End of the Program Ramblings & Photo Dump
Enjoy. Thanks all.
On August 23rd, 2019, my friend Trevor and I piled into my compact Hyundai Sonata, with my entire life somehow packed inside. We had just started the drive from Los Angeles to Boulder. I was excited and nervous to say the least. I was on my way to start a master’s program at CU Boulder, studying user experience design.
I was accepted into the program late. I found out I had been accepted on August 1st. I said yes the same day. In less than a month, I put in my two weeks, found a place to live in Boulder on Facebook Marketplace, and packed my life up. I had never been to Boulder before, but I had a very strong gut feeling that I was making the right decision. I had lived in LA for almost 8 years and it was time for a change. I’m not sure if I was prepared for how much would really change when I walking through the doors of the CMCI Studio.
Technically, the first person I met from the program was Caro Beresford-Wood at grad school orientation. But Derek was the first person that I met inside of the studio. We introduced ourselves to each other and took our seats on the long wooden table in the center of the room. The first day was a bit of a nervous blur, but I remember introductions, listening to Jesse Weaver and Lisa Henderson speak and doing a creative exercise with the person sitting next to me. This was my first time meeting Nick Lunt.
When the first day came to a close, people slowly started to filter out. I was overwhelmed. The overview of the program that Jesse and Lisa gave was enough to get me amped for things to come. It seemed like everything I had hoped for. But at the same time, I was nervous. Was I supposed to be here? How would my work line up with everyone else’s? Even though Lisa and Jesse directly addressed it, imposter syndrome began to set in. I was a little stressed. I needed a beer. So, on my way out, I approached Aitana Rothfeld. I thought to myself, “She’s wearing a ripped up Dark Side of the Moon t-shirt. There’s a 99% chance she drinks beer”. Sure enough, she did. We went and had a beer at Pearl Street Pub, a place that would become a staple of CMCI Cohort 11. The conversation we had was a special one. We spoke about why we were in the program and she told me about her desire to learn about creating ADA compliant products, and I told me about my experience with stuttering, and how it’s shaped my view of design.
Every day at the CMCI Studio seemed to be as good as, if not better than, my first day. The things I learned, the people I met. Getting to know everyone that came in and out of the studio was a great joy. It was remarkably refreshing to be constantly surrounded by like-minded people; people who shared similar interests as mine.
My experience at the studio took how I viewed the world and validated & expanded it to a great degree. The use of empathy and communication in design and leadership was something I knew I was doing during my time in the industry, but hearing my teachers at the studio talk about it and give instruction/teachings based upon those qualities, only validated my thinking and gave meaning to it.
What Did I Learn?
Design Thinking
The process of design thinking was the basis of essentially the entire program. Empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. This was drilled into us from the start. Although we applied it to product design, this way of thinking is applicable in so many different ways.
Teamwork
Once we were taught the basics of design thinking, the product design cycle, and the key deliverables necessary to create a product, next came learning to work with a team. Any team for that matter. This is probably the greatest skill that I learned at CMCI Studio. How to get shit done as a team. Ideate, make decisions and act on them.
This was especially prevalent during the design sprints during Maymester. Teams had to learn how to ideate, make decisions, and act on them (create) very quickly. I found myself taking an unexpected leadership role during some of these sprints, namely during Saga and Eldora. I may not have been the best at original ideation or understanding the problem & its scope to the greatest degree, but I did know how to keep people on track, and delegate roles. At this point in the program, I believe that I knew the strengths and weaknesses of my cohort relatively well, so I was able to delegate tasks appropriately. And, in the end, I was very proud of what my teams and I were able to accomplish in a very short period of time.
Constantly being in teams, especially in the Spring, May, and Summer semesters, made me realize my strengths and how to capitalize on them. I knew what I was good at, and I knew what I was bad at. Self-awareness and empathy are key traits of being a good leader. In cases of teams where I was not the leader, I did my best to assume my role and trust whoever was in charge and that they were making the right decisions.
Each team was different. I think the main difference that I saw was teams that work together on everything and teams that have to work separately and delegate tasks. I imagine the workforce being more of the ladder.
Time Management
I remember writing about my time management skills in one of my first blog posts. I am happy to announce that my time management skills have improved!… slightly. Having months were I had to juggle both freelance work and graduate school work was jarring for me. Time management and prioritization became essential. I had learned this at my previous job, but this was different. Juggling multiple group projects on top of trying to maintain some income was tough, but it forced me to time manage and more importantly, prioritize.
I’ve always been one for a good time. In almost every case, I’d rather spend a night drinking with friends than doing homework/real work. Sometimes fun needs to take a backseat and I’ve learned that the feeling of saying no and going and completing the task that you need to complete is almost better than going out and enjoy your time with friends.
Don’t take yourself and your work too seriously
Authenticity is essential in this field, I’ve found. If you take yourself and your work too seriously, you won’t be able to be yourself. So have a little bit of fun with your projects. Fun creates authenticity, and authenticity breeds creativity.
Outside of CMCI
I know this post is supposed about the program mostly, but I do believe I grew almost more for the things I did outside CMCI.
Toastmasters
When I moved to Boulder, I joined a couple of stuttering support groups. I was inspired by some of the people that I met there to join a Toastmasters group in Boulder. And although I only attended for about four months, it had a pretty profound impact on me. It was rough at first. I’d stutter a lot through small speeches and introductions, but I was proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone. Eventually, I got more comfortable speaking in front of others. This led me to give my first full Toastmaster’s speech. And I won best speaker for that day! Neat. I always doubted my speaking skills and Toastmasters provided some much-needed validation and encouragement.
My time in Toastmasters taught me to trust my ideas and more importantly, speak on them confidently. To be an effective leader, these two things are essential.
Gardening
Yeah, I learned to garden this year. Whaddup. Coupled with that, I also entered into a new relationship. This new partner taught me how to all she knew about gardening. She’s also taught me a lot about relationships. But that’s for another time.
Highlights
Overcoming and owning my stutter
This is without a doubt the greatest thing that I have accomplished during my time in the program. It wasn’t completely due to the program, but the program was the catalyst. If you’d like to read more about my stuttering journey, read my blog post about it. But this year has been the first time I’ve ever felt remotely in control of my severe stutter. I’ve struggled with it my whole life, and coming to Boulder, joining Toastmasters, practicing every day, talking to people, and getting out of my comfort zone, has completely changed my life. I wrote the post and it reminded me of a childhood speech therapist. I gave him a call soon after. I hadn’t spoked to him in years. He told me couldn’t believe what he heard. I broke down in tears of joy after I hung up the phone. I couldn’t believe how far I’ve come and that I was finally at a point where I could do almost everything I wanted with comfortability and have an ease of communication. This has been truly life-changing. I have the program to thank for that.
Friends & photo dump
The friends that I made at the studio are some that I hope to have for the rest of my life. The community that was built at the studio is something I believe is irreplaceable.
Here’s a photo dump.
I have no idea how to wrap up a life-changing year into one single blog post. I hope you enjoyed my ramblings. It’s truly astounding how much I’ve changed, how many incredible people I’ve met, the things I’ve learned. It’s difficult to put into words. I’d like to say thank you everyone I’ve crossed paths with at the studio, in Boulder. I hope I can return a fraction of what you’ve given me.
