Degree/Year: Experience Architecture and Professional Writing, 2016
Company: Sundog Interactive
Position: UX/Marketing Strategist
City/State: Minneapolis, Minnesota

My current role involves planning and implementing research activities for clients, and then synthesizing data by creating personas and customer journeys from research data, client input, and my own problem solving. The deliverables I create are used as the framework for project teams working on everything from websites to marketing campaigns.Don’t treat all classwork as just classwork.

I’m able to jump in on projects with clients as an “expert” in user experience. When given a project, I feel confident that I can utilize research methods and design thinking strategies I learned through my coursework, but I also can communicate and work with people with all types of skill sets. The project-oriented classes that XA and PW offered helped prepare me for a client setting, in which I have to juggle working
with stakeholders, team members and different audiences. 

Don’t treat all classwork as just classwork. A lot of my projects that I’m most proud of are from class projects where I had room to experiment and learn about my skill set. Also, early on, join as many clubs, research projects, and work-centered opportunities as you can. Study abroad, apply for internships as early as freshman or sophomore year, and constantly be working on something outside of class.