About Kenneth Vaz

My experience in design began 5 years ago with an internship at the Henry Viscardi School, a school for students with disabilities. I spent my time volunteering as a teaching assistant and noticed that the students I interacted with had a strong desire to learn and to be independent, but were often limited by their specific physical or mental disabilities. This was particularly seen in the art department when the school received a set of new watercolors, paint brushes and markers, which half of the students were unable to use due to a lack of coordination and finger dexterity. They were extremely disheartened, and I could empathize with them because oil-painting is one of my favorite hobbies. I wanted these students to experience that same joy I feel when I create paintings on my own and started to think about how these students could create artwork unassisted.

By the end of my internship, I was able to successfully modify r/c cars and attach colored markers, pens and paintbrushes to them so that the students could draw by controlling the cars with remotes. Moreover, I gained extreme insight into the challenges of using technology and the importance of always considering design from a user perspective, first and foremost. Since the Henry Viscardi, I have undertaken numerous projects spanning design, human computer interaction, and data science. I am currently a student at the University of Washington Seattle campus, double majoring in Human Centered Design & Engineering and Geography. I will be graduating in June 2020 and am interested in a career with project management, UX/UI design, machine learning or data analytics. I am a cat owner, a lover of nature and tech, AI, meditation and travel. I am eager to learn about new opportunites and hope to connect with you soon in discussing how I can best contribute to your work.