STEPPING INTO college intimidated me. As an introvert, I found the new people, campus and culture were overwhelming. I was grade-conscious—grades were my basis for success—so I tried my best to keep up with my batchmates by getting a high QPI. My freshman year was spent focusing on academics: Attending classes, taking notes, submitting all my requirements, and studying for tests. Despite all those, I wasn’t fulfilled and felt like I wasn’t making the most out of my college experience.
Sophomore year came and an opportunity appeared on my Facebook—a post inviting students to be mentored on user experience (UX). It was intersession and I wasn’t doing anything, so why not make the most out of my summer?
After exchanging messages on Facebook, mentors and mentees met up. We got to know each other over coffee and somehow ended up talking about our future plans. I didn’t expound on mine, since I had no idea what career to pursue. I only focused on the present—getting high grades—thinking that a job offer will come by if I achieve this. One mentor shared that taking on organization projects helped him improve his skills and land an internship in Bangkok. They said that experience matters more than grades. That’s when it hit me: Grades aren’t everything and I should focus on developing my skills.
I applied for an officer position at User Experience Society, since I want to work on UX projects. I was hopeful that I would get the position, but when the announcement came, my name wasn’t on the list. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone, worked on my design skills, and stayed up late to finish my portfolio, but those weren’t enough. My fear of going outside my comfort zone came back because I was reminded of how it can lead to disappointment.
During my third year, I decided not to let failure hinder me from honing my skills. I won’t gain anything if I focus on my failures, so I attended many UX events, learned the newest tools, and joined the toughest design competition on campus: UX University 2020. Since this was the first competition I joined in college, winning never crossed my mind. The competition lasted for a month and a half: Interviewing students, deciding on colors and typography, organizing layout, testing prototype, getting feedback, and addressing comments. After presenting the pitch to the panel of judges, they praised the design and gave some points for improvement. I got a good feeling that I was going to get a spot in the top three because they enjoyed the pitch and liked the designs. When the winners were announced, my feeling came true—I won first place!
After diving into UX, I realized that students shouldn’t give up on their first try because they can still improve and discover capabilities they never thought they had. Students shouldn’t limit themselves to what they think they can accomplish, rather, they should be open to go for different opportunities. The key is not to get it right or be the best in the first try, rather, it’s to take on opportunities and have a growth mindset.
