About

My name is Nicole and I recently graduated with my bachelor’s in industrial design from Michael Graves College which is a part of Kean University.

My goal with design is to make things in the world more beneficial and beautiful but also less annoying and less irritating. When I approach a design problem I try to ask questions like “Is this a problem worth solving?” and “Am I starting with the right question?” Life is a twisting web; fads are a momentary flash, but good design endures and builds on itself. Bad design creates more problems, problems with ethics, sustainability, and accessibility.

To me, design is a story made real and the world made better.

Education

Bachelor of Industrial Design

Michael Graves College - Kean University

Dean’s List

Associate of Fine Arts

Middlesex College

Graduated with Honors

Technical Skills

Sketching — Marker Rendering — Prototyping — Storyboarding — Wireframes — Mind Mapping — Resin Casting — Foam Modeling — FDM 3D Printing — SLA 3D Printing — Clay Sculpting — HTML — CSS — Game Design

Software Skills

SolidWorks — KeyShot — Ultimaker Cura — Adobe Creative Cloud — Adobe Illustrator — Adobe Photoshop — Adobe InDesign — Figma — InVision — Microsoft Office — Microsoft Word — Microsoft PowerPoint — Microsoft Excel — Google Suite — Google Docs — Google Sheets — Google Slides — Google Forms — Autodesk Fusion 360 — Autodesk Maya —Autodesk Mudbox

Extracurricular Activities

Cooper Hewitt - The Road Ahead: Reimagining Mobility

Submission

Kean Research Days

Exhibited

NextGen Cup Challenge

Submission

Thinking Creatively - Let’s Charrette

Participated

Volunteer Leadership Roles

Co-Municipal Liaison for NaNoWriMo

  • Worked with Co-Liaison to oversee the NaNoWriMo events in Middlesex County, Union County, and Monmouth County both in person and online.

  • Be a source of encouragement to participants.

  • Create, schedule, and attend events across the region.

  • Work with other liaisons either within the district or outside of it to create interesting new events or continue traditional ones.

  • Created and sent out polls and then adjusted program based on feedback.

Director of Pioneer Girls

  • Create fliers to send home that parents would notice and read.

  • Collect parent emails and keep parents updated throughout the year about events or cancellations of meeting times.

  • Come to every Friday night meeting and connect with the kids, learn their names, be personable.

  • Find volunteers to work with the kids and to do educational events.

  • Schedule annual weekend camp visit with outside camp organization.

  • Collect checks for the weekend camp trip and deposit them at the bank.

Co-Director of VBS

  • Attend multiple meetings with other directors to choose the curriculum for the program that year.

  • Created cohesive themed decorations that spanned the hallways and many rooms.

  • Designed, printed, and laminated hundreds of name tags.

  • Recruited volunteers for different roles.

  • Oversee the five-day program where we had between 150-220 attendees aged between kindergarten and fifth grade.

Work Experience

Makerspace Assistant — Kean University — 2019

  • Assisted students in creating prototypes, maintained machines, and kept workspaces clean.

  • Helped the department head give tours to prospective students.

Bakery Clerk — Shoprite — 2014 - 2016

  • Fast paced, required extensive product knowledge and confident and friendly communication skills with customers as well as precise behind the scenes setup and preparation.  

  • Trained new bakery clerks to precise store standards.

Cashier/Barista — Target — 2011 - 2014

When working as a Target cashier

  • Consistently exceeded sales quotas for guests opening Target credit or debit cards.

When working as a Starbucks barista

  • Engaged guests in conversation while preparing beverages to exact tastes.

  • Responsible for either opening or closing the store alone.