Little did I know when I enrolled in my bachelor that a single student project could influence one’s scientific development for years. In fact, because of one extracurricular project, I published three peer-reviewed articles, initiated an international university collaboration and developed an educational approach to merge teaching and research in sustainability science. Well, to cut a long story short I did none of this on my own but had the fortune to collaborate with extremely thoughtful and ingenious people. Together, we opened the restrictive doors of academia to young researchers eager to engage in science. We broke down hierarchical structures empowering students to leave the theory-rich bubble of their classroom to experience first-hand the often so mysterious world of science and the politics of publishing. But most importantly, we collaboratively started a project that was nothing but fun and an inspiring adventure that will probably in one way or the…