Introducing Kiell, our new product design intern!

Just a month or so ago I was talking to @glenM about how we could get more done with our product team, especially now that we have a third developer, Bilal, helping us, and he asked if an intern would make a difference. I said yes definitely!

I love the apprenticeship model where someone who needs to learn and gain experience works side-by-side (or as close as you can do this online) with a senior person who can teach and share and explain the work as it comes. The apprentice takes on some of the workload and gets rapid experience in return. The mentor gets assistance and someone to help think through solutions with. Win-win-win!

I reached out to my network and quickly heard from some very promising candidates. We did a series of interview and considered a few candidates very seriously before settling on the best fit, Kiell (@NorthShoreSwimmer).

Kiell came highly recommended and had recently completed an intensive user experience research and design "bootcamp." She's been getting up to speed the past few weeks and I wanted to introduce her to the community, since the way we design and build 7 Cups has always been very much in collaboration with all of you.

I am going to be asking Kiell to help out with many of our top priorities, among them some special projects with teens, which @Laura and @NorthShoreSwimmer will be sharing about soon.

Please join me now in welcoming Kiell to the team and to the community, and if you see her in the forums or in group chat please be sure to say hello!

Here is a little more about Kiell in her own words (once @laura puts up an alert for this thread tomorrow, @NorthShorewimmer should be around to reply and say hi back :D):

Hi, I'm Kiell (pronounced "Kyle") and I'm super excited to be a part of this community! I'm working at 7 Cups part time as a User Experience Designer. My goal is to learn about the needs of individuals as well as the community in order to make the app and website better for the people that use it (that means you!)

A little about me: in my free time I love traveling, writing, printmaking, riding my bike, and swimming whenever possible. I live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

P.S.: (Reminder) Kiell's listener username is @NorthShoreSwimmer