blog: gator tank competition

src/content/2024-10-08-gator-tank-competition.md

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+---
+slug: "/2024-gator-tank"
+date: "2024-10-08"
+title: "OSC Competes In and Wins 2024 Gator Tank"
+author: ["Daniel Wildsmith, Michail Zeipekki"]
+featuredImage: ../images/blog/2024-10-08-gator-tank-competition.webp
+subtitle: Securing $5,500 in funding from prize pool and new corporate sponsors
+---
+This Fall semester, the University of Floria (UF) College of Engineering hosted its first ever *Gator Tank* competition.
+The event provided the opportunity for a select group of engineering student organizations to showcase their mission and accomplishments to a panel of industry leaders and prominent faculty members, with the chance to win a portion of a $3,000 prize pool.
+Out of the 88 engineering clubs at UF, the Open Source Club (OSC) was one of only three selected to participate. We are very grateful to Dr. Pamela Dickrell, the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, for inviting us!
+
+Jake Malegni, Vice President of OSC, reflects on the experience:
+> "Our president, a tech lead from the Bytes of Love team, and I represented the organization and successfully won $500 for our presentation. Outside of the prize money, we also secured additional funds and made connections with industry leaders such as Vobile and prominent faculty members at UF."
+
+This achievement is a testament to how far the club has come in the past few years.
+What started as a small group of passionate students has now evolved into a well-recognized organization on campus, receiving support from both the College of Engineering and industry partners.
+We look forward to building on this momentum as we continue to develop meaningful open-source software and foster a community of student developers at UF.
+
+It’s great to be a Gator! 🐊
+There has never been a better time to get involved with the Open Source Club. Connect with us on [Discord](https://discord.gg/Gsxej6u) and join the open-source movement!