About

Hi there!

For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt a desire to make things; if I see something that I enjoy or am curious about, I have to find out how it works or how to do it myself. Whether that’s art, video editing, programming, or even cooking, I have to try making *that thing*.

The joy I feel from making things comes from creative expression, which is why I chose to pursue a major in computer science and paired it with a minor in digital design and another in human-centered design. I learned that the technical approach wasn’t enough for me, so I decided to expand my college studies beyond standard programming to include elements of intention and aesthetics.

My award-winning senior capstone project, Wristy, is a culmination of everything that I learned. The project spanned over a year of research, development, and plenty of prototyping to create a watch that would assist people with ASD (Autism spectrum disorder) in navigating the world. Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received, my partner and I are currently exploring ways to take the project beyond the prototype phase.

My independent study Thrust: Runic Blades was an exploration into game design, a field that I’ve been interested in since high school. I wanted to explore as many facets of game development as I could, from the technical to the creative. I’m incredibly happy with what I made, the proof of concept is evolving as I’m working to migrate it to Unreal Engine and working with a few friends to continue the project.

Based on what I accomplished working on Wristy and my other projects, I was hired at Manulife/John Hancock to engineer internal tooling and use my UX skills to lead the design efforts in order to make a better product. Since starting, I’ve interfaced with many individuals and teams to deliver tools that fit their needs. One of my favorite examples is Candy Mountain, which allowed me to work closely with my team to create a simple and intuitive vulnerability dashboard. Getting to prototype, pitch, and then design the application with my team was so gratifying, especially since I was given the opportunity to incorporate human-centered design methodologies to create a much more meaningful product. Getting to work with a professional team allowed me to learn and grow more confident with myself, with others, and with my work.

In my free time I make sure to stay busy. You can find me in the kitchen or the gym after work, and eventually sitting at my desk playing games (usually Destiny 2) with my friends as well as working on other personal projects.

Thanks for stopping by and getting to know me. Take a look around my site to see some of my work, and if you want to reach out, use my contact page so I can get to know you too!

See you later,
Alex 😀