We are pleased to welcome Rachel Gibson as C4K’s first STEAM Coordinator. Rachel is enthusiastic about her new role as STEAM Coordinator as she will be able to share and learn STEAM and 21st Century skills alongside youth members. She will be responsible for the Maker Space and ensuring members and mentors have the necessary materials for their projects.
She has always had a passion for both technology and science but didn’t know she could pursue those things in conjunction with music until she went off to college. Rachel attended Oberlin College and Conservatory where she received her Bachelor’s of Music in Music Technology and Music Performance. In addition to fulfilling her role as STEAM Coordinator, Rachel is also currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Music Composition and Computer Composition at the University of Virginia.
Get to know Rachel!
- What do you look forward to filling your position? Having worked on developing STEAM-related projects beforehand, I felt like I understood how the arts can not only help students become well-rounded individuals, but also have the potential to provide a pathway to technological literacy in the 21st century. I definitely want to educate younger students and help them develop diverse skill sets through art and music. I know I will learn a lot from the members of C4K, and I love the idea of helping each other grow in unexpected and unconventional ways.
- What did you want to be, “when you grew up?” I think the order was astronaut, web designer, musician, and now it’s educator.
- What’s one great piece of advice you’ve received in life? Don’t worry about things you don’t have control over/eventually things will work out in some way or another!
- What do you like most about Charlottesville? I grew up in a very rural town, so I think Charlottesville is a very big place! I like how the city is very walkable, and how I don’t need a car to get around. I would say my favorite place to take a visitor would be the local used bookstores in the Downtown Mall (only when they are fairly empty!).
- Tell us a fun fact about yourself! I play the theremin, one of the first electronic musical instruments invented. C4K owns one too!
- Favorite childhood television show? Code Lyoko, which was a cartoon that was half in 2D and the other half computer generated animation (CGI). It was about a group of kids who would be transferred into a virtual world inside a supercomputer to fight an evil computer virus. As a kid, it really got me interested in technology (and I still watch it).
- What is your favorite comfort food? Definitely pizza and ice cream.
- Do you have any pets? If so, can you describe them and what you love most about them? I don’t have any pets here in Charlottesville, but I do have a stuffed cat named Mi-sama, who travels with me. 🙂