How Classmates Built An Education Nonprofit From Their College Campus

MakerGirl was founded in 2014 by two young women during their senior year at the Gies College of Business, located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

In a social entrepreneurship class offered between the Gies College of Business and the School of Social Work, the idea to support girls in STEM areas was supported by course instructors at the university.

The nonprofit was inspired from the question: “What bothers you?”

Elizabeth Engele immediately thought of some of her college peers and the topics they typically discussed. She realized that she and her friends were often talking about empty topics. And, with a college that supports women to grow, she worked with her friend Julia Haried sharing their thoughts about this issue.

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