Q: So, tell us more about yourself. How did you end up working in tech?

I spent my first career in Investment Banking. I always knew it wasn’t a good fit. I wanted to do something else, but wasn’t sure where to start. I partnered with IT on a project written in Python, which inspired me to explore programming. Once I started, I immediately fell in love. I found solving complex problems extremely rewarding and enjoyed the element of always learning something new.

Q: How did you first hear about TechChange?

I first heard about TechChange through the Recurse Center. After reading numerous job postings, TechChange stood out to me because their job listing read, “you could work at top tech companies, but making a difference in the world is more important to you”. That line deeply resonated with me and I knew immediately that I’d found the place for me.  It’s important to me to spend my time and energy leaving things better than I found them. I’m excited to wake up each day knowing my work has a positive impact on the world, and  love knowing that I work alongside people who share a similar mindset.

Q: What are some of your favorite parts of working at TechChange so far?

The positive attitudes and humility. Everyone is excited and passionate about what they do, which shows in their work. Colleagues are willing to lend a hand and share their knowledge. I feel appreciated and trust that my work is viewed as important. Failure is encouraged. Slowing down to learn is prioritized over delivery.

Also…the commute! I love working from home and having the ability to curate an environment that works for me. I am more productive when I have access to my kitchen where I can prepare healthy meals, and when I can take a break to walk around my neighborhood.

Q: What excites you about this role?

I’m excited about the emphasis on psychological safety. I feel strongly that long-term success requires sustainable efforts. Rather than the focus being on completing tasks as fast as possible, I’m encouraged to take the time I need to learn, take breaks, or shift gears if needed. I am viewed as a whole person who has obligations outside of work. I’ve found that having a proper self-care routine helps me thrive in the workplace.

Q: Anything you look forward to working on or learning at TechChange in the next year?

I’m looking forward to improving my skills as a developer and leaving my banking culture behind! My colleagues’ backgrounds in education shine through with a strong emphasis on pedagogy, which speaks to me and my method of thinking. I’m confident I will succeed because of the support network available to me. I’m thrilled to learn from the role models I’ve found at TechChage and continue to grow.

Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?

I’m super shy. Most people who know me seem surprised when they learn that I am an introvert who struggles with social anxiety and small talk. I’ve pushed my comfort zone my whole life, especially during my time managing multiple teams. After absorbing all I could from this experience, I’m on a journey to embrace my true nature and utilize the strengths of my natural temperament. My true happy place is thinking quietly and solving problems, sprinkled with philosophical discussions and meaningful connection.

by: Mehek Gosalia, TechChange Tech Micro-intern

A one month internship is not a common thing to do, I’m told. Just one of the many weird and wonderful quirks of MIT: every year, we take January to explore education outside of class, whether through study abroad, research, specialized courses or micro internships. I got the chance to work at TechChange just for the month, as a software engineering intern. As I found, my unusually short internship was unusually rewarding, because TechChange, too, is weird and wonderful.

What makes it weird? Within a technical team of just 4, plus me and my fellow intern, we spanned 4 time zones at any given time. Our daily meetings were midday for some, wake-up calls for me, and burning the midnight oil for others. And instead of coding side by side, we seemed to switch off, PRs and commits coming in at every hour from every corner of the world. Because of this, I spend much of my internship getting to explore the codebase on my own, peeling back layers of files and discovering how much the platform truly had to offer. I also got to work in multiple areas of the codebase, working full stack to implement a new bookmark feature independently. This was my first ever 9 to 5, and yet with the freedom and flexibility I had, I rarely woke up at 9 or put away my laptop at 5. The lack of one set routine could have been demotivating- for us, it was energizing. It was weird, but it worked.

What makes it wonderful? Somehow, with just a 30 minute daily meeting with my team, continents and oceans between us, the technical team quickly became a family. Honestly, the flexibility and radical differences in our schedules actually created a unique dynamic. Instead of a rigid work structure followed by off time, we got to see each other living our lives. We shared our days, without distinction between work life and our lives- kids at home played off camera, I told them about my classes next month and they told me about the trip they were on to see their family. We pair programmed over Zoom between one lunch break and another, and there was always time for helping each other, even across time zones. When you can bring your life into your workplace, without rigid hours, it breathes life into the workplace. Truly wonderful.

