On November 23, 2024, Hamilton-Wentworth high school students made history at the first-ever HammerHacks, a 12-hour in-person hackathon hosted in partnership with McMaster Engineering Community Outreach. This ambitious event, once a dream, became a reality thanks to the leadership of Co-Founder and Lead Organizer William Cagas and a dedicated team of 13 student organizers. Designed to inspire innovation and problem-solving, HammerHacks marked a milestone for youth engagement in STEM within the Hamilton-Wentworth region.
The event brought together 140 students from 17 local high schools, creating an energetic atmosphere of creativity and collaboration. Nearly 50 teams tackled the event’s central challenge: “Youth Empowerment: How Can We Solve Youth Challenges Using Technology?” The results were extraordinary, with students presenting projects that ranged from gamified productivity tools to community-driven learning platforms. Notable projects included:
• Casper (First Place): A gamified website featuring Casper, a virtual pet dragon that motivates students to complete tasks in exchange for a virtual currency called Dragos.
• No Rot (Second Place): A Chrome extension designed to help young users break free from repetitive internet slang and communicate more meaningfully online.
• Tidy Task (Third Place): A program that organizes and prioritizes school assignments for students.
• Quizz: A platform allowing students to create and take quizzes to reinforce class concepts.
• Achivadamia: An online forum where students can post academic questions and receive peer answers.
HammerHacks provided participants with more than just a competitive experience. Students attended coding workshops on web and mobile app development, learned new programming languages, and gained insights into cutting-edge frameworks and tools. The event was supported by over 40 industry professionals, including software engineers, CEOs, and coding enthusiasts, who mentored the students throughout the day.
Beyond the technical achievements, HammerHacks fostered a sense of community and networking. Participants built friendships and connected with industry leaders, gaining valuable perspectives on future careers in technology.
The event also demonstrated the strength of community partnerships, with nearly $12,000 in monetary and in-kind support from 15 sponsors. The state-of-the-art venue at McMaster University’s Peter George Centre for Living and Learning provided the perfect backdrop for this inspiring event.
The success of HammerHacks would not have been possible without the dedication of its student organizers. Five of the 13 organizers are from the Hamilton-Wentworth Catholic District School Board:
• William Cagas (Co-Founder and Lead Organizer): St. Thomas More CSS
• Jasmine Montrichard (Logistics Lead): St. Jean de Brebeuf CSS
• Maisy Thomas (Logistics Coordinator): St. Mary CSS
• Kayla Sodergard (Marketing Lead): Bishop Ryan CSS
• Mikael Gomez (Marketing Coordinator): St. Thomas More CSS
Their combined efforts, along with their peers, made this event a transformative experience for all involved.
As the visionary behind HammerHacks, William Cagas embodies a passion for expanding STEM opportunities. His journey is nothing short of remarkable:
• At age 9, William began coding.
• At 12, he developed his first app, HeyFriend!, winning Gold at the HWCDSB science fair.
• At 16, he taught Stanford University’s CS106A Python course to students worldwide.
• At 17, he authored a research paper on medical imaging complexity, which will be presented at the 17th Asian Conference on Computer Vision in Vietnam this December.
• Currently, he is conducting machine learning research at Carnegie Mellon University.
William’s leadership and dedication were instrumental in bringing HammerHacks to life, inspiring his peers to push the boundaries of innovation.
HammerHacks has set a new standard for youth-driven STEM initiatives in Hamilton. By equipping students with skills, mentorship, and opportunities, this event has empowered the next generation of tech leaders to make a lasting impact on their communities and beyond. As the inaugural event paves the way for future hackathons, its legacy of creativity, collaboration, and empowerment will continue to grow.
William Cagas featured in the Hamilton Spectator read
here
Co-Founder and Lead Organizer, William Cagas
Zoey Ofori and Kuba Calik, Team Sirzak of Bishop Tonnos CSS emerged as first place winners.