Chanée Grant

Event Coordinator

I have been a Treeforter for years. It wasn’t just the music that kept me returning, but the connection and community around it. I work in tech as a UX Designer, and Hackfort is talked about each year. When I had heard about it, I instantly thought “oh, that’s probably meant for super tech-savvy people, not me”. One day, I saw there was an upcoming presentation on a topic my team and I had been considering at work, and I was able to get approval for us to attend it. The speakers shared a story of their journey and passion for creating immersive experiences. It was fascinating to hear about all they had accomplished, their failed attempts, what they were still considering, and innovations I hadn’t even thought of yet. For instance, the complexity of not only getting haptics integrated, coded, and functioning into what I can only describe as a glove-like device to complement the immersive experiences, but also making the feedback as responsive and realistic as possible for the user in that moment. It left me feeling intrigued and inspired, wanting to hear and learn more.

From that, I recognized how there was something for everyone at Hackfort. You don’t have to be tech-savvy to go; you just need to be curious and let the community surrounding it show you the rest. Because of my own experience, the idea of helping people gain confidence and connect in technology is why I’m so excited to be able to join the team this year. If you see me there, say hello.