Providence Day School hosted its second Hackathon, a collaborative design event with a problem-solving goal, on April 30, 2022. 185 students representing 12 Charlotte-area schools participated, breaking into 65 teams of two or three members for preliminary round presentations. 

Students addressed a prompt about one of the most pressing issues Charlotte faces today – food security, particularly in food deserts where affordable fresh food is unavailable. The goal of the Hackathon was to produce a solution to one specific underlying factor that contributes to food insecurity and food waste in Mecklenburg County with myriad opportunities to design, innovate, and establish an entrepreneurial plan to address this issue. 

The final round judges were Abhishek Mehta, PD parent, Chairman, and CEO of Hackathon-sponsor Tresata; Scott Hamerink from IBM; and Mike Luke from Second Harvest Food Bank. 

Teams finishing in the top three from the Lower, Middle, and Upper School divisions received certificates. First-place winners hoisted the Hackathon trophy and received US National Whitewater Center passes, second-place winners received Barnes & Noble gift cards, and third-place winners received Ben & Jerry’s gift cards.

Congratulations to the winning teams:

Lower School – 22 teams

First Place: Gabby Foresyth ‘29, Ella Ostrowski ‘29, and Alice Salem ‘30 (PD)

Second Place: Ava Fischer ‘29, Madison Doherty ‘29, and Sloan Tuite ‘29 (PD)

Third Place: Mark Garzon (Trillium Springs Montessori School) and Luke Schwartz (Trinity Episcopal)

 

Middle School – 18 teams

First Place: Henry Anglemeyer and Sophia Smith (Trinity Episcopal)

Second Place: Luca Bravo, Aarnav Sathish, and Raaj Thakur (Charlotte Prep)

Third Place: Peyton Lynch ‘28, Henry Mueller ‘28, and Rehan Shah ‘28 (PD)

 

Upper School – 25 teams

First Place: Ivy Brainard ‘23, Emmi Pinch ‘23, and Tyler Jones ‘23 (PD)

Second Place: JD Ellsworth ‘25, Rishi Mannava ‘22, and Max Owens ‘22 (PD)

Third Place: Theo Norris ‘23, Rex Rokahr ‘23, and Cole Villegas ‘23 (PD)