Hi y’all! This is my first blog post, over a year into the existence of our project (oops), but I am hoping to make it worth the wait. I’ve been told I tell this story the best, so sit down and buckle up for how we went from four undergraduates who maybe knew each other to four undergraduates winning a big grant and basically leading an international project.
As with all great origin stories, it starts with a Facebook message. Rosaleen, also known as our lead developer aka computer science wiz aka my amazing roommate, and I had just begun our apartment search. This was made even more eventful due to the fact I was in DC, while she was in Austin. While still in DC, I get an email that basically says “you might be a great fit…international project and grant”. I immediately message Rosaleen as a potential partner:
Of course, for a good origin story, it couldn’t be that easy. Rosaleen messaged me back with grim news:
Rosaleen had already been approached by another group to join their team! This was obviously terrible news, but as someone not easily dissuaded I made sure to follow up during every apartment call until she eventually agreed to be on a team with me (she will probably tell this part of the story a bit differently ;).
Our next step was to narrow down where and what we wanted to do. This, as many things do, started as a list in a Google Doc. We literally listed everything about ourselves and interests that we could think of. And it was a big list, ranging from environmental justice to LGBTQ+ rights and protections (guess which one won). But before we could make it much further we wanted to find our missing teammates.
Stay tuned for Episode 2: The Missing Teammates