What do teaching and UX design have in common? Everything. That’s why it matters that I taught middle-school English for 15 years.

I may be new to UX design, but I’m certainly not new to many of its components. As a lesson designer, I always kept my users (students) front and center in my mind. I adapted my lessons for accessibility and used my students’ feedback to turn themes into insights and use those insights to iterate on my designs.

And as a professional writer for 13 years, I used clear, concise language to explain complex issues in an understandable way to a diverse audience.

These are the skills I am bringing to my career as a UX designer.