Lorraine Hairston is a Junior majoring in UX Design and pursuing a minor in Anthropology. She specializes in user research. A design process that encourages collaboration and involves user input and feedback as opposed to creating experiences based solely on traditional “best practices” is why she enjoys UX research and design so much. Interning for CTSI’s SEED/STEM summer program, Lorraine used her communication, organization, strategy creation and creative problem solving skills to streamline the staff experience and justify her suggestions to coworkers outside of the UX field.
She is an ambassador for the Purdue Polytechnic Institute, where she shares her passion for UX with prospective and incoming students. She hopes to be a program coordinator in the field of technology or education. Outside of academics, Lorraine is a freelance illustrator and game coder.
During her time on the Purdue Libraries project, Lorraine was tasked with being the point of contact between the team and their sponsors. This entailed succinctly and clearly communicating her team’s activities, progress, goals, and any information our sponsors would need before their meetings via email. She has repeated this role twice more in following sponsored projects.
Lorraine’s leadership skills shine when it comes to getting every team member on the same page. She is often the first to suggest, and create, delegation charts, activity trackers, and plan realignment meetings when she notices gaps in team members’ understanding of a project.