Mena, AR – The Mena School District is excited to share the progress of the Mena School District NoCode Hackathon, a month-long event where local students are using cutting-edge technology from a local Arkansas tech startup to support their community.
The hackathon, which began on November 1 and runs through November 29, challenges middle and high school students to use the NYX
NoCode platform to build innovative digital solutions that will promote the new Trails at Mena Project, a major mountain
biking initiative currently underway in the Ward Lake Zone.
The Trails at Mena Project aims to establish Mena, Arkansas, as a premier destination for outdoor recreation, with an expansive network of singletrack trails being built to attract mountain bikers and outdoor enthusiasts from all over. Students participating in the
hackathon will be tasked with creating projects that promote and support this ambitious trail system, whether by developing apps that highlight the trails, tools that encourage local cycling tourism, or solutions that integrate cycling into Mena's broader community life.
The NYX NoCode platform, developed by founder Karen Kilroy, enables users to build websites and applications without writing a single line of code. Students will use this platform for their hackathon projects. In this open-ended challenge, students will
experiment with NYX NoCode's capabilities and explore creative ways to support the trail system and cycling culture in Mena. The hackathon will also test the limits for the no-code platform to see what it is capable of producing.
“The opportunity to support the GenAI NoCode Hackathon in the Mena School District resonated deeply with me,” said Ulises Bejarano, Director of Software Engineering at Walmart Global Tech. “Having spent 25 years in software engineering, I recognize the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. Empowering the
next generation with these cutting-edge tools is not just an investment in their future—it’s essential for fostering innovation in our region. I'm particularly grateful to Walmart for their generous support in providing students an incentive, helping make this initiative even more impactful.”
Karen Kilroy, visionary technologist and CEO of NYX NoCode LLC, is the driving force behind the Mena NoCode Hackathon. Her creation, NYX NoCode, was launched in June 2024 as a revolutionary platform that democratizes access to AI-powered development tools. Under Karen's leadership, NYX NoCode empowers anyone to build credentialed websites and applications through a simple prompt-driven interface. Her leadership in AI
and blockchain technologies, including her work as the AI/ML Task Force Co-Chair for the Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity (C2PA), has made Karen a key player in shaping the future of digital innovation.
“The Mena NoCode Hackathon is a remarkable opportunity for students to dive into real-world problem-solving while utilizing an innovative platform from a local tech founder and her startup. These students aren’t just developing websites or apps—they’re building skills that can help fuel Arkansas’s tech ecosystem and
strengthen Mena’s appeal as a destination for outdoor enthusiasts,” said Kristopher Adams, Program Manager of ARise. “Empowering young Arkansans to create, solve, and innovate is exactly what the ARise program is all about.”
Participants are working in teams to develop digital products, with each team member taking on roles such as project manager, designer, developer, content creator, or QA tester.Dr. Lee Smith, Superintendent of Mena School District, expressed his enthusiasm for the event, saying, “The first line in our district vision slogan is 'our students are prepared,' and what better way to prepare them than modifying real life and real work with real problems in a way that they can handle and feel accomplished. This public school with business world partnership is the best way to make this happen, and we need to replicate it as much as we can.” Students are being guided by their teachers, Krystal Titsworth and Sarah Billings,
with support from mentors at Walmart, ARise, Startup Junkie, and NYX NoCode. Projects will be evaluated by a panel of judges, who will review the students’ work based on criteria such as creativity, functionality, and relevance to the Trails at Mena Project.
"The best way to learn is by doing, and a nocode hackathon empowers everyone to create what they envision. NYX NoCode steps students through a critical job skill–prompt engineering–in an exploratory, interactive format. It works like this: a student writes a prompt–which is a description of what they want to create. The
prompt goes to NYX NoCode and within 40 seconds they see their creation on the screen, which can be quite elaborate, and include AI generated images, text, graphic design, websites, and even interactive applications. NYX NoCode has a brand new doodle pad interface designed for less verbal prompt building, which guesses what a student is drawing, as they draw. We will soon be adding a MIDI interface so students can play musical instruments to create drawings. The students' feedback is critical to NYX NoCode's roadmap."
To recognize their efforts, Walmart is rewarding each of the 200 participating students with a $5 Walmart gift card, along with swag from LockStop, NYX NoCode, Startup Junkie, ARise, and Beeline MTB. The Mena School District NoCode Hackathon 2024 is
sponsored by Walmart, NYX NoCode, Startup Junkie Foundation, ARise, LockStop, AWS, and Beeline MTB, with additional support for filming, prizes, and mentorship provided throughout the event.
For more information, contact Karen Kilroy at Karen@nyx.baby