Build Up Mentor Experience (Summer 2022)
Hear from 3 of our design and marketing industry mentors about their experience mentoring students
What is Build Up?
Build Up is Design Co’s summer program where UCSD students are equipped for real-world innovation by teaming up with local nonprofit organizations to refine their branding, redesign their website, or boost their exposure.
These nonprofits fall into 3 categories: LGBTQ+ Advocacy, Women’s Empowerment, and Refugee and Immigrant Relief. The program builds on our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiative, which strives to support BIPOC communities and give underrepresented design and marketing students greater opportunities to advance their skillset.
Expanding on our previous summer programs Power Up and Level Up, the Build Up Program consisted of:
- 33 student participants
- 16 mentors
- And 6 real clients
Teams of Web Builders, UX Designers, UX Researchers, Visual Designers, Marketing Strategists, and Content Strategists collaborated together under the mentorship of industry professionals to develop valuable skills and deliver long-term solutions to uplift their nonprofit organizations.
Nhu Nguyen — La Chula Crew Foundation Mentor
Marketing Operations Specialist @ Veracyte
Như Nguyen is currently a Marketing Operations Specialist at Veracyte working on urology products for cancer patients. She graduated from UCSD with a B.S in Cognitive Science, specializing in Design and Interaction. Previously, she worked at Libraries without Borders, a non-profit dedicated to education and empowerment for communities in need and at Thryft, a Y-Combinator startup.
What was your biggest takeaway from mentoring students in the Build Up program?
Providing the students guidance in response to their questions rather than giving them the direct answer has shown me how provide feedback in a constructive manner. It’s taught me that giving resources and allowing space for the students to practice their critical thinking skills is important for their development and this helped me as well in practicing my soft-skills.
What did you enjoy most about Build Up?
I enjoyed getting to know all the students and helping them answer their questions about potential career paths. The team asked insightful questions that I was happy to answer.
How has your time in Build Up impacted your nonprofit?
It has helped the non-profit consider new insights in regards to asking for grants and implemented new ways of gathering information from the community they service.
Do you have anything you want to say to your team?
It was amazing getting to know you all, I learned so much from you and I hope you were able to learn from me as well. I’m always here if you ever need advice, so don’t hesitate to ping me!
Any final words about your experience?
It was an amazing experience being a mentor for this program. I highly recommend it, for students who want to be a mentee in the program and for professionals who want to practice their soft skills.
Read La Chula Crew Foundation’s team case study.
Chynna Tumalad — TransFamily Support Services Mentor
Design Lead, Program & Communications Assistant @ UC San Diego
Chynna Tumalad is a UX Designer with a passion for community development.
What was your biggest takeaway from mentoring students in the Build Up program?
Teaching and witnessing the TFSS team grow each week, starting off their design journey with a group of supportive and equally ambitious folks was nourishing for my own career development.
What did you enjoy most about Build Up?
It’s always nice to hear my mentees take my advice because it makes me feel like my string of suggestions leave behind a legacy to something that will make a positive impact.
How has your time in Build Up impacted your nonprofit?
As a mentor, I just hope my suggestions and guidance were helpful enough that the impact trickled down to TFSS!
Do you have anything you want to say to your team?
I cannot WAIT to see y’all on LinkedIn flexing your jobs and impacts because you’re gonna do great things, that’s already a given. Remember to do this with the intention of inspiring others — stay humble. Carve out time to give back to the communities that helped you get where you are, and the communities that lacked that help. I’m so proud of you all!
Any final words about your experience?
Build Up is organized by people who show their care for community development, ranging from aspiring designers, professionals, all the way to stakeholders. This program makes it accessible for young professionals to grow in ways that other internships for big companies sadly can’t even provide. They’re an inspiration to other design communities out there!
Thank you, Build Up team, for letting me be a part of this! I really appreciate it :)
Read TransFamily Support Services’ team case study.
Tarrea Tolbert — TransFamily Support Services Mentor
Product Designer @ Smartsheet
Tarrea Tolbert is a digital Product Designer with a passion for human-centered design and crafting purposeful, inclusive digital experiences. She is currently working as a Product Designer at Smartsheet.
What was your biggest takeaway from mentoring students in the Build Up program?
I loved witnessing how much of an impact my design knowledge made towards helping students overcome any challenges and roadblocks they were facing during the program.
What did you enjoy most about Build Up?
I enjoyed having the opportunity to provide design advice and feedback to students, then seeing them apply those suggestions to what they were working on each week.
Do you have anything you want to say to your team?
The Trans Family Support Services team was amazing to work with! I really enjoyed being their mentor and having the chance to share my expertise with them. There were definitely some roadblocks at times, but I was super impressed to see how well the team worked together to meet those tight deadlines and unexpected changes.
Any final words about your experience?
It was great being able to contribute to the growth of students through this program and seeing them progress! I highly advocate for Design Co because it allows students to gain hands-on, real-world experience, which in turn gives them the tools needed to help jump start their career.
Read TransFamily Support Services’ team case study.
Hear from 3 Builders working with Girls Rising, Karen Organization of San Diego, and TransFamily Support Services in this article.
Hear from 3 Builders working with La Chula Crew Foundation, Refugee Health Alliance, and North County LGBTQ Resource Center in this article.
Learn about Girls Rising’s and TransFamily Support Services’s experience as partners for Build Up in this article.
