1:41 AM now, trying to fall asleep in a Mumbai hotel located a quarter mile or so from the domestic airport terminal. Definitely doesn’t feel real yet.
It’s rather surreal to think back to this past January, listening to Professor Moledina’s pitch about GSE for the first time. I remember how our group stayed an hour and a half after the last session of SE training, brainstorming our “pie-in-the-sky.” There were the weekly 8:15 AM meetings at Old Main Café, our seemingly circular discussions (“capacity” vs. “capability” vs. “competency”), the Friday nights we spent crafting powerpoint presentations, the stresses of actually writing the business plan and finalizing our pitch.
Five months. In between our regular responsibilities – whether it was acting as student group leaders on top of a full load of classes, directing SE while teaching and advising students, or running the International Programs Office – we found the time to move beyond discussing ideas and took action.
Throughout the semester, I know our team didn’t feel that our plan fell in the “most feasible” category. I know there were times when I didn’t know if this project would end as an idea gathering dust on a shelf somewhere.
Needless to say, it didn’t – and though I feel it sounds corny, engaging in SE this past semester represents one of the most inspirational endeavors I have ever been involved in. Taking such a seemingly outlandish idea and working to translate it into reality… this experience makes other outlandish “pies-in-the-sky” – goals such as reducing systemic inequality, addressing climate change, increasing access to quality education, crafting innovative energy solutions, promoting sustainable urban growth – somehow seem not so impossible.
