It’s early October 2017, in Ghent, Belgium. A group of students make their way to the Kattenberg campus of the Artevelde University College for a day’s workshop on digital story tools. I’m one of those students. It’s my first Hackastory experience and the first time I meet Alka.

Happy storytellers – Hackastory’s visit to Arteveldehogeschool

Alka’s first Hackastory experience was a Virtual Reality hackathon in Breda in 2015. She met Albertine and Nienke there and they clicked from day one. She later joined Hackastory at IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), where they set up a Hackastory Headquarters. They made all sorts of blogs, reviews and clips for the occasion. Her involvement grew when Hackastory asked her to contribute to the making of Hackastory.tools, a handy page where you can find digital tools in various categories to turn some dull online content into next-level awesomeness.

A Perfect Match

So how did Alka discover Hackastory? One of her teachers at the Fontys School of Journalism had participated in the very first Hackathon. Alka decided to subscribe to the Hackastory newsletter, through which she learned about the VR hackathon.

It’s interesting that Alka’s first hackathon was on the subject of Virtual Reality. “The topic triggered me to enroll,” she told me. “I want to innovate and do things in an unconventional way.” She’s rebellious; a rule-breaker. “I never did what they expected of me in [journalism] school,” she said. They wanted her to deliver the same tame, cookie-cutter news articles that have existed for centuries. Alka wanted to make something more interesting than a typical news item. “I want to be among those shaping the future of journalism.” It’s safe to say that Hackastory and Alka were a perfect match. She knew from the very beginning that she wanted to be involved with Hackastory for the long run.

Alka presenting during a masterclass in Eindhoven

Words of Wisdom

While she’s shaping the future of journalism with Hackastory, the company is also changing her. “In school, I’d been taught to say ‘Yes, but,’” Alka says. ”I constantly slowed myself down with critical questions. While working here, I learned how to dose my inner journalist. ‘Yes, but’ slowly changed into ‘Yes, and.’ I’ve learned how to remove my own handbrake.”

Those yes-buts and yes-ands make Alka an invaluable asset to the team, which she said this about: “Our team works because we’re balanced.” Everyone has their own thing to contribute. Everyone does what they’re good at. That’s what I take away from her in terms of advice. For the sake of removing one’s handbrakes, here’s a direct quote:

“You just have to do what you’re fucking good at.”