University of Minnesota · Twin Cities

ColorStack UMN

A home for Black and Latinx computer science students at the U, where you find your people, sharpen your craft, and land the offer.

ColorStack UMN members seated together on a marble staircase
ColorStack UMN, together at Walter.

01 / Our purpose

We're building the room we wanted as freshmen.

ColorStack UMN exists to increase the number of Black and Latinx students who graduate from the University of Minnesota with a computer science degree, and a career to walk into.

We do that three ways. We teach the technical skills the classroom skips, we open doors to recruiters and alumni who look like us, and we keep a community close enough that no one has to figure out sophomore year alone.

Building a space for you.

02 / What we do

Four things we run all year.

Three ColorStack UMN members standing beside a whiteboard reading "ColorStack Bootcamp, let's play Jeopardy" with résumé and interview categories

Workshops

Git, interview data structures, résumé teardowns, mock technical screens, and project nights where you actually ship something.

Three students presenting a project slide at a table during the Ideathon, one speaking into a microphone

Leadership

Every board seat is a student one. Members run events, manage budgets, pitch sponsors, and lead committees.

A recruiter talking with a student at a Rubrik recruiting booth at the Stacked Up Summit

Professional Development

Alumni and recruiter connections, conference delegations, and a referral network that has put members in front of hiring teams.

Every board seat is a student one.

ColorStack UMN members playing chess and Connect Four around a table at game night

Community

Game nights, potlucks, study halls before finals, and outreach with Twin Cities students who need to see someone who looks like them writing code.

Members in the chapter
180+
Internship and full-time offers
50+

Numbers matter, but the room matters more. Every offer on this list started with someone showing up to a Tuesday meeting and staying for the people.

03 / A place to belong

If you're the first in your family to do this, you're in the right place.

A lot of us are first-generation students. Nobody at home could explain what a résumé screen was, why you need a GitHub, or how internship recruiting starts a year early. We turn that hidden curriculum into something you can just ask about.

We also send a delegation to the national conference every year, and we chase the funding so cost never decides who gets to go.

Find your people
A student smiling in a red scarf, standing in a colonnaded campus hallway

04 / In the room

A few moments, together.

From first introductions to shared ambitions. A few moments with our community.

Campus days. Conference nights.

Select a photo to look closer.

05 / Meet the board

The students behind the chapter.

The people who plan the meetings, pitch the sponsors, and keep the door open for whoever comes next. Hover a portrait to put a name to the face.

Abdirahman OmerSecretary

05 / Your next chapter

Come find your people.

Event invites, internship deadlines, and Chapter Notes, our monthly newsletter. Any major, any year, any background. Everyone is welcome at the table.

Join the List

Start a conversation.

[email protected]

Questions about joining, partnering, or speaking at a meeting? Get in touch.