On April 27, the third annual HUMM Institute workshop kicked off on Trinity Hall’s campus. Faculty member and HUMM Institute co-founder Erin Straine explained, “The HUMM Institute was founded with the intent to encourage young women to understand the power behind using an entrepreneurial mindset to attack real-world issues. They learn to use their design thinking skills and leadership capabilities to enrich the world around them through human-centered design projects.”
Straine, along with fellow faculty member and co-founder Kali Lambrou, hosted the workshop, led and designed by Trinity Hall students. The theme for this year’s workshop was “ON THE GO STEAM EDUCATION”, and the newest ambassadors from the sophomore class were inducted into the program. The new inductees competed as teams to create a business and kit design to address the lack of STEAM resources available to middle school students. Each team pitched its ideas to a panel of junior-year ambassadors who worked together to vote on a winning design.
The workshop also included presentations from two guest speakers, both of whom were able to share some insights about their professional experiences from an entrepreneurial perspective. Sarah Chiles P’26 spoke to the girls about her professional journey serving the community through her nonprofit work and entrepreneurism. Trinity Hall alumna Mary Kate Cashman ‘20 presented via Zoom to share the importance of design thinking and her professional successes due to what she had learned during her time at Trinity Hall.
The workshop encouraged leadership and collaboration among students, and the junior ambassadors played an essential role in helping the day run smoothly. Meredith Harmon ‘25 shared, “The workshop was a great way to get to know the sophomores and help guide them into the role of upperclassmen leaders and role models while giving back to our community. I was amazed by how much the groups were able to accomplish in such a short period of time, and I cannot wait to see their new STEAM kit in action.”
The newest members of the HUMM Institute showed great promise for the future of the program at Trinity Hall. HUMM ambassador Addie Nash ‘25 said, “Social Entrepreneurship is a foundational aspect of the HUMM Institute as this is the type of mindset that HUMM members must have in order to design and network within the institute. By the end of the workshop, I was impressed by the final products and leadership abilities shown through the new members.”
The HUMM ambassadors will continue to develop the winning design over the course of next year. They plan to take part in active outreach in the fall with the Trinity Hall admissions team before they eventually share the prototype with local students. Feedback from these students will help to create the final design to be distributed to local middle schools.
Students look forward to future successes from the HUMM Institute. As Harmon shared, “My hope from the day is that the future classes of Trinity Hall will be just as excited and engaged as the current sophomores and will continue to embody the HUMM institute's legacy of inspired and empowered leaders.”