Article by Melissa Weckerle via UC Santa Cruz Newscenter

UC Santa Cruz computer science student Marina Lee is driven by a passion to make a positive impact in the tech community. Her outstanding dedication to bridging the diversity gap in tech through developing free, virtual STEM education programming and hosting inclusive hackathons has led to global recognition with Lee being named one of 50 top hackers of 2023 by Major League Hacking (MLH).

Each year, MLH, the official student hackathon league and the largest global early-career developer community, selects 50 hackers from a pool of over 150,000 active community members worldwide for their outstanding contributions to the tech community. Lee is the second Baskin Engineering student selected into MLH’s top 50 list in two consecutive years. 

“The MLH Top 50 spotlights the unique stories and meaningful contributions of hackers within our community,” said Mike Swift, CEO of MLH, in his note announcing this year’s top 50. “Members of the MLH Top 50 have a broad variety of backgrounds, experiences, and stories, but each makes our community stronger.”

A knack for technology

Growing up, Lee was drawn to technological ideas and concepts and would often ask her dad, an engineer, questions while he worked from home. Her first exposure to tech education was in the sixth grade when she participated in a Google-sponsored mentorship program called More Active Girls In Computing (MAGIC) that matches female and non-binary middle and high school students to female industry mentors. 

“I really enjoyed that all female and non-binary environment because it made me feel like I belonged in tech,” Lee said of the program.

After being introduced to Python programming through MAGIC, Lee was inspired to continue coding. Self-motivated to learn, she established a strong knowledge base in coding by watching online tutorials. In high school, she completed computer science and cybersecurity courses and pursued extracurricular programs that allowed her to further develop her technical skills.

One of the programs Lee participated in was the AI4ALL summer program, where she was introduced to the field of artificial intelligence and its applications. While there, she learned that many of the other attendees did not have access to computer science education programs at their high schools. Lee, who attributed much of her success and passion for tech to the programs her school district offered, became determined to find a way to deliver tech education to all students despite their location.