I tell people I’m a ‘walking toolbox of skills’, because I’m a little bit of this, and a little bit of that. I’ve been described as a ‘glue person’ who can bounce between assorted teams working on the same projects. My skills can range from reasonably-legible napkin sketches to 3D printed models, soldering SMD parts down to 0402 package sizes. My hobbies include photography, stained glass art, board games, baking, puzzles, and the occasional video or computer game.

I grew up in northern California (yes, it snowed at my house on occasion), attended Butte College for a few years while I was in high school. After high school, I continued on to California State University, Chico for my B.S. in Mechatronic Engineering with a minor in Manufacturing. I mingled in the robotics circles in the Bay Area for a while and worked with a small company in Napa.

My next stop was from moving out of the Bay Area and landing in Colorado to join a spunky robotics startup in Boulder. I decided I liked Colorado enough to establish Colorado as home (sorry, local Coloradans…). In Fall 2021, I began my Professional Master’s in Mechanical Design (Design Track) at CU Boulder, though summer and Fall 2022 have had more time running among the electrical students moreso than my fellow mechanical engineering students. So few items nowadays don’t integrate with something electronic - if I want to continue my career in hardware testing and product design, diving into PCB design and manufacturing would be a logical next step. I also find PCBs fascinating and had a desire to learn how to make my own, so I launched off to go mingle with the EEs across campus.

One more facet to highlight is that my hobby of stained glass art extends beyond my home - I was recruited a few years ago to assist in re-establishing the stained glass “shop”, or work space, at the large makerspace known as Tinkermill. I have gone from assisting in this effort to solely managing the space and teaching assorted classes on occasion to members of the makerspace and other members of the community.

So what do I do?

I solve problems and puzzles, one way or the other.

I am just as likely to take a careful and detailed approach to a task, checking datasheets and any other resources along the way, as I am to solve a problem by simply beating it with a wrench - or Dremel things, that can work, too.