I had four weeks at TechChange. Four weird, wonderful weeks made possible by my weird, wonderful school. I learned many things, but mostly, I learned about people. I learned about the people who work at TechChange, and who they were, and what a pleasure they were to work with. To me, being able to know them, after such a short time, is a career triumph beyond any technical skills gained. For that, thank you TechChange!

As 2021 comes to a close, the TechChange team gathered online to celebrate our busiest year yet. So busy, in fact, that we had to break our annual “State of TechChange” into multiple parts. Part one will mention general staff updates, hybrid and virtual events, and community engagement events.

General Updates

Played our Virtual Board Game at GDHF2021! While we weren’t the organizing partner for GDHF this year, we did manage to play our board game with our partners this month at GHDF2021, where we moved the entire delivery online.

Launched our new Virtual Events overview video! To celebrate the launch of our virtual events department in 2021, we created a new overview video to share more about our approach, key features, and partner highlights.

Welcomed new team members! One advantage of being a remote-first organization is that talent is no longer restricted to the DC area. 

• Lilly Snell – Project Assistant, Education
• Kayla Burch – Program Coordinator, Events
• Sheerin Vesin – Vice President of Business Development
• Marion Comi-Morog – Program Coordinator, Events
• Benjamin Seebaugh – Program Manager, Events
• Maggie Miland – Account Manager, Education
• Alexander Paone – Program Manager, Public Health
• Hana Geadah – Project Assistant, Public Health
• Samantha Remeika – Vice President of Partner Success
• Kristy Britt – Chief Financial Officer
• Momoka Keicho – Summer Fellow / Contractor
• Amanda Pettenati – Full Stack Engineer

Celebrated the 10-year anniversary of our first hybrid event. While the virtual events team is brand new as a department, this September marked a full decade since we first supported a hybrid-first event. We’ve shared initial reflections, but hoping to continue to contribute to the conversation on improving the virtual events experience. 

Coordinated a hybrid event in Kigali. While we had hoped to have a team onsite for the Africa Plant Breeders Association Conference this year, Covid restrictions prevented travel for core team members. Fortunately, we were able to partner with Rwanda-based partners and hybrid event experts Cube (who we had previously worked with on AGRF 2020) to deliver a successful coordinated summit experience.

Returning Events from 2021

Every conference is an opportunity to better serve a global community unable to convene due to Covid. This year we worked with a number of 2020 partners to reflect on lessons learned, participant data insights, and speaker feedback to improve the event experiences. These included:

• Global Digital Development Forum – Building on the success of GDDF 2020 with 2,600 participants, GDDF 2021 focused on multi-language delivery, virtual worlds, and networking opportunities. Co-organized by USAID, DIAL, Chemonics, Save the Children, IntraHealth, IREX, and TechChange. (May 5, 2021)
• SID-Washington 2021 Annual Conference – The Society for International Development – Washington Chapter is a membership-driven knowledge organization bringing together people from diverse organizations, disciplines, and career stages in a neutral, independent forum. The 2021 Annual Conference gathered 1,000 international development professionals from around the world to learn, to debate ideas, and to network. (May 26-27)
• RightsCon 2021 – Celebrating 10 years of RightsCon, we returned to a virtual format for a second year with over 10,000 human rights and technology experts including fireside chats, interactive community sessions, 24-hour programming, and more. 2021 Outcomes Report for more details. Promo video. (June 7-11)
• AGRF 2021 Summit– The largest agricultural and food systems virtual event in Africa returned for a second year, with over 7,000 participants – including five African presidents. Promo video. (September 7-10)
• WomenLift Health – The fifth annual Women Leaders in Global Health (WLGH) Conference and the second virtually on the TechChange platform. This once again included regional focuses by day, as well as shifting time slots to accommodate global time zones for participants and speakers. Promo video. (November 15-16)

New Online Events in 2021!

This was our biggest year yet for new partners trying out the TechChange model.

