Third-year Carolina student Maggie Ambrose ’25 in her hometown, Santa Ana, California (Photo submitted by Maggie Ambrose)
When she’s not in class or attending a Tar Heel basketball game, you can find Maggie Ambrose ’25 at one of UNC-Chapel Hill’s four makerspaces, quilting, embroidering or helping her fellow Carolina students get started on their own creative projects.
Her parents, Anne ’19 (M.A.C.) and Tom Ambrose, are Carolina Parents Leadership Society members whose support of this network of makerspaces, BeAM@Carolina, helps Tar Heel students engage with emerging technologies and traditional craftwork for education, research, entrepreneurship and fun.
Maggie answers some of our most pressing questions about Carolina’s makerspaces in this Q&A.
How did you first learn about makerspaces at Carolina, and what motivated you to check them out?
“I toured campus when I was a sophomore in high school, and BeAM is a tour stop, but I wasn’t thinking very much about college yet. At the end of my first semester of my freshman year here at Carolina, my mom started emailing me information about the BeAM makerspace. I looked into it and literally went the exact same day to go and check it out. I then spent the remainder of that semester in the makerspace, sewing a quilt as a Christmas present.”
If a student wanted to use a makerspace, what would be their first step?
“Step one would be going to the BeAM website: beam.unc.edu, where there is a link to our Canvas site, which has all of our digital trainings. To get started, a student would need to complete the basic safety training on Canvas, called BeAM 101; take the quiz; then schedule and complete the in-person segment of the training. It sounds more complicated than it is. The internet-only portion takes around 15 minutes, and the in-person training takes 30 to 45 minutes, so someone could get started in less than an hour.”
Left: These objects were created at Carolina’s makerspaces. Right: Maggie checks a 3D printer at the BeAM makerspace. (Photos submitted by Maggie Ambrose)
What is your favorite makerspace equipment or technology and why?
“My favorite piece of equipment that we have in the makerspace would have to be the embroidery machines. We have two: a desktop embroidery machine and an industrial embroidery machine. The desktop machine is more user friendly but has more limits on its capabilities. I like the desktop machine better because it requires a lot more hands-on work from the user, which for me is the part of making that I enjoy the most.”
What are your other favorite areas and activities on campus?
“The makerspace is really my home away from home, but especially this year, I have become a big fan of UNC sports — particularly basketball. I have been going to as many games as I can. There’s something really cool about being in the Dean Dome — like a special energy that just goes along with the history of Carolina Basketball.”
Join the Ambroses and make a gift in support of BeAM@Carolina today!
Written by Lara Amparán Nester ’89, ’93 (MBA)
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