Meet Alyssa!

Getting to Know Alyssa

Alyssa: I’m from Taiwan, but I grew up in multiple cities. I studied in an international high school in China and moved to NYC after graduation. My bachelor degree was in science and applied psychology at NYU. And now I’m a second year G4L student (2022).

Sherry: What drew you to the G4L program?

Alyssa: I was practicing as a behavioral therapist for children with autism. Since Covid hit that time, our practices moved online. That was the time I started to realize game-based learning or digital learning is important and hence I decided to change my career path.

About Alyssa's Internship

Alyssa: I had my internship as a UX researcher in 2022 from June to August. I was working in Killer Snails, which was a product based company for schools and children. My duties were to do user testing to improve the module the company was building on and to prototype a science learning game in Figma.

Sherry: Why do you want to do an internship?

Alyssa: Firstly, I want to see how academic research skills translate to practice. Also, since my career was different from the one I’m looking forward to. I hope the internship can help me to see what the career looks like before graduation.

Sherry: Did you face any challenges during your internship?

Alyssa: My team was very supportive and I didn’t face many difficulties. I think my struggle would be how to keep up with those phenomenal people.

On Finding Her Internship

Alyssa: When I was searching for an internship position myself, I didn’t find the UX research role that I was interested in. At that time, I did intend to do my internship and eagerly reached out to my professors. Thankfully, one of my professors introduced me to an opportunity to do my UX research internship.

Alyssa's Advice

Sherry: What advice do you have for students to get the most out of their internship?

Alyssa: Take initiatives to work on the projects that you have interests in. I always try to find opportunities to join any projects or whatever the internship site is working on. Also, not being afraid to ask is another important thing.

Sherry: What advice do you have for students who also want to become a UX researcher?

Alyssa: I will suggest they take three courses: User Research, User Experience, and Foundations of Cognitive Science. User Research is a really practical class that teaches you how to do research; User Experience allows you to have a basic understanding of the design process; Cognitive Science would be helpful when you are recommending design ideas and negotiating with other designers or directors. Just take those classes and see if the role fits your interests.