Chantal Zhang, 22
The Community Architect, Choosing Passion Over the Prescribed Path
Chantal Zhang had already submitted her medical school applications when she realized she wanted to chart a different trajectory. Even though she had invested a significant amount of time, she realized she was more interested in math and engineering. So, at the last minute, she changed her course and chose to study Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at McGill University instead. That summer, she taught herself Python and pushed forward in this new direction.
A few months into her first year at McGill, a friend brought her to McGill CodeJam 13. Teaming up with people she'd just met, Chantal stepped into an entirely unfamiliar environment. "I had no idea what was even possible to build at the time. We spent hours in the library just brainstorming ideas, trying to figure out what we could realistically make," she recalls. Her team built Waste2Taste, an app that suggests recipes from ingredients about to go bad. Although they didn't win, the experience changed her perspective on building: "You can build something useful and it still won't land if people don't get it. The UI, the pitch, how well you actually understand the problem is a big part of the work too," she notes.
That first weekend ignited a streak of over 10 hackathons - a journey filled with late-night creativity and scrappy engineering - like the time she walked through Montreal at 3 a.m. collecting discarded materials to build a working robot dog out of a Red Bull box and sandwich packaging. "I grew up in rural area, and there wasn't much of a tech scene around me," Chantal reflects. "Each hackathon builds on the last one. You learn something new, you get better at working under pressure , and the field feels less intimidating every time." Chantal's dedication to building is matched only by her commitment to bringing as many people as she can into the hackathon community. Through Girls Who Code McGill, she mentored peers and helped make room for underrepresented builders. She co-organized the inaugural MPC Hacks, uniting Girls Who Code McGill, SCS Concordia, and Polytechnique Montreal (PolyAI) in collaboration with Major League Hacking (MLH). Beginner-friendly by design, the hackathon united local Montreal talent with students joining from around the globe. "This community taught me to show up and reach out, and to make things happen instead of waiting for them," she explains.
Ultimately, Chantal's focus is access: making the hacker world easier to find than it was for her. "I found this community sideways, on a whim, through a friend," she reflects. That unexpected entry point now shapes how she builds, helping others find their way in and making technical spaces approachable for everyone. "I try to hype people up and pull my friends into the next event, and now I'm helping run one, so there's something for people to show up to. Hacking is for fun and for learning, and you only keep wanting to learn if it stays fun."
Quick Facts
Chantal Zhang, 22
The Community Architect, Choosing Passion Over the Prescribed Path
Chantal Zhang had already submitted her medical school applications when she realized she wanted to chart a different trajectory. Even though she had invested a significant amount of time, she realized she was more interested in math and engineering. So, at the last minute, she changed her course and chose to study Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at McGill University instead. That summer, she taught herself Python and pushed forward in this new direction.
A few months into her first year at McGill, a friend brought her to McGill CodeJam 13. Teaming up with people she'd just met, Chantal stepped into an entirely unfamiliar environment. "I had no idea what was even possible to build at the time. We spent hours in the library just brainstorming ideas, trying to figure out what we could realistically make," she recalls. Her team built Waste2Taste, an app that suggests recipes from ingredients about to go bad. Although they didn't win, the experience changed her perspective on building: "You can build something useful and it still won't land if people don't get it. The UI, the pitch, how well you actually understand the problem is a big part of the work too," she notes.
That first weekend ignited a streak of over 10 hackathons - a journey filled with late-night creativity and scrappy engineering - like the time she walked through Montreal at 3 a.m. collecting discarded materials to build a working robot dog out of a Red Bull box and sandwich packaging. "I grew up in rural area, and there wasn't much of a tech scene around me," Chantal reflects. "Each hackathon builds on the last one. You learn something new, you get better at working under pressure , and the field feels less intimidating every time." Chantal's dedication to building is matched only by her commitment to bringing as many people as she can into the hackathon community. Through Girls Who Code McGill, she mentored peers and helped make room for underrepresented builders. She co-organized the inaugural MPC Hacks, uniting Girls Who Code McGill, SCS Concordia, and Polytechnique Montreal (PolyAI) in collaboration with Major League Hacking (MLH). Beginner-friendly by design, the hackathon united local Montreal talent with students joining from around the globe. "This community taught me to show up and reach out, and to make things happen instead of waiting for them," she explains.
Ultimately, Chantal's focus is access: making the hacker world easier to find than it was for her. "I found this community sideways, on a whim, through a friend," she reflects. That unexpected entry point now shapes how she builds, helping others find their way in and making technical spaces approachable for everyone. "I try to hype people up and pull my friends into the next event, and now I'm helping run one, so there's something for people to show up to. Hacking is for fun and for learning, and you only keep wanting to learn if it stays fun."
