My First Hackathon Experience in the U.S.

A spacious room filled with numerous people seated at tables, engaged in conversation and activities.
by Ishan Pathak, UAlbany Computer Science MS Student

Ishan Pathak is a second-year student in UAlbany’s Computer Science master’s program. Below, he shares his experience at an external hackathon opportunity designed to sharpen his hacking skills under time pressure.

Before moving to the U.S., I was already hooked on hackathons. Back in India, they were my favorite playground—fast-paced, creative, and filled with people who shared the same crazy excitement for building things overnight. Because of that, I naturally stayed plugged into hackathon communities. It became second nature for me to keep track of upcoming events, and luckily, there are some amazing platforms out there that make this easy.

Phase 0- Applying (25’th May)
One day, scrolling through ETHGlobal, I spotted an upcoming hackathon. It was perfect timing as classes at UAlbany hadn’t started yet, and my schedule was wide open. I hit apply.

A few days later, an email landed in my inbox:
                                                             “Congratulations, you’re in!”
I nudged another friend, another student from UAlbany to apply. He went through the same process, and soon enough, we were both packing our bags for New York City.

Our Arrival in New York City (Day 0- 14’th August)
We got there a day early just to soak in the city’s energy. Walking around Manhattan, eating pizza slices, seeing the skyline—it was the perfect pre-game before diving into 36 hours of non-stop hacking.

1:00 p.m.: Registration 
On August 15th, we officially registered in person. That moment itself felt surreal. We got our badges and some really cool goodies like a wireless charging deck, a hoodie and some t-shirts so that we could remember our time at the event. 

1 – 9:00 p.m.: The Brainstorming Grind 
The first eight hours were all about brainstorming. We initially had this huge, ambitious idea… but three days wasn’t enough. So, I pivoted—something I’ve learned is almost a rite of passage at hackathons.


3 a.m.: Pivoting to a new Idea
Our new idea? A platform that pulls in all your crypto wallet history and transactions, then generates a fun, simplified summary using artificial intelligence (AI). On top of that, users could get a custom wallet name deployed via Ethereum Name Service (ENS).
Simple, but exciting.
We aligned our project with three sponsors:

  • The Graph: to fetch all transaction data for our dashboard
  • ENS: to deploy custom names directly on-chain
  • Ledger: to add a layer of security for our platform

2 p.m.: The Final Day
After 36 hours of coding, debugging, and surviving on caffeine, it was showtime. We presented to the sponsors, and to my surprise, they loved it. The prizes I received felt like validation—that what we built actually mattered.

More Than Just a Hackathon
Beyond the project, prizes, and sleepless nights, the best part was the people. We made new friends, connected with developers from all over the world, and left with memories that will stick with me for a long time.

This wasn’t just my first U.S. hackathon—it was proof that no matter where you are, if you love building and creating, there’s always a community waiting for you.

And that’s what keeps me coming back.