It’s so big it has its own Snapchat filter and “Humans of” page. It’s the only activity on campus that was not canceled due to the blizzard. It’s where ideas begin and flourish, or tank miserably. People from all over the country and all over the world flock to Penn twice a year to see if they might build the next Facebook at PennApps. Yet, few kids outside the coding or engineering world really know what happens within the hallowed halls of Penn engineering during this biannual hackathon.
From tracking the PennApps live web page, I was able to glean a few interesting facts about the PennApps life. The weekend is populated with tons of forms of entertainment for the casual hacker ranging from Hackenger hunts (a scavenger hunt where participants try to complete a set of activities by hacking) and puzzle solving to bottle art competitions and Star Wars movie nights. (Unfortunately, ice–skating with the PennApps penguin mascot was canceled due to the blizzard. It was quite the tragedy.) There’s a mass of free t–shirts, pajama pants, Amazon gift cards and giveaways of all shapes and forms. When I asked Krishna Bharathala, a sophomore PennApps veteran who has participated in the last four PennApps, what the strangest item he received at PennApps was, he responded “a stuffed minion.” I personally would love to own a stuffed minion.
But the absolute best part of PennApps—everyone agrees almost unanimously—is the food. SO. MUCH. FOOD. AND IT’S FREE. AND IT’S REALLY GOOD. LIKE REALLY GOOD. Vaishak Kumar, a senior who went for the food last year, mentioned they had some amazing caffeinated cupcakes, serving the dual purpose of being absolutely delicious and keeping the hackers awake to code forevermore. This year, the featured menu included sandwiches from DiBruno’s, 3 a.m. Insomnia cookies, breakfast from Federal Donuts, Sugar Philly macaroons, Boston Market mashed potatoes and oh so many more items. The food options are so great it really made me question whether the participants’ motivations were more gastronomic than educational.
My own experience with the PennApps menu took place over a year ago during my freshman fall. I was walking back from the squash courts with a friend, and we decided to cut through engineering. It was dinnertime, and we were planning on going to Chipotle. Of course, we had no idea PennApps was happening. As we cut through Levine, we saw tables and tables of catered food. We looked at each other and we both knew this was where we would eat our dinner. Since that fateful meal, it’s safe to say that all other mac and cheese, mashed potatoes and biscuits have been ruined for me forever.
Filled with very little sleep, lots of Swift (the programming language, not the female pop singer) and showers in the Palestra, PennApps is a truly unique experience. To Penn kids who’ve never been, you’re missing out. Star Wars and free food? Where do I sign up?? I’m so down to be that one kid on every team with no coding experience who brings everyone coffee. Seriously, LMK if you need me. I'll be over here reliving the memories of my freshman year PennApps food orgy.
