Thanks for checking out my website! I’m a junior at UC Berkeley studying cognitive science and working towards the Berkeley Certificate in Design Innovation.

Why UX/UI?

At the age of 3, my dream job was art gallery owner. It still sounds cool, but I realized I want to do something more impactful for everyday people–not just those who choose to spend their freetime at museums. Those people are cool too, but undeniably a minority.

At 12, my dream job was book designer. I loved reading, and the covers, illustrations, and even fonts felt like the closest a story got to being tangible. I also made my way through a number of YA romance novels whose covers I was so embarrassed by that I exclusively read them at home and facing a wall. I still have a goodreads shelf called books-that-deserve-better-covers. Around this age, I also got into making silly collages with my friends on PicCollage, which I still consider my first steps toward graphic design.

At 17, I took a class on Photoshop and Illustrator, and loved doing graphic design. That led to me getting a job at my city’s Recreation Department, where I made posters to the tunes of Spotify playlists with names like “how to reduce file size pdf”. I still love graphic design, but I also wanted to be more involved in people’s experiences outside of the 2D visuals I was making.

When I heard of UX/UI design, I realized it is exactly what I’ve been looking for. It blends my love for aesthetics with involvement in functionality and truly making at least a tiny part of people’s lives better.

Right now, I want any experience I can with UX/UI, but I would like to pursue a career improving the experience of crucial services. This is all the boring, dry stuff like experiences at the DMV, hospital websites, banking apps–anything that people need to use, but might not necessarily want to. It’s the best way I can see to apply my personal interests and talents to making the world a little bit better!

I have a life outside of that too!

I’m also very passionate about personal finances and money management. Growing up low-income, I’ve always been practical with money, and I currently have a job as a peer financial wellness educator where I take appointments and present on finance topics. I have a lot of opinions about investing, and I hope to one day create a redesign of Fidelity’s website.

I love art and illustration, and do it to both wind down and get excited about a new project. I still read, though I’ve moved on from the YA romances, mostly. I’m an avid knitter, sworn off of sweaters and very into amigurumi. I’ll even crochet a pattern or two if it’s cute enough. I’ve also dipped my toes into other crafty stuff like bookbinding. If it’s an activity that ruins your eyesight, you can bet I’ll like it! You’ll most likely find me on my bike around the Berkeley campus and pretending I’m in a show like Broad City.