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🌊⚡️ 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐈𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐬, 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭-

Volunteering for the Bryant University 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 2026



Last Thursday and Friday, I had the absolute blast of returning to 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 to help mentor and judge a group of students diving into their very first major team project, the 𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 2026. And wow—these students did not hold back.



Nearly 1,200 first-year and transfer students, mentored by 150 faculty, staff and students.



The five teams I worked with chose to take on a project with real environmental stakes: raising awareness and developing potential solutions for the 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐭𝐭 𝐁𝐚𝐲. Not exactly a “light” first assignment—and they jumped in with both feet.



From the moment I stepped into the room, their energy was contagious:



✅ 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬


✅ 𝐁𝐨𝐥𝐝


✅ 𝐀𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧



Each team brought its own angle—creative outreach ideas, environmental insights, community engagement strategies—and they attacked the challenge with the kind of enthusiasm that reminds you why early-stage learning environments are magic.



Watching them collaborate, integrate feedback overnight, build mock prototypes, and cheer each other on was a highlight of my week. 



Their motivation was infectious, and their willingness to think big gives me a lot of hope for the future of innovation, sustainability, and leadership.



😎These students have bright futures ahead of them, and I’m grateful I got to be a small part of their journey.



Already excited for next year.



𝐆𝐨 𝐁𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲! 𝐆𝐨 𝐁𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐝𝐨𝐠𝐬!






 
 
 

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