Morgan Stelly
Stelly Believes the future is plant-based.
Marissa is combining creativity and engineering to bring out the best in all students.
Maker Studio | Education | San Francisco, CA
What challenges have you faced in life that make becoming an entrepreneur more difficult OR better prepared you for entrepreneurship?
As a woman, minority, and student with dyslexia, I empathize with my students’ struggles. I know, personally, the negative impact of low confidence resulting from demographic and academic setbacks. My personal story is the foundation for my dedication and perseverance in resolving this problem.
When did you first know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
I started to notice this common occurrence happening in my Fashion Design workshops, when I would ask my students to show me a 1/2" they struggled and automatically assumed they just weren't good at math, but loved being creative and didn't realize how much engineering was involved in the creative process. From this discovery it changed my view on things and direction in life, and I wanted to use my background in design to creatively find a solution to this problem for my students, as I knew first hand from my own background.
What or who inspires you?
My team and I share a vision to create a movement in education at the intersection of creativity and engineering to bring out the greatness of all students. Currently, girls, minorities, and non-traditional learners are underrepresented in STEM careers and have lacking educational resources to encourage their interest in these fields.
What are your dreams for the future:
My first dream is to develop a sustainable business so I can start to hire my team on full-time. This is a huge motivation for me to fully see this dream come to life and for this movement to grow for our students to obtain our program not just locally, but we want to bring this nation wide and globally. We want to disrupt the false dichotomy that students need to choose between a creative path over a technical one. You need both mindsets for future career needs.
How has Skysthelimit.org helped you on your journey?
With the CVC grant, we’ve been paying staff and purchasing program materials.