It all started when Lauren Zoltick '07 watched Holton's admissions video. While watching the video, Lauren's interest piqued at the feature of Holton's 3D Printing Club and saw that her alma mater still shared common values of educating more women in STEM fields. At that moment, Lauren was inspired to connect with Holton and before you know it, an email exchange between Lauren and Alumnae Director Amanda Novak Hewitt '04 evolved and a trip transpired to visit Lauren's office at iStrategylabs, a digital agency. It soon became obvious that this trip would be serendipitous for both Lauren and our Holton girls.
For those wondering "What is ISL? What do they do?," here is how they describe themselves on their website: ISL invents digital & physical experiences for the world’s biggest brands. Our designers, developers, marketers and makers build everything from apps, to connected devices, to wildly creative campaigns that reach audiences globally.Whether we’re creating devices to connect fans and celebrities for Facebook, inventing an internet-controlled arcade game for Nickelodeon's Sponge Bob, or creating live streaming interactive games for Miller Coors — we’re constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
With Upper School Engineering and Robotics teacher Chris Lee in attendance, the girls' spent the day exploring iStrategylabs (which was converted from a Wonder Bread factory to its current headquarters--check out the pic above). Dogs roam the office, open collaborative spaces are everywhere, and creativity fills the space. Girls in the Engineering and Robotics class had the opportunity to tour the amazing office and hear from different ISL teams, such as the Maker and Engineering team, Development, Design, and Strategy teams. As you can imagine, this trip sparked a curiosity in the students as they were exposed to the wide spectrum of possible STEM careers can take them.
Here are two perspectives from seniors who attended the trip:
"The iStrategylabs was so cool! I had no clue what to expect but I was amazed. I loved hearing from each of the speakers from different teams and being able to hear their different viewpoints. I didn't realize how many people were needed to create a final product (I mean they had web designers, coders, engineers, writers, and photographers." -Frances Gichner '16
"My favorite part of the trip was seeing real world applications of what we learn in the class room. I learned that Engineering isn’t just about physically building things but can also be digitally building things. The field trip showed me a way to apply science while still being artistic and creative which was something I had never associated with science before." - Ginger Looney '16
With just one alum's outreach and shared passion, an enlightening experience transpired for these girls and who knows where the crossroads of these creative and scientific minds may lead in the future.
