Welcome to Students Incorporated. I'm your host,
Mr. Jason. Join me weekly as my students and
I bring you content that's informative, positive,
fun and uplifting. This podcast is created and
produced with the help of students from the International
Community School of Bangkok. Hey, welcome back
to Students Incorporated. I'm your host, Mr.
Jason, and today we're exploring student innovation
with special guest Patrick, a recent graduate
who has bridged the gap between community college
and NASA -level research through the Boracle
Project. We're going to talk about the InnoEd
mindset, the courage it takes to be a solopreneur,
and how a journey that started at L .A. Pierce
College led to the cutting edge of science. But
that's not all. Later in the show, we'll bring
you part three of our serial adventure story,
The Mystery of St. Augustine. But first, let's
hear our quote of the day and get some headline
news. Our quote of the day comes from Steve Jobs,
who famously noted, the only way to do great
work is to love what you do. Often we mistake
loving what you do for everything being easy
or fun. But in reality, this quote is about resilience.
Entrepreneurship is a marathon of problem solving,
late nights and high stakes. If you don't love
the mission, you'll run out of gas when the road
gets steep. Loving your work is the secret weapon
that turns obstacles into puzzles to be solved
rather than roadblocks to be feared. It allows
you to push past good enough and strive for great,
simply because you care too much to deliver anything
less. This love is the anchor that holds you
steady, ensuring that even on the hardest days,
you remember exactly why you started. And that's
our quote of the day. Now on to some headline
news. Thank you for a quote of the day. Now here's
some headline news from around the world. Our
first headlines come from Demand Sage and the
World Bank. As of this year, the global gig economy
has officially surged, with the market valuation
projected to hit over $670 billion. What's even
more fascinating is the demographic shift. Gen
Z now makes up 30 % of this workforce. Experts
are calling this the era of AI -powered solopreneur,
thanks to new agentic AI tools. Individual creators
are now able to scale their businesses to six
-figures revenues without ever hiring a traditional
team. It shows that the courage to be solopreneur
is becoming a standard career path for a generation.
Our next two headlines are about NASA. First,
NASA launches the Orbit Challenge for Students
Innovators. They have officially opened registration
for the Orbit Challenge, which stands for Opportunities
in Research, Business, Innovation, and Technology.
This is a call specifically inviting community
college and university students in the USA to
take NASA's existing patents and turn them into
real -world commercial products. This news is
incredibly relevant to our guest today, as it
proves that you don't need to be at a massive
Ivy League school to take advantage of this opportunity.
The door is wide open for student -led innovation
in 2026. And finally, our second headline about
NASA is also about the University of Cincinnati.
The countdown has begun for the launch of Leopards
at One, one of the first satellites entirely
designed and led by a student team. The student
-designed satellite is scheduled to deploy from
the International Space Station soon. The satellite
will test new lightweight materials that will
be used to help protect future astronauts from
space radiation. It's a massive win for students
innovators, showing that when students are given
the tools and the platform, they can also solve
complex mysteries and problems. Thank you. And
that's our headline news for this episode. Thank
you for the quote in the headline news. It's
time to talk with our special guest today. We've
been hearing a lot lately about the NOED movement,
and today we have a living example of that mindset
in the studio. Joining us is Patrick, a student
innovator. who has turned his academic journey
into a launchpad for high -level research. Patrick,
welcome to the show. Josiah will get us started
with our first question. All right, welcome to
the show, Mr. Patrick. Please introduce yourself
and tell us a little bit about what you do. Thank
you so much for having me, first of all. And
I'm so excited to be here. My name is Patrick.
I just graduated in 2025 from Cal State Northridge.
My major is computer science, and I also... double
minors in data science and mathematics. And even
though I already graduated, but I'm still doing,
involved in doing research. So actually, last
month, our team just presented the research paper
at a conference in the University of Nevada.
And one of the paper, I serve as the lead author.
Basically, that's it. And besides that, I'm trying
to grow my social media presence. I want to share
my stories more to students specifically to maybe
inspire, to maybe motivate them to do something
great, to do something outside of the comfort
zone. And yeah, that's why I'm here. So we understand
that you study in the United States. So could
you please describe your college experience and
that journey and how it's helping you today?
