Hello World

Hey all! I'm Hannah, a Sophomore at Penn State University, excited to explore where tech can lead me. I am studying Human Centered Design and Development (HCDD), which is a complicated way of saying I want to pursue a career in UX Design. When I was deciding what I wanted to do with my life two passions stood out to me. The first was people. I want to make a positive difference in the world. I also was passionate about technology and coding. These passions lead me to where I am today. That is, aspiring to make technology easily accessible and seeking to design useful products to assist in daily activities.

The 2019 Grace Hopper Conference was the first time I knew I was where I needed to be. I was a freshman girl staring up at presenters who had once been where I was--just starting out, confused, and scared. The incredible thing about that was, they took those feelings with their passion and did amazing things. I listened to them speak on inclusive design and thought to myself “That's what I want to do. I want to change the world”. And that’s exactly what I plan to do.

I have had the incredible opportunity to grow with the College of IST as they begin their HCDD journey. That doesn’t come without its challenges, but it also means that I get to be a part of the start of something incredible. In the fall of 2019, HCDD premiered at Penn State and I was there for it. After talking to a few classmates we decided we wanted to create a consulting organization for students in our field. And that’s exactly what we did. We reached out to the User Experience Professionals Association (UXPA) about making a Penn State Chapter, found an advisor, and gained support from the College of IST. I am proud to say Penn State has an active UXPA Chapter. We have completed lots of projects and by doing so gave students, including myself, great experiences.

Through UXPA, I am currently managing a project with JamPacks, a start-up that sells handsewn, non-binary, playful backpacks. Located in Whitefish MT, they are dedicated to their customers and the pursuit of connecting to the wilderness. This has been a great opportunity for me to work on a team outside of the classroom. I have learned new tools and gained more exposure to ones I have used in the past.

One of my favorite tools to use when wireframing and prototyping is Figma. That’s why I created a short tutorial to teach you all how and when to use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQeGc8gMceI&feature=youtu.be

I look forward to growing with you and cannot wait to see where we end up.