Home country/state: Marietta, GA, USA
Undergraduate Degree: B.S. Industrial Design, Georgia Tech, 2018
GT MS-HCI: 2020, specialization in Industrial Design
What did you do before joining the MS-HCI program?
I was a student at Tech and came right into this program from undergrad. I guess between graduation and starting the Masters people might expect you to spend it productively at an internship, but I took a break and traveled, mostly to Korea and Japan, for the summer.
Why did you want to pursue a Masters in HCI rather than just going into the job market?
I didn't feel ready to get a job, both technically and emotionally. Studying Industrial Design at Tech did a good job of preparing me for the HCI program, but personally I didn't think it was enough to feel ready for a real job. I felt like I wanted a Master's degree to become more legitimate, and I also wanted to fill in gaps in my knowledge in terms of UX Design and Research. They were always underlying topics we learned in undergrad, but it wasn't taught specifically as a class like in the HCI program.
Why Tech?
Like I said, I did my undergrad at Tech and I was comfortable staying in the same environment I had been in for the past 4 years. It might have been interesting to go somewhere else, but you can't beat that in-state tuition.
What research or projects are you working on?
I'm currently working as a GRA for Professor Young Mi Choi in the school of Industrial Design. We're studiying the different ways of representing products along the design process, from sketches and storyboards to functional models. Each way conveys differnt ideas and feelings, so we're studying how different representations are interpreted, with the goal of exploring the addition of Augmented Reality to the early design process and the potential impact it could have on the space.
What are you going to do for your summer in between your first and second year?
I'll be interning as a UI designer for a company in the Atlanta area.
Do you know what you're doing for your master's project?
The deadline for our proposals is in two weeks and I have no idea...well maybe a few ideas, but I'm still figuring out where to go with them. What the idea is will affect who I work with for the next year, and in terms of advisors, industry partners, and fellow students, it's a lot to consider. I do think I want to do something with a focus on inclusivity and accessibility for either designers or end product users.
What's the coolest thing you've ever done?
Well I road tripped around Korea, that was pretty cool. But something not many people would know about me is that I like to paint portraits...of KPop idols that I think are very cute. It's a form a relaxation and expressing myself...and, flex, I won first place at the GT art crawl in 2018 for my work, which I think is pretty funny considering the content.
What's your favorite color?
I like all colors...except orange. Although, I do think that good shades of orange could theoretically exist.
