Coworking was not study hall. Each session was structured around hands-on building, mentorship, collaboration, and professional development — a place to apply human-centered design and get honest feedback from people who do this work for a living.
What a coworking day held
- Work alongside educator and mentor Omar Perkins on skills, blockers, and project direction.
- Interview classmates and community members to sharpen design research.
- Feedback sessions and fireside chats with local entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
- Peer collaboration and constructive critique through every phase.
- Build, troubleshoot, test, and improve through real iteration.
- Coaching on college and career readiness, plus St. Louis startup pathways.
- Practice presenting work and defending design decisions in front of a room.
Guests who showed the work, not just the résumé
Frank Romo, founder and CEO of ROMO GIS, walked the cohort through real geospatial workflows and how cities and nonprofits use mapping to solve complex problems. Tavon Wilson, founder of Tono Technologies, brought a working XR prototype and a candid conversation about the road from idea to product.
By the end, students were not visiting the innovation ecosystem. They were working inside it.
