Computer science · Community building

Jennifer Petsko

Builder, organizer, AI enthusiast. I turn ideas into events, projects, and communities, and I'm looking for a startup or company where I can do that at scale. I'm happiest creating something from nothing and building spaces where people and products thrive.

Events I hosted LinkedIn
Jennifer speaking at the SCC Hacks 2025 awards and closing ceremony

SCC Hacks 2025 closing ceremony

About

Where I come from.

My family immigrated from Ukraine, and I'm a first-generation college student. I grew up in Solano County, at the edge of one of the biggest tech hubs in the world: the Bay Area. Even so, very few students here ever get pulled into computer science.

Through Early College High School, I started college classes in ninth grade and earned four associate degrees by graduation, including an A.S.-T in Computer Science, with a 4.0 across 90 units. I founded Solano College's Computer Science Club, grew it past 125 members, and started bringing hackathons, game jams, and coding workshops to our campus.

I worked locally as a tutor at Sylvan Learning and at my local produce market. Today, I study at UCLA, and I'm still looking for ways to make tech feel open to people who don't see themselves in it yet.

Jennifer opening SCC Hacks 2025 at the podium
Opening SCC Hacks 2025
125+members in the CS club I founded
4associate degrees, 4.0 GPA
2Bay Area-wide hackathons hosted
3languages: English, Ukrainian and Russian
My poem "To My Russian Friend," about the war's impact on Ukrainians, won 1st place in the Tian Hong Foundation's 2023 Cross-Cultural Youth Contest.

Events I hosted

Bringing the Bay Area to Solano.

Why I host them

A full room of students at the SCC Hacks 2025 introduction ceremony

Solano County sits right next to the Bay Area tech hub, yet most students here never get a first push into programming. As the founding president of the Solano College Computer Science Club, I built events to bridge that gap between curiosity and computer science. My mission was to create an inclusive environment open to all skill levels and ages, and designed to make coding feel social, creative, and possible.

  • 2 annual hackathons
  • 3 game jams
  • 1 community workshop
  • Monthly LeetCode contests
  • Game nights
HackathonOct 4, 20252nd annual

SCC Hacks 2025

A full-day hackathon in the Solano College library, Fairfield

Year two of our Bay Area-wide hackathon. Teams had the whole day to build from one of two prompts: create something that would need to scale in the real world, or build something that improves someone's day through thoughtful design, interaction, or self-expression. Beginners got two Python workshops during coding time, and the night ended with judging interviews and an awards ceremony for the top three teams. I organized it from reservations to logistics to sponsorship, and led the day.

  • 8:00Check-in, networking and breakfast
  • 9:00Introduction ceremony and prompt reveal
  • 10:00Coding begins, with beginner Python workshops
  • 5:45Sunset walk and group photo
  • 6:45Judging interviews
  • 7:30Awards ceremony: 1st, 2nd and 3rd place
SCC Hacks 2025 flyer: October 4, 2025, 8 AM to 8 PM
Event flyer
Introduction ceremony and prompt reveal
Check-in table and wristbands distribution
Teams at work
Coding in the library
Heads down on a project
Beginner Python workshop
Lunch break
Sunset walk across campus
Group photo outside the library
Everyone at sunset
Judging interviews
Demoing to a judge
Judges deliberating
Trophies and prizes
Prize table
First place
Second place
Third place
Awards ceremony and closing
The volunteer crew
Event registration
HackathonNov 9, 20241st annual

Solano Hacks

The SCC Computer Science Club's first hackathon

Our campus sits close to Silicon Valley but has never had its own hackathon, so I made one. Solano Hacks was a coding workshop and competition in one: students from colleges across the Bay Area learned, teamed up, and built projects in a single day, and the top teams took home trophies.

  • WhenSaturday, November 9, 2024 · 9:30 AM – 3 PM
  • WhereRooms 501 & 502, Solano College, Fairfield
  • FormatCoding workshop and competition
  • OfferedPrizes, learning and food
SCC Hacks 2024 sign: 9 Nov 2024, 9:30 AM to 3 PM, Rooms 501 and 502
Event sign
Everyone at Solano Hacks
Coding in Rooms 501 and 502
Teams building
Planning on the whiteboard
A project on screen
Sharing code
Trophies for the winners
A winning team
Celebrating a win
Trophy in hand
Event page
WorkshopMar 7, 2026Open to all

Coding & Careers Community Workshop

Library Workroom, Building 100, Solano College

A workshop event for anyone curious about code, students or not. I led the programming sessions: attendees wrote their first programs in Python and C++, practiced on futurecoder, then stayed for lunch and a career talk with a live resume-making demo, internship, and research finding and landing tips.

