Igniting the Future with Welder Underground
Reimagining Workforce Development: Welcome to Welder Underground
We are excited to unveil our newest initiative: Welder Underground.
Our newest project-based learning program is infusing the welding industry with creativity, community, and craftsmanship.
Welder Underground: A New Era of Apprenticeship
Welder Underground represents a significant leap forward in educational innovation. It's designed for young adults aged 18-26, integrating our "earn while you learn" philosophy. This program is designed to ignite a new generation of Welders, leading apprentices to AWS certification and sets them up for career success, enabling them to start earning immediately without the burden of educational expenses.
Project-Based Learning at Its Core
The foundation of Welder Underground is project-based learning, which goes beyond traditional classroom education. Our apprentices tackle real-world challenges that teach them to think critically, solve complex problems, and collaborate effectively. Through hands-on projects, they not only master the technical skills of welding but also develop invaluable life skills that are highly sought after in today’s job market.
Fusing Art with Industry
Our program is unique in its approach, blending art with industry. By collaborating with experienced artists and industry veterans, our apprentices are exposed to innovative techniques and creative processes that redefine what it means to be a welder. These collaborations inspire our students and broaden their understanding of what can be achieved with welding, pushing the boundaries of traditional practices.
Empowering Communities through Skill Development
We are committed to empowering our apprentices with 21st century skills that build confidence and purpose. We focus on emerging communities, providing opportunities for young people to learn, grow, and thrive.
For more information and to join our program, please visit Welder Underground.
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Mark Brand Cooks Up A Great Night At Collab
We recently donated our space to The Future Food Institute and hosted their Summer School For Climate Change.
Future Food is an inclusive network and inspirational platform that is sparking exponential positive change in the global food system, in an entrepreneurial way.
One of the highlights of the summer school program was the amazing dinner prepared for the students, policymakers, government representatives and members at Collab and our community.
They designed a totally inclusive event tailored around the topic of reducing food waste.
We loved every bite and enjoyed getting to be a part of the amazing vision of Mark Brand. His personal recap of the evening left all of us inspired and hungry for more.
Build Your Own Wakanda By Tracy Gray of The Sankofa Global Project
We were thrilled to host the fantastic “Build Your Own Wakanda” Workshop designed by Tracy Gray of the Sankofa Global Project. Tracy is an amazing leader, mentor and inspiring educator. Her work as a member at Collab is mission driven and very much aligned with the values and vision of the Collab-Orators. Tracy serves on the board of the Collab-Orators and she is devoted to the community around her.
Tracy partnered with the NAACP to develop a fantastic two day hackathon which brought together the best of Brooklyn. Sharing our space and resources with the experts and attendees was a true pleasure. The days were filled with tons of inspiration and learning.
Creating Impact Through Storytelling
We met Jenn at a networking event and learned about what inspired her. We were moved by the work she was doing, and we wanted to support her efforts. Jenn, like so many other young women from her generation, is reshaping the future of every industry.
What was most inspiring about meeting Jenn was the story of how she created a path for herself based on her admiration for the work her grandfather and father had done. Her own stories of how she was inspired by the two of them reinforced not only the power of stories, but the magnitude of access, and opportunities.
In her own words Jenn explains what having access to Collab meant to her:
"#GoBeyond is an educational media company focused on highlighting and amplifying the achievements of women in STEM. Collab has been essential to our work with #GoBeyond, providing us a collaborative space to meet female inventors, media creators, and entrepreneurs. In addition to creating media content about women scientists, #GoBeyond hosts high school interns each semester to give students hands-on work experience and to help us craft content that speaks to and empowers a younger generation.
This initiative is supported by the Department of Education’s Futures and Options program. Collab is by far our student’s favorite place to meet, work, and learn.
I don’t know what we would do without the support of Adina and the team at The Collab-Orators."
We loved getting to know Jenn and her fellow collaborators and interns. You can read more about Jenn and the work she is doing below. We are excited to see her journey unfold into a fantastic story.
Jenn Halweil's fascination with technology and storytelling ma.y be a genetic predisposition -- her grandfather was part of the team that built the first major computer (ENIAC) led by Grace Hopper. Her father was a social worker who loved bringing home stories of his travels. From a young age, Jenn was instilled with a love of storytelling and problem solving. A nocturnal insomniac, her bed became a late night sanctuary stocked with a flashlight, an expansive Nancy Drew collection, and re-enactments of her favorite strong female protagonists. After devouring her elementary school's library, Jenn moved onto films and a pretty extensive Scientific American collection. In college, Jenn combined
these interests, studying media communication and electrical engineering.
Jenn co-founded her first company in college. Legacy Event Planners was awarded the City of Raleigh's Community Service Award in 2010, for her work organizing a 20,000-person eco-arts festival that showcased diversity. Five years ago, she launched her consultancy, focused on helping socially and environmentally responsible businesses craft their storytelling message through commercials, testimonials, and social media content. She has worked with over two-dozen clients including ZipCar, mtvU, TanZ Group, and Lenovo. Jenn has also worked for the Department of Energy in their alternative fuel FredomCar Division, as well as Progress Energy in their Distribution and Renewable Divisions.
