Inside Vanderbilt's Buttrick Hall last April, more than 50 students powered through a 36-hour hackathon, huddled over laptops and coffee cups. They were on a mission to develop tech-driven solutions for real-world challenges-from making public transit more accessible to improving disaster communications and streamlining legal research. For Antonio Akins, BS'96, the inaugural Global Good Hackathon represented more than just innovation-it signaled a transformative shift in who will shape tomorrow's technology.
Akins' commitment to the future of tech, alongside his generosity and desire to remain connected, powered the Hackathon's launch. Tech innovation, like a programming loop, has long run in a closed, exclusive circle. He believes in expanding that circle-in the technical sense and the human one.
Three years ago, during a campus visit, Akins, now senior vice president of engineering at Salesforce, asked students about their experiences with hackathons and was surprised that many didn't know they existed. Hackathons serve as a creative outlet, a resume builder and a launchpad. "But only if you know they are happening," Akins says.
So, he expanded the circle. After conversations with the School of Engineering and the College of Connected Computing, Vanderbilt's first new college in 40 years, Akins made a generous contribution to fund the Global Good Hackathon, contributing to the momentum of the university's historic Dare to Grow campaign.
Akins wants participation from students who may not see themselves as part of the tech and coding landscape. To help reshape the "traditional" hackathon team, he collaborated with groups like the National Society of Black Engineers, Women in Computing and ColorStack.
Vanderbilt tested me, sharpened me and formed me.
Akins embraces a "run into the fire" approach. Many are concerned about what artificial intelligence might mean for their careers, but he sees an opportunity for students without computer science backgrounds. He notes that some of the best ideas came from those who didn't have programming experience but built their projects using generative AI.
As a student, Akins saw Vanderbilt as a place where students and faculty made important things happen, where classmates stepped into roles they never imagined.
"Vanderbilt tested me, sharpened me and formed me," Akins says. He's giving today's students the same experiences by offering not just funding, but a seat at the table.
Akins says giving back is as much about finding the right way to engage as it is about the dollar amount. He encourages fellow alumni to connect with Vanderbilt in ways that matter to them because he believes giving with intention helps the next generation find their place.
With Akins' transformative contributions to the Global Good Hackathon, the circle just got bigger.
-Cara Albert
