April 25, 2022
Human Centered Design & Engineering students Alissa Acheson, Elizabeth Dunbar, Kenya Mejia, and IB Sobayo are named to the 2022 cohort of the Husky 100, the University of Washington Provost Mark Richards announced today.
The Husky 100 is a program that annually recognizes 100 students across the UW's three campuses for their outstanding work and extracurricular achievements. "The one thing they share is that they are all making the most of their time as Huskies," wrote Richards. "Through their coursework, research, volunteer and leadership efforts, internships and jobs, they have created their own Husky Experience. Like all other UW students, the Husky 100 are discovering their passions in life and work as they prepare for rewarding careers in industry, community and life.
2022 HCDE Husky 100 Honorees
Alissa Acheson
BS, Human Centered Design and Engineering; BA, Swedish Scandinavian Area Studies
Hometown: Redmond, WA
Through my experiences at UW I’ve learned to leverage the interdisciplinary perspective. In design I’ve learned that incorporating different viewpoints and experiences into a product makes it more useable and therefore more successful. Through that and learning a new language I’ve gained greater skills in empathy. I have been named to be apart of the Husky 100 because of my passion towards exploring new and novel problem spaces to create more accepting environments and products.
Elizabeth Dunbar
PhD, Human Centered Design & Engineering
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
As a digital health design researcher, I am passionate about working with interdisciplinary teams to better design, implement and evaluate both clinical and public health technologies. I am a PhD candidate in Human Centered Design and Engineering exploring the intersections of global health, implementation science, and technology. I am grateful for my time at UW where I’ve had opportunities to learn across these disciplines while working to design, deploy, and research global health technology with the Digital Initiatives Group at I-TECH (DIGI).
Kenya Mejia
PhD, Human Centered Design & Engineering
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Inspired by my own experiences in a Mechanical Engineering education, I am researching ways that systemic barriers are causing exclusive environments, and finding ways students, faculty, and other stakeholders can co-design inclusive practices at UW and other universities. At the core of this social justice issue is to ensure people from diverse backgrounds are a valued part of the engineering conversations that are shaping our increasingly sociotechnical futures.
IB Sobayo
MS, Human Centered Design and Engineering
Hometown: Port Harcourt, Nigeria
My Husky experience in HCDE and as an EPIC team-member has taught me about what matters when it comes to inclusion and access. During my time here, I have done work to recognize gaps & advocate for more inclusion at UW. As I graduate with a master’s degree, I know what I am capable of and what I want my impact to look like. The good change I want to make in the world is to provide access to people who do not have it and help them experience success through design. Eagerly looking forward to it!
These four join 12 other HCDE students who have been named to the Husky 100 since the program began in 2016. View the complete list of HCDE students recognized in the Husky 100 over the years.