As both a UX Researcher and an Educator,
my passion is understanding people.
I wasn’t always in UX. My first career out of college was as a music educator.
During my time in the classroom I learned to think critically about the needs of students and to become a keen observer of their behavior.
Teaching students is similar to testing users; individuals in both groups have a unique baseline of skills and knowledge which affects their performance, and their body language and verbal responses tell us how we may need to change our approach.
As an educator, I planned student-centered lessons based on my observations of their progress.
Now I plan user-centered design based on observations and insights acquired from user research.
After teaching I spent a year writing music for media projects, like short films and documentaries.
In the process of collaborating with stakeholders, I learned to translate my domain knowledge (music) in general terms which non-musicians could understand. I also used feedback from the director to make iterative revisions to my work, so as to align with his or her vision for the project.
Successful UX work uses the same creative and collaborative skills I gained from scoring media projects. In both cases, I’m aligning my own output with larger project goals.
In 2021, I began a Master’s program at UT focusing on User Experience in order to use what I learned about people and projects in Austin’s growing technology sector.
I’m fascinated by the ways that small changes to design have a big impact on human behavior. Just as I did in education, I want to use my insights to help create accessible, intuitive, and user friendly experiences.
Let’s connect!
I graduated in May 2023 with a Master of Science in Information Studies from The University of Texas. Feel free to reach out if you’d like to chat about UX or any of my previous work!