the Wond'ry

“I love to see people create sustainable solutions that will have global impacts”

Q. What is your most memorable moment in the maker space?

A. There have been some pretty amazing days where I’ve seen others work on the industrial sewing machine to design a defense vest and other days where Taylor and her group made some impressive modifications to the mini cars for disabled kids. However, my most memorable moment occurred a week before I started work as a mentor.My friend had spilled water on her 2016 Lenovo Yoga Convertible. She had bought it for almost $900 and did not have a warranty to get it fixed. Even the customer representatives suggested she purchase a new one as hers was “beyond repair”. She gave it to me to see if I could do anything about it because she knew I had fixed other people’s broken laptops.I visited the Maker Space and Dr. Galloway gave me access to the Electrical Space. I sat down at one of the benches to work on it with no real hope. I began disassembling it and to my dismay realized the keyboard was fused to the motherboard. I almost gave up but decided to use the multimeter to test for connectivity at spots I felt the water could have damaged.Luckily, I found 8 really small points where the water had caused short-circuits to occur. There was some solder wick on the bench and some soldering lead. I used those items to fix the broken spots and ended up fixing an ultrabook that was marked as destroyed. My friend is happily using it now and constantly tells me how grateful she is for saving her money and I am constantly reminded of how it was worth investing time in working in the space on something I felt was too complicated to be fixed.

Q. You’re a new addition to the crayon box. What color would you be and why?

A. If I were to be a color that was newly added to a crayon box, I would be gold. Gold characterizes nobility and purity. It has an intrinsic worth and yet greatly increases the value of anything it is added to. It conveys a regal sense of importance and relevance to things it is coupled with. I am probably partial to gold also because I grew up in a country that was previously called the Gold Coast for good reason.

Q. What superhero would you be and why?

A. If I were a superhero, I would absolutely be Iron Man. I feel I naturally resonate with the character portrayed by Robert Downey Jr both in and outside the suit. I want to apply my skills in creating something worthwhile that can affect millions of lives. However, I also want to have the necessary resources to support a team of like minded individuals who may not act exactly like me but still have the big picture in mind.