The first-ever "#PolkHacks" hack-a-thon was held at Polk State College’s Lakeland campus this weekend.

  • Forty students participated in #PolkHacks hack-a-thon
  • Teams created apps to help solve problems
  • Winning team created app to help students locate public transportation

Forty students worked in groups to create apps that solved local problems. The apps ranged from the creation of a device to better facilitate communication between students and their teachers, to a website that helps students figure out a career path that matches their interests.

Professionals in technology-related fields were on hand to guide students through the process.

Damien Moses, principal of Bok Academy, also talked to the students during the lunch hour about the lucrative career opportunities available to them in the tech industry.

The winning team created the app “Lime Line,” which helps students locate public transportation using a system similar to Uber. Members of the team said they hope to work with Citrus Connection to put the app into use.

The hack-a-thon was organized by Grady Daniels, a student in the International Baccalaureate program at Bartow High School, and his fellow classmates who served on the steering committee. Daniels said he got the idea after attending a hack-a-thon in Sarasota. He believes #PolkHacks has inspired several kids to pursue technology-related careers.

“I’ve talked to a lot of kids personally who I know would not have been able to research or get interested in technology themselves," Daniels said. "Because they’ve had one on one time with professionals, they’ve been really well introduced and they’ve gotten much more interested in technology itself.”  

The event funded through the Ford Next Generation Learning grant, Mosaic, and Publix Charities. Daniels said he hopes to have the hack-a-thon again next year if he secures the funding.

He also created an online petition, asking for more technology education in Polk County Schools.