🌱 When we find each other
Sometimes you just need a reminder that you not only care—you have the goods
Yesterday, we reached 100 subscribers here! I wasn’t sure what would happen when I started this in early January. I just knew we had a lot of great material from our interviews and wanted to share it. The impulse to make the podcast itself was a similar gamble. I wanted to share the hope I felt when students presented their environmentally visionary thesis projects. I thought, if I feel this good in the presence of their imaginative, hopeful proposals, surely others would too.
The response to episode 1 this week has confirmed that intuition. When our co-host, Vincenza, shared it, she got this response:
Another friend, who runs a growing company, just bought more property and now wants to look into how to make their office more passively efficient. Simply hearing that it’s possible or seeing examples of how it’s been done, can be all the motivation people need to try something new.
It’s rewarding to hear about the collateral effects of this venture, particularly that feeling of, hey, maybe I’m not alone here. Maybe there are other people who dare to care, who actually do feel hopeful about the future—at least some of the time.
Honestly, the magic around this project was evident early on. During her interview back in January, Juhi reflected on the journey from grad school to the work world: “I'm not gonna lie, I have already in the last three years since graduating, lost it and found it again. I think it was precisely when you invited me to be on this podcast where I was like, oh, yeah, I used to care about that.”
It was not my intention when reaching out to our seven guests to dose them with their own medicine, but, sure, why not? Who hasn’t felt beaten down by the grind of day-to-day concerns—keeping your boss happy, trying not to make mistakes, humbled by how much you have to learn, working through the weekend on a deadline. It’s uplifting to see a visionary, hopeful architecture proposal—even when you are the author. Maybe especially then.
Juhi again: “It's a bit of a blessing to be naive and optimistic, where we start off in grad school with these ideas and it’s great to be able to carry it through. That's definitely a goal of mine to be able to carry through as far as I can in this profession. But even now, it's important to plant seeds, to stay true to what we are actually passionate about and maybe make a dent someday.”
That’s what a community can do for us. When you need a pause because you're burned out or disillusioned, disappointed, depressed—whatever the emotion is, someone comes along and reminds you, not only did you used to care about it, but you have a lot to say about it. And a lot of smart ideas about what we can do to solve these difficult problems.
You can find episode 1 on your favorite podcast app. Please rate and review, so others can find us, too. Dose up on the visionary work of our guests and let’s get everyone building hope.
This project is supported by a Faculty-Student Research Award from the Graduate School, University of Maryland, as well as grants from the University’s Sustainability Fund and the School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation.
🌱 When we find each other
I am happy that more people are going passive. I feel that I am often in a tussle with contractors about unsustainable and non-environmentally friendly materials.