Hi everyone! My name is Kai and I’m a junior at Wellesley College studying Media Arts and Sciences focusing on Human-Computer Interaction and UX Engineering. Before coming to Boston, I was raised between Jersey City, NJ and Harlem (NYC). I’m very passionate about both of these communities and how I can use my skills to improve the living situations in both of these cities.

In the past, I’ve worked mostly with app building and redesigning software for Rocket Software in Waltham last summer and Qila Energy, a biogas company, during my time abroad at UCL in London last semester. I will be continuing to develop these skills as a UX intern on the Audio Visual Engineering Architecture team at Apple this upcoming summer in Cupertino.

Some of my skills include UI/UX design, HTML5, CSS3, jQuery, Javascript, Python, prototyping, A/B and other usability testing. Civic media is something I’ve always been very passionate about. In the past, I’ve also been able to apply my skills to help develop a social mobile video app called DYNAMITE where users could feel safe anonymously posting videos (using face-blur technology and different types masks). However, after the introduction of the masks (of presidential candidates, animals, celebrities, etc.) the app turned into something mostly used for entertainment. More recently, I’ve been working with the S.A.F.E in Harlem coalition to create an app for their program which focuses on drug and alcohol prevention in African American teens and youth.

This is my first CMS course and I’m very excited to see what we can all accomplish during the semester!

Kai