Every other week we spotlight an OMSCS TA, so you can get to know who's behind the screen. Here are four questions for Lisa Walkosz-Migliacio who TAs CS 6750: Human-Computer Interaction.
What do you do professionally?
I’m a UX engineer and technology educator. I currently work on target.com creating a platform that allows guests to share their own content and elevate our own. I also run my own gaming company, which has developed several games on iOS, Nintendo, and PC —some with hundreds of thousands of downloads and even translated into other languages. I also have won awards for my interface work in VR, made a game on a train, and create technology courses on Pluralsight.
Why do you TA for OMSCS?
I am a TA for Human Computer Interaction. I love the design aspect of why humans use technology, so I was drawn to HCI on how to needfind, brainstorm, and prototype. If you haven’t taken any of Dr. Joyner’s classes yet, you might not know how well they are put together, and I wanted to be a part of the team who was working together to teach them. I love reading the diversity of ideas that students come up with to solve problems using design principles. It makes me step up my own game for creative problem solving. I also want to break the stereotype of computer science as an exclusive club. Technology affects us all at this point, and we need to reflect that in our student and teacher population.
What's your advice for future students in OMSCS?
We are in a time where you will always need to keep learning. Technology moves fast, and quite honestly those with fixed mindsets who look to the past won’t benefit from the new inventions of the future. That said, we need bold thought leaders who want to make technology a future worth living in and not a dystopian nightmare. I’m super thrilled that OMSCS not only teaches the ways to implement the algorithms, but the design and ethics of why this technology can benefit all users. My advice for OMSCS students is to not overlook these teachings as they are vitally important to a computer science education.
What's your favorite memory from your time in or working with OMSCS so far?
Last year OMSCS had a cohort go to the Grace Hopper Celebration and I was picked to go. I had the best time there meeting other TAs, students, and administrators, and was thoroughly inspired that our industry had some amazing people in it.
