Built to Last: Senior Camryn Oddo’s Handiwork is All Over Stewart Hall

Piedmont University senior Camryn Oddo from Roswell, Georgia, didn’t set out to become the student departments call when they need something built. It just happened. Her talent for design and building have shaped two projects in Stewart Hall: a curvy, custom chair in the microbiology lab, and an oversized Periodic Table.

Oddo began building things long before she came to the university.

“The first time I ever dealt with woodworking was with my dad,” she said. The pair made ink pens together on his lathe, just for fun. 

Then COVID hit. Bored, restless, and — by her own admission — a little obsessed with medieval history, Oddo started raiding her dad’s shop, crafting a scythe, then a sword. These small projects honed the instincts she’d later bring to the CNC machines and laser cutters in Piedmont’s fabrication lab. 

Girl Scouts played a role too. One of her projects was the construction of a wooden food pantry cabinet for her local congregation during the pandemic. She realized then how much she enjoyed doing this kind of work.

Oddo arrived at Piedmont undecided on a major. When a digital fabrication class unexpectedly opened her freshman year, she signed up — and loved it.

That led to a Symposium project suggestion from Chris Kelly, Professor of Art and Associate Dean of Fine Arts and Communications: reach out to another department and collaborate. 

Oddo knew Biology Professor Dr. Julia Schmitz from a study-abroad trip to Greece, and that connection led to a shortlist of ideas — including a chair designed for the awkward, ill-fitting seating at the department’s chemical hood desk. No commercial chair had ever fit right. 

Oddo took on the challenge, even working through a snowstorm that stalled her measurements, and reworking her early “stick figure” prototype into the curved, comfortable design that now sits in the microbiology lab.

“Working with Camryn was an absolute joy. She went above and beyond by not only creating the chair but also incorporating the school’s logo and adding bacteria images to the sides,” Schmitz said. “Those personal touches made the chair even more special and meaningful. I truly appreciate her creativity, attention to detail, and willingness to make it unique.”

The Periodic Table came next, bigger and more ambitious. In her words, it was obvious in concept but trickier in execution than she expected. Not only is it huge, but there is a cubby for every element in the table. Working with Dr. Elaine Bailey, Professor of Chemistry and Chair of the Department of Natural Sciences, Oddo scaled her original design down significantly so it would fit the CNC bed — and it’s still large enough to span the wall opposite the elevator in Stewart Hall. 

Oddo modeled the entire piece in Fusion 360, then spent a semester — including personal time — cutting close to 100 individual wood pieces and applying vinyl lettering for each element. Files crashed. Machines errored for no clear reason. Oddo got more than a few splinters. She kept going.

“Camryn even worked on it through the summer,” Bailey said. 

“I have a really high work ethic,” Oddo said. “If I start something, I have to finish it.”

Bailey had been wanting the periodic table for some time and appreciated that Oddo was open to her ideas.

“We met frequently to discuss possible design options. She even made a bunch of mockup designs for me to choose from.” 

The result is a piece that Bailey describes as “absolutely amazing.”

“We will enjoy it for years. I am so grateful that she wanted to tackle this project. It was so much fun to work with Camryn,” Bailey added.

For Oddo, an elective that echoed woodworking projects at home with her dad helped her decide on a major.

“Digital design is an elective for computer science,” Oddo said. “That’s how I chose it. This connects.” 

Oddo is putting her skills to work through an internship at Habersham Metal Products Co, a local manufacturer of high-security openings used in government, defense, and commercial buildings.

As for what’s next, Dean Kelly has already told her she needs one more project before she graduates in May. Oddo isn’t sure yet what it’ll be. But if her track record is any indication, it’ll be something Piedmont enjoys for years.