Building Futures and Friendships in The Bay
BY JINSUN LEE, PROJECT INVENT 2021-2022
Who knew that the small pixels of a GMail notification could bring such joy? After receiving the confirmation email that I had gotten into the ChangeMakers program — a virtual opportunity for students without school-sponsored Project Invent teams across America — my Project Invent journey officially began and started off with weekly Zoom meetings with seven other students all across America. We all had a bit of Zoom shyness, but the class was still filled with lively discussions and lessons packed with information, thanks to the enthusiasm of our mentor, Ms. Lauren Babitz.
However, it would be a lie to say that everything was perfect and easy. It was a huge learning curve for me with sudden team lineup changes, new communication norms, and confusion over time differences. But, it is the hardships that we faced that I cherish the most. They were fundamental building blocks of our team and the reason we all became closer and more confident in our skills as we focused on building an innovative prototype in the midst of the chaos.
Teammates Jin and Nidhi in San Jose, May 2022
Then came Demo Day. I silently prayed that the judges couldn’t see how my smile quivered or hear the nervous crack in my voice as we introduced ourselves and our invention, Silent Siren. The whole day was a blur of nerves, and I distinctly remember the feeling of indescribable awe at everyone’s bustling creativity and passion they had for their cause and Community Partners. Within just a year, everyone had grown as a student engineer and individual, ready and eager to help out the community. We were flabbergasted to be picked for an award and chance to join FutureFest from a pool of outstanding and talented students.
To our surprise and joy, Silent Siren made it to FutureFest! The day of the announcement, my teammate and I were blowing up each other’s phones with anxious text messages which were replaced with giddy ones once the results were out. When our shouts of happiness finally died down, we quickly realized the daunting situation we were in. At FutureFest, we would have an opportunity to display our work to more than 100 professionals from Silicon Valley. Committed to making the most of the opportunity, we focused on making improvements on our prototype and also started designing our swag and booth. Coincidentally, both of us had to cram for our upcoming AP exams and keep up with schoolwork. Nevertheless, we did what we do best and persevered. We broke down each of our strengths and weaknesses and came up with a game plan to utilize the best of our time.
Silent Siren displayed at the Tech Interactive in San Jose, May 2022
As my legs were aching and going numb from sitting too long on the plane from Virginia to California, my mind started to wander as I worried and became anxious about what was in store for the next 72 hours. Even now, it is hard to describe in words what happened at FutureFest, as it was a whirlwind of raw emotions and nerves.
Mini engineering challenges at WeWork in San Jose, May 2022
Growing up in a small suburban town in the middle of Virginia certainly had its perks (the abundance of hiking trails and fresh oysters), but I never truly realized how big the world is and how packed it is with opportunities. The diversity in not only the group of students I was with, but in our industry mentors was mind blowing. Not only was I able to receive valuable first-hand feedback, the diverse group of people I was with helped provide different perspectives that were critical to the development of Silent Siren and other startups. Such wonders captivated body and mind - it was only during my walk back to the hotel that I became hyper aware of the constant pinching of my shoes and my hoarse voice. Later that night, while staring blankly at the ceiling of the hotel room, I knew that this was something that I wanted to continue to do for the rest of my life.
It has been a little over a month since FutureFest. Not only did I learn from that valuable weekend, I have continued to stay in touch with the majority of the students I met during the event. A group of us blow up each other’s phones on a daily basis with well over 600 notifications, and we even created our own virtual book club to continue to share our stories with each other. FutureFest’s true value has shown itself in the friends I made; we continue to inspire and support each other long after the program has ended, as we each remain committed to innovating for good.