Alan Roybal, 21
Out-of-This-World Impact: How Alan Roybal Empowers the Next Generation of Builders
Alan Roybal can trace his interest in software engineering back to one high school computer science teacher whose unorthodox teaching style helped him build an early foundation of technical resilience. Rather than easing in, his teacher started with Swift and had him SSHing into a Linux server before he even understood what a function was. While chaotic, this taught Alan how to create and innovate, rather than imitate results. By the end of high school, he had accumulated over 300 commits in his personal portfolio. This early momentum grounded his passion for technology and set the stage for his collegiate hackathon success.
When Alan competed in his first hackathon at HackUTD, he didn't walk away with a win, but he was immediately captivated by the electric atmosphere. Wanting to help craft that same magic for others, he jumped at the opportunity to join the organizing team. Joining the planning team gave him a deep appreciation for what it takes to build a transformative event, but the community is what drives his continued dedication. Alan reflects, "The hacker community provided me with a lot of really great friends from around the world that I keep in touch with. Sometimes it's to get advice about HackUTD and sometimes it's to team up together at a hackathon again. I think it’s really great that HackUTD is something that actually helps students like me and it’s always fun to show-off what we’re innovating every year!”
Now serving as Co-Director for HackUTD, Alan leads the largest 24-hour hackathon in North America while driving collaboration across hackathons at the national level. Much like the educator who first inspired him, Alan now has the honor of stepping into that same role for the next generation of builders, mentoring students and sharing knowledge with fellow hackathon leaders to help them grow. Beyond scaling operations at home, he actively travels to compete, mentor, and judge at regional events such as HackUTA, RowdyHacks, HackTX, and WeHack. He also spoke at Hackcon 2026, a conference hosted by Major League Hacking (MLH), to share insights with fellow hackathon organizers from across the country.
It’s not every day you get to demo for Google’s product team dressed in an inflatable alien costume, but that's exactly how HackTX 2025 went for Alan and his team. Under a strict 24-hour deadline, they set out to figure out Google DeepMind's undocumented Lyria API - a challenge that even had the MLH Gemini reps feeling bad for them. They conquered the technical hurdle, but to spice things up for judging, they took a midnight trip to Spirit Halloween to grab an inflatable alien costume. That creative mix of serious code and fun made such a splash across LinkedIn that it drew a call from an angel investor and earned the team an invitation to present their app directly to the Google DeepMind product team. Bringing out the alien costume once again for laughs at the Gemini Developer Spotlight event, they presented their work and proudly open-sourced the documentation they made on Lyria for future devs.
Alan's hackathon experience has seamlessly carried into his professional journey. After competing in an internal hackathon during his internship at GM Financial, he secured his next role at NMC2 directly through connections made in the hacker community. For Alan, it was concrete proof that “the relationships you build at these events matter just as much as anything you build on the screen.”
Ultimately, Alan's dedication stems from paying forward the mentorship he once received, ensuring every builder he meets feels supported on their journey. As Alan reflects on his community impact: "Getting into hackathons by yourself can be really intimidating. But if I can be the push that someone needs to start building their idea and getting involved in this really great community, then I think all of the work I’ve put in has been worth it."
Quick Facts
Alan Roybal, 21
Out-of-This-World Impact: How Alan Roybal Empowers the Next Generation of Builders
Alan Roybal can trace his interest in software engineering back to one high school computer science teacher whose unorthodox teaching style helped him build an early foundation of technical resilience. Rather than easing in, his teacher started with Swift and had him SSHing into a Linux server before he even understood what a function was. While chaotic, this taught Alan how to create and innovate, rather than imitate results. By the end of high school, he had accumulated over 300 commits in his personal portfolio. This early momentum grounded his passion for technology and set the stage for his collegiate hackathon success.
When Alan competed in his first hackathon at HackUTD, he didn't walk away with a win, but he was immediately captivated by the electric atmosphere. Wanting to help craft that same magic for others, he jumped at the opportunity to join the organizing team. Joining the planning team gave him a deep appreciation for what it takes to build a transformative event, but the community is what drives his continued dedication. Alan reflects, "The hacker community provided me with a lot of really great friends from around the world that I keep in touch with. Sometimes it's to get advice about HackUTD and sometimes it's to team up together at a hackathon again. I think it’s really great that HackUTD is something that actually helps students like me and it’s always fun to show-off what we’re innovating every year!”
Now serving as Co-Director for HackUTD, Alan leads the largest 24-hour hackathon in North America while driving collaboration across hackathons at the national level. Much like the educator who first inspired him, Alan now has the honor of stepping into that same role for the next generation of builders, mentoring students and sharing knowledge with fellow hackathon leaders to help them grow. Beyond scaling operations at home, he actively travels to compete, mentor, and judge at regional events such as HackUTA, RowdyHacks, HackTX, and WeHack. He also spoke at Hackcon 2026, a conference hosted by Major League Hacking (MLH), to share insights with fellow hackathon organizers from across the country.
It’s not every day you get to demo for Google’s product team dressed in an inflatable alien costume, but that's exactly how HackTX 2025 went for Alan and his team. Under a strict 24-hour deadline, they set out to figure out Google DeepMind's undocumented Lyria API - a challenge that even had the MLH Gemini reps feeling bad for them. They conquered the technical hurdle, but to spice things up for judging, they took a midnight trip to Spirit Halloween to grab an inflatable alien costume. That creative mix of serious code and fun made such a splash across LinkedIn that it drew a call from an angel investor and earned the team an invitation to present their app directly to the Google DeepMind product team. Bringing out the alien costume once again for laughs at the Gemini Developer Spotlight event, they presented their work and proudly open-sourced the documentation they made on Lyria for future devs.
Alan's hackathon experience has seamlessly carried into his professional journey. After competing in an internal hackathon during his internship at GM Financial, he secured his next role at NMC2 directly through connections made in the hacker community. For Alan, it was concrete proof that “the relationships you build at these events matter just as much as anything you build on the screen.”
Ultimately, Alan's dedication stems from paying forward the mentorship he once received, ensuring every builder he meets feels supported on their journey. As Alan reflects on his community impact: "Getting into hackathons by yourself can be really intimidating. But if I can be the push that someone needs to start building their idea and getting involved in this really great community, then I think all of the work I’ve put in has been worth it."
