Lin Hong, 17
Lin Hong: From Hackathons to Robotics Worlds, Building Communities and Breaking Barriers
Lin Hong’s love for tech began with a simple question: “Why not?” She first dipped her toes into the tech world at Hack the North, an in-person hackathon where she didn’t even know what an API was but brought design skills and an unstoppable drive. “That weekend, I built my first frontend,” Lin remembers. “By the third time I returned, I was leading a winning team.” From that spark, her journey exploded into a whirlwind of coding, robotics, startups, and community-building.
As co-captain of her FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team, Lin led her team to represent Canada at the 2025 World Championship in Houston, Texas…the largest high school robotics competition in the world. She trained teammates in CAD, Java programming, and mechanical design, ensuring the team’s success will continue long after she graduates. “Hackathons didn’t just teach me to code. They taught me how to learn fast, fail fast, and get back up faster,” she says.
Lin’s passion for building goes beyond just winning competitions. She co-founded PressIt, an apparel startup that raised $4,500 in six months, donating 20% of its profits to a robotics program for children with disabilities. She also helped start STEM for Them, which has delivered over 13 free workshops and mentored more than 600 kids from underserved communities. With the World Connection Project, Lin connects robotics teams from 20 countries, fostering global collaboration through STEM. “What makes me different isn’t just that I build projects, it’s that I build systems, businesses, and communities that outlast a weekend.”
Organizing hackathons is another way Lin gives back. She co-organized GeeseHacks, a first-time hackathon that attracted over 300 participants and $12,000 in funding. She reflects, “I wasn’t just part of the community. I was helping build it.” Her deep experience across 20+ hackathons means Lin knows what it takes to create spaces that welcome beginners and challenge veterans alike.
Lin is no stranger to high-pressure moments. At Hack the North 2024, her team pivoted their idea three times in under a day before building Skip the Walk, a Terraform-powered command-line app that lets users order Domino’s pizza using natural language. The project, which integrated Slack and indoor routing technology, won Best Use of Terraform. “That project reminded me why I love hackathons: for the pressure, the chaos, and the moment when it all clicks.”
While TypeScript with Next.js is Lin’s go-to programming tool, she’s just as passionate about baking. “There’s something calming about creaming butter and sugar,” she laughs, “but croissants and macarons? One mistake ruins hours of work.” Her obsession with perfecting laminated dough parallels her approach to coding. Always learning, debugging, and growing.
From solo all-nighters hacking real-time speech tools to mentoring thousands of students, Lin Hong’s journey is one of resilience, curiosity, and community. “I’m not here because things came easily,” she says, “I’m here because I kept showing up, learning fast, and bringing others with me.”
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Lin Hong, 17
Lin Hong: From Hackathons to Robotics Worlds, Building Communities and Breaking Barriers
Lin Hong’s love for tech began with a simple question: “Why not?” She first dipped her toes into the tech world at Hack the North, an in-person hackathon where she didn’t even know what an API was but brought design skills and an unstoppable drive. “That weekend, I built my first frontend,” Lin remembers. “By the third time I returned, I was leading a winning team.” From that spark, her journey exploded into a whirlwind of coding, robotics, startups, and community-building.
As co-captain of her FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team, Lin led her team to represent Canada at the 2025 World Championship in Houston, Texas…the largest high school robotics competition in the world. She trained teammates in CAD, Java programming, and mechanical design, ensuring the team’s success will continue long after she graduates. “Hackathons didn’t just teach me to code. They taught me how to learn fast, fail fast, and get back up faster,” she says.
Lin’s passion for building goes beyond just winning competitions. She co-founded PressIt, an apparel startup that raised $4,500 in six months, donating 20% of its profits to a robotics program for children with disabilities. She also helped start STEM for Them, which has delivered over 13 free workshops and mentored more than 600 kids from underserved communities. With the World Connection Project, Lin connects robotics teams from 20 countries, fostering global collaboration through STEM. “What makes me different isn’t just that I build projects, it’s that I build systems, businesses, and communities that outlast a weekend.”
Organizing hackathons is another way Lin gives back. She co-organized GeeseHacks, a first-time hackathon that attracted over 300 participants and $12,000 in funding. She reflects, “I wasn’t just part of the community. I was helping build it.” Her deep experience across 20+ hackathons means Lin knows what it takes to create spaces that welcome beginners and challenge veterans alike.
Lin is no stranger to high-pressure moments. At Hack the North 2024, her team pivoted their idea three times in under a day before building Skip the Walk, a Terraform-powered command-line app that lets users order Domino’s pizza using natural language. The project, which integrated Slack and indoor routing technology, won Best Use of Terraform. “That project reminded me why I love hackathons: for the pressure, the chaos, and the moment when it all clicks.”
While TypeScript with Next.js is Lin’s go-to programming tool, she’s just as passionate about baking. “There’s something calming about creaming butter and sugar,” she laughs, “but croissants and macarons? One mistake ruins hours of work.” Her obsession with perfecting laminated dough parallels her approach to coding. Always learning, debugging, and growing.
From solo all-nighters hacking real-time speech tools to mentoring thousands of students, Lin Hong’s journey is one of resilience, curiosity, and community. “I’m not here because things came easily,” she says, “I’m here because I kept showing up, learning fast, and bringing others with me.”