I would say I wasn't a smart student or what
they call like. I wasn't a successful student,
let's say like that. Long story short, I got
an F before in my high school and stuff like
that. I got a zero from the final grade and stuff.
And when I finished my high school, I didn't
get accepted to any Thai universities back then.
But for some reason, I had a dream that I wanted
to go to the U .S. to study abroad. It was pretty
crazy. And then I learned. I learned English.
I learned English, like, pretty hard at that
time. I couldn't speak. I couldn't write. I think
I learned it about a year, like, by myself. And
I finally took the IELTS test, and it was only
4 .5. But then, for some reason, I keep researching
for the path to go to the U .S., and I found
a way to obtain my visa student. Based on the
4 .5 score, which is I started from community
college or CC. And then I was there for three
years. I received three associate degrees and
then transferred to Cal State Norwich, CSUN.
In that transferring to California State, what
challenges did you face in pursuing your higher
degree? When transferring, luckily, all people
that I met. were very nice, like the professor,
the faculty advisor, friends, classmates. I think
the main challenge I faced was back then when
I was about to move from Thailand to the U .S.
at first. Like my English is still like not really
good and I have to do a lot of like hard working
to keep up with, you know, like a new environment.
Like I have never learned. the full curriculum
in English before. I think the main challenge
that I faced when transferring to CSUN is all
about time management because I was doing NASA
sponsored research. That was one side. And I
also was a student research assistant in my school
department. And also being a full -time student.
So three of these like took all of my time already.
And so... It's a lot to do, like maintaining
a high GPA and also doing assignments from the
class, but also doing research. You have to go
to conference, prepare for presentation and stuff
like that. So I have to learn to prioritize things
ruthlessly and communicate with both the professors
and the supervisors simultaneously. But honestly,
the pressure is... taught me more than any single
class. So I was really grateful for those opportunities
that I had. You mentioned you got involved in
the NASA -sponsored research activities. So could
you please describe to us more how you got involved
in that? So after transferring, I wanted to do
research. I'm not sure why. I just want to try
something new, try something excited. So I started
to apply. to an undergraduate research position.
Like, across the U .S., I remember maybe 50 or
more applications. I got rejected from all of
them. Like, my email is, like, rejected, unfortunately,
unfortunately. Like, that. But for some reason,
I'm not sure why. Like, at the very last day
before the semester started, I got accepted to...
This one, the NASA -sponsored research, under
the organization called ARCS, which stands for
Autonomy Research Center for STEAM. STEAM is
STEM, but we add the H, which is humanity, and
then the rest stay the same. But surprisingly,
the topic that I was doing the research, I think
that was my most interesting in, which is called
Boracle, and I think we will talk about that
later. To be honest, I think you just need to
keep finding the way, and it's all about timing
and, of course, a little bit of luck. Going back
to that project of Boracle, can you please describe
to us what that actually is? Okay, so Boracle
is a really large project, which has several
sub -teams inside. We have Boracle Marketplace,
Boracle Platform, Boracle Application, and then
the IA team. But essentially... we are dealing
with the variable devices such as like anything
that you can wear, basically like smartwatch,
smart glasses, smart headband, even like smart
socks, smart t -shirt. So out of that, the problem
from the developer side is that the data that
we have from them is like a mess. It's like totally
all over the place. For example, even the same
brand for the smartwatch, you have different
format. Let's say Samsung for this one, for this
specific type, they record like heart rate every
10 minutes, but then another version might record
like every 15 minutes or so. So protocol try
to be a centralized platform where all the data
from hundreds of companies being the same format,
that essentially. But my work specifically in
IAT, which stands for Intelligence Algorithm,
basically does physiological data such as heart
rate, HRV, SpO2, sleep data, all of that. We
have that, so we use AI and data science techniques
to deliver actionable health condition prognosis.
So basically in the past, we have done... arrhythmia
detection, which is one of the abnormal heart
rate rhythm. But we also have built a model to
improve sleep qualities, to detect stress. So
stress detection, that's my main lead for the
project. And also we do injury prediction, like
soccer predictions and other stuff. So just to
sum it in one sentence, my work is... AI and
healthcare. That's really amazing to hear. So
what has been one of the most exciting part of
working on this type of project? Yeah, I learned
so many things. I met so many professionals in
various fields, including like those people with
the highest status in NASA. And I have had a
chance to present our work in several conferences.
