St. Luke’s School—Hacked Again

With little sleep and lots of creativity, St. Luke's concluded its 3rd Annual Hackathon, January 20-22. This event, sponsored by FactSet, continues to grow in participation and ambition. Sixty students in grades 5-12, including a team from Wooster School, worked and played around the clock to create something—a toy, a game, or solution to a problem. “We have only one hard and fast Hackathon rule,” says St. Luke’s designLab Director Michael Mitchell: “Take your concept and try to make it a reality in 42 hours.”

St. Luke’s Hackathon captured the attention and support of the global software company FactSet. Headquartered in Norwalk, FactSet holds its own annual hackathon for employees. “When we heard about St. Luke’s Hackathon, we knew it would be a great fit,” said Laura Ruhe, FactSet Senior Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility. “We believe in the power of collaboration and learning, and have seen firsthand how valuable hackathons are to fostering creativity and innovation. We are thrilled to share our expertise with the next generation of technologists and engineers.”

Five FactSet employees were on hand to give feedback and help judge the projects. John Cunningham, Assistant Professor of Statistics at Columbia University (and uncle to Chris Briggs ‘24 and Jack Briggs ‘21) served as a guest judge. Four St. Luke’s alumni were also mentors and judges: Andrew Laub ‘15 (Dartmouth), Tyler Klein ‘15 (Tufts University) , Steven Gerasimoff ‘13 (MIT), and Andrew Sudano ‘13 (RPI). Andrew’s RPI roommate, Brian Shoyer, also participated.

“The mentors and judges were incredibly impressed with the design, creativity, and technical effort that went into the work,” said Mitchell. “More importantly, the students worked through mishaps and failures and demonstrated grit and resilience. That was the spirit of the Hackathon.”

Each of the teams listed below were awarded gift cards to Adafruit Industries.

Outstanding Projects:

• Fidget Spinner: Chris Briggs ‘21 (Darien), Scott Fitzgibbon ‘21 (New Canaan), Will Mathus ‘24 (Darien), Bobby Orlich ‘24 (New Canaan) and Andrew Parsons ‘23 (Stratford)

• Unity Game: Demetrius Nekos (Wooster student)

• Ball Throwing Catapult: Nicole Ayoub ‘19 (New Canaan), Katherine Holmes ‘23 (New Canaan), and Claire Watson ‘21 (New Canaan)

• Robotic Arm: Brittany Barton ‘17 (New Canaan)

Outstanding Hacks:

• Pong Game: Logan Diliberto ‘18 (New Canaan) and Jacqui Holzberger ‘18 (New Canaan)

• Levitating Water Drops: Landon Bachman ‘20 (New Canaan), Jamie Ullman ‘20 (New Canaan), and Marco Volpitta ‘20 (Pound Ridge)
• Door Security System: Vincent DiTeodoro ‘21 (Stamford), Cameron Hill ‘21 (New Canaan), and Jonathan Hobson ‘21 (Greenwich)

Honorable Mentions:

• The Happy Gondola: Jack Silverman ‘23 (Westport)

• Phoebe Robot: Kendall Bayliss ‘22 (Norwalk), Sasha Bakhramov ‘22 (Darien), Kate Ellis ‘22 (New Canaan), and Calvin Strothenke ‘22 (Katonah)

PHOTO: New Canaan residents Logan Diliberto and Jacqui Holzberger discuss their hack with mentor and judge Columbia professor John Cunningham.

PHOTO: Group shot during the first night St. Luke's 3rd Annual Hackathon

PHOTO: Sasha Bakhramov (Darien), Kate Ellis (New Canaan) and Kendall Bayliss (Norwalk) work on their hack

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St. Luke’s is a secular private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5-12. St. Luke's mission is an exceptional education that inspires a deep love of learning, a strong moral compass, the commitment to serve, and the confidence to lead. St. Luke's Center for Leadership advances our mission by helping students develop exceptional leadership ability. A kind, inclusive community awaits you at St. Luke's.