Indira Sowy, 19
Indira Sowy has been on quite a journey. She attends the University of British Columbia across the world from her hometown in the Philippines. With no formal computer science education growing up, she overcame the odds and is now an avid hacker.
When she was a child, Indira loved tinkering with toys and machines. However, she faced obstacles that slowed her progress and made her feel the tech field was out of reach. As she says, “My high school never provided any classes to learn more about computer science topics, and I was discouraged by my peers from pursuing a career in such a male-dominated field, telling me I wasn’t suited for it.” Refusing to give up, Indira pursued online learning opportunities to teach herself programming. By the time college came along, she had the tools to succeed in computer science.
Her first hackathon, Uberposition 2021, pulled her far out of her comfort zone. At the hackathon, she joined a group of strangers she met through the event’s Discord server. Although her team did not win the event, the hackathon helped her overcome her lingering self-doubt and develop new tech skills.
This experience opened Indira up to a new future in hacking, and she has since entered multiple hackathons, improving her skill set and broadening her horizons in tech each time. In her third hackathon, cmd-f 2022, she won the MLH Most Creative Use of GitHub prize and the UBC Project Incubation Prize, earning her the opportunity to build new technologies through her university’s Computer Science department. She also competed in Hack the 6ix 2022, placing as a Top 8 Finalist and getting to present her project in front of accomplished judges. Her project at Hack the 6ix won the MLH Most Creative Use of Twilio prize.
Hackathons helped her land her first internship as a Software Engineering Intern, as well as many more in the following summers, and landed her a spot in the Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellowship Prep program. Outside of hackathons, she is involved with Rewriting the Code, Girls Who Code, UBC Launchpad, and ElevateTech, and helps organize ElevateHacks and Juvenile Hacks.
Indira’s career at UBC has taken many turns. She struggled in many of her early hackathons to the point of nearly giving up, but the MLH community came through for her. She discovered a mentor who gave her the valuable advice to view hackathons as learning experiences, not just as events to win. Once Indira adopted that mindset, her hacking career took off and her potential was unleashed.
This change naturally pushed Indira into mentoring others. She understood the frustration of being the least experienced coder in the room. As she gained new skills, she turned towards coaching, especially for women-identified hackers going through what she did so recently. She says, “Now, I am glad to give back to my community and offer guidance to those doubting their abilities to succeed in the field.”
Indira has demonstrated what a willing mind and strong determination can do. She is an example of what people are capable of achieving if they keep moving forward when others tell them to quit.
Quick Facts
Indira Sowy, 19
Indira Sowy has been on quite a journey. She attends the University of British Columbia across the world from her hometown in the Philippines. With no formal computer science education growing up, she overcame the odds and is now an avid hacker.
When she was a child, Indira loved tinkering with toys and machines. However, she faced obstacles that slowed her progress and made her feel the tech field was out of reach. As she says, “My high school never provided any classes to learn more about computer science topics, and I was discouraged by my peers from pursuing a career in such a male-dominated field, telling me I wasn’t suited for it.” Refusing to give up, Indira pursued online learning opportunities to teach herself programming. By the time college came along, she had the tools to succeed in computer science.
Her first hackathon, Uberposition 2021, pulled her far out of her comfort zone. At the hackathon, she joined a group of strangers she met through the event’s Discord server. Although her team did not win the event, the hackathon helped her overcome her lingering self-doubt and develop new tech skills.
This experience opened Indira up to a new future in hacking, and she has since entered multiple hackathons, improving her skill set and broadening her horizons in tech each time. In her third hackathon, cmd-f 2022, she won the MLH Most Creative Use of GitHub prize and the UBC Project Incubation Prize, earning her the opportunity to build new technologies through her university’s Computer Science department. She also competed in Hack the 6ix 2022, placing as a Top 8 Finalist and getting to present her project in front of accomplished judges. Her project at Hack the 6ix won the MLH Most Creative Use of Twilio prize.
Hackathons helped her land her first internship as a Software Engineering Intern, as well as many more in the following summers, and landed her a spot in the Major League Hacking (MLH) Fellowship Prep program. Outside of hackathons, she is involved with Rewriting the Code, Girls Who Code, UBC Launchpad, and ElevateTech, and helps organize ElevateHacks and Juvenile Hacks.
Indira’s career at UBC has taken many turns. She struggled in many of her early hackathons to the point of nearly giving up, but the MLH community came through for her. She discovered a mentor who gave her the valuable advice to view hackathons as learning experiences, not just as events to win. Once Indira adopted that mindset, her hacking career took off and her potential was unleashed.
This change naturally pushed Indira into mentoring others. She understood the frustration of being the least experienced coder in the room. As she gained new skills, she turned towards coaching, especially for women-identified hackers going through what she did so recently. She says, “Now, I am glad to give back to my community and offer guidance to those doubting their abilities to succeed in the field.”
Indira has demonstrated what a willing mind and strong determination can do. She is an example of what people are capable of achieving if they keep moving forward when others tell them to quit.
Quick Facts
