VCU news

By Brian McNeill

Surrounded by an array of power tools, 3-D printers, boxes of electronics components and even an Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, Virginia Commonwealth University student Shellie Lundquist is teaching a handful of men and women the basics of woodworking.

“Have you ever used a drill press before,” she asks Richmond resident Eudora Burgess.

“Oh no,” Burgess replies. “Honestly, I don’t even know what a drill press is.”

“Alright, well, a drill press is used to make holes,” Lundquist says, as she demonstrates how to switch out the drill bit and operate the machine safely. “This one can make holes in light amounts of metal and it can also do wood.”

Burgess takes a turn on the drill press, carefully boring a hole through a piece of scrap wood.

“Well now! There we go,” she says. “That was cool.”

Lundquist, a senior electrical engineering major in the School of Engineering, was teaching woodshop basics at HackRVA, Richmond’s community maker-space in Scott’s Addition.

“Tonight, it’s the basics,” Lundquist said. “For a lot of people, they don’t get into woodworking because they’re afraid of that first step. This is about pulling the trigger and getting people oriented, and comfortable enough to start using the machines.”

“We tell them, ‘This could take your finger off, but don’t be afraid. There’s a safe way to do it, and we’ll show you how,’” she added.

In addition to teaching the woodworking class, Lundquist also put together a course at HackRVA called “Wine and Weld,” in which students — half of them men, half of them women — learn the basics of welding, followed by a wine tasting.

“It was really great. We had women saying, ‘Well, I’m going to have to put a TIG welder in my trunk now,’” she said. “For me, it’s important to open up everyone’s horizons. If we only do what we think or what other people think is acceptable for us to do with our lives, then I just don’t think we’re really living.”

Women of Hack

Lundquist is the founder and leader of Women of Hack, or WoHack, an offshoot of HackRVA that brings together Richmond-area women to collaborate and discuss their interests in creating and making things.

Aaron Nipper, president of HackRVA, said Lundquist has opened the door to talking about diversity at HackRVA and in the Richmond-area maker community. When necessary, she will stick her foot in that door.

Her leadership has a lot to do with giving women a chance to do things they might not be exposed to, such as welding or woodworking.

“HackRVA didn’t have a lot of female members two years ago. Now the growing contingent of women at HackRVA are some of the largest contributors, volunteers, doers,” Nipper said. “Shellie helped make that happen. Her leadership has a lot to do with giving women a chance to do things they might not be exposed to, such as welding or woodworking, and encouraging young women to consider engineering [or] technology as promising and interesting career prospects that aren’t just for guys.”

Lundquist has not only encouraged more women to take part in Richmond’s maker community, she has also played a key role in encouraging men in the community to become interested in maker skills such as the fiber arts and paper crafting.

“To Shellie, a tool is a tool, a material is a material, and a person is a person,” Nipper said. “Exclusion by stereotype of any possibilities to solve problems or create is getting questioned and put to the test.”

A big part of Lundquist’s work, she said, is about making women feel comfortable to learn a traditionally male skill.

“A lot of women had told me, ‘I’d really like to learn how to do, say, woodworking, but I don’t want to ask someone how to do it because they might just do it for me rather than teaching me,’” she said. “Part of the communication that we’ve worked on as a group is that when someone asks for your help, do they want your help or do they want you to do it [for them]? We have to be open about asking that question instead of just assuming.”

From Newport News Shipbuilding to VCU’s School of Engineering

Lundquist grew up in rural Florida, and learned woodworking and other DIY skills on her family’s farm.

She earned her associate’s degree before graduating from high school. She was interested in studying math in college, but she encountered resistance.

“When I was in Florida, I told [people] that I wanted to get a math degree. And they’d say, ‘OK, that’s cool. You can go into elementary education and become a teacher.’ But I wanted to do pure math, high-level math,” she said. “There was kind of a mentality of, ‘You can’t do that.’”

For six or seven years, Lundquist tried to find the right path for herself. She ultimately worked on welding machines as a technician at Newport News Shipbuilding.

“I was basically a maintenance technician, though more on the electrical side because welding machines are mostly electrical,” she said. “That’s where I fell in love with electricity.”

Her friends and mentors at the company told her she needed to pursue an engineering degree.

“I decided to take a risk and went to VCU, and decided to try and work my way through school in four years,” she said.

Since the summer of last year, Lundquist has worked as an intern or served a part-time co-op at Altria.

Following graduation, she will work in the company’s Engineering Leadership Development Program, a four-year program in which Altria will rotate her through various aspects of the company, such as research and development, maintenance and engineering, and business leadership development.

A. Vennie Filippas, Ph.D., associate dean for undergraduate studies and an associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, called Lundquist the “epitome of the VCU School of Engineering student.”

She brings a drive to everything she does that is uniquely her own.

“She brings a drive to everything she does that is uniquely her own,” Filippas said. “Her story is enormously compelling and distinctive, and mirrors what we see in many of our students. All students at the VCU School of Engineering bring a diverse perspective to everything they do which reflects their personal experiences. As educators, we try hard to encourage that unique perspective and develop an environment where all students fit in without having to sacrifice their individuality.”

“That is the challenge of engineering education today, and Shellie embodies that perfect student,” she said. “Smart, intellectually curious, independent, personable, and driven by an inner moral compass that inspires her to engage in community activities that enrich the lives of those around her.”

Advising up-and-coming fashion designers at VMFA

Lundquist’s work to encourage diversity in Richmond’s DIY and engineering communities extends beyond just HackRVA.

In the spring, she will serve as the engineering consultant for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ Teen Stylin’ program, in which aspiring fashion designers in grades 6 to 12 take part in a multiweek class to create their wearable works of art, culminating in a runway exhibition.

The upcoming Teen Stylin’ program is centered around the design theme “Engineered,” putting a focus on STEAM — or science, technology, engineering, art and math. As part of the theme, the participants will incorporate moveable parts and illuminated elements to their designs.

Jessica Bauserman, youth and family programs educator in VMFA’s Art and Education Division, said the art museum contacted HackRVA for help connecting with people with engineering expertise. Lundquist was an obvious fit and quickly embraced the opportunity to participate.

“The majority of Teen Stylin’ designers are females,” Bauserman said. “Shellie, studying engineering and acting as a huge advocate for women in engineering, seemed like an excellent role model for the students and a wonderful addition to the team.”

Lundquist is helping to write the program’s syllabus and plan classes, and she is eager to help the young designers tackle the mechanical and technical aspects of their projects.

“The requirement for them is to make their design move, make it light up, or make it make noise,” she said.

“An archetype of what the engineer of the future will be”

Lundquist is passionate about breaking down gender barriers, and encourages people to question traditional roles.

“I’m not necessarily saying that people need to change those roles if they don’t want to, but I want people to feel comfortable doing something that might be a little bit outside of the box,” she said. “I want people to see that other people who are just like them are doing this kind of stuff. They’re not the only soldier on the road. That’s really where it gets me at my core.”

Solving the world’s problems, Nipper said, is going to require engineers like Lundquist.

“Shellie is an archetype of what the engineer of the future will be like,” he said. “Broad minded, imaginative but practical. Smart, hardworking, hands-on, solution-driven. Willing to try and fail, and try again — in other words, not letting ego get in the way of progress. Interdisciplinary regarding engineering and tech, as well as informed across a wide range of peripheral knowledge bases. Concerned and involved with community issues at the ground level. Gets her own hands dirty. And, more increasingly, especially if Shellie has anything to do with it, female.”

 

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