submitting an entry to big ideas @ berkeley.

We're so thankful to have the chance to compete in this competition. It was a lot of hard work and iteration; however, the whole ordeal was great for solidfying in our heads the problem and what we need to do to address it. 

In the weeks leading up to the deadline, Mark went on a "mandatory" family vacation that had him worried literally sick about the proposal. The lesson learned is that you can't work and go on vacation at the same time. He tried to do work while being sick and sitting on a cruise ship, which of course didn't turn out well. We somehow pulled through with the 15-page proposal and were on our way to submitting it within a few days.

Mark returned, and though there was a deadline extension on the day that it was due, we were fighting tooth and claw to complete our 15-page proposal and submit it only minutes before the deadline. We were in a complete panic when, ten minutes before submission, the online platform crashed. We called Phillip, the competition coordinator, and he set us up with the platform support from the East Coast. We successfully submitted our proposal. Lesson learned: submit items much earlier.

Our months of stress are finally gone, and we have new things to look forward to, namely preparing for Clinton Global Initiative University and looking into procuring components for our cook stove. We still need to establish partnerships in our intended pilot study region as well. I hope we have enough time for everything.