But the most exciting part is that we have to
create something that has no direction, because
it's a research. We basically build something
that requires some novelty, and at the same time,
we need to communicate and present well. So I
had a conversation with the director of the organization,
and it stuck with me since that day. And he said
that I'm kind of professing here. If you are
an engineering student, you cannot explain your
work to all students in a way they can understand.
Then your work is useless. So that's kind of
harsh, but it's true, right? So I guess the exciting
part for me is that I need to learn not only
the technical skill, but also the communication
skill. I think so many people like focus on technical
skill and they're great, they're doing a great
job, but then they cannot translate those into
like to regular people to understand and that
just stuck with them. So I think if you balance
those, it's both important. All right, moving
from what you have done, what does the future
hold for you? What are some of your big dreams?
That's a really good question. And honestly,
it's a hard one too. Right now, I'm taking some
time to explore and reflect after graduation,
to be honest. I'm really interested in how AI
is transforming, not just in healthcare in my
field, but every single industry. From the past
three or five years now, everyone's talking about
AI, right? But my big dream, I guess, is to create
a space of... Or be part of creating a space
where three things intersect for one another.
So first it's AI and technology. And then humanities.
And of course learning. Because I believe the
future isn't just about building smarter AI anymore.
I think the AI is just already beyond. But I
think it's making sure that technology serves
people in a meaningful way. By that I mean like,
I think we also need to adapt. But then I don't
think the goal is to replace human thinking.
Like we still have to think. But then AI is a
tool, not replacing the whole human. So what
advice would you give to students graduating
this year since you've experienced this already?
Since we kind of touched on AI a little bit.
So, you know, a lot of... I have been working
for... a lot of students, and they always ask
me, like, what skill to learn? Like, what subject
should, you know, should they learn? And also,
like, the school also concerns, like, oh, what
subject should we add? What subject should we
just cut it off? Like, the world is changing
rapidly. But I think one skill that people often
overlook is learning how to learn, because I
think that's also a skill. If you pick the meta
skill, you know how to learn, so you know how
to pick things fast. Even though in the future,
if the world is changing, but you still know
how to learn that. You still know how to read,
how to pick up something and then adapt. So I
think it's first, don't just learn tools, but
learn how to use the tools as well. And then
second, just... Don't be afraid if your path
doesn't look like everyone else, at least, like,
for now. Like, the thing is that it's okay to
not have it all figured out. If you ask me, like,
what I'm going to do five years later from now,
I probably don't know, like, exactly what I'm
going to do. But it's just, you just need to
step forward. And sometimes you just... Also
have to open the door, even if it was the wrong
door. But that can lead you to the right door.
Like sometimes the detour is your own path. So,
yeah. And lastly, always believe in yourself
and don't let your dreams die. Yeah, I had every
reason to quit since from the beginning when
I got rejected from... any Thai universities,
like got an F, like got a zero from the exam.
And also I went to the US and that was crazy.
And then someone said like, I'm not going to
make it. And then now people ask why I'm not
taking job there and leave. And it was like,
no, I'm going to take another crazy path coming
back and then I'll figure it out. Thank you,
Patrick, for that good advice. Learning how to
learn is probably one of the most important skills
in our ever -changing society. And having confidence
and believing that you can actually do it. All
great advice. We'll take a short break now, and
then when we return, we'll bring you part three
of our adventure story titled The Mystery of
St. Augustine. We'll be right back, so don't
go away. One, two. In 2026, the race for top
-tier internships is led by industry giants like
NASA, Google, and Goldman Sachs, which remain
the gold standard for resume prestige. However,
the landscape has shifted toward high -growth
sectors with AI, fintech, and sustainability
offering the most competitive compensation and
career acceleration. Companies like Adobe, Coinbase,
SpaceX and McKinsey are heavily recruiting for
specialized roles that bridge technical skill
with strategic leadership, often offering competitive
hourly rates for top candidates. Securing these
positions requires immediate action as the recruitment
cycle for elite programs is now highly front
loaded. Many big four accounting firms and investment
banks close their applications during the spring
season, while tech roles are often filled on
a rolling basis. To stand out, candidates must
pivot away from generic applications and focus
on building a strong digital brand and networking
with former interns. The window for the most
impactful 2026 opportunities is closing soon.
