I'm in Europe so UTC+1 for me as well. Spent a year in the states as an exchange student and have consumed way too much media, so my grasp on American culture and history is pretty well-rounded, but I might get details wrong (like the community college thing :D). So feel free to correct me if I do make any blunders! I'm most active during the week, periodically checking the site throughout the day depending on how busy I am.  

First IC post was really good at setting the mood and getting me excited to discover Redstone! I'll slowly start working on mine, but won't rush it. I totally get what you mean by the order of meeting/introducing characters in group settings, but I think we'll be fine. If it does happen that 2 people post shortly after each other, it could be amended with an edit perhaps. 

Does the college have dorms? Olive would probably live there if it's an option.