We set out on the morning of October 17th heading toward the inevitable heavy traffic of Seattle to get to our destination, which was Blink UX. A Seattle user experience company offering its clients research, design and implementation services to make the user experience easier, Blink proved to be a fun, productive, and inspiring company.
As we stepped off the bus, we were greeted by a Blink employee, Katie Greiner, who just happened to be walking in to start her day! This was a great ice-breaker, as we were early and not exactly sure what to do. She welcomed us enthusiastically and showed us upstairs to the 9th floor where we would convene for the morning. Katie led us through some great warm-up exercises and shared her talents with us.
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It was amazing to hear from the professional women who work at Blink and the different backgrounds from which they came and their varying roles at Blink. Not only did we learn more about the services Blink offers, but we learned a lot about each of these women and their journey and how they ended up at Blink and in the User Experience field.
We want to thank Katie Greiner, User Researcher; Karen Clark Cole, CEO and Co-Founder; Jordan Barber, Interaction Designer; Brigitt Rains, Director of Operations; Darshana Tuladhar, User Researcher; and Tim Bridgham, Technologist and Research Assistant. Their hospitality and willingness to share their stories, talents, and time with us was very much appreciated.
90%
of students more interested in STEM
86%
of students want to study harder and graduate
Highlights shared by the girls included
- “I enjoyed hearing what they do at work, and seeing how they do it. This inspired me by that it made me interested in art more and made me want to get better at my art, and basically be more creative. It also helped me realize I can be anyone who I want to be if I put more effort in to it.”
- “The presentations from different people who worked in the company said really inspiring things that made me think about my future career choice.”
- “I personally enjoyed being able to go in to the work environment and speaking to and seeing different people and not only how this job works with them, but also what things in life brought them to where they are now.”
Our journey to Blink UX was well worth the time and the girls walked away with so much great insight and advice to think about and apply to their futures. Thank you for the opportunity to explore, grow, and dream!
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[ezcol_1third]Kelly Woyak, Career Specialist
Graham-Kapowsin High School[/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third]Robin Hodges, Career Specialist
Bethel High School[/ezcol_1third] [ezcol_1third_end]Marilyn Albritton, Career Counselor
Spanaway Lake High School[/ezcol_1third_end]