The RHoK Way

A roundup of 71 North updates

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71 NORTH
March 31, 2026

The RHoK Way

 We’re all so excited to see the weather starting to warm up and April on its way. But not as excited as we are for Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK)! RHoK, part 1, is happening today, Tuesday, March 31st. RHoK this semester is all about tackling food insecurity at NIU. Organizations on campus, like Huskies Harvest, Edible Campus, and the Huskie Food Pantry, provide free food to NIU students. However, they still face difficulties with managing inventory, volunteers, experience, and more. That’s why we want you! We want you to help us in finding new, innovative solutions to solve problems in our community and make a positive impact. We will be hosting Clinical Assistant Professor of Nutrition and founder of Huskie Harvest Dr. Nancy Prange, Assistant Director of Edible Campus Laura Fehling, and Dean of Students Dr. Kelly Olson, for RHok and hope to see many of you there. Let’s RHoK it!!

❝

“I personally believe this: We have only today; yesterday’s gone and tomorrow is uncertain. That’s why they call it the present."

- Ace Frehley

🗓Week’s Schedule: March 31st- April 6th

Tuesday, March 31st:

8:30-11:00 AM: Morning Brew & Write - Writing Group for Grad Students & Post-Docs

12:30-1:30 PM: Innovation Pages, Ecosystems as Models for Restoring our Economies - Facilitators: Anna Klis and Matthew Deitch

CHILL- Mindful Art

Come relax with some fun art activities!

71north.github.io/programs/chill

5:00-7:00PM: Random Hacks Of Kindness- Part 1: Problem Scoping and Ideation

Wednesday, April 1st :

4:00-5:00 PM: Synergy Lab - Orientation at 3:30 pm

SynergyLab

Synergy Lab is a people-centered skills accelerator within the 71 North Partnership Studio. It’s for students who want more than classes, who want to build in-demand skills through free, industry-aligned programs like Google Career Certificates, UXCEL, and similar platforms.

71north.github.io/programs/SynergyLab

4:30-6:30 PM: HuskieHackers - Embark on coding adventures.

5:00-6:00 PM: Wired Wednesday - Wire yourself to the community

Thursday, April 2nd:

3:30-5:00 PM: Spark Innovation

5:00-6:00 PM: Innovation Club Meetup- student-led organization for creative thinkers interested in making the world a better place

5:00-6:00 PM: Appy Hour- All things apps podcast

Friday, April 3rd:

9:00-12:00 PM: HON-310 Startup Standup

1:00-2:00 PM: Northern Exposure: David Koop, PhD- Summarizing Data in Visualization

3:00-5:00 PM: VespaMode - Development of Vespa Simulator in VR

5:00-6:00 PM: Appy Hour - All things apps podcast

Monday, April 6th:

2:00-3:00 PM: Innovation Pages, Leaders Eat Last - Facilitator: Jordan York

4:30-6:30 PM: HuskieHackers - Embark on coding adventures.

Huskies Get Hired- Huskieverse 2026-2027 :

Looking Ahead:

Tuesday, April 7th: Random Hacks Of Kindness- Part 2: Proposal and Presentation

Friday, April 10th: The Final Northern Exposure of Spring 2026!! Suzanne Autrey, PhD- Applications of Raman Spectroscopy in Earth and Environmental Science

Looking Back:

We all had such a fun time connecting, sharing, and celebrating the work of everyone around the Innovation Studio at Demo Day! LinkedIn: Innovation Club NIU

Take a moment to review 71 North on Google Maps