What happens when a Chief Information Security Officer and a high-stakes Patent Agent decide to invest in the next generation? For Andrew Dunbar and Nancy Deng, the answer isn’t just found in a textbook. It’s found in the sparks flying in a woodshop and the hum of a 3D printer.

With a daughter in Grade 2, Andrew and Nancy are already looking toward a future that is changing at an exponential rate. For them, supporting the iCAST Equipment Fund was less about buying "gadgets" and more about fueling a specific kind of magic: the moment a student stops being afraid of a mistake and starts being curious about a solution.

Andrew, who navigates the digital frontlines at Shopify, knows that the most important industries of tomorrow often don’t even have a curriculum yet. “Innovation isn’t a domain that’s taught,” Andrew explains. “It’s about being curious and falling in love with the problem you’re working on.”

He sees iCAST as a multi-faceted playground where girls can move between sound design and 3D printing, learning to "go deep" and understand the design decisions that shape our world.

Nancy’s perspective is grounded in her work at an international law firm, where she translates complex ideas into strategic assets. Both she and Andrew share engineering backgrounds, making their advocacy for early STEM exposure a natural progression.

The impact is already hitting home. Their daughter has been experimenting in class with coding to control the physical world—triggering lights and sounds to act as timers. It’s this blend of creative production and technical grit that Nancy and Andrew believe will prepare Branksome girls to lead. By funding industry-grade tools, the family is ensuring that when a student has a "wild idea," she has the professional-grade lighting kit, the vacuum former, or the drill press ready to bring it to life.

“We want our next generation to have early exposure to different equipment, hands-on, and get ahead to understand most emergent trends in tech,” Nancy says. Their support of the iCAST Equipment Funds is setting up Branksome to do just that.

Learn more about making a tangible impact through the iCAST Equipment Fund.