For our first installment of the DFA Spotlight, Ward Bullard, our Director of External Relations, reconnects with Megan Rogers, University of Notre Dame Class of 2022 and past DFA Co-President. After graduation, Megan joined West Monroe in Seattle, Washington, as a consultant in their Product Experience and Engineering Lab. She is now at Eco Alianza, an environmental non-profit in Loreto, Mexico, leading partnerships and programs.

Note: this interview was edited for length and clarity.

Ward: Thanks again, Megan, for making the time today. Let’s jump in. What first attracted you to Human Centered Design?

Megan: I started my journey as a ‘Student Government Nerd’ in third grade, holding a yearly position until 12th grade. It gave me so much joy and energy to run around with my clipboard and ask my classmates, ‘How can I make your experience better?” and “What can I do to make this place better for you?” It just became this pattern of trying to figure out what people really need and want, and then figuring out how to make it happen. It was magic.

I credit my high school principal, Kurt Criscione, for my human-centered design journey and love for education design; he was the one who (either randomly or not) thought to send me to school district meetings, where I had the opportunity to advocate for student voice as part of our new strategic plan. It changed my life forever.

Ward: Can you share a bit about your DFA experience?

Megan: I cannot say anything about DFA without starting with Maddie McBride, one of my best friends and my best working partner. For Maddie and I, the culture of the studio and the learning experience for our members was our own DFA project. We care(d) so much about making DFA @ ND a family where people want to be every week, knowing that connection and safety is the backbone of excellent creative work. For us, this meant pouring hours into creating the silliest weekly bonding activities we could think of, and thinking through every aspect of the club experience.

Ward: Many DFAers ask us for advice on finding roles that allow them to flex their DFA-trained Human-Centered Design muscles. Could you please share a little bit about your process for finding your first full-time job upon graduation?

Megan: The first part of landing your dream role in Design Thinking is to learn (1) how to tell your design thinking story and (2) explain what design thinking is for those unfamiliar. Maddie and I invested a ton of time into helping studio members learn to ‘evangelize’ their skillset and how to explain it to someone from any background using examples in their field. The same applies to employers. Practicing how to communicate the value of design thinking and how the skills can make an impact, using stories and imagery when possible, makes a huge difference in interviews. Design thinking skills set you apart for any role within any industry, so find a way to explain that value as part of your ‘package deal’ of skills.

Learn the language of the industry you want to go into. ‘Design thinking’ jobs are everywhere but often hard to search for online because every industry calls DT/HCD something different. Even within design thinking itself, there are so many different models, yet we’re all saying the same thing, right? So once you find the language your dream industry or company uses, learn to explain your skills in those terms. For example, I had developed skills in ethnographic research at Notre Dame, but many companies would call that ‘User Research’, others might call it ‘Customer Interviews’ or “User Experience Design.” Beware of the reverse as well, based on a job title, you might think you've found a design thinking job, only to discover that the role is entirely unrelated to the skills you thought it would use.

Megan and Maddie at a Notre Dame student club recruitment fair

Ward: Please share a bit about your first role at West Monroe - and how you were able to utilize your DFA skills in your work?

Megan: My first full-time job exercised the exact combination of skills I’d acquired at Notre Dame… DFA prepared me to lead research teams and research timelines…my research at ACE taught me how to code qualitative data…coincidentally at West Monroe, every single skill I had developed in college was being put to direct use…what a blessing, right? It was so much fun to be able to jump right into creating research timelines, research protocols, leading interviews on my own, and creating all the research deliverables. I loved being an advocate for the users that I interviewed. I am so thankful to all the folks at West Monroe that gave me (at entry level) the ability to run wild with that. West Monroe’s internal motto is “Building the Next Generation of Leaders,” and they absolutely lived that out in the way that they enabled me to lead and take on real responsibility…

Ward: Now you shared the news that you recently joined a nonprofit doing some amazing work in Mexico. Can you share more about it and your role?

Megan: Yes! I am so thrilled to be working for Eco-Alianza de Loreto A.C., an environmental non-profit in Loreto, Mexico, B.C.S. I interned at Eco-Alianza in high school, helping teach environmental education and putting together programming. Today, I am returning to facilitate partnerships between Eco-Alianza and universities to bring students, researchers, professors, and professionals to Baja, to conduct much needed research to address the urgent water crisis. I will also be overseeing the educational experience of all interns and visiting universities, as well as aid in securing funding sources for the water projects. It has been so special to share a place that means so much to me and to design an incredible experience for these partners.

Ward: What advice might you share with a DFAer based on what has served you well early in your career?

Megan: Participating in the ‘scoping process’ of the project is one of the most valuable skills you can add to your toolbelt, because this is the equivalent of learning how to do business development in the ‘real’ world. This skill does wonders to set you apart in your early career. In consulting, to be able to raise your hand as a young professional and say, “Hey, I can help you scope this work,” or “Yes, I’d love to help with business development,” or “I know what a statement of work is”—that is HUGE, and will allow you to connect with upper-level leaders in a new way that your other peers may not me. This is how I eventually got staffed on every single project at West Monroe. I was able to help with a lot of things (thanks to DFA) that other entry-level folks didn’t know how to do yet (no fault of their own), but it made me staffable because I could help with business development and then jump right onto the project knowing all the context, which I loved. Chasing and winning work is extremely fun.

Ward: Thank you so much for your time today. On behalf of everyone at DFA, we are grateful to alumni like you for your steadfast support.

Megan: You're most welcome.

DFA Spotlight with Megan Rogers, DFA Notre Dame

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