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Project Description
I joined the Design for America UT Austin chapter (DFA UT Austin) in the Fall 2019 semester. At the time, my intent was to be part of a grassroots-minded organization that used design proposals to strive towards tangible impacts. Ultimately, I wanted to fuse my love for creativity with my passion for service, and I found that with DFA.

My Role: Year 1

My Role: Year 2

Community Director
September 2019 - May 2020
As Community Director, I was in charge of social media outreach for the Fall 2019 semester and recruitment for the Spring 2020 semester. I broadened the organization's reach by marketing it to a variety of disciplines on the UT campus, and as a result, increased membership and produced a more interdisciplinary studio cohort. Based on this recruitment season, I created a recruitment outline which is now followed by the current DFA UT Austin leadership team.

Increase in Membership
Disciplines
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DFA UT Austin Spring 2020 Studio Cohort
I also conducted design-thinking workshops in studio-wide meetings...
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Project Lead
January - May 2020
Project Website: https://utstudyspace.me/18c1040ee04e4c18b51532172aa7087d
Full Case Study: Texas Design Journal vol. 1, p. 36
I was made Project Lead of the Study Spaces project in the Spring 2020 semester. The goal of this project was to better the student UT study space experience. By leading and running design workshops with my project team of five, we designed a high-fidelity prototype, an upgrade to UT Library’s current website, that addressed the various study needs of the student. The project was implemented by DFA UT in January 2021 and is currently being used by UT students.




High-Fidelity Prototype
User Flow
DFA UT Expo Presentation
Co-Studio Lead: Executive Director
May 2020 - May 2021
I was appointed as Co-Studio Lead (one of two) of the 2020-21 academic year. Although the role was incredibly fulfilling, it came with a slew of challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Texas Winter Storm, and new DFA National requirements...




By consistently coordinating with the leadership team and studio members on fundraising initiatives, and providing assistance and feedback, we were able to solve all of the listed challenges, and still output a total of five projects (5 members each) that covered the following topics...

Final Thoughts
In May 2021, my Co-Studio Lead and I stepped down from the one-year position and appointed the next Co-Studio Leads to lead the 2021-22 academic year. Overall, being a part of the DFA UT Austin chapter solidified my love for design and its ability to produce tangible impacts while working within interdisciplinary environments. I will be eternally grateful for the time spent with my peers at Design for America.