Mentoring Young Minds in Their First Hackathon
A rewarding experience guiding Grade 11 students as they tackled governance challenges with tech.
12/3/2025
Guiding four Grade 11 students from Pokhara in their first hackathon honestly made me really happy.
Their team, CodeVenger, was given a meaningful topic for the Code for Change Hackathon – how to improve coordination between federal and local governments in Nepal.
We met online, talked through ideas, explored tools, and I shared a few suggestions on how they could approach and fix the bugs they ran into. Even with the limited time, they still managed to build something simple, clear, and helpful. Their excitement and curiosity really showed me how fast young people are growing in tech.
Big thanks to Nepal STEM Alliance for connecting me with them.
Moments like this remind me why mentoring matters. Even a small bit of encouragement or direction can help students believe in themselves and take their first step forward.
Wishing all the best to CodeVenger — this is only the beginning for them.