The power of sharing your personal story
A few months ago, Seth Cheeks, who I’ve worked with for a few years at Google shared a podcast interview he had done talking about his journey to becoming a Sr UX Designer at Google. I was very touched. His story was powerful, because it was so personal. His vulnerability helped me better understand his journey, sacrifices, and the curiosity and passion that propelled him to the next thing and the next.
Listening to Seth’s story made me reflect on my own path and the key learnings I had along the way. I realized how important it is to share our stories with the UX community because our unique stories have the power to inspire and connect us at a deeper level. So, I’m going to share my unique story of how my love for drawing led me to pursue a career in Design, and how my curiosity for learning opened the doors to possibilities I never knew existed.
If you would have told the little girl in Peru who loved drawing that one day she would have the opportunity to work on shaping technology to help users around the world, I would have simply laughed - a dream beyond any dream I could ever have.
As a kid growing up in Lima, Peru, in the 80s when terrorism was at its peak. I remember blackouts as a regular occurrence because terrorists had bombed another electric power tower, or a nearby residential building, or a car bomb had exploded. We were not allowed to go out freely and play, as kidnappings and robberies were also something to be careful about. That said, my childhood memories were not of being scared.
I remember creating a “blackout kit” which included pencil colors, markers, pens and a notebook. Like I mentioned earlier, drawing was my happy place. I would take my kit out every time there was a blackout and bring it to the kitchen where we all gathered as a family with candles, waiting for power to come back. This kit brought me comfort. I remember drawing instead of hearing the news or worrying about what just happened in the country - drawing was my escape.
I liked to create graphics and patterns more than people or objects. Knowing that I liked to draw so early in my life encouraged me to ask my parents for drawing classes so I could learn better techniques, especially people and animals which I’m still not great at drawing.
When I was about 10yrs old, my older sister told me about her friend who was a Graphic Designer. I was very curious to learn more about it so she took me to her office to see first hand what her friend’s job was like. She had this big desk to design, it had light underneath for accurate tracing, and had lots of colors, markers, paint, and brushes, it was a dream come true. This was a pivotal moment for me. The moment I saw what she was doing, I knew I wanted to do it too.
I’m very fortunate to have parents who supported me even though they had no idea about art, design or the type of jobs I could find. My mom always told me, “study something you love because you’ll be doing that for the rest of your life” she also taught me about the importance of studying something so I can be financially independent. Both are two of the best pieces of advice I got in my life.
I followed her advice and got a degree in Graphic Design. I started working at design studios in Lima doing brand identities for large companies, print and packaging design. I learned a lot about the print design process, I remember reviewing color at 4am at a print shop, ensuring every pixel and color were perfect before mass printing started.
After working for ~3 years, the internet boom happened. All of a sudden we were designing for the web, without knowing how it worked or how to design for it. The print rules and guidelines didn’t apply completely which made me realize I needed to learn more about this new medium.
My curiosity to learn and my dream of living in the US pushed me to look for graduate programs in the US. But I’m also very shy and close to my family. It was a tough decision to leave home. There were many scary things to think about - the student loan I was taking out, finding a job as a foreigner, being far from home -- all very intimidating thoughts -- but my curiosity to learn was stronger. I pushed myself to try it. I left Lima, Peru for Chicago in 2002 to study a Masters in Human-Centered Design. To be 100% honest, I didn’t know exactly what that meant. UX as a discipline was still in the early stages of becoming an official thing, I put every penny I had into this program and was determined to not let fear hold me back. I was hopeful and excited to learn and experience my dream of living in the US.
When I attended my very first class, I didn’t understand a thing the professor said. It was a 3hr long class and I felt so lost. I thought I made the biggest mistake in my life but I quickly realized I wasn’t alone. There were others who felt the same so we helped each other. I learned the value of teamwork. Every project was team-based. We learned how to collaborate, seek and give constructive feedback, appreciate different POVs and work together to find the best possible solution. This was another important lesson I applied throughout my career.
When I finished my first year, most of my fellow students had internship opportunities across the country. I didn’t. I felt like a failure. I couldn’t afford moving to another place without a paid internship so I stayed in Chicago and found a job at the university designing our internal site. In hindsight, this was an important moment as well, I learned a lot about designing for the web - dynamic resizing, personalized modules, etc - it gave me a good basic understanding of the web and how to leverage its power to create user-centric experiences. The key lesson I learned was don’t take anything for granted – every opportunity can provide knowledge and open up new opportunities.
After graduating I got a job at Microsoft. I knew nothing about the tech world and was super nervous and excited at the same time. The tech jargon was a third language I had to learn. It was a very different world and I had to push myself to not let fear win, instead of being shy and feeling bad for not understanding, I raised my hand and asked questions. Simple questions like “what does that mean?” Surprisingly, people didn’t shame me for asking, it was the complete opposite, they were glad to explain things. Another important lesson - always ask if you don’t understand something, people will gladly explain. In my 17+ years of working in the tech world, I’ve never once been told I’m asking a dumb question (even if it was really dumb!).
I have worked in multiple projects throughout my career at Microsoft and Google, building expertise in applying user-centered methods for very ambiguous problems and pushing a vision forward. Every project was unique, every time we applied the user-centered process it looked different. We had to adapt to changes and challenges. Whether those were due to tech or time constraints, organizational changes, leadership changes, we had to adapt our process. I always tell myself to have a “I can” attitude and figure it out. In the end, the team is the most important part of the equation. As a team you adapt and figure out how to achieve your end goal with a user-first approach. When you work with a cross-functional team that has a “we can” attitude, it’s easier to adapt and pivot.
When I think about the skills I’ve learned throughout my career, the most important one is empathy. First and foremost to understand and represent users. What are their desires and needs, what obstacles are impeding their goals, and how can we as a team build better products to help them?
I also used empathy to establish stronger relationships at work. Everyone likes to be included in the decision making process for the product they build. I leveraged empathy to understand different points of view across teams and functions, giving me a deeper understanding of people's motivations and goals, which in turn helps build bridges and find common ground. It helps unite people toward common goals.
I owe a big part of my growth to all the role models I had throughout my career. Mentors who guided me through difficult situations, gave me honest and clear feedback, pushed and challenged me, championed me and shared their own vulnerability. The key learning is to always look for role models who you can follow and aspire to be.
It’s also very important to believe and trust the leadership of your organization. The person at the top, who is making the final calls, has to be a person you aspire to be and a role model. Without this, it’s very hard to come to work feeling inspired, and like what you do every day is part of something bigger. You need to trust this person and their leadership team to guide the organization toward the best the team can do. The best leaders are the ones who lead by example. Their teams model their behaviors - which in the best teams I’ve had the honor to be part of - created a healthy, open, and inclusive team culture with a “we can” attitude. When you are looking for your next role, make sure you’re aligned with your leadership’s vision.
These are some of the key learnings I wanted to share with the UX community with the hopes of shedding light on what we all go through personally. Every path is different and unique, and every step offers an important lesson that will lead you to the next thing. I’m very thankful for every lesson I got on the path that took a little girl from Lima, Peru (who found drawing as her happy place) to a UX Manager leading world-class UX teams at Google. My hope is that my story will inspire you to share yours as well, the same way Seth’s story inspired me to share mine.
Thank you!
