Alumni Spotlight- Meghna K
November 6, 2023ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: REBEKAH W
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING STUDENT
2019 STUDENT (3D PRINTED THERMOCHROMIC DRESS CONCEPT)
Today’s alumni spotlight is on Rebekah, who attended BlueStamp as a student in 2019, where she created her own 3D printed thermochromic dress concept. Since then, she’s immersed herself in robotics as an intern at both Amazon Robotics and Boeing. She’s graduating this spring from the University of California Riverside as an electrical engineering major, where her capstone project is related to her BlueStamp project.
Check out her BlueStamp portfolio here, and read on to learn more about her!
What was your BlueStamp project?
For my BlueStamp project, I 3D printed a couple dresses, and I integrated microcontrollers, so that the dresses would have robotic features. I also painted one of the dresses with thermochromic pigment, which is this pigment that changes colors when heat is applied.
Can you tell me more about how you came up with the idea for your project?
In high school, I wanted to 3D print my prom dress, and I felt like that was my first step in exploring it. I’ve always been really interested in fashion and tech and the idea of fashion and technology coming together.
I remember when I first started the project, I had a bunch of wild ideas. And I remember they were being vetoed, but it was a really, really good brainstorming session. It taught me a lot about feasibility in a project.
What have you been up to since BlueStamp?
My first year of college, I was in a couple of different organizations. My second year, I worked at Boeing for about a year. I started off as an intern but then they changed me into a part-time intern, so that I could work during the year. This past summer, I interned at Amazon Robotics, so that was honestly really fun, being able to work on the little robots that run around.
As I continue my career, I’m really hoping to work at a startup. Any robotics startup, just because I want to be in that fast paced environment my first couple of years. I feel like I tell everyone this, but it would be a dream for me to be able to pursue fashion and tech.
What do you think were the most important things you learned as a BlueStamp student?
If you are ambitious enough and try hard enough, anything is possible- which sounds a little cheesy, but I feel like BlueStamp really taught me that if I want it, I should just go and get it.
Did your experience at BlueStamp influence your college decision or experience?
I think the technical things I learned from BlueStamp were really impactful. It was my first time learning about Arduinos and all of that. And it’s crazy because in college, I would go into a class, and they would be teaching us these things. I was like, ‘Oh, I already know what that is because of BlueStamp.’
Anything else you’d like to share about your BlueStamp experience?
I think it’s because of BlueStamp that I’ve had such a clear idea of what I want in my career versus a lot of my peers who don’t. My favorite thing from BlueStamp was probably the people who would come in and do their version of a Ted Talk. I remember meeting the coolest people like a patent lawyer, an interdisciplinary tech designer, and other engineers who all had inspiring projects.