  • 11:00Programming Part 1: Python
  • 12:00Programming Part 2: C++
  • 1:00Lunch and networking
  • 2:00Career talk: resumes and opportunities
Coding and Careers Community Workshop schedule flyer, Saturday March 7, 2026
Event flyer
Teaching Python
Questions during the Python session
One-on-one help
Writing first programs
Practicing together
Hands-on coding
Coding side by side
Following along on laptops
Lunch and networking
Career talk
Spring 2026 SCC game jam flyer: build a game in 14 days, April 10 to April 24
Spring 2025 SCC Game Jam flyer featuring the club mascot I.O.
Game jams3 hosted2 weeks each

SCC Game Jams

Build a game starring our mascot, I.O.

I ran three game jams where students had two weeks to build a game from scratch featuring the club's robot mascot. Solo developers and teams were both welcome, and we shared guides on project management, game engines, and free art assets so first-timers could jump in.

  • FormatTwo weeks of building, then live presentations
  • JamsSpring 2025, Fall 2025, and Spring 2026 on itch.io
Spring 2025 Jam Fall 2025 Jam Spring 2026 Jam

Monthly LeetCode contests

Friendly coding competitions to keep members practicing between events.

Game nights

The social side of the club, where new members could meet the regulars.

Club website

A full-stack site that the club built together to show its projects and events.

Projects · Hackathon win

AgriBroker, UC Berkeley AI Hackathon 2026.

The AgriBroker team showing the project on two laptops
Jennifer and teammates at table 84 during judging
UC Berkeley 2026 AI Hackathon title screen on stage
Hackathon participants on the steps of a Berkeley building
Best Use of the Agentverse · Fetch.ai Business Track

AgriBroker

Need 500 tomatoes under $250? AgriBroker's agents find the best order and pay for it.

Buying produce is still a manual job: find suppliers, compare prices, check stock, split the order, and arrange payment. Meanwhile, about 30% of U.S. food goes uneaten. My team built an autonomous marketplace where a buyer types a request in plain English and a network of AI agents handles the rest, sending business to small local farms. More than 1,000 developers competed.

  1. orchestratorreads the buyer's request
  2. registryfinds every farm selling that produce
  3. farmerseach farm's agent reports stock and price
  4. optimizerpicks the cheapest split, pays, returns one receipt
PythonFetch.ai uAgentsAgentverseASIStripe Checkout
AgriBroker on Devpost ↗

Features

In the news.

Media coverage of my robotics team's achievements and the advancement of my science fair project.

All-girls VEX robotics team with trophies

Daily Republic

All-girls team leads VEX robotics league heading into finals

Representing the Solano County Office of Education at the VEX robotics league.

Read the article ↗
Robot 92456A beside VEX trophies

Independent Voice

SCOE and SCC team up to host Solano County VEX Robotics League

My team, 92456A, qualified for the VEX State Championship.

Read the article ↗
California Science and Engineering Fair 2022 banner

SCOE Spotlight

California Science & Engineering Fair

Won fourth place in the state fair and advanced to Broadcom MASTERS on the international level.

Read the feature ↗
Science fair project wired to a multimeter

Times-Herald

First place, Solano County Science & Engineering Fair

My project examining the effects of pollutants on solar panel output earned first place at the county level.

Read the article ↗

VEX team 92456A

As leader of Team Solano, I designed and programmed our competition robot, 3D-printed custom parts, wrote our Excellence Award-winning engineering journal, drove us to the county tournament finals, and competed internationally at the One World Showcase at UC Berkeley.

Experience

Leadership and work.

Leadership

  1. Jul 2024 – May 2026

    Founding President

    Solano College Computer Science Club

    Built a 125+ member community, hosted two hackathons, three game jams, monthly LeetCode contests and game nights, and led our full-stack club website. Now mentoring the next president.

  2. Jul 2024 – May 2026

    Applied Tech & Business Senator

    Associated Students of Solano College

    Worked with the Career Technical Education department to improve CS and Engineering programs, revised the student government constitution, and directed clubs, student life, and events.

  3. Aug 2024 – May 2026

    Vice President, Phi Theta Kappa

    Solano College chapter

    VP of Public Relations, then Regional Projects. Led outreach, conducted undergraduate research within public health & social services for Honors in Action, and earned the chapter the Five-Star status through hosting events.

  4. Sep 2023 – Jun 2026

    Founding Vice President

    Early College High School CS Club

    Introduced peers to CS career paths, maintained the club website, and trained a multilingual AI CounselorBot on the SCC catalog to generate academic plans for those dual-enrolled in the Fairfield-Suisun USD.

  5. Mar 2024 – May 2025

    Vice President

    Solano College MESA / STEM Club

    Mentored students in VEX Robotics with ROBOTC, hosted on-campus competitions, and planned tours of UC Davis and UC Berkeley.

Work & programs

  1. Aug 2025 – Sep 2026

    Student Tutor

    Sylvan Learning Center, Fairfield

    Tutored K–12 students in math, reading, and SAT prep, one-on-one and in groups.

  2. Aug – Oct 2025

    Customer Service

    Larry's Produce, Suisun Valley

    Ran the register, logged bulk inventory, and welcomed visitors at a family farm market.

