This blog marks the first part of a series documenting my journey through Tagisan ng Talino Codefest, a mobile development hackathon experience that strengthened the catalyst for my passion for competitive programming and software development. Before I dive into how my team went on to become champions at both the local and cluster levels in 2025, eventually competing in the nationals, let's rewind to where it all began: my first-ever Codefest as a 2nd-year college IT student.
For context, Codefest is an annual mobile development hackathon hosted by STI College. The competition is structured across three levels: the local level, cluster level, and national level. Champion teams from each STI campus first compete in the local-level event, with victors advancing to the cluster level, and ultimately to the nationals.
At the time, I had minimal experience in mobile development. My background was mostly in web and game development, and while I was curious about Android Studio and Java, I hadn't yet built a proper app. I wasn't even aiming to win, I just wanted to gain experience and see what the competition was like.
The hackathon required teams of three, and with the registration deadline fast approaching, I found myself scrambling to put together a makeshift team. I eventually teamed up with two students: one had prior experience in Android Studio as a UI/UX designer, while the other joined simply for the thrill of it. None of us really knew each other, so we had to quickly learn how to collaborate and communicate effectively, a challenge in itself.
For about a week before the event, we crammed in tutorials, self-studied Android development basics, and practiced as best we could. We weren't expecting much, we just wanted to have fun and see what we could create.
The day of the competition arrived. The atmosphere inside the laboratory was intense as the 6-hour timer began. It was a grueling session of focused coding, brainstorming, and debugging, punctuated only by brief, carefully timed breaks. The problem statement: build an e-commerce app.
Despite our limited experience, we threw ourselves into the challenge. Surprisingly, we found ourselves laughing and joking along the way. The lack of pressure to win made the experience light-hearted, even though we were competing against some of the best programmers on campus.
When the presentation time came, I as team captain, had to pitch our unfinished app to the judges. Exhausted and highly caffeinated, with nerves bubbling beneath the surface, I delivered our pitch. I remember thinking we had no chance of placing, especially with our app incomplete.
Then came the awarding ceremony. Everyone gathered in the gymnasium, weary yet eager to find out the results. Codefest wasn't the only event that day, there were also contests in public speaking, cooking, and more. As we sat through the announcements, I wasn't even holding my breath. In my mind, this was just a fun learning experience.
And then… our team name flashed on the projector as 1st Runner-Up. I was floored. Completely stunned. The disbelief in that moment, standing up to receive our certificate, walking onto the stage amidst cheers, was surreal. I thought to myself, "Wait… we actually placed?"
That experience changed everything for me. It shattered my self-imposed ceiling and made me realize that with more discipline, training, and belief in myself, I could stand alongside giants. While our app wasn't finished, it was my foundational knowledge of programming principles, things like data structures, algorithms, design patterns, and clean code practices, that carried us through.
This was the spark.
After that day, I threw myself into even more learning than I was already doing. I joined more hackathons: KMC Hackathon, ICT Week Hackathon, the 13th IT Skills Olympics at the University of Makati, and more. Each event was a stepping stone in honing my skills and building confidence.
And to wrap it up on a light note, after the awarding, we went straight to Jollibee, laughed about the whole thing, and vowed to return the following year to claim the championship (which we did, with one recurring team member while the other had to step away due to personal circumstances).
In 2025, we came back stronger, won Codefest all the way to the nationals, but that's a story for another blog.
Takeaways:
- Don't underestimate the value of curiosity and saying "yes" to new experiences.
- Experience isn't everything — fundamentals, teamwork, and belief can carry you through unfamiliar ground.
- Every "spark" moment starts with a decision to try.
Stay tuned for the next part of this journey.