“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
My story is a simple one.
From my days of drawing cartoons with my brother as a kid to watching the Home & Garden channel and making renovations around my parents’ home, my passion for design has always been existent. Starting out as an Interior Design major, I also began my undergraduate studies taking my first Psychology course and found myself at a crossroad — Did I want to pursue a career in design or psychology?
It took one checklist to drive my decision:
✓ I like helping people work through their issues.
✓ I want to better my community.
✓ I could pour myself into these psychology books and never get bored.
After graduating, I took a break from academia to gain some experience with children as an elementary school teacher. Loved the kids; not so much the job. Fast forward a few years, I earned my Master’s in Mental Health Counseling and developed my clinical therapy skills with a few different agencies. While the work itself is amazing, the burnout is tremendously draining — mentally, emotionally, and physically. After several of these burnouts, I used some of the techniques I had been teaching my clients to figure out what change I could make.
It took some time to figure it out, but after moving to Northern Virginia, it became abundantly clear when I passively learned about UX/UI Design through family and friends.
“You mean to tell me, I could do a thing that combines design and psychology?”
I researched the field, took free courses, talked to many designers, and finally enrolled in a UX/UI Design program that helped me develop my visual design skills, as well as translate my “undergrad checklist” and therapy skills to enhance user experience. Although I can’t necessarily add the work I’ve done as a “Patient- and Student-Experience Designer” to my portfolio, those roles have shaped the way I think as a product designer today.
I strive to continuously challenge myself and improve my abilities through meaningful and impactful work. When I’m not behind a computer screen, I enjoy hiking in the gorgeous mountains of Virginia with my husband, competitively playing Monopoly Deal with friends, and reading a good book in bed while listening to the soothing sounds of my cat snoring.
