The document presents personas of 9 HCDE students (A-I) based on interviews to understand how to help undergraduates enhance personal connections within the department. It identifies key goals, desires, pains and technologies of two provisional personas. The first persona is eager, motivated and friendly, desires connecting with others, creating a social network and refining skills, but is overwhelmed by information and lacks connections. The second persona is passionate, driven and busy, desires utilizing resources, managing time and finding internships/jobs, but is pained by too many emails and difficulty finding events/resources.

1. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
P2: Personas
DesignQuestion:
How can we help HCDE undergraduates enhance personal connections within the department?
Interviews:
● Student A (S.A):
A fifth-quarter senior in HCDE. She looks for internship opportunities and career advice
from the department, but is also busy dealing with school and life. She is skilled at using
different technology to receive department information and search for resources. She
hopes to connect with faculty.
● Student B (S.B):
A first quarter junior in HCDE. She has not been to any of the events and isn’t aware of
what’s available. She receives emails, but skims over them quickly. She is strictly
looking for career related events and is aware of career fairs, but is limited in her free
time. She does not find any motivation to go to social events, because she sees and
meets HCDE students in class. Since she is busy with rowing at UW she wants events
to be meaningful and impactful for her future prospects. She wants events to push her
towards her goal and to be beneficial for her.
● Student C (S.C):
A second quarter junior in HCDE. She has been to several HCDE events such as tea
time and game night. She receives and skims emails; she feels that emails are good in
terms of reaching out but feels like shes bombarded with emails. She is interested in
career related events, but feels like she’s not qualified for them. She is also interested in
social events and connecting with new people. She is inclined to go to events if they can
fit more with her schedule, because classes are already later in the afternoon by the time
she’s done she’d rather go home than attend an event later that night.
● Student D (S.D):
A first quarter sophomore in HCDE. He has been to a couple of events (including the
BBQ) but went on accident. In the beginning he used to read all of the emails Alex sent
but after a while it became too much and now he ignores them all. He feels disconnected
with faculty and the department as a whole. Meeting faculty and creating relationships
with them is something he is looking to do but doesn’t know where to start. He would
also love to meet people within HCDE that share his passion for interdisciplinary work.
He wished there were events to help him career wise, even suggesting we have a HCDE
career fair. After explaining we do hold this event, he wished faculty would advertise this
in classes and there was a more personalized way to receive this type of information.
● Student E (S.E):
A fourth quarter Junior in HCDE. She has been to a few HCDE events, but only during
her first quarter as a freshman. She receives emails, but only looks through the subject
lines of every email to see if there is anything interesting. She feels as though there are
an overwhelming 4 to 5 emails every single day. Her focus is not on events because she

2. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
does not have an interest in them. She is involved in some social media, but overall feels
disconnected from the HCDE community. She admits to not trying as hard, but she feels
a major disconnect from the professors as well. She is hoping for word of mouth as well
as the student lounge to help with some of these underlying issues for the upcoming
class.
Additional Interviews:
● Student F (S.F):
A fifth-quarter senior in HCDE. She is not taking any course on campus this fall, but she
still hopes to be exposed to career-related resources with more flexible time span. She is
skilled to use different resources to connect with other HCDE students. She prefers the
slack channel, the student lounge, and class time to build social connections.
● Student G (S.G):
A fifth-quarter senior in HCDE. She does not like socializing with others, therefore
seldom participating in events. She only looks for events related to her career path
receives relevant information mainly through email and the department website.
● Student H (S.H):
A first-quarter sophomore in HCDE. He wants to gain more experiences so to build his
portfolio for future internship. He thinks that there are few direct resources provided by
the department, so he always has to obtain information by himself. He feels
disconnected with faculty because he has not been to any office hours before. However,
he has made several connections with HCDE’s upperclassmen through extracurricular
clubs and activities. He really looks forward to attend events where he can get academic
and career advice.
● Student I (S.I):
A first-quarter junior in HCDE. He has attended most of the career-related events but
only one social event, because he feels it hard to get to know other students through
social events. He checks his email everyday and facebook once a week. He would
check the website for class scheduling, or to confirm the events that he has been
informed from other places.
SecondaryResearch
We use secondary research to help us build assumptions, validate findings, and learn about
other perspectives and insights. Feeling of connectedness is important because it (1) increases
motivation and investment, (2) increases retention, and (3) provides a sense of security and
comfort [1]. Possible factors in HCDE students’ connections with the department include:
● Peer mentorship and staff support are directly related to students’ sense of belonging
and self-efficacy [2].

3. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
● Easy-to-navigate information systems, clear educational and career plans, and
opportunities for student leadership development can support students’ academic
success [3].
● Students appreciate reminders about relevant and important resources [1].

4. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
Provisional Persona1:

5. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
Refined Persona1:
Sources and Assumptions 1:
Characteristic Source Detail
Eager S.B, S.C, S.D, S.H Is eager in terms of wanting
to advance his career and get
involved with the department.
Motivated S.B, S.C, S.H, S.I Is motivated to advance
career and get involved.
Friendly S.B, S.C, S.D Open to meeting HCDE
faculty and students.
Goals Source Detail

6. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
Connect with faculty and
students with similar passions
S.C, S.D Wants to be able to make
more connections and
socialize.
Create a social network
within HCDE
S.B, S.D Wants to be able to make
friends within the department.
Refine skills to help him be
successful within the industry
S.C, S,H, S.I Wants to do whatever they
can to make a resume and
gain skills.
Desires Source Detail
Filter information based on
desires
S.B, S.C, S.D, S.H Always skims emails ignores
because the information
doesn’t pertain to interest.
Receive more personalized
and concise information
S.B, S.C, S.D Suggests creating more
personalized experiences.
Feel more connected within
the department (faculty &
students)
S.D, S.H, S.I Feels a lack of personal
connections.
Learn how to approach
faculty
S.H, S.I Has not attended office hours
or connected with professors
Navigate available resources
and events
S.B, S.D Is not aware of the events
HCDE has to offer.
Prepare for a career in UX S.B, S.D Is motivated to attend career
related events.
Pains Source Detail
Overwhelmed with
information
S.B, S.C, S.D, S.E Too much unstructured
information.Suggests using
graphics in emails.
No friends in the department S.E Feels disconnected from
students and staff.
Doesn’t know how to get
involved
S.D, S.I Feels lost in the various
options and information
provided via different
resources platforms.

7. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
Can’t find anyone with similar
passions within HCDE
S.D Feels solitary in and out of
the school.
Technologies Source Detail
Facebook S.C, S.E, S.H, S.I Finds social events and
student-created events.
Gmail S.B, S.C, S.D., S.E, S.H, S.I, Receives department emails.
HCDE departmental website S.B, S.C, S.D., S.E, S.H, S.I Used in the beginning of
quarters to register for
classes.
Instagram S.C Follows HCDE’s
departmental account and
regularly checks for updates.

8. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
Provisional Persona2:

9. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
Refined Persona2:
Sources and Assumptions 2:
Characteristic Source Detail
Passionate S.A, S.E, S.F Loves the HCDE department
and UX.
Driven S.A, S.E Does extremely well in
classes and wants to expand
career horizons.
Busy S.A, S.E, S.F Involved in club leadership.
Goals Source Detail
Graduate with a BS in HCDE S.A, S.E, S.F, S.G Set on graduating within 4

10. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
years.
Grow professionally and to
have a career in UX
S.A, S.F Has short-term and long-term
career goals in mind.
Expand her network with
faculty as well as current
students and alumni
S.E, S.F Hoping to grow network for
future endeavours.
Desires Source Detail
Utilize workshops and
resources
S.F, S.G Access resources without
difficulty and attend events
voluntarily.
Manage time S.A, S.E Finds it challenging to go to
events because of a full
weekly schedule.
Find an internship or full-time
position after graduation
S.A, S.E Hopes to get as much
experience as possible during
undergrad years.
Filter information based on
desires
S.E, S.G Only wants to see what is
applicable and necessary.
Receive more personalized
and concise information
S.A, S.E, S.G Receive events that follow
the career plan and/or
personal investment plan
based on availability.
Pains Source Detail
Bombarded with emails S.A, S.E Receives too many emails
from the department.
Suggests using graphics to
help the overload of
information.
Hard to find events and
resources available
S.E Feels overwhelmed and
unorganized with information.
Not enough availability for
events
S.A, S.E, S.F Due to the last minute notice
and a busy schedule,
attendance of events is
difficult.

11. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
Unprepared for internship
season
S.E Wants to have more
guidance on internships.
Disconnect with faculty S.A, S.E Requires too much effort to
be connected with faculty.
Technologies Source Detail
Facebook S.A, S.E, S.F Finds social events and
student-created events.
Gmail S.A, S.E, S.F, S.G Receives department emails.
HCDE departmental website S.A, S.E, S.F Used in the beginning of
quarters to register for
classes.
LinkedIn A Follows HCDE.Register for
and receive notifications of
career-related events.
Slack S.A, S.F Shares updates and makes
connections with other
students.
Source Key:
Notation Source
S. <Interviewee’s assigned letter> (E.g. S.A) Interviews and additional interviews
A Assumption
References:
[1] M. M. I. Brown and T. Starrett, “Fostering Student Connectedness: Building Relationships in
the Classroom,” Fostering Student Connectedness: Building Relationships in the Classroom, 07-
Apr-2017. [Online]. Available: https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-
learning/fostering-student-connectedness-building-relationships-classroom/. [Accessed: 11-Oct-
2019].

12. Team IDEATORS HCDE 318 Fall 2019
[2] C. Craig, “‘THE RELATIONSHIP OF MENTORING ON SENSE OF BELONGING, SELF-
EFFICACY, AN’ by Chelsea Craig,” THE RELATIONSHIP OF MENTORING ON SENSE OF
BELONGING, SELF-EFFICACY, AND STUDENT PERCEPTION OF MENTORSHIP IN
FIRST-GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENTS, 08-May-2018. [Online]. Available:
https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/msfys_etd/5/?utm_source=digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/
msfys_etd/5&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages. [Accessed: 11-Oct-2019].
[3] R. P. McDonnell, “10 Ways to Make the College Experience Better for All Students,” 10
Ways to Make the College Experience Better for All Students, 25-Jun-2018. [Online]. Available:
https://www.jff.org/points-of-view/10-ways-make-college-experience-better-all-students/.
[Accessed: 11-Oct-2019].