My design journey began at 14 years old when I first downloaded Photoshop and started learning how to create simple graphics. Along with watching graphic design tutorials on YouTube, I taught myself by experimenting with the wide variety of tools and features that Photoshop offers. I mainly designed artwork for my peers’ social media profiles such as YouTube banners and Twitter headers. By the time I had about a year of design experience under my belt, I was highly proficient in Photoshop and had created hundreds of graphics, many of them paid commissions.

At this point, I created a YouTube channel and started sharing my knowledge by creating and uploading graphic design tutorials. Less than a year into my journey as a YouTube creator, I had garnered an audience of 10,000+ subscribers and was uploading at least once a week. Alongside my graphic design tutorials, I ran a weekly series called “Underrated Designer of the Week” where I would feature speed-arts from talented designers that watched my channel.

I ran this channel until I was 18 when I started college at Chico State studying graphic design. After two years at Chico State, I transferred to UC Davis as a design major. At Davis, I was a part of several student organizations such as AggieWorks, #include, and TEDxUCDavis where I discovered my passion for user experience design and applied my design skills to create real-world solutions. This experience along with the UI/UX course I took at UC Davis helped me realize that user experience design was my true calling. In February 2022, I landed my first UX design internship at MarkLogic, where I’m still currently interning.

30254820517_2efcfb8258_k.jpg