  3. May – Jun 2025

    Robotics Coach

    UC Davis C-STEM GIRL Camps · Solano County Office of Education

    Designed a month-long curriculum, set up three campuses for 200+ students, and taught LinkBot to middle schoolers and Arduino to high schoolers.

  4. Apr – May 2025

    TechHive AI

    Lawrence Hall of Science, UC Berkeley

    Worked on a research study and promoted an educational initiative focused on the integration of artificial intelligence and digital ethics.

  5. Jul – Aug 2024

    Student Ambassador

    Solano College Student Development & Engagement

    IT and admin support, and promotion of welcome events for a 9,500-student campus.

  6. Feb – Apr 2024

    High School Engineering Program

    UC Berkeley Society of Women Engineers

    Learned Onshape and Tinkercad to design and 3D-print a prosthetic hand with AI-based control.

Volunteering

Giving back.

  1. Jun 2025

    Volunteer

    Cal Hacks · UC Berkeley AI Hackathon 2025

    Assisted in merch distribution, check-in, helped with physical work and food delivery, and aided in fun event setup.

  2. Oct 2021 – Jun 2025

    Vice Chair, Teen Advisory Board

    Solano County Library, Cordelia

    Secretary, then vice chair and programming lead. Hosted teen events, wrote book reviews, and set up the group's Slack.

  3. Oct 2022 – Mar 2024

    Fundraising Assistant

    Nelda Mundy Elementary · Fairfield-Suisun USD

    Ran the snack shop at school events and helped run a silent and live auction, raising over $500 for my old elementary school.

  4. Jun 2022 & Jun 2023

    Assistant Coach

    UC Davis C-STEM Girls in Robotics Leadership Camp

    Trained to become a coach as a helping hand in guiding small work groups of students through their cumulative robotics projects.

  5. May 24, 2022

    Student Speaker

    ENGIE North America · Solano County Sustainable Energy Program Groundbreaking Ceremony

    Advocated for a $41 million new energy infrastructure upgrade by presenting my research project on the effect of pollutants on solar panel output.

Education

Where I've studied.

  1. Sep 2026 – Jun 2028

    University of California, Los Angeles

    Los Angeles, CA

    • Bachelor of Arts, Sociology with Specialization in Computing

  2. Aug 2022 – May 2026

    Solano Community College

    Fairfield, CA · 4.0 GPA · 90 units · Cal-GETC

    • A.S.-T in Computer Science
    • A.A. in General Science
    • A.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies: Science and Quantitative Reasoning
    • A.A. in Liberal Studies

  3. Aug 2022 – Jun 2026

    Angelo Rodriguez High School

    Fairfield, CA · 4.0 unweighted / 4.59 weighted

    • Early College High School program
    • Diploma through dual enrollment
    • Principal's Honor Roll every semester

  4. Summer 2020

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    High School Studies Program

    • From Molecules to Machine Learning: Introduction to Neuroscience

Skills

What I can do.

Programming

Python, C++, C, C#, JavaScript, Visual Basic, x86 Assembly

AI & ML

AI agents, machine learning, NLP, computer vision, transformers, prompt engineering

Libraries

PyTorch, OpenCV, scikit-learn, Tkinter, Fetch.ai uAgents, Bootstrap

Web & tools

HTML5, CSS, Git and GitHub, VS Code, Slack

Hardware & CAD

Arduino, VEX and ROBOTC, Onshape, Tinkercad, 3D printing

Coursework

Data Structures & Algorithms, Discrete Structures, Assembly Programming, Calculus I & II

Leadership

Event planning, public speaking, project management, mentoring

Languages

English (native), Ukrainian (fluent), Russian (fluent)

Honors & awards

Recognition.

Hackathon

Best Use of the Agentverse, Fetch.ai Business Track

UC Berkeley AI Hackathon 2026, for AgriBroker.

National

College Board National Recognition Program

Rural & Small Town, First-Generation, and School Recognition awards.

National

Tian Hong Foundation Cross-Cultural Youth Contests

Poetry awards: 1st (2023), 3rd (2024), and 2nd (2025).

Academic

Academic Senate Scholarship

Awarded by Solano College two years in a row for student leadership.

Academic

Eleanore & John Zeltin Scholarship

For first-generation students enrolled full-time at Solano College.

Robotics

VEX Robotics Excellence Award

For my team's engineering journal and overall performance.

Academic

President's Honor List

Awarded Solano College's highest academic honors each semester.

Academic

Academic Letter

Earned at Early College High School for keeping a GPA above 4.0 every semester.

Academic

Principal's Honor Roll

Early College High School, every semester.

Certifications & memberships

Credentials and communities.

AI certifications · OpenAI

Organizations

Contact

Get in touch.

Open to internships, research, and anyone who wants help bringing a hackathon to their community.

jenniferpetsko@gmail.com LinkedIn