Mac-Attack takes first place in Macathon

Nearly 100 Macalester students on 20 teams competed on campus in this overnight innovation and creativity contest known as Macathon, beginning at 4:30 p.m., Friday, November 8, and ending at 8 p.m., Saturday, November 9, 2019.

In teams of 3-6 participants, students put their liberal arts education into action and invent a unique and original service or product (website, application, physical product) that solves a real-world problem. No preparation work is allowed; everything for the competition must be produced within the 24-hour period. Macalester students will have the opportunity for feedback from successful alumni entrepreneurs, technologists, and investors.

But Macathon goes beyond that. To succeed, Macathon teams need a mix of technical, business, design, communication, and creativity. Ultimately, Macathon is an idea-building challenge that fosters innovation and connects alums and students.

At the beginning of the competition, each team is paired with a group of 4-5 alumni judges. Judges are brought in from across the country specifically to mentor and evaluate Macathon teams.

Each team delivered a nine-minute verbal/visual presentation of their product or service. Teams were judged on their identification and understanding of a real-world problem, their solution, and their presentation.

And, the winners are:

First place team: Mac-Attack and their project “Period” created a period subscription box that is 100% customizable, organic, sustainable, and gender-neutral that hopes to reach a new demographic of people who menstruate. Team: Emelie Beattie ’21, Isabel Meyer-Mueller ’21, Georgia Kazemi ’21, Kate Bond ’21, Clare Stafford ’21.

Second place team: Bent Straw and their project “Calm Clothes” developed a calm clothing line starting with a weighted scarf to introduce a fashionable, sustainable, and accessible way to utilize the well-documented benefit from weighted clothes in everyday life. Team: Aberdeen Morrow ’22, Elika Somani ’22, Elisabeth Landgren ’22, Jason Beal ’22, Rock Park ’22.

Third place team: Dora Milaje and their project “Likusasa: What’s Next?” designed a curriculum that fosters creativity and open-mindedness to students who are not high achieving in order to increase insight into their career interests. Team: Precious Dlamini ’21, Peresian Letayian ’20, Nana Amoah ’21, Stella Ikuzwe ’20, Ny Ony Razafindrabe ’20.

The top three teams each received a total of over $2,000 in cash prizes.