Iris Cheung, 27
Finding Freedom in Creation: How Iris Cheung Reframed Her Future Through Hackathons
Iris Cheung is proof that no matter the path you take to get to tech, there is always a place for you in this community. Before stepping into product management and software engineering, Iris worked in the law enforcement space and earned a degree in Criminology and Psychology. Far from a conventional starting point, her non-traditional background serves as an incredible asset - giving her deep insight into human behavior, decision-making under pressure, and how real people interact with systems. Driven by a desire to push past traditional boundaries and discover what was truly possible in innovation, she enrolled as a second-degree student in the Bachelor of Computer Science program at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Her entry into the hacker community came in Fall 2024 when she attended her first hackathon. Walking into the event with zero coding experience, stopping by the Major League Hacking table proved to be an eye-opening moment that completely shifted her mindset. Seeing firsthand how MLH connects tech sponsors with student developers through integrated developer tools, API credits, and branded sponsor challenges opened up endless possibilities. Realizing she could use these tools to create and learn in the pure spirit of creation completely reframed her understanding of building tech. Discovering design platforms like Figma for the first time unlocked a whole new perspective. “It was like I was no longer handed tools to build a car, but instead introduced to a tool box and it made me think, forget about only building a car, I could be building boats, helicopters, trucks, literally ANYTHING!” Beyond sparking a new mindset, that pivotal experience solidified her decision to pursue computer science as a second degree - filling her with an overwhelming sense of joy and bringing her to the realization: “I have no regrets.”
Iris has competed in over 10 hackathons, securing her first victory at youCode 2025. Her team created Summit Circle - a community event platform for outdoor adventurers - and took home the WorkSafeBC Favourite Team award. Driven by the pure spirit of creation and learning, her team intentionally pushed themselves outside their comfort zones to adopt new technologies from scratch, with all four teammates learning Supabase and Chakra UI on the spot, while adopting Next.js and React to bring their project to life. Reflecting on her experience, Iris remarks, “It's about being able to explore, iterate and encourage creative freedom in ways that have been unexplored.”
Her proudest win to date came at nwHacks 2026, where her team built Argus - a dev tool they described as Git for quantitative researchers. Her team earned the MLH Best Use of Solana award. Reflecting on the project, Iris shared, “For all of us, it was the first time using blockchain and for myself, the first time making a terminal UI. However, it wasn’t just the idea that made our project, Argus, successful. It was the fact that the team worked well trusting each other to be able to execute that really helped us pull through, highlighting how impactful collaboration and the importance of positive team structure.” She followed this success with another victory at Hack the Coast 2026 with her project, ChefMate.
Beyond competing, Iris served as President of the Bachelor of Computer Science Student Association at UBC, driving massive community growth. She directed and expanded BCS Hacks 2025, opening registration beyond the internal department for the first time, setting record participation milestones, and boosting sponsorship by over 60%. She doubled student engagement within her first month as President, launched the first BCS Registration Support Hub to guide incoming students with resources and peer mentorship, and designed an independent structured mentorship program to empower builders developing projects outside the university ecosystem.
Reflecting on her journey, Iris continues to push the boundaries of what can be built. “Hackathons gave me a space where I could explore this creative freedom, a place where curiosity is an advantage.” Driven by continuous curiosity and a passion for community building, she stays motivated by a single defining question: “What else is possible?”
Quick Facts
Iris Cheung, 27
Finding Freedom in Creation: How Iris Cheung Reframed Her Future Through Hackathons
Iris Cheung is proof that no matter the path you take to get to tech, there is always a place for you in this community. Before stepping into product management and software engineering, Iris worked in the law enforcement space and earned a degree in Criminology and Psychology. Far from a conventional starting point, her non-traditional background serves as an incredible asset - giving her deep insight into human behavior, decision-making under pressure, and how real people interact with systems. Driven by a desire to push past traditional boundaries and discover what was truly possible in innovation, she enrolled as a second-degree student in the Bachelor of Computer Science program at the University of British Columbia (UBC).
Her entry into the hacker community came in Fall 2024 when she attended her first hackathon. Walking into the event with zero coding experience, stopping by the Major League Hacking table proved to be an eye-opening moment that completely shifted her mindset. Seeing firsthand how MLH connects tech sponsors with student developers through integrated developer tools, API credits, and branded sponsor challenges opened up endless possibilities. Realizing she could use these tools to create and learn in the pure spirit of creation completely reframed her understanding of building tech. Discovering design platforms like Figma for the first time unlocked a whole new perspective. “It was like I was no longer handed tools to build a car, but instead introduced to a tool box and it made me think, forget about only building a car, I could be building boats, helicopters, trucks, literally ANYTHING!” Beyond sparking a new mindset, that pivotal experience solidified her decision to pursue computer science as a second degree - filling her with an overwhelming sense of joy and bringing her to the realization: “I have no regrets.”
Iris has competed in over 10 hackathons, securing her first victory at youCode 2025. Her team created Summit Circle - a community event platform for outdoor adventurers - and took home the WorkSafeBC Favourite Team award. Driven by the pure spirit of creation and learning, her team intentionally pushed themselves outside their comfort zones to adopt new technologies from scratch, with all four teammates learning Supabase and Chakra UI on the spot, while adopting Next.js and React to bring their project to life. Reflecting on her experience, Iris remarks, “It's about being able to explore, iterate and encourage creative freedom in ways that have been unexplored.”
Her proudest win to date came at nwHacks 2026, where her team built Argus - a dev tool they described as Git for quantitative researchers. Her team earned the MLH Best Use of Solana award. Reflecting on the project, Iris shared, “For all of us, it was the first time using blockchain and for myself, the first time making a terminal UI. However, it wasn’t just the idea that made our project, Argus, successful. It was the fact that the team worked well trusting each other to be able to execute that really helped us pull through, highlighting how impactful collaboration and the importance of positive team structure.” She followed this success with another victory at Hack the Coast 2026 with her project, ChefMate.
Beyond competing, Iris served as President of the Bachelor of Computer Science Student Association at UBC, driving massive community growth. She directed and expanded BCS Hacks 2025, opening registration beyond the internal department for the first time, setting record participation milestones, and boosting sponsorship by over 60%. She doubled student engagement within her first month as President, launched the first BCS Registration Support Hub to guide incoming students with resources and peer mentorship, and designed an independent structured mentorship program to empower builders developing projects outside the university ecosystem.
Reflecting on her journey, Iris continues to push the boundaries of what can be built. “Hackathons gave me a space where I could explore this creative freedom, a place where curiosity is an advantage.” Driven by continuous curiosity and a passion for community building, she stays motivated by a single defining question: “What else is possible?”
