I've always been interested in design education, but I always thought it would be something I did... later. So when the invitation to help out came, I told myself that it was too early in my career to JUST teach. Still, I remembered how little my design education had done to prepare me for my first job and felt like I could do better.
After leading my first classes at Northwestern University and Columbia College Chicago, it was clear that teaching would not only help me develop into a better designer, but it would also help me improve the patience I needed to be a great manager.
When I signed on in 2014, it was in a part-time role to help a friend get the program off the ground. Design at Bloc was limited to a UX Course, and the first version of the course was rough. Worse, the platform lacked essentials that would make the experience for all involved. Maybe this wouldn’t be just teaching afterall.
For all the flaws, the people were invested in Bloc and there was a fantastic culture established - even as an early all-remote company. We all agreed that education needed to be better and dedicated ourselves to doing something about it.