In March, Jessica was invited to speak as a FAB at the annual Silicon Valley Meetup hosted by the University Innovation Fellows at Stanford University. The University Innovation Fellows program seeks to empower students and faculty to become leaders of change in higher education. Jessica became a fellow in 2018 and has since participated in several meetups across the globe, facilitated design thinking and inclusive design workshops at various universities, and developed K-12 curriculum related to the design thinking and entrepreneurial design processes.
As a FAB, Jessica worked with a team of program alumni to coordinate and facilitate the meetup event for 300 students and faculty from across the globe. Jessica supported a variety of workshops and sessions that focused on leadership development and design thinking. She was also part of a panel about mentoring opportunities through the program. Jessica was also invited to give a talk inspired by a guest lecture she has given with the BME IDEA committee entitled ‘A seat at the table’. Through this talk she emphasized the importance of inclusive design and how it can be integral in both community development and engineering practices.
“There is something special about getting to work with this group of individuals,” Jessica said when reflecting on her week at Stanford. “Being around like-minded people who are motivated to make change in their area of influence and aren’t afraid to try new things or just be a little crazy always motivates me to find new ways to make positive change in the world around me.”
You can check out some photos from the event, and watch Jessica’s talk here!
Jessica Aldrich – A Seat at the Table
