What was a highlight or favourite moment from your time at SFU?

My favourite moment at SFU was presenting the Capstone project with my team, which led to us winning the People’s Choice Award. Becoming a developer was an achievement built up through years of learning and practice since I enrolled in my first course at SFU.

How has your experience at SFU prepared you for your career path?

The theories from lectures and practical experience gained through team projects and internships enabled me to land a full-time job offer. I cherished the abundance of resources the faculty and staff provided me to succeed, and help me become a better person.

What advice would you like to share to students in their first year?

Try to take at least one or two co-ops or internships to gain working experience. Start looking early. During the interviews, be passionate at sharing what you have learned.

What are your current plans?

I’ll start my software developer career at Microsoft where I did my internships. I’ll focus on learning the technologies and skills needed for my job. I also plan to spend more quality time with my husband and twin toddlers.

What was a highlight or favourite moment from your time at SFU?

I was proud to achieve second place in the student research contest at CS Research Day 2020, for the system I developed that lets educators collaborate on customizing their classroom software. I think it really spoke to the importance of instructors being able to harness their educational technology to the fullest, especially for hybrid or remote teaching.

How has your experience at SFU prepared you for your career path?

A core tenet in the Interactive Experiences Lab at SFU is applying human-centered design principles at every stage of building software. I came from a more abstract background in math, so this has had a huge influence on my approach to software engineering. I’m always thinking about how to empower people through the code I write.

What advice would you like to share to students in their first year?

If you can, apply for student internships! There are lots of opportunities out there to gain practical experience in industry. I learned a lot from an internship with Microsoft early on in my PhD program, and this experience helped to guide the course of much of my later research.

What are your current plans?

I’m actively interviewing for industry positions that bridge software engineering with either design or user experience research. In addition to roles in educational technology, I’m also pursuing opportunities that focus on other passions of mine, including digital privacy, security, and accessibility.