I did it! This May I graduated from Carnegie Mellon University’s Graduate School of Design with a Masters degree in Design for Interactions and a portfolio of work grounded in human-centered research, service design, and systems change. I had the extraordinary honor to be the Master’s Class Speaker. I shared the stage with Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford ( d.school ) and IDEO founder David Kelley who has been a leader in human-centered design for more than 30 years.
David was someone who inspired me to take the leap into the design field just a few years ago, after whizzing through his book: Creative Confidence. In fact, it was around that time, just 4 years ago, that I was googling “UX Design” and reaching out to every creative and tech employee I knew to learn more about what this field really was.
What I’ve learned at CMU is that User Experience Design is a field of interdisciplinary problem solvers who must always be curious and collaborative. To be great, we must constantly be learning about the people around us and systems that we live in, adapt to rapid changes in technology, and build out new ways to measure and discuss social impact.
As a communication strategist/community organizer turned designer, I am so incredibly proud of myself and my classmates for the work we’ve done over the last 2 years. It has not been easy, but it’s certainly been transformational. Congratulations CMU class of 2019!