About Me

A CS student who can't stop creating

Hi! I'm Heona — a computer science student with a deep passion for building things that allow me to seek meaningful learning experiences. I love the intersection of tech and creative expression, which is what I love about code and digital art. Whether it's flying to Chicago for a hackathon, designing an intuitive UI, or illustrating a digital piece from scratch — I approach everything new with an inquisitive mindset. When I'm not at my desk you'll find me on a badminton court, at a piano, or wherever curiosity leads next.
Heona Liu

Currently Learning

Web Development

Currently building

This site ✨

💼Current Roles

  • Coding Instructor @ Penguin Coding School
  • High School Rising Senior

📚Currently Learning

  • ML & AI Prompting
  • KiCad

🔨What I Enjoy Building

  • Creative coding experiments
  • Things that make people smile

Toolkit

Skills & Tools

Technologies I reach for when building products, interfaces, and experiments.

Languages

PythonJavaScriptJava

Frontend

ReactNext.jsTailwind CSS

Backend & Databases

Node.jsFirebase

Beyond the Screen

Interests

Programming

Building tools that solve problems and allow me to learn new things

Digital Art

Illustration, character design, and generative visual experiments.

Badminton

On the court whenever possible — the best way to clear the mind.

Piano

Classical pieces and listening to various music!

Background

My Journey

2026

Worcester Polytechnic Institution (WPI) Innovation Award

Recognizes outstanding high school juniors (grade 11) who demonstrate academic excellence, apply theory to real-world challenges, and embody WPI's core values of curiosity, collaboration, and leadership

2026

Hack Club x NASA Stardance Ambassador

Stardance Ambassador for Newton. Mission goal is to bring more teens into Hack Club to build their first projects through the Stardance program (a collab with NASA, Github, AMD) over the summer

2026

Unplugged Hackathon

Co-organized a local hackathon with Alan Tao and Raymund Thongthipaya holding 30+ teens, expanding STEM to a broader audience (May 30)

2026

Hack Club: Sleepover

April 26-28 Flew to Chicago solo to attend an all girls hackathon and built StarryWhisper with a team

2026

NCWIT High School Award: Aspirations in Computing MA Honorable Mention

Recognition highlights students dedicated to studying computing, exploring technology-driven initiatives, and strengthening technical skills within the field

2026

Boston University Hacks High School (BUHHS): 2nd Place Winner

Built a project in a 6 hour timeframe at BU alongside Tan Tran based around the theme "Build a Better Boston"

2026

First Hackathon: MIT Blueprint 2026

One of the most life changing events

2025

NCLS: Emerging Leader Service Award (ELSA) 2026 - Silver Award

Awarded by Newton Chinese Language School (NCLS), the Emerging Leader Service Award recognizes and honors individuals who have demonstrated a strong commitment to volunteer service. Awarded to (16-25 years old) with 175 - 249 hours of volunteer service.

2025

2nd Place Badminton Club Tournament: Women Singles

Annual local club tournament against players of all ages

2025

Beijing Jingshan Exchange Program

4-month long cultural study abroad exchange program between NNHS and Beijing Jingshan School

2024

Coding Teacher - Penguin Coding School

First part-time job teaching children how to code using Scratch, Minecraft Ed, and Roblox Lua

2022

First YouTube Videos

Started building my presence on YouTube for my digital art and learning to video edit

2019

Discovered Digital Art