{"id":149378,"date":"2025-10-21T15:46:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=149378"},"modified":"2025-10-22T09:25:25","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T13:25:25","slug":"knight-hacks-hack-days-and-hackathons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/knight-hacks-hack-days-and-hackathons\/","title":{"rendered":"Knight Hacks, Hack Days and Hackathons"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are times when Dylan Vidal, Leonard Gofman, and Richard Phillips get together and sound like brothers, or at least roommates. They laugh at random comments with the inside knowledge of guys who have done some life together. They finish each other\u2019s stories because they know them so well. They share a passion for technology, yet you wouldn\u2019t describe any of them as hard-wired, impersonal tech enthusiasts \u2014 quite the opposite, actually. And that has become their most unique connection.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019d agree that it all points back to the culture of Knight Hacks,\u201d says Vidal, president of UCF\u2019s widely acclaimed software-development and hackathon organization. His is the first of many references to that word: culture.<\/p>\n

Gofman, vice president of Knight Hacks, makes a slight addition. \u201cThe culture and community, that\u2019s what sets us apart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips, who organizes events as Hack lead, tightens the bow. \u201cI think you guys said it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The computer science<\/a> students aren\u2019t trying to sell Knight Hacks, just expressing out loud how they\u2019ve experienced UCF\u2019s hack world. Vidal, a senior, wondered if he was tech-savvy enough when he first sampled the club. \u201cNow,\u201d he says, \u201cI could talk about Knight Hacks forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gofman and Phillips raise their eyebrows and nod, as if admitting either, \u201cYes, we could,\u201d or \u201cYes, he<\/em> could.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of students come with their heads down, maybe thinking of Knight Hacks only as a path into job recruitment, …  and then find themselves in this fun, helpful community.\u201d \u2014 Leonard Gofman, student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During a typical week during the fall semester they spend at least three evenings with Knight Hacks members, visitors, organizers and sponsors.  No one shows up because they have to, it\u2019s because they want<\/em> to. The club \u2014 which started 10 years ago with 80 members and now boasts 1,000 \u2014 offers mentorship, tech workshops, interview training, preparation for internships and a home where like-minded students can create usable technology while asking each other, \u201cWhat can I do to make this idea better?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of students come with their heads down, maybe thinking of Knight Hacks only as a path into job recruitment,\u201d Gofman says. \u201cThey might anticipate a seriously competitive environment where you have to prove yourself, and then find themselves in this fun, helpful community.\u201d<\/p>\n

He has just described how he, Vidal, and Phillips came to know Knight Hacks. Where they once envisioned the future of technology<\/a> from a distance, they now envision the future with themselves in it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere can be a feeling in technology that what you know is never good enough,\u201d Vidal says. \u201cThat\u2019s why Knight Hacks has been such a game-changer, even for our officers and directors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips clears his throat. \u201cIt\u2019s true. I\u2019ve been there.\u201d<\/p>\n

He tells the story of coming to UCF as a transfer student from Broward Community College and immediately being surrounded by really smart computer science majors.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to get through \u2014what\u2019s that word?\u201d Phillips says.<\/p>\n

\u201cImposter syndrome?\u201d Vidal says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it, imposter syndrome,\u201d Phillips says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was riddled with imposter syndrome, too,\u201d Vidal says. It\u2019s a surprising admission from the confident leaders they are today.<\/p>\n

For Phillips, everything changed when he attended his first Hack Day.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose same smart people helped me debug a code I\u2019d been struggling with,\u201d he says. \u201cThey leveled me up and made me feel like I belong. From that day forward, I wanted to be like them \u2014 highly skilled and willing to help others.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey leveled me up and made me feel like I belong. From that day forward, I wanted to be like them \u2014 highly skilled and willing to help others.\u201d \u2014 Richard Phillips, student<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The willingness to help is one of many bridges that makes the Knight Hacks culture so unique. There are also bridges to knowledge, relationships and into the massively real world of technology. Those bridges spanned the country this summer as Vidal is in Santa Clara, California, where he interns with Nvidia. Gofman was in Bellevue, Washington, interning with Statsig, and Phillips was interning in Miami with Florida Blue, which chose him from a pool of 3,000 applicants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mock interviews we do at Knight Hacks helped us tremendously,\u201d Vidal says. \u201cI have to emphasize again, the culture of the organization is so much more than coding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gofman: \u201cTech companies are looking for candidates who know how to work in teams.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillips: \u201cCandidates who always want to keep learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back to Vidal: \u201cWe\u2019ve learned little tricks of the trade through mentorship. For example, I was told to scan the QR codes at trade events to improve my position in each company\u2019s database. We also learned how to make our resumes more performant as they pass through algorithms. It exemplifies our mission: to bridge the gap from the classroom to industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thousands of students have crossed the bridge since Knight Hacks launched in 2015. Many of them have been introduced to the organization\u2019s culture at its signature annual event: fall Hackathon.<\/p>\n

\u201cHackathon is the pinnacle,\u201d Vidal says.<\/p>\n