Now is the time to submit your applications and
finalize your interviews. And we are back. For
this segment, we will bring you part three of
our 10 -part adventure story titled The Mystery
of St. Augustine. But before we jump into part
three, here's a brief recap of part two. The
El Dorado team arrived in St. Augustine, Florida.
After a brief meal that gave them a lead on a
local boat captain, they met with the Historical
Society. They were met with a crisis. Their contact,
Tom Reynolds, revealed that all the primary research
documents for the project had been stolen from
a secure safe. The theft, which left no trace
of forced entry, effectively crippled their official
mission before it could begin. As Lieutenant
Walsh of the St. Augustine PD launched an investigation,
Hawthorne and Amanda realized they now had to
rely on their own secret, two -shipwreck theory,
a clue unknown to anyone else. The team was then
formally introduced via video call to their wealthy
and friendly client, Eleanor Bennett, assuring
her that they would move forward despite the
snag, unaware that she had also hired the very
rivals who had just sabotaged them. And now,
without further ado, here's part three, titled
The Theory. The team walked out of the Historical
Society building and into the bright Florida
morning sun. James Hawthorne was already halfway
to the SUV, his pace fast and clipped. James,
slow down, Ann said, catching his arm as he reached
the vehicle. I know that walk. Something's on
your mind. James stopped his hand on the door
handle. He looked back at Ann, Amanda, and Olivia,
who had just caught up. Yeah, sorry. He unknocked
the car doors. Let's get in the vehicle and then
we can talk. The group got into the vehicle,
shutting the doors in sync, as James started
the engine and turned on the air. Ann then asked,
Okay, what's up? Hawthorne turned and looked
at Amanda, then responded, All right, Amanda
found evidence that there may be two shipwrecks,
not just one, as everyone else believes. He continued,
So I think we should go off this assumption,
and I think we should not reveal this detail
just yet to anybody else. Prof. Amanda jumped
in and said, Yeah, I found evidence that there
may have been two shipwrecks. There aren't a
lot of details in the log information, but it
is credible and to our knowledge. No one else
is looking at this theory. Okay, so what does
this mean for us then? Anne replied. Starting
with what we know to date, after Sir Francis
Drake plundered treasure in the Caribbean, he
sailed to what is now North Florida and proceeded
to pillage and burn the small Spanish settlement
of St. Augustine, where we are now. Of course,
it didn't look like this back then. St. Augustine
back in the 1500s was a small Spanish settlement.
St. Augustine predates the famous English settlements
of Jamestown and Plymouth by decades. Amanda,
fill in the gaps for me, please, as you are the
expert on this. James said as he put the vehicle
in drive and started to leave the parking lot
of the Historical Society. Sure, Amanda replied
and then said, Drake's expedition included over
20 ships. The exact number of ships is in question,
but it's assumed there were 23 ships in total,
so this was not a small raiding party. She continued,
Drake's raiding party included around 2 ,000
men. Now, After they raided and burnt the small
St. Augustine settlement to the ground, Drake
and his ships left loaded with all their plunder
and treasure. Gold records reported that Drake
made off with at least 2 ,000 gold ducats. A
ducat, which is a Dutch minted gold coin of around
98 % pure gold, was used in Europe and other
places as a medium of exchange for goods, services,
and payments for work. It's thought that the
2 ,000 gold coins stolen by Drake were the treasury
reserves for the Spanish troops that were stationed
at St. Augustine at that time. It's also reported
that Drake and his men captured and removed at
least 14 bronze cannons. These also held great
value as well, often becoming the spoils of war,
as you could say. Amanda paused for a moment
and then said, Sorry, I hope I'm not boring you,
but I think the details matter here. No. Please
go on. This is fascinating, Anne said with a
smile. Prophet Manda then continues. Now, there
are small rumors, mostly among older English
historians, that the plunder Drake stole from
the settlement not only included the 14 cannons
and the 2 ,000 gold coins, but also, and I quote
here, other materials and contents of great value.
