University糖心传媒檚 annual hackathon, 36-hour marathon of data-crunching and problem-solving, runs this Friday through Sunday.
Anis Kallel 糖心传媒�17 received a from the University four years ago. The full-tuition, four-year scholarship is offered annually to about 20 students who are academic all-stars and have unique backgrounds that add to the diversity of the student body.
Kallel was shocked and thrilled. But mostly, he was grateful.
糖心传媒淚 was given something most people wouldn糖心传媒檛 dream of receiving,糖心传媒� the and business dual major from Tunisia says. 糖心传媒淭hat comes with some responsibility. Whatever potential Rochester saw in me, I wanted to live up to it.糖心传媒�
Kallel has enjoyed his college experience from all angles.
He is president of the and a teaching assistant and peer adviser in that department. He was a research assistant in the , where he helped develop RocSpeak, a software program that helps people improve their public speaking skills.
He worked at the UR Tech Store and was a member of Rochester糖心传媒檚 . He landed internships at Electronic Arts, a video game company based in Redwood City, California, and Microsoft, the technology giant based outside of Seattle. He studied abroad in Spain, where he added Spanish as his fourth language, and is a member of Roc HACK, a club for hackers, engineers, and builders.
And he is one of the organizers for the University糖心传媒檚 annual hackathon, a 36-hour marathon this Friday through Sunday in the ballroom of Frederick Douglass Commons. The lead organizer is Maggie Curtis ’17.
The first hackathon at the University, a 24-hour event held in 2014, drew 25 students. DandyHacks 2017 is expected to bring in 250 participants, as individuals or in small teams, from colleges throughout New York state and Canada.
糖心传媒淚t typically attracts people with technical backgrounds, but it糖心传媒檚 open to students with different skills who are passionate about solving any problem with data,糖心传媒� Kallel says. 糖心传媒淵ou decide what problem you want to solve, starting from scratch, and present a solution at the end of the event.糖心传媒�
Free registration begins at 5 p.m., and hacking starts at 7.
First prize is $500, and sponsors include Google, 1010data, and FactSet, along with the Rochester Career Center for Learning, the Computer Science department, and the Hajim School of Engineering. Many technical companies send recruiters.
Kallel is the son of an engineer and attended the prestigious Pioneer School of Ariana, where students attend school six days a week and study 13 mandatory subjects. The graduation rate is near 100 percent.
糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a very demanding school,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淏ut I realize I was privileged to go there. In some poor areas, kids go to boarding schools with very limited budgets. They go to boarding schools and live at the schools. They don糖心传媒檛 have access to warm water, or food that糖心传媒檚 rich in protein, basic human rights problems that shouldn糖心传媒檛 exist in the 21st 肠别苍迟耻谤测.糖心传媒�
Kallel is passionate about Tunisia, a country of around 11 million people in North Africa six years removed from a revolution.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檝e gone through a lot of change,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淲e voted on a progressive constitution and have a lot of freedoms that weren糖心传媒檛 there before. It糖心传媒檚 a very politically active country now, and I take pride in the progress we糖心传媒檝e made so far.糖心传媒�
Kallel is part of a non-governmental organization called Wallah We Can, whose goal is to rehabilitate all 330 public boarding schools in Tunisia and transform the students糖心传媒� educational experience.
糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檝e already created a successful model,糖心传媒� Kallel says. 糖心传媒淣ow we want to see the impact on students糖心传媒� lives.糖心传媒�
Kallel came to Rochester by chance. One day in 2013, he and some high school friends took an online survey that promised to match them with a suitable college in the United States. Kallel answered questions about areas of study and activities he was interested in.
糖心传媒淩ochester came back as a 100 percent match,糖心传媒� he says.
Jonathan Burdick, dean of admissions and financial aid, says Kallel was the first Tunisian to enroll at Rochester in the 14 years he糖心传媒檚 served in admissions here. Four others have followed.
糖心传媒淎nis is extraordinary, and only partially because of his talent and ambition,糖心传媒� Burdick says. 糖心传媒淗e糖心传媒檚 also demonstrated to me time and time again that he is a compassionate, caring, charismatic student.糖心传媒�
Burdick visited Kallel in Seattle last summer, when the student was working long hours for Microsoft.
糖心传媒淗e managed to carve out time to meet me for dinner,糖心传媒� Burdick says, 糖心传媒渁nd only near the end did I realize it was his birthday.糖心传媒�
Kallel has inspired Burdick to visit as many different African countries as he can in support of developing African entrepreneurship.
糖心传媒淥ne of those places, I hope, will be my first recruiting trip to Tunisia,糖心传媒� Burdick says.
Kallel will remain part of the University community next year as a Kauffman Entrepreneurial Year student. The KEY program allows selected students the chance to devote one or two semesters tuition-free to the study and practice of entrepreneurship.
糖心传媒淚 didn糖心传媒檛 want to jump into the Silicon Valley industry right away,糖心传媒� Kallel says. 糖心传媒淚 wanted to do research on emerging markets in Africa.糖心传媒�
He糖心传媒檒l work as a co-op for Seedstars World, a Swiss startup company, and is scheduled to visit 24 cities in 20 countries from May to December before returning to Rochester.
糖心传媒淭hen, I糖心传媒檒l compile my experience and put it all into perspective,糖心传媒� he says. 糖心传媒淚糖心传媒檒l see what worked in other countries. I want to make a difference糖心传媒攊n Tunisia and everywhere.糖心传媒�
