An oboist. An opportunist.

11 years old, weird frizzy hair, braces, glasses, and sweater dresses. In fifth grade, I decided that I wanted to be in the school band. While most of my peers were playing trumpets, flutes, and violins, I became the one and only oboe player. My family didn’t have money for me to play a “popular instrument” but renting an oboe from the school was free. It may not be a sexy instrument, but I could still be a part of the school band!

My peers didn’t realize the perks of being an oboe player. My school was desperate to recruit oboe players, who were fundamentally important to the band, so I had no one to compete with for first chair. I was able to fully participate in the sounds of many instruments coming together to form a collectively beautiful experience (despite the squawking and screeching of our middle school expertise).

Being a young female, I am often asked with much bewilderment, why I have chosen to be a welder. I am a welder now, for the same reason I was an oboist in middle school: Opportunity. There is an incredible need for skilled laborers in our nation, vocational training is inexpensive, and the opportunities to advance in this field are overwhelming. I get to be a part of a society of men and women collaborating with their specialized skills and training.

As I have pursued training and a career in the manual trade industry, I have developed a passion for “Maker Education.” Maker Education is an educational approach that relies on hands-on, collaborative, learning experiences. There is much to be said about the satisfaction and instant gratification of working with your head and your hands to make products and solve problems (check out Shop Class as Soul Craft by Matthew B. Crawford!) There is even more to be said about the learning that can be achieved through the process. At the Foundry Makerspace, we use projects in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) to develop students in the fundamental skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. We aim to build programs with teachers that equip our youth for 21st century life and work.

This year, I have the pleasure of working with Downey Elementary School. A big Foundry Makerspace focus at Downey is the science program in third and fourth grade. October kicks off with a genetics lab in 3rd grade! In this weekly lab, students will observe the life cycles and genetic variances of generations of two types of fruit flies- red-eyed and white-eyed flies. Right next to the fly incubator, we are setting up the tank to participate in “Trout in the Classroom”. The Trout in the Classroom project runs at schools throughout the north-east and is used to teach children about life cycles, ecosystems, and conservation. Other planned projects at Downey will be centered on plant-life and different growing systems suitable for urban gardening. Did you know Downey Elementary has two amazing greenhouses? A network of teachers and community partners is coming together to restore these greenhouses for the benefit of the entire school and neighborhood community. If you would like to learn more about the Foundry Makerspace or have expertise to contribute to any of these projects, please reach out! I would love to hear from you. Stay tuned for monthly updates on the ins, outs, and upside-downs of our projects at Downey!