Melissa Guerrero has already successfully operated two career shifts: after a Masters in Teaching and working as an educator for 7 years, she completely changed careers and became a Front-End Developer and digital designer.
With her partner, she recently co-founded Dallas3dPrintersClub, which is a distributed team of 3D printing volunteers that has produced over 900 3D-printed face shields in response to the shortage of PPE during the coronavirus crisis.
Nora Touré: When you decided to start using 3D printing, did you already have some knowledge of the technology? Did you know what software, printers, materials to use?
Melissa Guerrero: Yes, but my boyfriend and partner, Joseph Finan, has been a great mentor to me. Some of our first dates involved 3D printing items on his Prusa iMK3S, and I became fascinated by how 3D printing works. I started learning about file types, filament, common production issues and their fixes.
In March 2020, when the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic became a crisis, and it was apparent that 3D printing face shields would help local healthcare providers, I knew that we should join the grassroots effort to address this problem. I still have a lot to learn, but working on that specific project has helped me focus on relevant concepts and objectives.
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