Nicole was born on March 3rd, 2003 in a small town in Northern California named Chico. Both of Nicole’s parents are artists; her dad a photographer, her mom a printmaker. It should have been a given that she would have an interest and appreciation for the arts, but as a child, she did not. Although Nicole had accompanied them to gallery functions and artist lectures, she found these events less interesting than spending her free time playing softball and participating in Girl Scouts. One day her parents took me to the theater to see a play. It was so fascinating, she signed up to act in Chico Theater Company’s Children’s Productions each semester of elementary and middle school. Performing is one of the main reasons Nicole chose to attend Inspire School of Arts and Sciences but once she started there, she soon discovered she enjoyed being behind the camera even more. Growing up, Nicole had loved to watch movies and went to the movie theater often. She never understood the magic of movies or what they could be until she learned the production side during her Freshman year in an Introductory Video course. That is when she decided to change her focus and study film and video.
 
          Throughout Nicole’s time at Inspire School of Arts and Sciences, she has been actively involved with the Video Department. The Introductory Video course taught her about cameras, film history, screenplay writing, and Adobe Premiere Pro. She created a music video, movie trailer, and a PSA video, all of which were nominated for awards at the school’s annual video showcase. Nicole also received a nomination for Best Editor and won Most Dedicated Student. That year she joined Video Club, a student run organization that creates an annual film and produces the end of year showcase.  As Club Secretary, she worked with and learned from more experienced upperclassmen.  
 
          By Nicole’s Sophomore year, she truly had a passion for filmmaking. She desired to watch as many films and create as much content as she could. In the Advanced Video class, she collaborated with others who had the same passion. Nicole created a mockumentary and a short dramatic narrative. She also received 2nd place with a 5-minute video in the SkillsUSA Regional Competition. Advancing to the California State Competition, within 36 hours she created a 5-minute prompt-based film that was awarded 3rd place in State. Again, her films were featured in the school’s showcase. Nominated for Best Director, Editor, Cinematographer, Best Screenplay, Film of the Year, Sci-fi, Drama, and Comedy. Nicole won Best Sci-fi and Most Dedicated Student. This was also the year when the devastating Camp Fire struck her neighboring town of Paradise. Afterwards, she was invited to shadow ESPN filming an episode of E:60 on the Camp Fire. This was an incredible learning experience for her, getting to see professionals in action and interact with them. 
 
          Prior to Nicole’s Junior year, with her school’s theater group, she traveled to Scotland to perform in The Fringe Festival. She both acted and documented the experience with video. Her camera never left my side as she recorded everything that she could. When Nicole returned home, she edited the footage, making a 35-minute documentary that premiered at a local theater. It was a wonderful but surreal experience having hundreds of people gathered to watch a film she had created. While it was hard work, she is proud of the effort and it raised several thousand dollars to help with the travel costs.
 
          As President of Video Club during Nicole’s Junior year, she led the club’s learning activities as well as their film production. Due to Covid-19 restricting her to distant learning at home, she created only two films, a newsreel and another 5-minute film produced for the SKillsUSA Regional Competition, where she placed 4th.
 
          During Nicole’s senior year, she was once again President of Video Club and began working on her Senior Thesis film. It is about growing up and leaving everything you know behind. She worked on her thesis film the entire school year, writing the script over the summer, beginning filming in September, and finishing the film in May. The film premiered at Inspire's Video Showcase as well as her graduation ceremony. At the video showcase she was awarded Best Film of the Year, Best Director, and Best Drama. She was also awarded Best horror for her SkillsUSA film "The Initiation" During the 2020-2021 school year she was awarded 2nd place at both regional and state competitions for SkillsUSA.

          Nicole now attends Columbia College Chicago studying in their BFA Film and Television program. She is concentrating in Directing as well as Editing. There she will continue her education of film working with professionals as well as other students just as passionate as her.  

         During her freshman year she was given the opportunity to shadow the director of Columbia's Capstone film Chasing Reality. Moving onto her sophomore year Nicole really explored her path in post production and sound mixing. Credits include sound mixer on Columbia's web-series "Apologize Later", multiple directing 1 projects, and an assistant editor on Dad's Sick, as well as lead editor on directing 2 projects. Nicole has indulged herself in learning the craft of Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Pro-Tools. 

          Looking back on it, who Nicole is an artist and the films she wanted to create were shaped at a very yearly age.  As an only child, she didn’t have anyone her age at home. As a result, when she started school, she didn’t always know how to interact socially with my peers. Nicole became an observer, she still is. At times, in social situations Nicole will mentally remove herself from the interaction and just observe, observe how people interact with each other, noting their emotions, and expressions. When she is with her friends, she often observes their interactions with their parents. It helps her understand why they are who they are. She observes the way a location can affect a person, through material objects or even the weather. Before Covid-19, her parents and her traveled often. These trips were perfect for her to take in and learn about the world and other cultures. Whether in an airport, big city, small town or a foreign country, she observed friends, relatives and strangers. This is important for film, especially with the world building and replicas of real life aspects of film. Nicole loves observing and it’s something that she wants to put towards her creative work, as it can be magical and allow others to see the world in a different light.
 
          Through her projects Nicole has created several different kinds of stories and she knows the ones that she wants to focus on in the future. Stories that are led by and about the female experience is what Nicole is passionate to share. Historically, women have often been overlooked.  We may not think it happens often today, but it does, especially in the media.  This is seen in stereotypical characters of women in tv, film, fashion, and theater.  It is also seen in the wage gap, being vulnerable to career loss or setbacks, and much more.  Presently, we are beginning to see more stories told by women with women leading them. Yet, we are still far from the goal of equality. There are centuries of stories to tell and she would love the opportunity to help visualize them.