“Give everybody an active voice:” Inclusivity and Community in the BDW

Every day in the Brown Design Workshop (BDW), manager Jules Silva learns something new. While they are often the one teaching classes and facilitating programming, Jules said “I learn so much from community members that are so dedicated to their crafts.”

One Providence resident likes to come into the BDW to make wands on the wood lathe. Manager Serena Vu has crafted wooden tulips. Abigael Bosquet and Angelina Clark, Co-Presidents of Women Build at Brown, have enjoyed making personalized wooden cutting boards with club members.

Jules is one of the many members of the BDW team working to ensure the space is welcoming and supportive to everyone. “A significant amount of outreach starts at who we hire,” said BDW Director Louise Manfredi. “It’s really important that members that come to the space see themselves reflected in our  teachers, our leadership.”

The team represents all types of Brown students. While many student leaders are engineers, others come from concentrations in art, math and literature. The BDW team receives a lot of training in soft skills, Jules said. Having a diverse, friendly, skilled staff is a key to making the BDW less intimidating.

They work to include Providence community members from beyond the edges of Brown’s campus, Louise says, and “celebrate the creative culture in Rhode Island.” Serena often works the BDW’s night shift, meaning many of the members she works with are Providence residents. “It's exciting to get to interact with creatives, artists, and tinkerers who have been building and making for more years than I've been alive,” she said.

That connection starts with outreach efforts, Serena said. “Members usually find us through social media, flyers, or word of mouth, and we are always looking for new ways to increase our reach to engage more of the public,” she added.

Part of inclusion means making the BDW accessible — “free materials help with inclusion and accessibility,” said Jules. Those materials include scraps in the BDW’s material circulation station and brand-new materials.

Several smaller clubs and communities operating within the BDW also work to make the space feel less intimidating. Groups like Brown Formula Racing and Women Build at Brown allow students to access the space alongside a team of peers.

“The BDW is an amazing resource,” said Abigael. “But it's also a physically big space and there’s a lot going on. That can be daunting at first.” Groups like Women Build at Brown can also help students who historically haven’t seen themselves represented in workshop spaces feel more comfortable.

Through workshops and special programs for woman-identifying students, Women Build at Brown was founded specifically to support women in the BDW. “We’re working to create a community and build confidence so that whoever you are, you know you belong here,” Abigael said. “We want the space to be inviting for everybody — that’s a big part of why we’re trying to do one-day workshops.”

Those one-day programs allow students to come in and leave with a completed project after working for just a few hours. “It seems daunting to go to the back with metalworking and woodworking,” said Angelina. Through Women Build at Brown workshops, students can work with a welcoming group of woman-identifying students to collaboratively learn how to use all of the BDW’s resources. 

With the end mission of creating a car to race against other colleges, Brown Formula Racing is going against the grain to ensure its team is accessible. “At other schools, you have to write an application and interview,” said Lead Cooling System Engineer Chandler Zhu. “At Brown, you just show up and we will give you something to do.” 

In fall, they host a “Carbeque” where they give a tour of their project space and host a barbeque at the end. And every Saturday, people are working on the car from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. If students just show up during that window, they can tap into the Formula Racing community.

Louise says the BDW team tries to “give everybody an active voice and a space to contribute” in the BDW. Whether that be clubs, individual students, or Providence residents, she wants everyone to feel at home in the BDW. The team is “trying to create a space where it’s okay to just hang out,” she said. “We’re seeing more and more people coming into the space and just working on their laptops or hosting study sessions. It is quite delightful to see and gives people a chance to see what happens here.”

As students start getting exposed to the space, they can tap into the BDW’s leadership opportunities. As a monitor, Abigael “had to get a lot more comfortable because I was helping people.” For her, “that’s when my confidence started to grow.”

To learn more about the BDW, read our introduction to the BDW and another about the space’s commitment to sustainability.

 

LinkedIn accounts

Abigael Bousquet, Women Build at Brown

Serena Vu, BDW Manager

Brown Formula Racing

Brown Design Workshop

 

Instagram accounts

Women Build at Brown: @womenbuildatbrown 

Brown Formula Racing: @brownformularacing

Brown Design Workshop: @brownbdw

 

Websites

Brown Formula Racing

Women Build at Brown

Brown Design Workshop