Cassidy McDonnell is a senior majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering with interest in projects focused on environmental sustainability, climate change, and social justice. She is a member of the student group Engineers Without Borders and was integral in developing a relationship that lead to their current project in Guatemala. The group is working with local leaders and engineers to build a staircase, retaining wall, and septic system for elementary schools in two different communities. McDonnell got involved in this organization during her freshman year at Vanderbilt due to her desire to create things that help people. That same desire inspired her to seek out opportunities for innovation on Vanderbilt’s campus. During her search she learned about opportunities at the Wond’ry Makerspace. She then applied to become a Wondr’y Maker Mentor during her sophomore year and has been working there since.
Although she enjoys working amongst the state of the art equipment and high tech tools at the makerspace, her favorite part of the job is interacting with the people who filter through this space. “I love learning all about the different projects people are working on and being able to help them fulfill their vision. People come in with questions and ideas and it’s inspiring to see their passion come to life through our conversations. Because when making is involved, passion inevitably reveals itself.”
The makerspace, is an incubator for creative minds, makers and entrepreneurs and as a mentor, McDonnell leads workshops to educate members of the Vanderbilt community on how to use the equipment to create their own projects. She recently held a workshop where she worked with students from all disciplines across the university to build large foam spiders for a Halloween art installation in the Wondr’y atrium. “There were students who had never been there before and it was cool to see them collaborate and get excited about using the equipment. Engineering is so often thought of as just tedious calculations, but making the spiders was a cool way to show how engineering can be creative and silly and fun.”
McDonnell’s time as a Makerspace mentor has affirmed and fueled her interest to continue inspiring others to be innovators, problem solvers and makers. As she prepares to enter the professional job market McDonnell hopes to use her engineering background to seek projects that will focus on environmental sustainability and community development and encourage people to be empowered and hands on in the making process.