to:gether
Hi there! We are To:gether Innovations, a group of Harvard students and recent graduates who are passionate about connecting distanced communities and bridging our digital and physical worlds.
Our Work:
Our journey began this spring, after being (slightly abruptly) displaced from campus, which compelled us to reflect on what we missed so much about Harvard, who we longed to express our gratitude toward, and how we could stay connected even in this unwieldy time apart. We channeled these reflections into our first pilot, called The Dear Harvard Project, in which members across the community could send a virtual postcard to Harvard, complete with a photo and message of their choosing. The cards are displayed online in a digital gallery and will be printed and displayed in the Smith Campus Center when everyone can safely reunite in Cambridge. You can read more about our Harvard pilot in The Harvard Gazette and are welcome to participate here!
We also built a pilot for Phillips Academy Andover, an independent high school facing similar struggles to many colleges and universities: a far-flung student body and team of staff. Our hope is to extend our platform to more communities compromised by distance: libraries, community centers, theaters, churches, and other educational institutions. Wherever our project takes us, we are committed to serving a host of communities in a not-for-profit effort.
Our Team:
Aysha Emmerson
Originally from Victoria, BC, Aysha is a rising Junior at Harvard College, concentrating in Resilience Studies with minors in Anthropology and French. Passionate about creating opportunities for individuals and communities to support one another in overcoming adversity, she is the co-founder of Co-VID Student Support Network and the Managing Director and Founder of Self.I.E Camps. Aysha is also an Intern at the Partnerships in Education and Resilience (PEAR) Institute, was a Speaker at WE Day Vancouver 2017, and was Zonta International’s Youth Observor to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. In her spare time, Aysha enjoys baking, yoga, playing soccer, and reading feminist theory.
Jasper Johnston
Jasper is a recent graduate of Harvard College, where he majored in Strategic Social Behavior with a minor in Ethnicity, Migration, Rights. Raised in Victoria BC, Jasper is passionate about sustainability, public policy, and conflict resolution. Jasper has advised Fortune 100 companies, non-profits, and governments through his roles with NAI Limited and Harvard Undergraduate CBE, and his work on negotiation, psychology, and intergroup relations has been published by the United Nations and World Economic Forum. In his spare time, Jasper enjoys playing the piano, singing, sailing, and photography.
Katherine Lou
Katherine is a rising senior at Harvard College studying Sociology with a minor in Computer Science. She’s also a Technology Innovation Fellow at Harvard Business School and Harvard School of Engineering. Katherine seeks to bridge the divide between social scientists and technologists to build solutions that make the world better for all. She is particularly interested in using technology to build community and meaningful human experiences. Away from her laptop, Katherine is the Captain of the Harvard Curling team, serves as an EMT, and enjoys spending time outdoors in her home, Vancouver, Canada.
Lara Teich
Lara is a rising senior at Harvard College, where she loves studying Government and minoring in East Asian Studies. Driven by a strong desire to foster global community, Lara is primarily interested in the practice of diplomacy and using creativity to communicate more effectively. Growing up in a small city in southern New Mexico taught her to love the heat of the desert and admire the beauty of peaceful interactions between different cultures. She also loves to curl (on ice), paint, and sing showtunes.
Rob Walker
Rob is a rising junior at Harvard College concentrating in Computer Science. He is passionate about technology and its ability to help solve social problems: he has worked for three start-ups (Hubdoc, HSA Dev, and Enotice) over his gap year and summers, and in Fall 2020 will help teach Harvard’s introductory CS course. For fun, Rob does software development for the Crimson newspaper and plays lead guitar for Extra Extra, a band he co-founded that has opened for Bazzi, Kiara, and Jay Sean. When he’s not coding or playing music, he can be found homebrewing hard cider with his roommate Max or leading hiking trips in the Appalachian Mountains.
Sophie Webster
Sophie is a rising senior at Harvard College studying Integrative Biology with minors in Earth & Planetary Sciences and Spanish. She is passionate about building a sustainable future and optimizing food and energy systems (and she also loves studying plants!). Outside of the classroom or laboratory, she sings a cappella music, writes comedy, and avidly participates in theatre.
Vicky Xu
Vicky is a recent grad from Harvard College where she studied Applied Math & Economics. She loves thinking about the future of cities and how to bring people more meaningfully together. She also really likes drawing pictures of food, playing Ultimate Frisbee, and drinking tea.
Our Goals:
This summer, we look forward to honing and iterating on our platform to make it both as beneficial and meaningful as possible to the communities we’ll serve. One technological goal is to make the product more easily accessed and implemented by communities seeking a unique means of connection amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside streamlining our product, we are working to create a pan-Canada platform to connect Canadians across the country on Canada Day. We’re coordinating with several sponsors and partners to bring our vision to a larger, national scale and create a valuable experience for participants. In preparation for this launch, we’ll be focused on design, outreach, user testing, partnerships, and, of course, our technology.