• 2021 Global Health Practitioner Conference – GHPC is CORE Group’s annual conference. Implementers, academics, governments, donors, UN, private sector, and other community health advocates convene in this multi-day, content rich meeting that features knowledge sharing and skills building sessions, recent evidence on cross-sectoral technical areas, dialogues on community health, and professional networking. (January 27-28)
• Institutionalizing Community Health Conference (ICHC 2021) – In collaboration with USAID, UNICEF, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation, ICHC 2021 aimed to renew global commitments to a decade of accelerating primary health care (April 19-22)
• Global Health Science and Practice Technical Exchange (GHTechX) –  Curated through a partnership between USAID, the George Washington University, and the Global Health: Science and Practice Journal. (April 21-24)
• Lives In The Balance – Coordinated by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and CORE Group, the third summit, TechChange delivered this online conference with speakers including Neneh Cherry, Helen Clark, and Awa Marie Coll-Seck. (May 17-18)
• 2021 DRG Conference  –  Coordinated with EnCompass, the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance conference includes breakout sessions designed, led, and attended by USAID staff in the field Missions and Washington D.C, and included USAID partners. The final day consists of regionally-based meetings co-led with DRG staff in USAID’s Regional Bureaus. (June 21 – July 1)
• Africa Transformation Forum 2021 –  More than 600 people in 47 countries gathered to discuss the ways that African countries—and all development stakeholders—can better collaborate to remove barriers to progress and address national priorities through regional solutions.  Read the report (July 15)
• Maternal Mental Health Technical Consultation – Hosted by USAID’s MOMENTUM Country and Global Leadership, in collaboration with World Health Organization and United Nations Population Fund, this Jhpiego-led virtual conference brought together members of the maternal, newborn, child health, nutrition, and mental health communities to collaborate and inform the path forward for MMH to ensure that pregnant and postpartum women receive the respectful and nurturing care they need and deserve. (September 7-9)
• USAID’s First Annual Hispanic Serving Institution/Latinx Conference and Career Expo – A three-day event with workshops designed for students, recent graduates, mid-level and transitioning career professionals, job seekers, higher education faculty and staff, and professional and affinity organizations. (October 5-7)
• USAID-HBCU International Development Conference – Co-sponsored by the Harry T. Moore chapter of Black’s in Government, this year’s theme is “Increasing Diversity in International Development” and will include announcements of job opportunities and scholarships for conference participants, as well as networking. (September 15-16)
• Delivering the UN Common Agenda: Action to Achieve Equality and Inclusion – This event launched a flagship report led by the Pathfinder’s Grand Challenge on Inequality and Exclusion (September 23)
• YTH Live Global 2021 – presented by ETR, YTH Live helps executive directors, funders, developers, public health professionals, and students of all ages learn about the latest trends in health, innovation, and technology. (October 4-6)
• Emerging Technologies in Peacebuilding & Prevention –  Organized with NYU’s Center on International Cooperation (CIC), this virtual workshop created a space for sharing successes and failures in the applications of emerging technologies in peacebuilding. (December 1-2)

Community Engagement

Not all global events are open to the public — some are about building up skills and networks within a community. These are a few of the events that we were proud to support.

• Land Innovation Fund Launch Event – Supporting Chemonics and USAID in a two-hour launch event with simultaneous interpretation in Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish (January 26)
• Greater Giving Summit – the Giving By All team hosted a four-part virtual event which took place monthly from February to May, bringing together over 200 leaders from around the world to improve charitable giving by everyday donors. Archive. (February 23 – May 18)
• Combat Malaria in Africa: Lessons and Opportunities – Organized by GBCHealth and CAMA, this event brought together 250 partners including representatives from private sector, government, civil society, academia, and more to share lessons learned and launch the CAMA partners’ “End Malaria Project.” (April 22) 
• Self-Care Learning and Discovery Series – Hosted by White Ribbon Alliance (WRA) on behalf of the Self-Care Trailblazer Group (SCTG), the series presented new knowledge, elevate self-care solutions, forge connections across issues and geographies. (June 29 – August 26)
• The Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit 2021 – The signature, culminating event of the Fellowship that provides a unique opportunity for Fellows to connect and learn from current Fellows, Fellowship Alumni, and prestigious guests from U.S. institutions with an interest in Africa. (August 3-4)
• CALA Leadership Forum – The Centre for African Leaders in Africa is an initiative of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and kicked off a 16-month Advanced Leadership Programme, launched in collaboration with implementing partners including the African Management Institute (AMI) and USAID’s Policy LINK (August 16-18)
• AmeriCorps State and National Symposium 2021 – The annual grantee Symposium is a critical element in the AmeriCorps monitoring and oversight plan. During this internal event, AmeriCorps Agency staff will provide training on essential program functions as well as updates regarding AmeriCorps policies, administration, and financial grants management requirements for the upcoming funding cycle. (September 20-23)
• 2021 Global Health Leaders’ Meeting – Funded by USAID, GHLM is a 5-day summit detailing leadership and management topics, with high-level discussions, policy updates, and interactive workshops specifically designed for those working at USAID in Global Health. (September 13-17)
• USAID/OHA’s 3rd Annual Local Partner Meeting – Hosted by USAID’s Office of HIV/AIDS with support from the Accelerating Support to Advanced Local Partners (ASAP) program. (November 1-5)