Now, your guess is as good as mine as to what
the other materials and contents of great value
actually means. That's a mystery that has never
been solved. What we do know is this. Though,
the 14 bronze cannons made it back to England
eventually. However, the 2 ,000 gold coins did
not. In fact, they simply disappeared. By the
way, just one gold coin weighs about 3 .5 grams.
So, if each coin is 98 % pure gold and higher,
that means that 2 ,000 gold coins would be worth
around... Wait, one moment. I need my calculator
to do this. Amanda paused a moment as she pulled
out her phone to look up the value of gold today,
as well as to use her calculator to do some math.
She found the value of gold and then punched
in the numbers on her calculator and then said,
OK, we have 2000 gold coins weighing 3 .5 grams
each, which comes out to a total of 7000 grams
of gold. And gold today is worth about 140 US
dollars per gram. So that puts the value of just
the gold coins over one million dollars. Then,
if you add the historic value to the coins, I
would venture to guess just the gold coins alone
are probably worth several hundred million dollars.
Sounds about right to me, James butted in. Let
me interrupt you for a minute, he continued.
I'm still headed in the direction of the coast,
hope that's okay. I figured we could drive up
the coast a bit, not very far though, and it
might help us understand the area. James then
said, Amanda, please continue. Sure, that's a
good idea, Amanda replied and then continued
with her history lesson. After Drake left the
ashes of St. Augustine, he and his armada of
ships sailed north towards Roanoke. Only 22 ships
were recorded as making it to the Roanoke colony,
which is in present -day North Carolina. This
all happened during the month of May in 1586.
And if you know anything about that time of year,
well, it's hurricane season. That makes sense.
So you think that not one, but two of Drake's
ships went down in a bad storm? Anne asked. Theoretically,
yes, Amanda replied. There is still an argument
as to how many ships actually left St. Augustine
when they sailed north along the coastline. A
dozen or so sources had said 23 ships pushed
out from the harbor, and only one source has
said 24 ships were counted. That one source contradicted
all the other sources. Amanda continues, So,
what happens when one source says something different
than the other sources that are in agreement
with each other? Typically, we disregard the
one source as inaccurate and focus on the other
sources that are in agreement. Anne replies,
That's correct, and this is the normal practice
in most academic disciplines. Amanda continues,
99 % of the information I'm telling you is already
public knowledge and has been for some time now.
The public can access this information if they
are willing to do the research, and most of it
is taught in academia. The one big detail that
is not taught in academia and is the reason I
was so motivated to come on this trip is the
two -ship wreck theory. Now, the other piece
to this puzzle and what treasure hunters have
been searching for is what many of those sources
referred to as the Captain's Caja, the Captain's
Strongbox. Some of the sources mentioned that
a few survivors of the shipwreck were able to
save the Captain's Caja before the ship sank.
Supposedly, this particular strongbox belonged
to Drake's personal treasury secretary. Back
then, an armada's treasury secretary would help
distribute payments to the other ship captains
during their pirating adventures. The survivors,
not wanting to get caught by pursuing Spanish
soldiers, supposedly buried the box after they
reached the shore. However, no one knows where
they buried it. And there's no evidence that
the pirates had ever returned and retrieved it.
Interesting. Anne replied, so what was the contents
of the captain's box? Do the sources say? Amanda
answers with a slight grin. Well, I'm glad you
asked. Supposedly, this particular caja, which
is basically a small lock box, was kept in the
captain's quarters. It was rumored to hold a
bonus payment for each of the ship captains of
Drake's fleet. The bonus was that each captain
was going to receive a one -of -a -kind, specifically
minted, pure gold Spanish coin once they all
returned to England. Hawthorne, with his eyes
on the road as he continues to drive up the outer
coastline, jumps in and then says, The people
who care about this story have all accepted the
one shipwreck theory and believe it to be true,
that it actually happened. those in academia,
general historians, and historical societies,
both here in the U .S. and in England. The Spanish
also had an interest in this at some point in
the past, since it was their gold and valuables
that were taken. Amateurs and professional treasure
hunters have accepted this theory as true. However,
no one has yet found a shipwreck or the so -called
Captain's Caja, or anything else for that matter.
