She spent two years as a Davis Scholar at the United World College of the Atlantic in Wales. She then began her college career at Tulane University. After transferring due to Hurricane Katrina, she completed her B.Arch at Carnegie Mellon University. Nicole is currently employed at IDC Architects, an international firm focused on science and technology. As a Berkeley Prize Travel Fellow, she traveled to Lesotho to work with Habitat for Humanity in 2008.