When Arely Peckham saw a post about Break to Make on Instagram, she didn’t hesitate to apply for the two-day make-a-thon specifically designed for women and nonbinary makers.

“The only [other] hackathon I did, I was completely left out by all the guys there. They did all the work, and they didn’t let me do anything except for the presentation,” said Peckham, a freshman majoring in arts, technology and business of innovation. “I never did a hackathon again after that. So this one, it seems like a really great way to get back into space and try and have a good experience, maybe make it better for me.”

Break to Make, USC’s hardware-based make-a-thon, returned this fall after a seven-year pause, revived by SparkSC Fall 2025 Leads Christine Lai, Edith Chang and Bona Suh — all juniors involved in STEM fields. SparkSC is a student organization that is dedicated to creating entrepreneurial opportunities at USC. Originally founded in 2017, the event was created to expand access to  hands-on engineering opportunities.

This year’s Break to Make took place from Sept. 26 to 28 and hosted roughly 80 students in teams of three or four. Chang said one of her goals for the revived event was designing it to be more inclusive than ever before. 

“There are a few software hackathons at USC, but we felt like there was a big need for a hardware hackathon, mostly because access to hardware can be very limited and supplies can be very expensive,” Suh said. “Our goal with Break to Make was to kind of lower that barrier of access by making everything free.”

This year’s event included three themed tracks — health, environment and open design. Unlike traditional hackathons that prioritize competition or final deliverables, Break to Make emphasized experimentation and physical building. 

Lai said she believes that designs don’t necessarily need to be functional, but can be “playful” as well. The three tracks give people the freedom to create anything related to the themes instead of tying down to a specific problem. 

Chang said that SparkSC invited “filmmakers, musicians, scientists, researchers, engineers, business majors [and] everyone” to this year’s event.

“We’ve changed the original curriculum and programming a little bit so that it’s more open to people who have zero experience in hardware, and [we’re] breaking down that barrier of needing to get materials,” Chang said.

Peckham and her team worked on a wearable device that monitors the user’s heart rate and temperature, designed to support dementia patients utilizing music therapy. 

“We came here with a completely different idea, and we just pivoted,” she said. 

To prepare for the event, the three organizers began planning nearly eight months in advance. Without access to the original planning documents, they reconstructed logistics and programming from scratch — designing schedules, recruiting volunteers, securing sponsorships and even hand laser-cutting around 100 wooden name tags to create a more “homey” feel.

“We care so much about this mission,” Chang said. “All of our makers are taking time out of their weekend to come and build with us. We want to make it as memorable and valuable to them.”

By bringing back this event, Chang said they want to break the “mysterious” stereotype of hardware and make hardware tools more accessible to people on campus.

“Our goal is for participants to not walk away feeling that they created something perfect,” Suh said, “But to realize that something they thought was scary was not really scary at all — and that they just didn’t have the opportunity to try it out before.”

Volunteer Emily Chang, a freshman majoring in health promotion, also said that it is “great to see everyone’s thoughts on the same screen.” 

Looking ahead, Suh said she hopes to expand Break to Make and bring even more students into the maker space. 

“We already feel so lucky to be able to provide this for 80 students,” Chang said. “Hopefully, if it goes well and word spreads, we’d love to welcome many more.”