Christine Sawyer is in her 15th year of teaching in Wilmington, NC, currently teaching 2nd grade. She holds a Master’s Degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and is an Early Childhood Generalist National Board Certified Teacher. 

She supports other educators through her local university’s cohort for the National Board process and is a member of her district’s Emerging Leaders program. Christine recently completed a three-year term with the Master Teacher cohort at her local university, where she collaborated with other educators.

Through the Emerging Leaders program, Christine created STEM with Mrs. Sawyer, a website and video bank offering bilingual at-home STEM challenges for families using recyclable materials. She is actively working to expand STEM with Mrs. Sawyer to include additional languages, teacher support, and more STEM challenges.

In 2025, a group of 118 individuals, brought together by their applications for a zero-gravity parabolic flight competition hosted by the nonprofit Space for Humanity, embarked on an unexpected journey. The catalyst was a simple online conversation between two participants, one of whom, Kilo, suggested they form a community to connect and collaborate. Excited by the idea, the two reached out to the other applicants, inviting them to an Instagram group chat. Soon, 101 people—each with unique expertise—joined the conversation, eager to build something meaningful together.

The group chat buzzed with enthusiasm as members shared their backgrounds and aspirations. They discussed ways to improve humanity, plan meetups, and work on projects that reflected their collective passions. The group was a diverse mix: engineers tackling technical challenges, doctors and neuroscientists advancing health and cognition, scientists and physicists exploring new frontiers, and aviators with a deep knowledge of flight. Lawyers offered legal expertise, architects and a UX architect shaped innovative designs, and a space chiropractor brought specialized wellness insights. Software engineers contributed technical prowess, while designers, artists, content creators, and teachers infused creativity and education into the mix.

Inspired to create a shared platform, the group held a poll to name their initiative, and Starbound was chosen as the winner. One member took the lead, helping everyone set up bios and profiles and launching a blog on the aCo App, a digital platform designed to support their ambitions. The app provided tools to collaborate, manage ideas, organize events, and track projects and tasks. With profiles established and a growing list of ideas populating the app, Starbound became a dynamic hub where this community of innovators could share their visions, work together, and inspire one another to make a positive impact on the world.