Hey Skylight!
My name is Julia. I’d love to be considered for a UX apprenticeship at your company.
My background
Anthropology → Immigration → Design for public good
I’m just starting out my career in UX, but I’ve spent the last 3 years working as a paralegal at a boutique immigration law firm in Philadelphia. I’ve seen up close how outdated government systems can negatively impact the people who depend on them, and I love that Skylight’s mission is to modernize and streamline our country’s vital digital services.
Before working as a paralegal, I majored in Anthropology at Temple University. My background in social science informs my approach to UX - I’m passionate about contextual research and conducting ethnographic interviews that let me connect with users on a human level.
I know I have a lot to learn about design, but one benefit of my non-traditional background is that I have a lot of practice learning new things. Whether I’m practicing glottalized stops to ace a Yucatec Maya course, memorizing the ins and outs of H-1B visa eligibility, or spending weeknights practicing my Figma prototyping skills, my unique background shows that I’m prepared take on any challenge that comes my way.
Why Skylight?
For me, the best part of being an immigration paralegal was knowing that my work improved people’s lives. As I embark on the next phase of my career, I would love to work on solving problems like the ones I’ve encountered as a frequent user of sites maintained by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of Labor.
I also appreciate that Skylight is so intentional about designing for accessibility, since there’s no excuse for civic tech that doesn’t serve everyone. I would love the opportunity learn from an apprenticeship with an organization that’s full of incredibly talented people using their knowledge and experience to improve outcomes and change things for the better.
My work
I’ve recently completed DesignLab UX Academy, an intensive bootcamp where I learned to apply the fundamentals of UX design to a number of independent projects.
I’m proudest of Wayword, an app that helps users find time in their schedules to settle in with a good book.
So many books, so little time?
Wayword is a habit building app for distracted readers who need help staying on track.
Volunteering with Project Eden
After wrapping up UX Academy, I started volunteering as UX Research Lead on a remote team building a platform that helps students pursue their interests through independent projects. It’s been a great introduction to working with groups that include developers and designers located all around the globe.
Day to day, the research team is conducting surveys, analyzing competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, holding remote user interviews, and analyzing our data with virtual affinity boards in Miro. It’s a highly ambitious and evolving effort that has pushed me to think in terms of product strategy, change directions when necessary, and collaborate with my colleagues in design and development.
Most importantly, this project gives me the chance to work on something that I believe has the potential to do a lot of good for its users. I would love the opportunity to do the same with Skylight in the future.
