Dear 1996 Michelle Zamora,
Hello curious little maker, it’s me, you! I’m writing to you from the year 2025. Get comfy, we have a lot to cover. Spoiler alert, you’re a success! I know, wild.
Okay, deep breath. Start scrolling, sis.
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Over the next three decades you build a career and life you love. You make people happy by making stuff that matters. Pretty cool, huh?
By the year 2005 you’re a straight A student and produce so much art there’s no space left on the walls. Naturally, you make a book called All Kinds of Things (Volume 1, 1996).
But sadly, you stop making art for nearly ten years.
Suddenly you’re a 22-year-old college grad selling boxes of produce door-to-door in West Sacramento. Eek.
This job leads to a pivotal moment in your life.
You ponder the idea of students discovering and practicing skillsets before spending thousands on higher education. On the back of an order sheet you write about the curiosity of making, calling it,
“Maker Manifesto.”
You travel to Zambia where you help stand up RHO Appleseed School in Lusaka. You teach English for 6 months - connecting deeply with the children, animals, and land.
There, you meet a group of film makers, who inspire you to learn about the creative process. You enroll in an intro graphic design course at Sacramento City College...
And you fall in love with design.
Diving deep into human-centered design and visual storytelling, you are guided by mentors who profoundly shape your journey.
After completing the design program at Sac City, the way is still unclear, so you embark on a pilgrimage.
You finish the Camino de Santiago–walking over 450 miles across the northern coast of Spain–learning to adapt in the midst of ambiguity and navigate a world full of uncertainties.
In 2017 you launch Michelle Zamora Design, crafting solutions that help businesses grow.
︎︎︎ View all projects
Building momentum, a major opportunity emerges.
You raise $800,000 and become a founding member of Sacramento City College Makerspace.
Serendipitously, Maker Manifesto comes to life! You seize the opportunity to advocate STEAM career paths–pouring your love of making into the hearts and minds of underserved students. Inspired by the maker mindset, many begin to thrive.
It is an exciting time leading a buzzing hub for
technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
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You collaborate with leaders in edtech and return to NACCE in 2022 to share your story.
In 2021 you pursue the Dual MBA in Design Strategy and MFA in Visual Design program from California College of the Arts.
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As part of your MBA thesis, you design a business called ShopDoc, a SaaS platform that addresses a big “Ick” in people’s lives - car repair and maintenence. Bleh.
You pitch ShopDoc at the California College of the Arts Venture Showcase: Reveal to a panel of experts, entrepreneurs, and designers - and you do it in style.
︎︎︎ Idea is the machine for ideas
While pursuing your MFA, you dive into form, immersing into a studio art practice—pushing your own creative boundaries through play and exploration.
︎︎︎ Cyanotype meditation book process
Your MFA thesis is inspired by Vipassana meditation.
You explore the art of breathing–experimenting with making the intangible tangible. You present your exhibition entitled: The Ritual of Conscious Breathing at the MFA Showcase, and craft a narrative of your thesis in a self-published book entitled Breath.
You organize a signing because you’re excited to share your work with the world.
Today, you are a creative chameleon–still making All Kinds of Things, continuously embracing ambiguity and crafting stories that make a difference.
So curious little maker, always remember, you make things happen. There is no single path forward. When you get stuck, change your perspective. Dive deep and just keep swimming.
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