After 24 hours of diligent work, a Moorpark College computer science team took home a win at the 2017 Hackathon.

The software engineering competition took first place on April 23, under the name and theme of BeachHacks. California State University Long Beach hosted the event, where university students from all over the state came to compete.

The Moorpark College team consisted of three Computer Science Club members, all of which are currently finishing their third year at Moorpark College. Club president John Messina led the group. Brian Anusien assisted with the development of the winning software, and the original idea was created by Ivan Martinez.

The competition allocated 24 hours for the students to create a functioning program. Moorpark’s team won with their submission which was the FireSide Interactive Chat. The program allows for thousands of people to come to one site and watch news and videos together.

“When [the team members] were able to see that we had a concrete plan about what else we could add, they could piece together the whole website in their minds,” said Messina. “That made up for what time we lacked.”

Through this competition, the students gained values and experience. They were held accountable for creating something outstanding in a time-sensitive setting, and succeeded through originality and creativity. As the initial creator of the idea, Martinez felt a lot of accomplishment with their win.

“I was able to really show off my creativity, and really immerse myself in making a product that really makes a social impact,” said Martinez. “Especially with how things are going in the cyber-world right now, people are getting hurt by it.”

After attending high school together, Anusien and Martinez grew a bond through the Computer Science program. The three students are a small portion of the Computer Science Club, which meets every Wednesday in LMC 121. May 3 was the last meeting of the semester, but the members returning in the fall are confident that their club will remain strong.

There is a sense of community within the club, as most of the members take many of the same classes together. The casualness of the club makes for a friendly environment, but it isn’t just about eating pizza and hanging out. The club hosts workshops, gathers guest speakers, and even creates a study hall for the students to work through problems together.

Messina and Martinez will be transferring to University of California, Irvine next semester, and Anusien is still deciding on his next step. Winning this competition instilled confidence in these three students to pursue their passion in computer science, and to excel in applying their knowledge to the field.

For Messina, Anusien and Martinez, the 24 sleepless hours were worth the experience. The win will be reflected on as an overall pleasant memory, quality bonding time and a reward for their hard work.

“Badabing, badaboom and it was done,” said Anusien.