For the Love of Making: How AmeriCorps Maker Fellows bring their Passion to Life at their Host Sites

By Nicole Shuman as told to Alexa Rose

Meet AmeriCorps Maker Fellow, Nicole Shuman! Nicole is a second year Maker Fellow serving at the Innovation Center at Folsom Lake College in Folsom, California. Her journey as a maker started long before her role as a Fellow, though.

Nicole was born and raised in Los Angeles, California and transplanted to Northern California just over eight years ago. Her journey in higher-education began at Folsom Lake College where she quickly became acquainted with the Innovation Center. There, she met Zack Dowell, the Instructional Design and Development Coordinator, and many other amazing makers. Nicole was asked to join the space as a Makerspace Facilitator in April of 2017 and Team Lead shortly thereafter. During this time, Nicole and staff helped to onboard new facilitators, host handfuls of workshops teaching students how to use special fabrication tools, put on themed events and parties and provided a welcoming and accessible environment for all individuals.

After graduating, Nicole attended the University of California, Davis (UC Davis) and received her Bachelor of Science in Materials Science and Engineering. During her final year at UC Davis, Nicole applied for and was selected to join the Innovation Center as an AmeriCorps Maker Fellow. Together again, Nicole and Zack worked diligently to help kickstart their journey in the MakerEd project ‘Making Spaces.’

Nicole graduated from UC Davis in 2021, and was accepted to the University of Florida to continue her studies in Materials Science and Engineering as a graduate student. She also signed on for another year with AmeriCorps to continue her service as a Maker Fellow. Outside of school and service, Nicole is extremely enthusiastic about birds and sharks. 

Nicole (left) with Sophie Barrett (right) who is also serving as an AmeriCorps Maker Fellow at Folsom Lake College.

Here we learn more about her work and passions:

What is your favorite part about your makerspace and why?

My makerspace has truly opened my world up to opportunities I never thought possible. The skills I have learned here truly compliment my education and previous career experience. I am also grateful that this space allows me to help others in their pursuit of maker-centered skill sets. This is the only space on campus that truly gives autonomy to the student (staff or faculty) participating. It is a low-stress, no-risk, accepting space that fosters creativity, collaboration, and connection.

What does being an AmeriCorps member mean to you?

I come from a military family and that is something of which I am extremely proud of. Serving with AmeriCorps allows me to give back to a country that has provided my family and I with so many wonderful opportunities and connections. It is an honor to serve my country and community in this capacity.

You mentioned your love of sharks and you’ve been recently working on a shrimp project. Can you tell us more and what makes you excited about it?

The shrimp project is based on the open-source project, Reef-Pi, which is based on an even larger-scale project that Zack and I are spearheading called the Quantified College. We are using the Reef-Pi setup and Home Assistant OS, an open-source automation software, to automate different tasks around our space, including the data collection and automation of our shrimp tank features like temperature, pH, water-level, etc. Upon collection of these metrics, we are aiming to use the information and convert it for data sonification. It is a fun way to have students learn about data analytics in a way that is conducive to their modal of learning or course of study. Some folks might want to paint data, or graph it, some might just want to make music out of it. This has been my favorite project so far because everything I am learning is of value for our space and in the real-world.

Nicole serving at the Folsom Lake College makerspace got her shrimp livestream started recently after months of preparation.

How do you build long term capacity for your makerspace through your projects?

The Quantified College project will hopefully open doors for more cross-curriculum collaboration on the college campus and even specific courses in AI, Machine Learning, and Automation. We already have an amazing array of maker-specific courses, including Internet of Things (IoT), a sociology course ‘Making Social Change’ and an early childhood development course ‘Making for Educators,’ to name a few. I hope this leads to another maker course.

As an engineering student, and woman in the field, what have you encountered?

As a woman in engineering, I have had the most amazing and uplifting experiences from the start. The materials science and engineering field is quite small in comparison to other engineering disciplines, and as a result, we are all close and supportive of each other. We want everyone to be successful—however one defines that success. 

My engineering roots started as a child when my mom put every tool imaginable in my hands and encouraged me to try new things, be willing to fail, and try again. This same support continued at the Innovation Center and at UC Davis. I try to approach everything with a positive attitude and ‘can do’ mentality and that helps regardless of the discipline.

Tell us about your graduate school research.

My graduate research is focused on computational materials science using machine learning algorithms to predict various experimental outcomes, particularly leveraging off kinetics and thermodynamics. I have always enjoyed coding, but I really fell in love with machine learning during COVID when I was unable to access labs. This pivot from in-person to virtual learning was a catalyst to learn more about machine learning and how I could pair it with theory to predict and understand experimentation. 

What are some of your takeaways after two years of service and what’s next?

I have grown ten-fold in my technical skill sets—I cannot imagine getting this experience and independence anywhere else and I know my host site will benefit from my work for years to come. I am actively exploring opportunities in academia, the private sector, and government, where I can continue to innovate, teach, and make meaningful connections.

What word of advice would you give to our next cohort of Maker Fellows?

The best advice I ever received was, “wear the hat of the role you want, not the role you have,” and so I will pass that on to the future Fellows.

Thanks for all you do, Nicole! See Nicole LIVE, presenting her projects and passions at the AmeriCorps Maker Fellow Showcase, happening July 20-21, 2022. You can register here.