Picture a third-grade girl designing a water filter, her mother by her side. They laugh, experiment, and problem-solve together—both discovering they're natural engineers. It's a powerful moment, especially in a field where young girls—particularly girls of color—rarely see themselves represented.
Through the InventHERs Institute, Drs. Whitney McCoy and Shaundra Daily are revolutionizing how girls and women see themselves in STEM fields. By creating what they call a "counterspace"—where everyone can authentically belong and thrive—their interdisciplinary initiative connects faculty, undergraduates, and elementary school girls with their caregivers through a three-tier mentorship model that makes STEM education a more powerful and inclusive tool for common good.
As part of Duke Service-Learning's Fall 2024 event series "STEM + Community Engagement: Pedagogy and Practice," McCoy and Daily shared how their service-learning course, Engineering Equity (EGR190/EDUC290s), does more than teach technical skills—it empowers women and girls to see themselves as tomorrow's innovators and leaders.
The Spark of Innovation
The seeds of the InventHERs Institute were planted during McCoy's doctoral research at NC State University. While studying how Black girls experienced predominantly white engineering programs, she identified a critical gap. Although the students showed enthusiasm for engineering activities, the programs weren't designed to connect with their cultural experiences or community contexts. As McCoy explained in a recent Pratt School of Engineering interview, "I wanted to create what we call a 'counter-space' where girls, specifically Black girls, but all girls felt like they could belong and have a safe space to do these hands-on activities."
Building Spaces for Authentic Learning
The program's foundation lies in its diverse leadership team and hands-on approach to learning. "What I love about our team is that we are very much interdisciplinary in nature," explains McCoy. "I'm a biologist and an educational psychologist, Shani's an electrical and computer engineer... I think that is one of the strongest points about our team." This interdisciplinary approach allows InventHERs to connect engineering concepts to everyday experiences like hair care and personal care products, creating learning spaces where technical knowledge flows naturally from participants' lived experiences.
Building Multi-Generational Confidence
In this carefully crafted space, transformation happens across generations. As one caregiver of a third-grader reflected,
"This helped me in a sense of identifying, as a Black woman, that I'm powerful, I'm strong, I can do it, I'm smart, and not allow people to criticize who I am, and it also helped my daughter in that same way."
The impact extends to undergraduate mentors, who find their own sense of belonging strengthened. A Class of 2026 student shared: "This class has solidified for me the human aspect to learning STEM, and that bringing in psychology, policy, and education do not dilute the study of STEM but rather enrich it... Being with the mother-daughter dyads reaffirmed my STEM identity because of how much confidence and admiration they had for us."
Sustaining Community Connections
The program's success grows from its deep community roots. Daily attributes their robust network of partners to early and consistent community engagement. "From my first days at Duke, I prioritized building relationships with local nonprofits and schools," she explains. "Those early connections have grown into lasting partnerships that continue to strengthen our program and expand our impact in the community."
Through this innovative approach to STEM education, McCoy and Daily aren't just teaching engineering—they're creating a supportive ecosystem that empowers girls and women to see themselves as capable and creative contributors to the technological world.
The InventHERs Institute operates out of Duke University's L.I.F.T. Lab under the leadership of Dr. Whitney McCoy and Dr. Shaundra Daily. The program creates multi-layered mentoring experiences connecting faculty, undergraduate students, elementary school girls, and their caregivers through hands-on STEM exploration and learning.
