Overview
This semester, my team and I were tasked with identifying a meaningful need for a specific population and designing an experience to address it. Through surveys and conversations, we learned that many freshmen at BYU felt overwhelmed by new expectations and unsure about their future career paths. To address this need, we developed and prototyped an experience that helped freshmen explore their interests in a low-pressure, hands-on, and engaging way.

My Role
Although our team worked collaboratively throughout the planning process, I played a key role in shaping the participant journey during our prototype. I served as the hostess for the experience: welcoming participants, setting the tone, explaining the structure, grouping students, and guiding transitions between activities. I also facilitated the reflection portion, helping participants translate their experience into personal insight. My role required clarity, energy, and the ability to create a welcoming environment for each participant.

Problem
Freshmen enter college with a flood of new information, expectations, and decisions. Many feel uncertain about their passions or potential career paths, and traditional resources—such as career fairs or informational meetings—can feel intimidating or too abstract. We recognized a gap: students needed an experience where they could try on different passions in a fun, interactive way rather than simply hearing about them.

Thinking Process & Action
We began by studying existing resources available to students and discovered that most opportunities relied on conversation rather than hands-on exploration. Wanting something more immersive, we created the Passion Taste Testing Experience, a bakery-themed prototype where participants could sample three overarching “passions”: analytical, creative, and leadership.

In the prototype, I welcomed students to the Passion Bakery, gave instructions, divided them into groups, and ensured smooth transitions between stations. Each station offered a four-minute activity aligned with one of the passions. To maintain the bakery metaphor, participants received bread and a different spread at each table—reinforcing the idea that each passion is distinct yet valuable. At the end, I facilitated a short reflection conversation to help participants identify which passions resonated with them and why.

Through this process, I learned that creativity thrives in collaborative environments and that prototyping is essential for understanding whether an experience truly meets a user’s need. Designing this experience showed me how intentional metaphors, pacing, and reflection can transform a simple activity into a meaningful moment of insight.

Tools Used
I utilized my strengths of Adaptability, Developer, and Responsibility throughout the project. Adaptability helped me adjust on the spot as we shifted group sizes or clarified instructions. As a Developer, I created an encouraging environment where participants felt comfortable exploring new skills. Responsibility guided my follow-through on planning tasks, group coordination, and writing portions of our reports. These strengths helped our team deliver an experience that was both structured and welcoming.

Impact
Participants entered the experience unsure—especially about the analytical station—but left feeling confident, surprised, and more open to exploring new areas of interest. Many discovered strengths they didn’t know they had, and all gained a clearer sense of what types of activities energize them.

This project also impacted me personally. It deepened my understanding of how to guide a team, communicate effectively, and use creativity purposefully to enhance the user experience. Most importantly, it reinforced that well-designed experiences can spark meaningful self-discovery—and that creativity, when supported by structure, can meet real human needs.