Alumni Spotlight: Cassy Gibson and Thu Nguyen

The CCD Alumni Spotlight series feature Rice alumni who are paving “unconventional” career paths in the Arts, Communication, or Entertainment space. If you’re interested in UX design or Communications, scroll down to read all about Cassy Gibson and Thu Nguyen’s inspiring career paths and valuable advice.

Cassy Gibson (Duncan, 2017) is a UX designer at Sidebench, where she works with product teams and clients to bring life to problem-solving products. Drawing on her specialized knowledge of healthcare and patient experience, Cassy has worked with a number of clients (i.e. Inland Empire Health Plan, Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles) and has led workshops on user experience design, accessibility, and product strategy.

Thu Nguyen (Wiess ’17) is the Communications Manager at OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates, a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing the socioeconomic and political wellbeing of Asian American and Pacific Islanders. A native Houstonian, she is currently learning and shaping what advocacy, human information design, and entrepreneurship can mean in Washington, DC.

How did your background and interests lead to your current position?

CASSY: When Rice established the medical humanities minor, the curriculum I’d been crafting for myself — one that combined the sciences of medicine and the humanities — was codified. A new course became available that matched my interests: Medical Media Arts Lab. We were encouraged to think about the way patients interact with and consume media, how this impacts their care, and how media can be used to improve the quality of care. I was enamored with the concepts of narrative medicine, human-centered design, and technology as a resource for a slow-moving industry to bring value to patients as people.

THU: I was premed because I wanted to pay it forward and help other people, especially immigrants and marginalized communities. When I discovered sociology and advocacy through the Rice Asian Pacific American Student Association, I realized that I didn’t have to force myself to struggle through STEM when I was much better at sociology and other creative avenues. Running a fashion blog at Rice and being president of the Vietnamese Student Association also gave me the hard skills needed to run social media campaigns, coordinate events, and manage projects. All of the skills I need now in my job, which extends beyond communications and into event planning and fundraising, were developed through my extracurriculars at Rice.

What is the most exciting and challenging part about your current role?

CASSY: I get to take a human-centric approach to business problems, which is both exciting and challenging. On the day-to-day, I might be conducting user interviews, sketching wireframes, or conducting thematic qualitative analyses. I have worked on projects with Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, Inland Empire Health Plan, and the American Heart Association. I also design and conduct a lot of workshops for designers and product teams, including a SXSW workshop on designing for users with disabilities. Working at a small company has allowed me to express what kind of projects I want and work on things that bring value to me.

THU: Staying on top of breaking news requires navigating around journalists and political staffers. It’s imperative to keep an eye on new legislation or be the first to hear about a hate crime in order to write a press release statement on it and take action as a civil rights organization. My day to day tasks include checking Twitter, Facebook and Instagram regularly, ghost writing quotes and scripts for our executives, analyzing a new bill to find points of criticism that will be released in a statement, or creating content (i.e. videos or graphics) for special events and campaigns. A unique part of our nonprofit is that all staff members participate in the youth and college trainings that we host. So some days, I am facilitating workshops on Asian American and Pacific Islander identity or Advocacy 101.

How did you find your current job and what CCD services or programs did you use, if any?

CASSY:I found my current job by searching for the best, most creative agencies in Los Angeles. I read articles and checked out multiple lists. It was a process of hunting for the perfect fit via trial and error.

THU: I leveraged my networks of Rice alumni and the Rice University Community of Asian Alumni (RUCAA.) It’s a shame, and with much regret, to admit that I had never used CCD services during my time at Rice. Instead of googling how to write a cover letter or resume, and hoping I had followed the right template, it would have been in my interest to bring these items to the CCD and ask for help.

How was your career path different from those of your peers at Rice?

CASSY: Many of my peers had internships that were direct funnels to full-time positions throughout their schooling. I think it was kind of taboo or unheard of to leave graduation, drive across the country, and immediately begin a position as an apprentice at a creative agency. I didn’t even know I had the position until about two weeks before graduation. I felt a lot of pressure to know what I was doing and where I was going, but I also felt that just going and figuring it out was the only option and that things would have to work out.

THU: The biggest difference is that I went straight into working for a nonprofit post-graduation. Most peers went to graduate school of some sorts, consulting, or specific engineering jobs. I started a job in which I had no formal training in and learned the specifics of nonprofit operations and digital and traditional media on the fly.

How did your involvements outside of class or campus relate to your current role?

CASSY: I interned with Rice University Housing & Dining, which provided me the space to grow as a designer. Before my internship, social media and design were hobbies. Through the unparalleled support of my boss and mentor, my passion for design and bringing delight to users/customers began to grow. My Community Bridges Fellowship was a partnership with School Literacy and Culture, a portion of the Rice University Glascock School that focuses on early childhood literacy through storytelling. My fellowship allowed me to work both on the funder-focused challenges faced by the SLC, as well as work hands-on with children and parents in an ESL preschool in Houston. Through this experience, I saw how my passions for literature, design, and problem solving could collide.

THU: In addition to being heavily involved with student organizations on campus, I was a volunteer through APASA for the OCA-Greater Houston Chapter. The Chapter provided me with an outlet to deeply connect with the local Houston community and actually led me to learn about my current job. It was eye opening to witness the difference between advocacy on campus and advocacy in a local community.

What do you wish you’d known about your career path?

CASSY: Business isn’t scary and evil. Good people need to be a part of business to make it less scary and evil.

THU: 1.) STEM is not superior to the social sciences and humanities. 2.) Working for a nonprofit is a viable career option that connects and grows you as a professional (and individual) more than you think. 3.) You can make a career out of advocacy and organizing, like being a digital organizer (social media campaigns), community designer (facilitating conversations and structure events and campaigns), and more!

What advice would you give to students trying to break into your industry?

CASSY: Put your work out there. Practice all the time. Make stuff that you’re probably not proud of because it’s not perfect. And then release it into the world in all of its imperfections. Because what matters is that you’re a maker.

THU: Be creative in where you intern from! The most unassuming internships or job opportunities can be the most insightful and useful for the future. Even if Rice students don’t pursue advocacy as a career, I hope they can continue to be civically engaged and be a voice for those who cannot be heard.

Interviews conducted and edited by CCD Marketing Assistant, Christine Lo. Please reach out to Cassy Gibson (cassygibson@gmail.com) and Thu Nguyen (thudawin@gmail.com) if you wish to learn more about their experiences. If you need help with anything career-related, please visit the Rice Center for Career Development(CCD), make an appointment with a CCD counselor, or follow Rice CCD on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.