UXPA International Scholarship

In college, I studied Sociology, which opened my eyes to the multiplicity of lived realities in the United States, and showed me that the world needs critical thinkers to approach difficult problems from unexpected directions. I learned that thinking critically meant using research and discussion to fully understand complex challenges.

As the grandchild of Puerto Rican and Irish immigrants, I wanted to explore the context that shaped my identity, and I wrote a thesis on the subject during my senior year. Sociology was my introduction to understanding how people, their contexts, and their experiences can provide the greatest insight into how a problem might be approached.

I tend to seek out jobs where communication is key. In my first job as a college admission counselor, my primary responsibility was talking to prospective students and their families. Students often told me about their academic, personal, and aspirational journeys. I learned how to ask questions that allowed people, even those who were nervous or tentative, to open up and tell me about themselves.

My next job brought me to a private school in Massachusetts, where I worked as an Advancement Officer. While initially this position centered on soliciting donations from school alumni, I developed an affinity for distilling data and reporting key metrics. I was fascinated with what data could teach me about the department’s strategy: it helped me come up with better questions and craft viable new paths forward.

My most recent position as a Web Strategist at a design agency involved wearing hats of all shapes and sizes. Initially, I was primarily responsible for populating client websites; by my second year, I was also an information architect, content creator, and project manager—and my interest in learning new skills continued to grow. I learned about UX, and I realized that something I was lacking was a deep knowledge of how to understand and design for users.

And so I researched, applied to, and was accepted to Bentley University’s Human Factors in Information Design program.

I am currently in my second semester at Bentley. I was one of only two students selected to start work in the User Experience Center on campus, which allows me to put what I learn in the classroom into practice with our clients; I have also had the opportunity to design studies, moderate sessions, and compile detailed analytical reports. I have learned that each researcher has the ability to bring a fresh perspective to a project, and that every participant voice can offer valuable insight into how a product might be improved.