there are many fellowships you could apply for. so, why hackNY?
first, the size. there are approximately 20 fellows per class, which means you are going to get to know everyone. since the community is very small, there will be plenty of opportunity to have fun with everyone! for 2024, hackNY introduced the concept of "houses" (like harry potter) where there were 4 houses, each with 5 fellows. so if 20 is too big for you, your house will definitely be much smaller and you can get to know your housemates better!
second, amazing mentors. my class had 4 amazing mentors who truly care about the success of their mentees. each mentor lead a house (concept explained above), and you get weekly 1 on 1 meet ups with your mentor to discuss how you feel about the fellowship, your summer, your internship, and/or your overall wellbeing. mentors who are not your assigned mentor are also more than happy to meet up with you and chat. they are here for your roses and your thorns, and they are more than happy to chat with you.
third, speaker series. each week, hackNY will host 2 speaker series events, where founders, tech enthusiasts, senators, professors, and more, will talk about the work they've done and what they are passionate about. you definitely would want to tune in!
and finally, the fun. hackNY is centered around the fun! fellows will host fun workshops, mentors will lead a day excursion on the weekend, fellows hang out with each other and go on random runs, go to restaurants, play pickleball and table tennis, and more!
my favorite personal experiences: spotify jam sessions, karaoke, late night runs and talks with moody (mentor for my hackNY class), hanging out with my mentor viv, table tennis, fellow dinner nights, celebrating my 21st birthday with tart that shy (director of hackNY) baked, "the last supper" (final week of hackNY dinner at shy's place), yapping at 1602 playing volleyball, getting ice cream after speaker series, .... isn't it so amazing?
and if THAT'S not persuasive enough, check out the images of me during the fellowship. (h'24, aka class of 2024)