Whitney O'REARDON
I am a student at Wheaton College Massachusetts, studying Visual Art and Art History. I have a passion for architecture and design. Specifically, I’m intrigued by innovative technologies that are used in architecture and building preservation. I love working with my hands to create things, and I see this class as an opportunity to continue doing that at a very rigorous level.
I have always loved making things but something that really got me started as a maker was building sets for my high school’s theatre productions. That gave me a great, hands-on introduction to construction. I loved figuring out the best way to piece together a set. As Master Carpenter, I taught other students how to use hand tools and most kinds of wood working machines.
Later on, I found other ways of making things using CAD and digital fabrication techniques. I got involved with my school’s Fab Lab while taking an Industrial Design course. Now I work for the Wheaton Innovation Spaces, in the Fab Lab and the Shop.
I am taking Fab Academy because I want to learn more about all of the different aspects of digital fabrication. From working in Wheaton’s Fab Labs, I am familiar with 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, and more. I’ve also done some coding in Python and C++, but I have very little experience with electronics production. I’m looking forward to learning how to make and program my own circuit boards in this course.
