At Monmouth University’s High School Hawk Hack, over 50 students from a dozen high schools across the state participated in a coding competition, highlighting their technical, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. The Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering co-host this exciting initiative highlighting the talent of young people in New Jersey and shining a light on the importance of STEM education. What makes this event unique is the interaction between current Monmouth students and the participants, many of whom have never visited a university campus. Monmouth’s IEEE/ACM Club welcomes, mentor, and proctor this competition, making a real connection with younger students interested in the STEM fields.
Over the course of 90 minutes, teams used Java to correctly solve as many coding problems as possible, as quickly as possible. IEEE/ACM Club members and faculty were impressed with this years’ contestant’s knowledge and analytical skill. The top three teams are awarded prizes in recognition of their outstanding performance.
The IEEE/ACM students, led by junior Kiumbura N. Githinji (CS.BS), organized the day’s events, starting with a video presentation along with speakers including Admissions, alumni Andrew McGovern ’25 (CS.BS), founder of ParkShark, and senior and Honors School student Zaccery Tarver (CS.BS) who spoke about his ExEd opportunity. From there, the IEEE/ACM students lead competitors through the Hawk Hack procedures and instructions, demonstrating the coding problems they would face. In addition to organizing the event, the IEEE/ACM students, advised by Specialist Professor Rolf Kamp, created the challenge questions, proctored, and scored the competition. “The enthusiasm exhibited by the IEEE club members energized everyone in the event,” Kamp said. “After many months of planning and preparation, this year’s Hawk Hack was very well organized and executed. All participants enjoyed the day!”
Thank you to Tsanangurayi Tongesayi, Ph.D., associate dean of the School of Science, and Ling Zheng, Ph. D., associate professor and chair of the CSSE department, whose opening and closing remarks made the visiting students feel welcome. The pride and commitment by CSSE students and faculty was evident in the level of engagement demonstrated by the participants and chaperones throughout this event.
This Year’s Top Three Finishers
