Walking through the Digital Divas 2025 hackathon fills CHS9 students Juana Arun, Naina Srithaj and Tanya Yadav with excitement and nervousness. Listening to guest speakers, networking and observing students cram in last minute information inspire them to channel their combined energy into the competition.
Arun, Srithaj and Yadav placed third in the 12th annual Digital Divas 2025 hackathon at Plano West Senior High School on Feb. 8. High school students across Texas participated in the hackathon including 15 computer science students from CHS9.
Hearing about the Digital Divas hackathon from AP Computer Science Principles teacher Seneca Hart, the trio was filled with curiosity to try something new, incentivizing them to sign up.
“I’m so proud of all the girls who competed,” Hart said. “Some had prior coding experience, but for many, this was their first exposure to computer science. They stepped out of their comfort zones and took a risk by participating.”
Students utilized guidance from Hart through registration and preparation. With minimal prior knowledge in coding, the trio dedicated themselves to completing various practice problems and enhanced their knowledge from AP Computer Science Principles.
“The practice problems and the content we learned during class benefited us,” Srithaj said. “They prepared us on what to expect.”
Yadav’s previous experience in taking a Javascript course gelled with Srithaj and Arun’s learning in AP Computer Science Principles. Their rapport allowed them to use their knowledge to help dissect problems efficiently and approach problems strategically. Their previous experience helped them infer on questions that were unfamiliar to them.
As their division competition started, the whispers of other teams grew louder as the clock ticked on the projector. The hackathon lasted two hours, consisting of easy, medium and hard coding and debugging multiple choice questions. While tackling problems, the group used specific strategies to score more points. To build confidence, the group tackled the set of easy and medium level questions first. With 30 minutes remaining, they scrambled to the final set of hard leveled questions, reviewing and answering the questions to the best of their abilities. The trio secured third place, making their first hackathon a surprising and rewarding success.
“It was very shocking we weren’t expecting to win anything since it was our first time,” Arun said. “We were there, surrounded by people who had a lot of knowledge. Together, we knew we had to work efficiently and strategically to keep up.”
With minimal introductory computer science experience, the hackathon provided hands-on opportunities in a competitive setting. Competing against experienced teams challenged Arun, Yadav and Srithaj to think critically and strategically in a fast paced environment. Beyond problem solving, the experience opened avenues for the possibilities in STEM.
Prior to signing up for a computer science course, Yadav was doubtful of pursuing a career in computer science as her sights were interested in health science. Participating in the hackathon and being able to strategically think opened up new plans in coding, STEM and involvement in clubs such as Girls Who Code.
“Winning third place makes me excited to participate and learn more about coding,” Yadav said.
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