to NVIDIA GTC. Though the planning was exhausting and recruitment harder than expected, watching students arrive on event day and build their projects made every challenge worthwhile. Creating opportunities for the next generation of hackers felt like giving back to the community that had changed my life.