I joined a competition through AlgoEd in June 2025, and I didn’t know I was joining a life-changing experience.

The first time my school counsellor talked to me about this opportunity, I was in disbelief. I couldn’t accept the idea of having the opportunity to participate in a competition with one of the most famous universities in the world: the MIT. However, when I entered the AlgoEd platform, I just had a hit of reality, realizing that it was actually a real possibility.

During the first weeks of February, I created with my team a very strict schedule with meetings to share ideas on how to create a start-up. During these meetings, I felt like I was in a movie; I was just a 17-year-old high school student with other young students thinking about global problems and trying to structure an innovative idea, not only for a competition, but for helping the real world. At that moment was when I discovered how these competitions are fundamental for students; they are more than just a space for competitiveness and academic life; they are a fundamental part of human development. They are spaces for students to make their dreams come true!!

After 10 days of working, we arrived at an idea to help the country where we were, Armenia, and that was another joyful experience for me. I was a Colombian boy trying to help that beautiful country that had hosted me. And yes, the MIT competition was a big opportunity for me to start learning and searching more about the social problems in Armenia, the politics, the laws, and the social necessities. We came to the idea of creating a regulated platform for young people to find volunteering opportunities in the country, giving them proper safety conditions and opening a place for companies and small businesses to access young brains and kind souls who wanted to start gaining experience while helping the economic development of a country in constant growth like Armenia. This was an idea for everyone, for the people and with the people.

Although we didn’t make it to the finals, we learned a lot from this. Moreover, we developed soft and hard skills that have helped us in everything we have done in the rest of our classes. After that competition, I realized I want to create my own start-up in real life, but more importantly, I want to do something to help as many people as possible.

I am very grateful to AlgoEd and MIT for giving me this opportunity that changed my life.