Making It: A Case for Graduate Student Wellbeing

Graduate students sit in a unique position in the university where they often take on both student and teacher roles. The Hospitality Librarian realized their unique perspective and was interested in tapping their expertise, but also acknowledged their busy schedules and lack of time to engage in additional activities. She identified the potential of the Makerspace as a place where she could gather information about graduate cohorts, while they could engage in a fun experience to help destress and connect with their peers. The Head of Research, Innovation, and Creation (RIC) and the Hospitality Librarian decided to collaborate on a project of piloting a series of workshops for non-traditional maker space users within the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality. While the short-term goal was to get the cohorts into the Makerspace to see the varied potential of all of the equipment, the long-term goal was the hope that they would find ways to integrate the Makerspace into their own classes, in order to diversify the audience utilizing this resource at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.