11 Student Finalists Announced in The New Normal Challenge
This summer, students joined The New Normal Challenge where they developed ideas to support the BU community on- and off-campus this fall. From new technology to virtual community building events to safe outdoor socializing solutions, meet the finalists below who will receive a $500 seed grant to help them continue to work on their ideas.
Join us on Wednesday, September 23 at 6 pm EDT at The New Normal Challenge Finalists Showcase to:
- Meet the finalists from the Student Impact Track who received a $500 seed grant to support their idea. This track was for students who wanted to develop and implement an idea as a team. The audience will get to vote for one of the finalists to win a bonus cash prize!
- Meet students who developed ideas for the Charles River Campus Track. These ideas are recommendations from undergraduate students that the University could implement.
- This is a great opportunity for students to network and join a team who is looking for additional talent and support!
- Learn more about The New Normal Challenge hosts: Innovate@BU, The Dean of Students Office, BU Student Government, and UMOJA: The Black Student Union.
The New Normal Challenge Student Impact Track Finalists:
- BU DXB Chapter wants to bring international BU students in Dubai together by reserving office and community spaces to be used for socially-distanced remote-learning, study, and community-building sessions.
Team: Samridh Seth (CAS’23) and Malvika Khandelwal (CAS’23) - ClubFare is an app that partners with on-campus BU restaurants to provide discounted meals for outdoor, in-person club meetings of less than 25 students.
Team: Brooke Bedell (CAS’24) - Conversations for Common Ground: BU Anti-Racism Module: The Stateless Collective (a team of undergraduates that develops training modules for students working closely with communities through research and service) is developing an Anti-Racism Module alongside UMOJA and BU Student Government. The four series will focus on concepts of social determinants of health, reflection of privilege, and compassion for students who do not share similar experiences.
Team: Hailey Hart-Thompson (CAS & COM’21), Maria Camila Vargas (Pardee’21), Jessica Weber (Sargent & Kilachand ’21), and Christina Lamagna (COM & Kilachand ’21) - Work and Earn plans to host live online workout sessions that can be done from home or a dorm that rewards the first five participants with a small cash incentive.
Team: Mansi Thakrar (SPH’21) - BUnified aims to be an on-campus and online art exhibition of BU students’ artwork, which could be of any medium, that reflects their personal 2020 experience. Included with the art piece will be a reflection that documents the creation process, the purpose of their piece, and a genuine statement on how 2020 so far has impacted them.
Team: Mayuri Nagpal (COM’21) and Gabrielle Cockerham (Sargent’21) - Intimate Grounds will be a program series that focuses on shared vulnerability as a catalyst to building long lasting relationships, or even, impactful moments with strangers. This weekly virtual series “Intimate Grounds” will allow the BU community to discuss certain stigmatized mental health and relationship topics within a casual, virtual setting with question cards to guide their experience.
Team: Allie Wei (CFA’21) and Hayden Tutty (CFA & CAS ’21) - Hammocking at BU aims to install hammock poles and tandem systems on outdoor campus spaces to provide safe and social distanced study and community spaces.
Team: Kira Milgrim (ENG’23) - Moniterriers wants to help BU community members make more informed decisions as they move around campus by combining new web-based technology with University ID cards to track occupancy data.
Team: Chloe Grubb (ENG’23), Nick Palladino (ENG’23), and Quentin Dassault (ENG’23) - Play nice, Terriers! is a campaign idea to promote better online learning habits by translating advice and best-practices into bite-sized videos and content.
Team: Reed Romanko (CAS’22), Elisa Cordeiro (ENG’22), and Dongyue Xu (CAS’24) - BU NutriGeeks will be a YouTube channel led by a registered dietitian teach BU students, faculty, and staff how to prepare easy, time-efficient, on-budget, and healthy recipes. Each 7-minute video will share a healthy breakfast, lunch or snack ideas.
Team: Ioanna Yiannakou (MED’24) - Safari Saturday aims to connect students both on and off-campus by planning online social events like game nights, viewing parties, or craft tutorials. The team wants to keep the carefree feeling of Saturday’s that students usually use to explore Boston while offering safe and socially-distanced activities.
Team: Ashley Hsieh (CGS’21, Questrom’23), Paul Ovadek (CGS’21, Pardee’23), Katie Fong (CGS’21, CAS’23), and Vickie Luo (CFA’23)
RSVP for the Finalists Showcase