He continues. However, the one thing everyone
agrees on is that there was a shipwreck. It happened
somewhere between St. Augustine and Roanoke along
the coastline. Anne then adds, so if Drake left
St. Augustine with 24 ships, not 23 ships, and
he arrived at the Roanoke colony with only 22
ships, that means, according to your theory,
two ships were lost at sea or sunk along the
journey. Anne paused for a moment. and then asked
the obvious question out loud that everyone else
was thinking. So if professional treasure hunters
backed by governments with lots of resources
and money have yet to find just one of the shipwrecks,
then what chance do we have of learning anything
new, let alone the location of one but two shipwrecks?
Meanwhile, chairs 3, 4, and 5 sat quietly in
a small old minivan so as not to bring attention
to themselves. They were parked just north of
the Bridge of Lions and sitting in the main parking
lot that serves Castillo de San Marcos National
Monument, the old fort. They had conducted surveillance
of the fort the day before and were now back
again, just sitting in the car and waiting for
orders on what to do next. They were quite bored
and a little tired since this was not something
they were accustomed to doing since joining the
table. In fact, the longer they sat there in
the car in the parking lot, the more they became
uncomfortable. They didn't want to attract unwanted
attention from the few security personnel who
periodically made rounds. Third Chair looked
down at his watch and then said, Man, we need
to leave. We've been sitting here for over an
hour this morning. The fort just opened to tourists,
and we're increasingly looking more suspicious
just by sitting here in the parking lot. I agree,
fifth chair replied. I'm starting to feel a bit
uncomfortable. Besides, we spent a good part
of yesterday here, and we didn't really learn
anything new. Maybe we should just leave and
go somewhere else for the time being. No, man,
fourth chair mumbled. You heard what second chair
said to us. Stay put until we get new instructions.
Just at that moment, third chair's phone dings.
He pulls it out of his pocket, looks at the message,
reads it, and then says, Hey guys, it's second
chair finally. She's telling us to leave and
meet us back at the safe house. I'm all for that,
fifth chair replies and continues. What else
does the message say? Third chair responds, We
have a new directive from chair one, and we'll
need to pack up for a few days. Hmm, interesting,
fourth chair remarks. Anything's gotta be better
than just sitting in this parking lot and watching
tourists compete with each other for parking
spaces. Third chair had already started the car,
put it in reverse, and was backing out of their
parking space while fourth chair was still speaking.
Third chair then said, this place is a dead end
anyway. And with that, chairs three, four, and
five headed back to the safe house condo to meet
with chairs two and six to get new instructions.
James Hawthorne had parked the car at a pull
-off lot, which sat a few meters off one of the
public beaches just north of the city center.
As Anne, Amanda, and Olivia were walking toward
the small wooden stairs that led down to the
sand, James read the signboard out loud which
said, Welcome to South Ponte Verde Beach Recreation
Area. Anne Hawthorne, who was walking in front
of James, also commented, I forgot how beautiful
this part of the country was. She continued as
they all made their way down the old wooden steps
leading down to the sandy beach. So, if we keep
driving north, we eventually get to Jacksonville,
right? Right, Amanda answered as she stopped
walking on the hard sand and looked out toward
the ocean. And right there in front of us, as
far as I can see, is the Great Atlantic Ocean,
James continued. Looking at the map here, this
entire area seems to be quite shallow and marshy,
probably not ideal for a large ship to get close
to the shoreline. Ann then said, I think we should
call that charter boating company and see if
they could take us out on a quick trip around
the harbor and up the coast a bit. It might be
a good idea to see things from the water, to
get a different perspective. James, you still
have the business card you got from that guy
at the restaurant, don't you? I think I do, James
says as he reaches into his pockets. Ah, here
it is. James reads a company and contact name
on the card out loud. First Coast Charters. Robert
Mitchell, owner. James then starts to punch the
phone number into his phone and waits while it
rings. Amanda then says, yeah, I like that idea.
However, I may have to sit that one out since
I get really bad motion sickness. I'm going to
check in with Olivia over there. Looks like she's
getting some great photos and videos. Anne, who's
standing next to James, watches him wait while
he has the phone to his ear, waiting for someone
to pick up on the other end. She then asks, is
anyone picking up? Hawthorne shakes his head
no and then says, I'll let it ring a few more
times. Just as he is saying that last sentence,
a person on the other end answers. Bobby here,
Robert Mitchell says with an excited and loud
voice. Hawthorne, a little surprised by the loud
answer on the other side of the phone, then says,
Oh, hey, hello. My name is James Hawthorne, and
I'd like to speak with Robert Mitchell, please,
if he's available. That's me, sir. People around
here just call me Bobby. I assume you have one
of my business cards or found my number online.