Jenn has produced several short films and documentary projects, one of which won Best Editing as part of Campus MovieFest at Warner Brother's studios in LA, and another that recently screened at Cannes in 2016. Most recently, she was accepted into Youtube's Content Creator Bootcamp in NYC. She was offered a scholarship to attend the NY Conservatory for Dramatic Arts, but chose to enroll in Meisner training at the William Esper Studio instead. She has been nominated for Best Actress in the Secret Theatre's One Act Festival in 2013, and has had her work showcased at Cannes and the famous Chinese Theatre as part of HollyShorts Film Festival. Currently, Jenn is represented by American Talent Management in NY and MegaFlash Models in Miami.
In addition to her modeling, acting, and hosting responsibilities, Jenn currently provides storytelling and business development consulting for a number of green tech, fashion, and social good companies. Scroll down to the portfolio section to check out some of her work.
Lastly, Jenn is thrilled to be producing a documentary highlighting groundbreaking and glass-ceiling-shattering science being conducted by women around the world. For more info on #GoBeyond visit www.GoBeyondTheSeries.com
I.A.F.A. EDUCATION IS A FAMILY AFFAIR
The I.A.F.A. movement is founded by entrepreneur and founder Tracy Gray of the Sankofa global project. Tracy launched the first I.A.F.A. conference this summer at Brooklyn Army Terminal. We were thrilled to host meetings at Collab, donate services and collaborate with a fantastic group of female leaders dedicated to 21st century education.
The three day I.A.F.A. conference was an inspiring group of dedicated educators, families, and students who came together to identify new ideas around innovation in education.
We will continue to support the work that Tracy Gray is doing and her efforts to build the I.A.F.A. movement. For more details on I.A.F.A. visit here.
Internship Partnership with First Workings
This past summer we hosted Shergy Wyco and Yusuf Fashanu at Collab.
It was our pleasure to work with these incredibly smart and hard working students. A big Thank you to First Workings for collaborating with us and for all the work you do to increase opportunity and access for underserved communities. We miss these Shergy and Yusuf, as they brought a lot of fantastic energy, creativity and warmth to our community. The work we did with Yusuf and Shergy was not only good for them, it was good for us as well. We were able to begin developing a new program centered around teaching computer vision and physical computing. These two are really awesome students who will go very far in their career.
We were very moved by the letters they wrote about working at Collab. Here are some of the highlights:
Yusuf
“I really appreciated the fact that we were allowed to do hands-on work instead of just sitting at a desk the whole time. I also really enjoyed getting a chance to come up with my own project and actually creating it using the different power tools. Getting the chance to use the laser cutter was a really fun experience and through learning how to use these different tools gave me the knowledge that I could potentially utilize in my college career. I have also learned many other things that I will take with me. For example, I learned the process that Collab goes through to create different products for their clients. I also learned the different stages that one has to go through to create something; I could definitely use this skill in college as a mechanical engineer. Through interviewing people from Collab, I have also learned about many other things and how people do their jobs, and what they do. Getting a chance to get advice from fulfilled adults was really crucial for me and well appreciated.”
Yusuf Fashanu
Shergy
"I enjoyed learning about what the other people at Collab pursued. Talking to them sparked an interest in different areas such as paper engineering and mechanical engineering. I also enjoyed the hands-on project that we had and I learned how to use the different tools in the wood shop to create a prototype and the final product. Even though I learned some circuitry in Physics, it was different in Collab because I was able to create one myself. Collab was a learning experience for me. There were so many topics that we talked about with other people in the workplace that were just so mind-blowing. For example, Rob’s inventions were really unique and there were mechanisms that I didn’t even know about, such as gears. I learned new things from each person. A work environment that nurtures creativity and allows for space to learn is the place for me, for everyone. I wish we had more time to complete our project, but we only had two weeks there. We made the most of it and it was worth it.
You told us to pursue whatever we were interested in learning. I thought I needed to find my major as soon as I get to college, but talking to you let me know that I could take my time. Take all the classes that interests me and find out throughout the way. That’s how I will proceed onto college, I’m gonna take that ‘wisdom’ with me. The internship as a whole was a learning experience. I keep emphasizing how much we learned because it’s true! Yusuf and I learned a lot, and I believe that is the point of internship."
Shergy Wyco
Invent-Her Mentorship Program
In 2017 Collab developed a program to create more opportunity for women founded start-ups and entrepreneurship as part of the work we were doing with Futureworks Shops.
Our program included a pitch night to grant space to a winner who would be granted space and pro bono services including product development and mentoring. Through the shaping of this program Collab identified there is a strong desire for women led startups and entrepreneurs to gain access to resources and space where they are able to cultivate and grow their endeavors. The Invent-Her program will now be expanding it's program in our new space and offering additional opportunities for women developing ideas. Invent-Her will be expanding as an initiative under its non-profit umbrella The Collab-Orators.
If you are someone you know is interested in learning more about our programs please reach out.