This spring semester, students in Erika Zekos’ Design VI Studio partnered with Girls Inc. Of the Valley, a Holyoke-based nonprofit organization serving girls in elementary through high school age from the Holyoke, Springfield, and Chicopee area. The students learned about public interest design and worked on two projects: comprehensive plans for all of Girls Inc.’s outdoor space, and a small design-build project with the teen group. To identify and co-design the project, the architecture students developed a series of design workshops with the teens. Together they designed a bench for the yard, which the Design VI students built in the Design Building wood shop and delivered to Girls Inc. in May.