SkillSet

Providing access to life-changing skills through maker-based education Fall 2018-ongoing

Purpose

I co-founded SkillSet in the Fall of 2018. We offer classes for girls and nonbinary children to encourage learning and participation in spaces historically inaccessible. Our middle and high school girls engage with tools, processes and machinery in a supportive environment with women and nonbinary instructors.

STEAM Learning

Students engage in challenging, hands-on projects that Students engage in challenging, hands-on projects From cardboard to CAD and from CAD to power tools students learn design, development, iteration, engineering, craft, and the science behind it all. With more than 15 courses to choose from, over 200 students have taken away custom made objects along with the skills it took to build them since the program began

Community Support

SkillSet is funded by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina, The Windgate Fund and supported by UNC Asheville. In 2021, we received a grant from the AAUW to expand our program through the acquisition of portable tools to engage in location specific design-build projects.

Instructor Training

Many of our instructors are UNC Asheville students, who learn valuable job skills in a paid work position. Instructors learn how to use tools, create curriculum and teach content to kids.  

Applied Social Research

SkillSet Partners with Dr. Lyndi Hewitt and her applied social research students to evaluate the success of the program and to help steer organizational and programmatic decision making

SkillSet