Bobby said with a half laugh. Oh yes, I've got
your business card right here. Will over at Will's
Seafood Bar and Grill gave it to me, Hawthorne
replied. Yep, no problem, Bobby says. Will is
always giving my card to out -of -towners. I
swear I get a third of my business through him,
Bobby continues. So what can I do for you, assuming
you like to either go fishing, take a dinner
cruise, or maybe both? Anne can hear the back
-and -forth conversation James is having with
Bobby. She taps James' arm and then says quietly,
If we charter a boat, Don't forget to include
our friends from the Historical Society. It would
be helpful for them to come with us. Hawthorne
nods his head and then answers Bobby, Well, neither.
We'd really like to take more of a historical
boat cruise through the harbor and then up the
coastline for a short distance. We'd love to
take the same route Sir Francis Drake took with
his pirates. We are all kind of history nerds,
if you know what I mean. Bobby responds, Okay,
no problem. I can do that. How many people are
we talking about? There could be five or six
people in our party, James responds. Got it,
Bobby says and then continues. We've got openings
this week still with our large vessel. So what
day are you thinking? Could you pencil us in
for tomorrow? I hope that's not too short notice,
James answers. Not at all, Bobby replies. I'll
take you out personally. The weather looks to
be quite nice in the morning. So come by our
office down at the marina at 7 a .m. and we will
try to push off around 7 .30. I'll have you back
by noon at the latest. All right, that sounds
good. Appreciate it. And we'll see you tomorrow
morning at 7. And with that, James ends the call.
Sounds like things are set for tomorrow, Ann
says. Yeah, we'll just need to confirm how many
of us will be going, and we can figure that out
later once we reconnect with Tom. James looks
down at his watch and then says, Let's head back
to town. I think Amanda had a few more places
we could visit today while we still have time.
As the four made their way off the beach and
got back in the vehicle, Amanda said, let's first
go visit the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine,
whose congregation is known as the oldest Christian
congregation in the United States. Amanda continues
as James starts driving back to St. Augustine.
The actual church building itself wasn't around
that early, as it was constructed in the late
1700s and is now a national landmark. However,
the congregation and its secrets date back to
the 1560s. years before Drake pillaged the city.
Anyway, maybe there's someone there we could
talk to. Yup, it's in the GPS, and we can make
a quick lunch stop along the way, if you're all
up for it, James answers back. And replies, there
you go again, always thinking about food first.
But it does sound like a good idea. Yeah, let's
do lunch first. That will give us time to coordinate
our schedule with Tom. Maybe one of them can
come with us this afternoon, Amanda says. Hawthorne
looks into the rearview mirror at Amanda and
Olivia and then says, To lunch it is. Know of
any other good food spots we can check out? Amanda
was pacing back and forth next to the large picture
window in the condo, or what the table members
were calling their safe house for now. Chair
6 was relaxing on the big, fluffy, soft couch
in the middle of the room, tapping away on her
laptop. Any luck with getting the university
IDs yet? Midnight asked 6. Yeah, I got a guy
who said they will be delivered to P .O. Box
32 by 4 o 'clock this afternoon, 6 responds.
How reliable is this guy? Midnight asked. Well,
I don't really know. With such short notice,
I couldn't use our usual channel for this type
of stuff. I had to find another backdoor network
I've used in the past. Well, before joining our
little group here. So, we'll see. And don't worry,
I've covered our tracks. When we get the IDs,
we just need to make sure the photos closely
match the other chairs. Six explains. Just at
that moment, Midnight hears Dakota knock on the
condo's door. That must be the guides. She responds
out loud as she walks over, looks at the security
monitor, and then opens the door for chairs 3,
4, and 5. Well, that was boring, chair 4 says
as he enters through the door first, with 3 and
5 following. We are back now and did what we
were supposed to do. 3 replies as he looks at
Midnight. He then asks, so what is our new directive?
And please, tell me it's something more than
surveillance work. It is, Midnight responded.
