Adrian Edwards is an open book. Every week, the computer science student can be found in RIT’s SHED working on a free and open source software (FOSS) project that could improve the campus and the world. Since he got to RIT five years ago, he’s made open and free culture a big part of his life—from incorporating it into his degree to running FOSS Hours every Wednesday evening. At FOSS Hours, any student can stop by to learn and work on open projects. RIT has a long history and culture of academic and extracurricular work in open source. Edwards hopes to pass his passion on to other students when he graduates in May and starts a job at Red Hat. “I love the open source spirit,” said Edwards, who is earning a combined accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree in computer science. “I want to encourage students to get involved and help solve problems around them. Participating in open projects is a great way to meet people and contribute. Be the change you want to see.” An open source community When Edwards learned that RIT was the first university in the country to offer an immersion and a minor in FOSS and free culture, he knew that he’d found the right place. He started by adding those courses to his degree and eventually became a teaching assistant in the area. Edwards explained that open source is bigger than most people assume, with a majority of top organizations relying on open source servers and operating systems. The idea of free culture goes a lot deeper than that tech—it’s also about the people and communities behind the scenes who help keep things functioning smoothly. “A lot of people connect the free part to money, but it’s also about freedom,” said Edwards, who is from Lake Oswego, Ore. “I think people are starting to see the benefit of being able to control what runs on their computers. There’s a lot of benefits and I know that code won’t be slipped in without my knowing.” Edwards said he enjoys open data because it can be used by students to build useful campus software. He participates in RIT’s annual BrickHack hackathon and he’s been helping another student develop a bus schedule app. Edwards also connected with RIT University Advancement when he wanted to fundraise for the FOSS community during ROAR Day. That conversation turned into a project to develop a ROAR Day URL Creator. The tool makes it easier for ambassadors to collect gifts from potential donors. Maria Weir, a third-year double major in sociology and anthropology and public design in the individualized program, regularly attends FOSS Hours. She met Edwards through RIT’s Disability Culture Club and said the collaboration has been the driving force behind her capstone’s technical planning. Weir is working to improve accessibility on campus by creating a map and catalog of what she calls access points—elevators, wheelchair lifts, and automatic door buttons. Her site will crowdsource out-of-service reports, share them with Facilities Management Services, and provide updates on work orders. “I’m one of the more tech-illiterate people at RIT, so making a website as my final project was incredibly intimidating,” said Weir, who is from Nashville, Tenn. “FOSS Hours is like a collaborative, casual study hall where people work on their own projects but also share ideas.” In June, Edwards will start as a software engineer at Red Hat in Boston. He’ll be working on the CHAOSS project, which stands for the Community Health Analytics in Open Source Software. In that role, he will use metrics to measure the health of different open source communities in order to help mitigate vulnerabilities. Edwards credits RIT’s FOSS community for helping him land an internship and a full-time offer with Red Hat. He suggests that everyone start using more open projects on their machines. “Then, if you encounter a problem, you can actually follow the trail, join a community, and figure out how to help fix it,” said Edwards. “Get involved and you can help make a difference in the world.” About Open at RIT In 2020, RIT establish the Open@RIT initiative dedicated to supporting all kinds of “open work,” including—but not limited to—open source software, open data, open hardware, open educational resources, Creative Commons licensed work, and open research. FOSS@MAGIC works with students to promote FOSS development. To get involved with RIT’s open community, search “open source” in RIT’s student Discord hub, join the #rit-foss channel on Libera.chat, or join the Telegram group.

Lia Grammer and Julia Carreras found that juggling the logistics of a major student conference in the middle of a busy academic season is proving to be both exciting and challenging. The fourth-year students in RIT’s packaging science program volunteered to be co-chairs of Packaging Jamboree, the national event that will bring nearly 200 university students, faculty, and regional packaging professionals to campus. It meant coordinating site logistics, workshop presentations, and determining professional and social activities that were in line with the evolving packaging industry. Their academic year has been a mix of challenging coursework, recognition for scholarship and sports, and interesting co-ops that resulted in job offers. “It’s important for students like us to put together a conference like this to gain skills in planning huge events, because in the future you might be tasked to do that,” said Carreras, who is from Lexington, Mass. “I think Lia and I have networked tremendously with so many companies, we made great connections getting sponsors, and we are getting good at communications.” Grammer agreed: “At first, we thought we had to do all this planning ourselves, and we’ve both learned a lot about time management. To balance this on top of academics and coursework is a lot. But that’s how it will be when you are in the workplace.” An interest in technology and design brought both students to RIT, and they found the packaging science program provided a broad range of skills in areas from engineering and material science to product development and utilizing technical and design skills for multiple industries. “I feel like the packaging community is small and tight knit, so just having the chance to make connections while we are in school is important,” said Grammer, who is from Montgomery, N.Y. “With co-ops, I was able to meet other packaging students from other universities. Being able to have this opportunity for first and second-year students through this conference is key for us because we might be working with some of them as co-workers or managers.” Both have been organizing the event, managing seven committee members, and completing co-ops and projects for their last year at RIT. Outside of RIT, Grammer is an Eagle Scout (2021) and the volunteer social media coordinator of the student chapter of the Institute of Packaging Professionals (IOPP). She was recently named an Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar, an annual award given to the top one percent of RIT students for academic excellence and contributions to the community. In the fall, Grammer was awarded a PepsiCo academic scholarship and completed a co-op with the company. She will return to PepsiCo as a full time R & D associate engineer at its Valhalla, N.Y., site, supporting the packaging brand stewardship team. She begins June 30. Carreras has had similar success. She was a Liberty League All-Academic selection as a midfielder for women’s lacrosse. She sings with Encore, one of RIT’s talented a capella groups, and she received an IOPP Tejas chapter scholarship. Carreras was recently designated the packaging science department delegate for this year’s graduation ceremony, an honor given to recognize scholarship, community activities and contributions to the department and peers. “I just got an offer from Whelen Engineering,” said Carreras. The company manufactures audio and visual warning equipment for first responder vehicles and aviation. “I’m going to be the first packaging engineer in the company. I will be able to bring all my packaging knowledge to the table. I’m incredibly excited, and this really puts a bow on all I’ve worked for.” The 2025 Packaging Jamboree is taking place April 11-13 at RIT. An annual student conference, speakers and workshop topics will highlight the latest trends in the packaging industry. RIT last hosted the event in 2017.