My name is Abby Shenker, and I have a confession to make: I don’t really care about boats. Even in the Digital Modeling & Fabrication program at IYRS, it’s the sort of phrase I say in hushed tones on our campus, where boats and those who are passionate them are around literally every corner.

The thing about IYRS is they don't just teach you the hard skills; we also learned a lot of the soft skills, the things that aren't in the flyers for IYRS, the things that can make or break your career in maritime trades. Things like showing up to class on time, communication, teamwork, and the hardest two for me - flexibility, and tolerance of change and uncertainty. 

Our new Student Ambassadors hail from the around the world - literally. They have amazing backgrounds and we can't wait for them to be the 'face' of IYRS this year, writing stories for this blog and welcoming visitors and prospective students to campus.

She's one of the fastest sailboats ever built, and very possibly the fastest. She's New York Yacht Club American Magic, and she's been built under a shroud of secrecy in Bristol, RI for over a year in preparation for the next America's Cup race. 

Ten students and alumni have been part of the build team - a rock star opportunity by any measure for these talented IYRS-educated yacht builders.

She's a beauty and a fast one at that. Second year IYRS Boatbuilding & Restoration students built Wee Winn in 2018-2019 as their final project - a zippy little racing boat designed originally by L. Francis Herreshoff in 1892 for Miss Winnifred Sutton of England.

Introducing two of our newest Student Ambassadors: Will Ingram and Keith Gipple

Wow. Survived my first month of school. I love it. It’s hard. I am out of practice. To be perfectly honest, it felt like I was just barely treading water this last month. After a relaxing summer with my kids, my world went from 0 to 100 flash.