Have a seat and I'll brief you. It won't be boring
and it gets you out of town for a few days. Good,
because hanging out down there, here in this
little quiet Florida town, is making me feel
like I should just retire and start living the
local lifestyle. Five says with a bit of sarcasm.
Six sure looks up from her laptop and replies,
Very funny, Five. You and I both know that will
never happen. You picked the wrong line of work,
bro. As Chair Six pulls up a link on her laptop
and connects it to the large TV, Midnight starts
explaining the mission. You guys are heading
to Jacksonville this evening for a few days and
will be tasked with the following. Midnight paused
for a moment, waiting for Six to pull up an image
of Eleanor Bennett along with a street map of
her home and her office. Here we go. Midnight
continues. Find out all you can about this lady.
According to First Chair, she is actually helping
finance, unbeknownst to her, our little mission.
And he believes she is also helping finance a
small local team as well. Either way, we want
to know more about her and what her motivation
is. And we need to keep this super confidential
as this is an internal table order. That's it.
Five birds out. Another surveillance job? Chase
Six notices Midnight's expression changes to
annoyance, and then replies, well, if you'd be
quiet, we can finish. Midnight continues while
avoiding eye contact with Five. You will also
gain access to the Forensics Research Lab at
the University of North Florida, where you will
authenticate one of these documents Six retrieved
from the Historical Society. Minai holds the
two old documents, now in protective plastic
sleeves, while Six pulls up a campus map of the
university, showing the exact building the lab
is located. And how will we gain access? Four
questions with a polite and professional tone.
Thank you, and I'm glad you asked, Minai responds.
Six, please explain. She then motions over to
Chair Six. One of you will go to St. Augustine
Post Office at 4 p .m. today and pick up a package
from P .O. Box 32. Here's the key. She says this
as she places the key to the PO box on the glass
coffee table in the middle of the room. In it,
you'll find a package containing three university
IDs, which will allow you to access to the building
and research lab on the UNF campus. Once in the
lab, you will need to authenticate both of these
documents. Without authentication, this entire
thing can't move forward and we don't get paid.
So this is a very important step. Chair 3, who
had been very quiet up until this point, then
says, Understood. We can do this and we'll do
it. The document authentication should not take
long, maybe a few hours max. And the other task,
following Mrs. Bennett around, well, this could
take a few days for us to gain some actionable
insight First Chair would be happy with. He then
says, I'll go get the package at the post office
at Tor. Thank you, Midnight responds. Chair 6
then adds, make sure you wear a plain hat when
you approach and go inside the post office. There
are cameras everywhere. The last thing we need
is for your face to come up on a federal database
somewhere. Understood and will do. 3 says as
he walks into the condo's small kitchen, opens
the refrigerator, and then curses out loud. Bleak.
Come on, who drank the last Peroni? The El Dorado
team had just finished their lunch and it was
already close to 1 p .m. Amanda leaned forward
and rested her elbows on the small cafe table,
looked at Olivia and said, So what do you think?
Is this what you thought it would be like? Olivia
thought to herself and then said, I'm actually
not sure what I expected. I mean, I'm basically
just trying to capture what I can in photos and
videos, when it's appropriate, of course. She
continued, When I compare this to the Mexico
trip, I like this experience better because I
feel like my contribution here will be more valuable.
And I'm excited to, in a way, be on a treasure
hunt. Interesting, Amanda replied as she leaned
back in her chair and smiled. I never really
thought of it that way, that this trip is like
a treasure hunt. It kind of adds a bit more excitement
to our little adventure here. At that moment,
Hawthorne walked up and said, I just took care
of the bill. You guys ready to go? Yep, Amanda
said as she and Olivia stood up from their table
and started to make their way to the front door
where Anne was already standing. We can head
directly over to the church. I had a short call
with Tom during lunch. Tom is still at the police
station meeting with Lieutenant Walsh. So, he
said, he's sending Cece to meet us at the church
and to introduce us to John Tanner, the caretaker
who lives on site. Tom said that Cece and John
will be able to answer any questions we may have
about the old church and any secrets it holds.
And maybe... Just maybe. We'll find something
to verify our theory. And that brings us to the
end of this episode. From Patrick's insights
on the learner's mindset and NASA research to
part three of the mystery of St. Augustine. If
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