I first met Carlos, WellSky’s Director of User Experience, in December of 2022, when I was trying to learn more about the user experience field. In that hour-long meeting, he introduced me to a world that I was unfamiliar with at the time but was determined to be a part of. If you had told me back then that I’d be sitting here now with two summers of UX work experience, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. I was given the opportunity to be a user experience intern for summer 2023 and 2024, and it required a lot of hard work. Friends led me to believe that being an intern meant having constant supervision and only handling the busy work that employees didn’t want to do. At WellSky, however, that turned out to be completely untrue.
Last summer, I immediately started working with my mentor, Ann, Sr. UX Designer, on the Transfusion team. She was an amazing teacher, and it never felt once like she was holding my hand or that she was treating me like the stereotypical intern. The same goes for Lauren, Staff UX Designer, my mentor for this past summer, who allowed me to feel like I was a real part of the team. Within the first week of this summer, I was already listening in and taking notes on client usability sessions and planning out preparation for our study in the WellSky Resource Manager solution. There were some points during this summer where I lost track of time and started planning for the weeks ahead, forgetting that my internship had an end date.
UX research was one of the areas that I got a lot stronger with through constant practice this summer. I got to participate in countless usability testing sessions. This really showed me how much WellSky cares about its clients. WellSky isn’t a company that just designs software to look good or to serve only certain clients, it is a company that appreciates the voice of each individual user. One of the most rewarding things that I got to do this summer was host one of these usability sessions in-person at the Usability Research Lab at the WellSky headquarters with our users. I got to see first-hand how my work could be affecting their day-to-day lives. This was when it clicked for me that at WellSky, I am contributing to a purpose bigger than myself, and that the work I do, even as an intern, makes waves in the community.
What makes the UX team at WellSky stand out is their collaboration. I was eager to help across business units, and it made me feel valuable when asked my opinion, even if it wasn’t the solution. It felt like a group of friends giving constant feedback and lending a hand whenever help was needed. I’m not sure whether this team’s seamless collaboration is due to their talents or their shared love of KC BBQ.
It’s hard to believe my intern days are coming to a close. I’m feeling lucky to have had such a rewarding experience at a company that truly values the growth of all its teammates, and I now feel more confident than ever about pursuing a career in user experience. Thanks to WellSky, I’ve learned how to design high fidelity mock-ups in Figma and conduct research studies, which has helped me become a well-rounded UX designer. Although I’m sad to leave the intern program, I’m incredibly grateful for the past two summers. Special thanks go to Carlos for taking a chance on me and allowing me to develop my skills, and to Ann and Lauren for being the best mentors and role models I could ask for!
