diff --git a/tests/__init__.py b/tests/__init__.py
index 81f5113..9b18866 100644
--- a/tests/__init__.py
+++ b/tests/__init__.py
@@ -1,2 +1,4 @@
 import sys
-sys.path.append('vsvs_scheduler/')
\ No newline at end of file
+# this tells the interpreter to check the src/ directory for modules
+# this is important because the tests are in a different directory than the modules
+sys.path.append('src/')
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/test_data_uploader.py b/tests/test_data_uploader.py
index 019adc2..2bd1453 100644
--- a/tests/test_data_uploader.py
+++ b/tests/test_data_uploader.py
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import pytest
 from src.data_uploader import DataUploader
-from src.globals import TEACHER_COLUMNS, VOLUNTEER_COLUMNS, PARTNER_COLUMNS
+from src.globals import TEACHER_COLUMNS, VOLUNTEER_COLUMNS
 
 @pytest.fixture
 def data_uploader():