February 25, 2025 — Spy Hop joined hundreds of students and industry professionals at SheTech Explorer Day, an annual event dedicated to engaging high school girls in STEM. With hands-on workshops, industry mentorship, and a vibrant atmosphere, SheTech provides a space where young women can explore the vast possibilities of technology.
Spy Hop’s design mentors, Liz and Mercedes, alongside community mentor Tommy Kastrati, led several short workshops introducing students to digital animation using Procreate, a popular digital art and animation tool. For many of the participants, their passion was drawing, and this was their first time experimenting with animation! We’re hopeful that this workshop was a great opportunity for them to expand their horizons, and unlock a new way to bring their creativity to life.
One student shared, “I’ve used Procreate for drawing but have never used it for animation. I’m excited to play with this at home!” Another student simply exclaimed, “This is so much fun!”
For Spy Hop, events like SheTech are about more than just teaching technical skills—they’re about representation and accessibility. As one of our design mentors, Liz, put it, “I think it’s important that we allow young folks the ability to explore new technology and skills in an environment that’s fun, with like-minded teens, and folks that look similar to yourself.”
When students see mentors who share their interests and backgrounds, it makes their future in creative technology feel more tangible.
If you’d like to see the animations the students created during their workshops, click the button below.
Beyond the workshop, Spy Hop connected with hundreds of students at our booth, sharing information about our classes and programs. Students were excited to learn about opportunities in filmmaking, music, audio, and design, sparking curiosity about the possibilities of creative and technical careers in art and media.
Spy Hop is proud to be part of SheTech’s mission to inspire the next generation of creators, innovators, and storytellers! We can’t wait to return next year to continue empowering young people to explore the world of digital media and design.