{"id":59122,"date":"2025-05-29T15:57:54","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T19:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=59122"},"modified":"2025-06-03T10:34:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-03T14:34:36","slug":"computer-science-major-wins-prize-at-harvard-hackathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/computer-science-major-wins-prize-at-harvard-hackathon\/","title":{"rendered":"Computer science major wins prize at Harvard hackathon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The problem of climate change can seem daunting, and individual efforts often feel like they don\u2019t amount to much in solving it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quandary led Abraham Mekonnen,<\/strong> a rising senior at EMU majoring in computer science, along with a team of three students from Queens College in New York City, to develop FootPrint Mayhem, a sustainability-focused platform that encourages and rewards users for minimizing their carbon footprint in creative ways through streaks, games, and points. Users can track their daily carbon footprint, take quizzes to learn eco-friendly habits, earn points and streaks for consistent actions, and compete with friends on a leaderboard. Although the platform is no longer active, it was available at footprintmayhem.org<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink Duolingo, but for saving the planet,\u201d said Mekonnen, who is spending the summer in New York City as a software engineer intern at Morgan Stanley. \u201cWe asked ourselves, \u2018How can we help people learn while having fun at the same time?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Mekonnen and his team won the \u201cBest Use of Defang\u201d prize for their creation, besting more than 500 undergraduate students from around the world at HackHarvard 2024<\/a>. Defang is a tool used to develop, deploy, and debug hackathon projects. The annual 36-hour coding competition was hosted by Harvard University students from Oct. 11-13, 2024, on their campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and brings students together to “collaborate, innovate, and build awesome projects in a short amount of time.” \u201cWinning never crossed my mind,\u201d Mekonnen said. \u201cI was competing against people with vast knowledge from all these great and wonderful schools, so I thought there was no way I could win.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But win they did. Over an intense 36-hour period, Mekonnen and his team worked tirelessly to develop an idea for a project, design it, and present it to judges. \u201cI think we probably only slept for two to four hours during that time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis recognition from HackHarvard is incredibly motivating,\u201d Mekonnen wrote in a post after the event. \u201cIt validates our belief that technology can make sustainability accessible and enjoyable for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the win has already opened new doors for him, helping him land his current internship at Morgan Stanley. \u201cThe computer science field right now is hectic,\u201d Mekonnen said. \u201cEven finding interviews is hard, so this has been a wonderful resume builder.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He was also invited to present on a panel at the Horizon Conference, held at James Madison University in November, which brings together changemakers, innovators, and leaders passionate about tackling global challenges and fostering inclusive growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mekonnen, who moved to Harrisonburg from Ethiopia at 12 years old, serves as president of the Computer Science Career Club and is a member of the International Students Organization at EMU. He credits professors Dr. Daniel Showalter, Dr. Stefano Colafranceschi, <\/strong>and Charles Cooley <\/strong>with providing the foundational programming knowledge that helped him succeed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he hopes to inspire others at EMU the same way he was inspired by recent alumna Hebron Mekuria \u201924, <\/strong>a computer science major who also won a hackathon\u2014Black Wings Hacks<\/a> in 2023\u2014and interned at Morgan Stanley. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople at EMU might not think they can win and do great things,\u201d he said. \u201cI hope my story encourages other students to push themselves beyond what they thought was possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next HackHarvard competition will be held from Oct. 3-5, 2025. For more information about the event, visit: hackharvard.io<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The problem of climate change can seem daunting, and individual efforts often feel like they don\u2019t amount to much in solving it. This quandary led Abraham Mekonnen, a rising senior ... read more about Computer science major wins prize at Harvard hackathon<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":59123,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,13808,17562,17364,14139,5730],"tags":[18471,18221,15447,18473,18472,18470,17224],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-59122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-computer-science","category-digest","category-engineering","category-student-profiles","category-undergraduate-programs","tag-abraham-mekonnen","tag-academic-excellence","tag-computer-science","tag-footprint-mayhem","tag-hackathon","tag-hackharvard","tag-sustainability","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nComputer science major wins prize at Harvard hackathon - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/computer-science-major-wins-prize-at-harvard-hackathon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Computer science major wins prize at Harvard hackathon - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The problem of climate change can seem daunting, and individual efforts often feel like they don\u2019t amount to much in solving it. 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