2019 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2019 | Page 41

Community Partner: Open Works
Intern: Jamie Pui Chan
Site Supervisors: Rikiesha Metzger and Laura Cohen
What is Open Works?
At Open Works, we believe everyone is a maker. We’ve built a place where anyone can
build nearly anything–that’s where you come in. Our mission is to make tools, technol-
ogy, and the knowledge to use them accessible to all.
I am incredibly grateful for this summer at Open Works. Both my CIIP experience and
placement at Open Works have greatly shifted my perspective of Baltimore, and I am
coming away from this experience with a profound appreciation for this city and its peo-
ple. Over the past few weeks, I have grown very fond of my co-workers, my co-teachers,
members of the space, and the classrooms in which I spent countless hours preparing,
organising, learning and teaching. Everyone I have worked and crossed paths with at my
placement—teachers, coordinators, and members alike—have demonstrated to me their
commitment to uphold Open Works’ ethos to make tools, technology and the knowledge
to use them accessible to all, and I have found their dedication and passion so infectious.
I am so honoured to have been surrounded by such inspiring individuals this summer—
like my supervisor, Rikiesha, who is unwaveringly upbeat and driven, and has, unprompt-
ed, sent me texts in the middle of the work day like these: “wishing you an awesome,
positive, free flowing day :)” and “you do awesome work and are an awesome mentor to
young people.” Or like a friend I made in the sewing studio, Dennis, whose passion for
textiles and years of experience as a tailor have developed into a career as a designer of
clothes for amputees.
My students have also made an indelible impact on me. I have grown attached to them
in many ways, and it has been so valuable and inspiring to me to have seen their confi-
dence, creativity, and passion for art and technology grow so much over the past weeks.
Though I cannot deny that I have at times felt overwhelmed, frustrated and even under-
qualified in the classroom, I am completing my last week of summer camp with a strong
sense of fulfilment and with the recognition that I have grown substantially too—as a
mentor, an artist, and an individual looking to have an intentional, meaningful impact in
the spaces and communities that I find myself in.
40
• Completed trainings in vari-
ous Open Works technologies,
studios, and software, including
laser cutting, 3D printing, tex-
tiles, and graphic design
• Assisted in preparation and
developing curricula for summer
youth programming
• Instructed textiles and laser
cutting classes for youth ages
8-15 in the Open Works summer
camp program
• Helped with administrative du-
ties like managing inventory and
working at the front desk