Laney College and the College of Alameda got a large financial boost on Wednesday to upgrade their student makerspace fabrication laboratories known as “Fab Labs.”
U.S. Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Oakland, toured Laney College’s Fab Lab in Oakland and held a press conference Wednesday to announce the gift.
“The young people here, their spirit was so clear that they wanted materials consistent with their dreams, and we fought for it,” Simon told the crowd.
The money will go toward replacing old equipment and adding new facilities at the Fab Labs, which house equipment from digital wood-cutting machines to 3D printers and are workshops where “any student from any major, from any walk of life could come in and make almost anything,” according to Carpentry Department Chair Karl Seelbach.
Previous projects have included building tiny houses for homeless students and creating face shields for Bay Area health care workers.
Simon’s investment in the workshops is part of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Community Project Funding program, which allows representatives to secure federal funding for projects.
Laney College student Bushra Gill said she was happy the workshop would be getting some help.
“I think this is a great resource, and it’s got great equipment. But it is aging,” she said. “There’s stuff that doesn’t work.”
The upgrades will support the colleges’ ability to prepare students for work in technical manufacturing fields, according to College of Alameda President Melanie Dixon.
Seelbach agreed, saying that the new machines would be aligned with industry standards, so “the tools our students use and learn upon are the ones that they’re going to be using with their future employers.”
Dixon said the funding for the new spaces will help prepare students for their careers.
“This investment is more than funding,” she said. “It is a powerful vote of confidence in our students, our educators and our transformative role community colleges play in preparing the workforce for tomorrow.”
