Across the Table But A World Apart

How an interaction between teens across table became an intense core memory, riddled with conflicting emotions, and later becoming the inspiration for Opportunity Knocks, a Lead 360 project .

You can hear the keyboards clacking away, the chatter in the conference room, and the yawns from the lack of sleep. This was my first-ever hackathon. Part of the reason I went is because of my love for making friends— someone always has a story and I want to hear more. Pushing my distaste for coding aside, this 24-hour event rocked my world. 

Middle school kept me very close-minded. People I knew were schoolmates, friends, or family, but as I entered high school with this mindset I quickly realized this wasn’t the case for everyone. The hackathon I went to during my freshman year made me realize there was so much I’d never been exposed to. This event—one of the largest Hackathons in the country—was where expert coders from elite high schools congregated. Judges were the top executives of tech companies, and prizes included meetings with company CEOs. I never knew this was a world that 14-year-old Ayushree could’ve been a part of. I thought this was a world reserved for 30+ year-old adults climbing the corporate ladder.  

Here I met a group of teens who sat at our table and were right around my age. So many commonalities, or so I thought. 

“What grade are you guys in?”

“Oh, we’re freshmen.”

“Oh my god, me too!”

Of course, we clicked. But after sitting with them for another 12 hours I learned this group of guys went to an elite private high school, were legacies at top universities, and had a completely different standard of living. They were perfectly nice, and we had great conversation, but my curiosity wounded me during that interaction. I googled their school name, and saw tuition that rivaled the most expensive colleges. Yet it was so casual for them, these sentences rolled off their tongues. How could this be? Does this mean I’m not good enough? They probably don’t think I am either. 

I branched out quite a bit during freshman year, joining new programs, seizing new opportunities, and meeting tons of new people, but was it enough? Although I will be a first-generation college student and have experienced my fair share of difficulties, I am not underprivileged by any means. I know people in incredible places, and if I need connections I can get them by reaching out and even by asking my parents. But that doesn’t mean it’s as easy for me as it might be for this group of guys. This experience wasn’t the last where I felt this way.

I am very involved in debate and the amount of money, privilege, and opportunity I see in this community is mind-boggling. How can I have the extraordinary networks that these kids consider to be just ordinary?

These questions turned into a passion. I created a LinkedIn account, branched out, always tried to talk to someone new, and developed my soft skills. But I’m an outlier. Others don’t have the same opportunities, don’t know this whole other world, and are even more underserved. Yet I could open their minds and give them the resources they need. 

Today I have valuable connections with some amazing people. But it wasn’t always this way and I’m miles away from what those guys have. What if I had known of a program that would have helped me develop these networks and skills? Where would I be now? That’s not a question I or anyone else can answer but one that I can help others avoid having to figure out. 

Remembering the guys from the hackathon I feel gratitude. My worldview was altered that day and for the better. I now recognize that privilege and understand that it’s incomparable to most experiences, however, I also realize that world can be a reality for myself and others who have not entered it before. That hackathon is one of my core memories because amongst the chatter and yawns, a 14 year old girl sat amongst the noise so desperately trying to wrap her head around the people she was just exposed to. This realization sparked a goal where I aim to help other students gain these same opportunities, networks, and skills that will set them up for “success,’ whatever that might look like to them.