As statistics and data science educators, understanding why students choose to dedicate an intense weekend to the immersive DataFest experience is crucial for maximizing its impact and ensuring its continued success.

For the past three years, our Improving Undergraduate STEM Education project, funded by the National Science Foundation, has embarked on a qualitative and quantitative research journey to uncover the driving forces behind student participation in DataFest. Our investigation spanned two academic years and encompassed six DataFest host sites. We surveyed 892 students and interviewed 56 student participants. Survey questions held a place for open-ended responses as to why students decided to take part in DataFest, as well as choice options with a range of reasons for participating. The semistructured interviews gave us a chance to more deeply explore what drew students to DataFest.