What an amazing experience at MIT Reality Hack 2025!
Walking onto MIT's campus for Reality Hack felt surreal enough. Doing it as a mentor added another layer: people were trusting me to help them move through technical and product decisions while the hackathon clock was very loudly clocking.
Mentoring is rarely about having the one correct answer. It is more often asking the question that helps a team see its own answer sooner. What are you actually trying to prove? Which feature makes the demo legible? What can you cut without losing the idea? I left inspired by the projects, but also by how generous the XR community can be with unfinished work.
As a first-time mentor and attendee, I had the incredible opportunity to visit the iconic MIT campus, mentor talented hackers, and represent EAC and UALR with pride.
Some of the highlights included meeting the inspiring founder and CEO of AUR+A, who introduced me to her awesome app! such a cool moment to learn from her vision. I also got to try out Snap’s Spectacles, an exciting glimpse into the future of XR. I also met the CEO of ShapesXR, who is absolutely awesome! ShapesXR is such an amazing tool, and I can’t wait to try it as soon as I get back home.
Getting Super Tickets from my favorite team for sharing my insights as they designed an award-winning rover was a proud and humbling moment. This hackathon brought together an incredible XR community full of innovators and creators from around the world. I’m so grateful for the chance to share knowledge, learn from others, and connect with so many inspiring people. Already looking forward to next year, and this time, I’ll be back as a hacker!
A huge thank you to everyone who made this experience so special.
#MITRealityHack
#MIT
#XR
#Mentoring
Looking back, mentoring has become one of the clearest ways I understand my own growth. Every question from another builder makes me articulate what I know, notice what I still need to learn, and remember how much a little encouragement mattered when I was starting.