What was your specific role as an intern at the IDEA Center?
I was a Freelance Designer and Graphic Design Intern for the IDEA Center from 2019-2020.
What was your main takeaway from your time working with the IDEA Center?
I loved being able to work for various startups during my time at the IDEA Center. Each startup is solving problems in a variety of industries, so I’m always learning about new problem spaces. Additionally, the people I’ve met come from various backgrounds, so I’ve been able to collaborate with diverse teams. Overall, it’s really exciting as a designer to jump into a new space and help teams come up with new solutions.
What influence did your IDEA Center work have on your full-time career discernment (and what will you be doing)?
During my sophomore year, the IDEA Center was one of the first places where I really got involved in user experience and interface (UX/UI) design. This experience played a huge role in my career discernment, as it allowed me to solidify my decision to go into tech and design. After graduation, I’ll be working at Amazon as a UX Designer.
What advice would you give students at ND looking to get involved with the IDEA Center?
My advice would just be: go for it. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people at the IDEA Center. Everyone at the IDEA Center is very supportive and they all are eager to help you get involved.
Most memorable moment from IDEA Center work?
For me, there isn’t a particular moment, but it’s definitely just meeting people through the IDEA Center. Especially as I’ve come back to the IDEA Center in my senior year, it’s been a lot of fun collaborating with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise.
What is the current startup you are supporting?
Recently, I finished designing a prototype for Lupe, a web-based app that helps migrants send money home. Currently, I am working with Winnow on their app design. I will be helping them build out a portal that provides fast, accurate medical summaries for patients impacted by rare or neglected disease.
What do you do for the startup? Any takeaways?
In both projects, I am prototyping a minimal viable product (MVP), designing out the different screens and connecting them together to make a clickable app. From there, the teams can use my designs to test and further research their target audience.