Students Compete to Produce Public Service Announcements in First MiddHackathon
The Middlebury Center for Social Entrepreneurship wrapped up its 2015
symposium, “Social Entrepreneurship and the Future of Global Health,”
on Saturday, January 24, with the conclusion of its first MiddHackathon. The new event brought together a total of 39 students in a team competition to create one-minute public service announcements regarding the importance of getting tested for HIV.
On January 23, the students divided into nine teams and began work on their announcements, which could take the form of a video, radio spot, dance, or another medium. With less than 24 hours to complete their projects, team members focused completely on their work until it was done, with many teams laboring away until late at night. Eight teams ultimately chose to make videos, with the ninth team crafting a song. Team members presented their announcements for judging at the close of the symposium on January 24.
“Students said that they loved the challenge and experience of the hackathon,” said Jon Isham, director of the CSE and professor of economics. “Our judges, including Mitch Besser, founder of mothers2mothers, were blown away; they really struggled to pick a winner among so many high-quality PSAs.”
The CSE and the Center for Social Impact Learning at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey will distribute the PSAs via social media and through their partners, including mothers2mothers.
Below are the winning PSAs and the two that each received an honorable mention. The members of the winning team are Maryam Mahboob ‘18, Roy Wang ‘15, Eunice Kim ‘17, Lydia Kim ‘17, and Jenny Chute ‘15.5.
The students who received an honorable mention for the PSA “I am a Mother” are Farid Noori ‘18, Grecia De La O Abarca ‘17, Becca Roe ‘15, and Bobin Lee ‘14.5.
Theodora Yoch ‘17, Sebastian Kern ‘17, Alexa Beyer ‘15.5, and Danny Andrada ‘15 also received an honorable mention for their entry.
Winner
Honorable Mention
Honorable Mention
