🧜‍♀️ The AI Collective Hampton Roads

New AI tools are dropping every week. Bookmarks are piling up. “To-be-studied” lists are growing faster than we can keep up with.

Sound familiar?

Peninsula Builders Study Group is a local initiative for students and developers of the Peninsula area who want to stop meaning to learn and start actually doing it—together.

There’s no pressure to be an expert, and no bootcamp intensity. Just a consistent habit, a room full of curious people, and the accountability that comes from showing up.

Things to bring:

• Laptop

Session details:
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
📍 Location: Christopher Newport University (Luter 170)
🔁 Frequency: Bi-weekly (Tuesdays)

How is AI impacting your mental health?

A conversation with Ted Patterson and Dr. Sheetal Ajmani
Generative AI is quickly becoming part of how we work, create, learn, process emotions, and make decisions. For many people, these tools have opened up new possibilities. They can help us move faster, think more clearly, and access support in ways that were not possible before.
But as AI becomes more personal, more conversational, and more present in our daily lives, we also need to ask a deeper question:

How is this technology impacting our mental health?

The AI Collective believes in advancing humanity and technology in harmony. That means making space for honest conversations about both the promise and the pressure of living with AI.

Join Ted Patterson and Dr. Sheetal Ajmani for a thoughtful conversation on the mental health implications of AI. Together, we’ll explore emerging research, real-world case studies, and personal reflections on how AI use can affect stress, isolation, emotional dependence, reality-testing, creativity, productivity, and overall well-being.

This is not a fear-based conversation. It is a human one.
Whether you use AI every day, are just beginning to experiment with it, or are concerned about where the technology is heading, this session will help you pause, reflect, and build a healthier relationship with the tools shaping our future.

What You’ll Walk Away With

You’ll have the opportunity to:

• Learn about emerging research and case studies on AI and mental health
• Reflect on how GenAI use may be affecting your own well-being
• Explore the difference between helpful AI use and unhealthy dependence
• Discuss practical strategies for using AI while protecting your mental and emotional health
• Connect with others who are navigating similar questions in work, life, and community

Agenda

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
Check-in and networking

5:00 PM – 5:10 PM
Welcome and introduction with Ted Patterson
Why this conversation matters for the AI Collective and the broader community

5:10 PM – 5:25 PM
Dr. Sheetal Ajmani shares her experience with GenAI and mental health, including her “No AI April” experiment, emerging research, and relevant case studies

5:25 PM – 5:35 PM
Guided reflection prompts for attendees

5:35 PM – 5:45 PM
Small group discussion

5:45 PM – 6:00 PM
Large group insights, audience takeaways, and Q&A

6:00 PM
Closing and feedback

About Dr. Sheetal Ajmani

Dr. Sheetal Ajmani is a physician turned keynote speaker, executive coach, consultant, and founder of Radiant Living Institute.

A highly sought-after professional speaker, Dr. Ajmani empowers audiences with practical, evidence-based strategies to cultivate stress resilience, lead with confidence, and create sustainable success. With over a hundred speaking engagements completed to date, her approach resonates with organizations across industries, including healthcare, law, insurance, executive groups, and professional women’s associations.

Dr. Ajmani is the host of the Essential Self-Care podcast, which has reached listeners around the world, and is the co-author of the Amazon bestselling book Doctoring, Better. She is currently completing her first full-length book, Live Radiantly: Let Go of Others’ Expectations and Start Living for You.

## 🚀 Build & Demo Nights — Where Hampton Roads Ships Real AI

Something's building here. Every Month, the AI Collective turns into a working garage: laptops open, ideas flying, and real projects taking shape in the room. This isn't a lecture or a watch-along. It's a build night.

Here's how it works:
Come with an idea, a half-finished project, or just curiosity. Spend the night building — solo or on a team. Then we demo. Show what you made, get real feedback, and see what everyone else is shipping. Working demos beat perfect slides, every time.
Andrew and a crew of experienced devs will be in the room the whole night — to pair up, debug with you, talk architecture, or help you scope something you can actually finish by the end of the session. Stuck? We'll get you unstuck. Just want to talk through an idea? That's what we're here for.

### 👇 But here's the bigger picture

These nights aren't the finish line — they're the on-ramp.

• 🔧 Build & Demo Nights → sharpen your skills, form teams, and get a project off the ground.
• ⚡ Hackathons → take those teams and projects into focused sprint competitions and ship something real in 24–48 hours.
• 🏆 Regional & National Stages → the strongest projects go on to compete at events like the Startup World Cup (global pitch competition, $1M grand prize) and SCSP's AI hackathons ($50K+ prize pools, frontier-AI & national-competitiveness focus) — and whatever comes next.

Local reps → competitive teams → a shot at the biggest stages in tech. The people who show up to build on a random weeknight are the same people who'll be repping Hampton Roads at a national final. That path starts here.

### Who should come

• Developers who want to build more, and build faster
• Founders & entrepreneurs with an idea to prototype
• Designers, PMs, and "non-technical" folks who want to team up with builders
• Anyone AI-curious who learns best by doing

You don't need to be an expert. You don't need a team. You don't even need an idea — plenty of projects need hands, and plenty of builders are looking for teammates.
Bring: a laptop, a charger, and something you want to make real.

Come build. Demo something. Then let's take it to the world stage. 🌎

ℹ️ Other bits of info & FAQs

• This is a free community event
• Drinks or food are available for purchase depending on the venue
• Photos or videos may be taken for community and marketing purposes
• Come solo or bring a friend
• ​​​Is there free parking in the area? Yes. They’ve got lots of spots available in their parking lot.
• ​​​Is this free? Yes, but space is limited. Make sure to RSVP.

🤝 Organizers & partners

New AI tools are dropping every week. Bookmarks are piling up. “To-be-studied” lists are growing faster than we can keep up with.

Sound familiar?

Peninsula Builders Study Group is a local initiative for students and developers of the Peninsula area who want to stop meaning to learn and start actually doing it—together.

There’s no pressure to be an expert, and no bootcamp intensity. Just a consistent habit, a room full of curious people, and the accountability that comes from showing up.

Things to bring:

• Laptop

Session details:
🕕 Time: 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
📍 Location: Christopher Newport University (Luter 170)
🔁 Frequency: Bi-weekly (Tuesdays)