Check Out Marina Lee’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Marina Lee.

Hi Marina, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

My journey in CS started in middle school, where I joined a mentorship program that paired young girls with female mentors in the tech industry. Throughout the program, my mentor taught me how to code and guided me on a project, and towards the end, we toured a tech company headquarters and I got to present my project there. When seeing everyone else’s project demos, I became amazed at how everyone’s projects were aiming to solve a world issue or help a community they care about. I also loved how everyone’s projects were so creative, as I was interested in design as well. I remember that before the program, I was intimidated by the traditionally male-dominated field that tech is, but I felt more confident being surrounded in a supportive, gender-inclusive community. That moment inspired me to start coding.

I first learned Swift through a summer program called Kode With Klossy, which was also an all-female environment. I quickly become hooked in iOS development, as I felt the programming language was easy to learn. Apple’s various frameworks also allows you to build meaningful features that integrates seamlessly with the existing apps on a user’s iOS device. I heard about the Swift Student Challenge when I saw a few previous Kode With Klossy winners who won the challenge. I’ve always admired Apple as a company because of the innovative technologies they work on, so I became inspired to apply for the challenge to experiment more with Swift.

My project is called EvacuMate, which is an app that helps users stay organized and safe during a wildfire crisis. Its features include an interactive checklist of items to pack and a place to upload copies of important documents. It also has contact information to essential organizations/services such as Cal Fire and Red Cross, along with the option to add personal emergency contacts to the app as well. There is also a collection of essential resources such as how to check air quality levels, how to pack a first aid kit, etc that users can reference anytime.

EvacuMate was inspired by a real life event – as someone who grew up in Los Angeles, I’ve always been aware of the wildfire risks that come with living in the area. but the urgency truly hit home when my grandma received an evacuation alert during the LA wildfires that happened back in January. When she called me, she sounded overwhelmed and uncertain about what to pack, where to go, and how to stay updated. I realized how many others, especially people like her who were not as familiar with technology, must be facing the same confusion and fear. That led me to create an app that is accessible and easy to use, especially in times of crisis.

Luckily, the applications for this year’s Swift Student Challenge open soon. The Swift Student Challenge is a competition from Apple that supports and uplifts the next generation of developers, creators, and entrepreneurs. The Challenge has given thousands of student developers like me the opportunity to showcase their creativity and coding capabilities through app playgrounds and learn real-world skills that they can take into their careers and beyond. Submissions open February 6-28, 2026, and you can learn more here: https://developer.apple.com/swift-student-challenge/

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I had some obstacles and challenges along the development process, largely due to time constraints and initial uncertainty. While many other winners had been working on their apps months in advance, I built EvacuMate within a single month after deciding to commit to the challenge later than planned. I was initially on the fence about submitting at all, as I hadn’t yet landed on a concrete idea. However, hearing about the wildfires in January became a turning point. It motivated me to act quickly and build something that could address a real, urgent need, even knowing I only had until February to complete it.

Balancing school life and projects was definitely hard at times. When working on EvacuMate, I was a full-time student, teaching assistant for USC’s iOS development course, and involved in multiple clubs at the same time. I’m a board member of USC’s Women in Engineering club, where I lead a mentorship program for over 150 students and frequently organize events. I’m also a keyboardist in a pop band at USC, where we perform at a lot of gigs throughout the semester, so I had to factor in lots of rehearsal time as well. I often like to stay motivated by going all the way back to middle-school-me and think about the reason why I started coding, to now where I am today. My coding journey started through mentorship, and when I was younger, I remember looking up to my mentors as role models of who I aspire to be one day. As I’ve grown as a developer, I’m now giving back by mentoring others, especially younger peers. So when the workload feels overwhelming, I take a step back and reflect on how my own mentors reached where they are today. They kept persevering toward their goals, and never gave up. That perspective reminds me that I now have the chance to be that role model for someone else, and keeps me motivated even through the toughest times.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m currently a computer science student at the University of Southern California. I’m passionate about providing equitable access to education in technology, designing for accessibility, and building communities. My journey into software development began in middle school, where I joined a mentorship program that paired young girls with female mentors in the tech industry. This inspired me to learn more about programming, and eventually pursue software development in college and ultimately as a career.

Throughout high school, I took CS classes to continue learning to code. I also started getting really involved in hackathons, which are 24-48 hour events where teams work to build a project from scratch. I found these to be a great way to learn various programming languages quickly.

The summer before junior year, I attended an AI summer research program, where I met a lot of students from across the US. I remember that one day, we were talking about what classes were we taking in high school. Many of them actually mentioned that their schools didn’t have any computer science courses, and that really shocked me. Since I went to high school in the Bay Area, I felt that I was always surrounded by tech education.

Soon after that, I became inspired to organize my own hackathon. Since it was during the COVID pandemic as well, I realized that a virtual hackathon would take away the financial and geographical barriers, that allows people, no matter where they are, to attend. I assembled a team and founded a hackathon called Citro Hacks, where we invited a total of 15 guest speakers to host workshops. These ranged from technical topics such as how to build a website, and career-related topics such as landing an internship. Our first hackathon ended up getting over 800 participants from 50 countries, and it was such a rewarding feeling for me to see hundreds of students from all over the world come together to learn about coding.

Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
I would not have been able to reach this point without the support of several people who played meaningful roles throughout my journey. My family has been my strongest source of encouragement—my parents and twin sister consistently believed in my goals, provided emotional support during moments of doubt, and motivated me to keep pushing forward. I am also deeply grateful to my mentors, from my middle school mentorship program to those at USC, who helped shape both my technical growth and personal development.

Contact Info:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marinahylee/

Image Credits
CEO Tim Cook and I – credited to Apple.