Recently, a paper I co-authored with Cindy Bennett and Erin Brady about “Interdependence” was accepted to my favorite conference and, icing on the cake, received an award. This has been wildly exciting for me, because when I started to write about this very topic four years ago, no one in my academic circle believed in it but me. Especially as a PhD student or a young postdoc, it can be difficult to turn skepticism from your academic heroes into productive argument-fortification.

For me, this is a story of “stick-with-it-ness” (yes, I actually convinced the School of ICS at UCI to write it up!) that helps me remember nothing is impossible if you keep questioning, keep searching, and––most importantly––keep coalition-building. Thank you, Cindy, Erin, ASSETS 2018, and all the people from feminist / DS / STS and disability activists who inspired us.