DAVIE, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — The gym at Broward College’s A. Hugh Adams Central Campus looked less like a basketball court and more like a tech lab Friday night as 35 teams of young hackers settled in for the 10th annual PlutoHacks hackathon.
For 24 hours straight, students from area high schools and colleges worked side by side on apps, devices, and software prototypes built around this year’s theme — “past, present, future.” The theme was revealed at the start of the competition to keep the playing field level.
“This was the best turnout we’ve had so far,” said Michelle Levine, associate vice president at the Center for Teaching Excellence & Learning, who’s helped run PlutoHacks since 2015. “The energy was amazing, and the students had some really good ideas.” Source
Among the standout projects was LegacyDrive, created by two of Levine’s online students. The app lets users repurpose old computers as private cloud storage systems — saving money and reducing e-waste. The team earned the Best First Time Hacker award.
A group of College Academy students took Best Honorable Mention for mAI-Detector, a Chrome extension that flags AI-generated content and misinformation. The Best Past, Present & Future award went to a high schooler for Universal Renewable Energy Factory (U.R.E.F.), a virtual renewable energy facility built entirely in Minecraft. The top honor, Best Overall, went to two FIU students for Voxtant, an AI-powered interview coach that turns job postings into live practice sessions.
Winners took home prizes ranging from gift cards and computer monitors to a 3D printer. But organizers said the real reward was the community built around the event.
Grace Hechavarria, a former participant who now works as a Broward College programmer, has helped organize PlutoHacks since 2020.
“I learned a lot about building products and how to work with people and form bonds,” she said. “It’s brought me friendships that I’ll have for a long time.”
First-time organizer Sunnah Imhotep, now a part-time lab assistant at the College, agreed. “It was a lot less stressful than being a hacker because you don’t have to worry about the stress of the time limit,” he said.
Ester Sims, an academic technologist in computer science, said the projects continue to surprise her year after year.
“It’s amazing what they come up with in that timeframe and with no advance prep,” Sims said. “PlutoHacks gets better every year and creates community.”