Please join us in welcoming Samantha Remeika to the TechChange team as the new Vice President of Partner Success!!

Samantha is an experienced leader of customer success, professional services, and support with a demonstrated history of hands-on leadership growing diverse global teams through structure, process, and industry KPIs.

She has partnered with a broad range of foundation, government, NGO, and education customers enabling organizations to support their missions through technology.

In her previous role as Vice President of Customer Success & Support, Samantha led a team of 50+ employees in supporting three product lines, increasing annual recurring revenue by 10%, satisfaction scores by 20% and doubling the upsell target.

Samantha holds an MPA from the School of International Affairs at Columbia University where she was a SIPA Fellow and a BA from Tulane University.

Lilly is a Project Assistant at TechChange, where she supports the development of engaging virtual experiences. She recently graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in International Relations and spent her summer researching distributed energy resource management systems and peer-to-peer renewable energy trading.

Q: So, tell us more about yourself. How did you end up working in Education?

During my senior year at Brown, I spontaneously registered for a course in UIUX design. Ultimately complementing my study of International Relations, my interest in UIUX allowed me to explore the intersection of design, current affairs, technology and digital media. While job hunting, my main goal was to find a role that would allow me to bridge the knowledge gap between academics and industry experts, and the diverse audiences who lack exposure to the same kind of knowledge and experience…And then I discovered TechChange!

Q: How did you first hear about TechChange?

I stumbled across TechChange on LinkedIn shortly after graduating from university. It didn’t take long to realize that my desire to find new ways to engage and inform different communities and individuals through visual and written storytelling aligned perfectly with the work TechChange was doing. 

Q: What are some of your favorite parts of working at TechChange so far?

TechChange has provided me with the opportunity to explore different projects, develop new skills, and dive into the world of tech and education. My team has always been incredibly supportive of my curiosity and has been instrumental to my continuous growth over the past year.

Q: What excites you about this role?

The role is ever-changing. New projects, new challenges and new opportunities are always emerging and there is a constant, unanimous anticipation of what is to come.

Q: Anything you look forward to working on or learning at TechChange in the next year?

I’m excited to learn more about the different tools and processes that contribute to successful, human-centered design!

Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?

I can write with both hands at the same time!

Marion joined the TechChange team as a Program Coordinator, where she helps the Events team to create meaningful and engaging virtual conferences for a worldwide audience. Before joining the Events team, Marion explored her own research on the importance and impact of virtual communication as a Psychology major and Communications minor at Davidson College and served as a TechChange Fellow. 

Q: So, tell us more about yourself. How did you end up working in events?

I’ve always been interested in how we communicate in a virtual world. I explored this question at Davidson College through my research in Communication Studies — from gendered toy marketing to social justice advertising and movie consumption trends. However, it wasn’t until the COVID-19 pandemic that I was exposed to virtual events as a tool for communication. As a college student studying remotely, I quickly became familiar with the insights (and oversights) of a virtual classroom. I saw an opportunity for higher education and many other fields to utilize the advantages of a virtual world that companies like TechChange had refined (and wrote about it in the TechChange blog here). I wanted to play a part in TechChange’s goal to build innovative and engaging virtual events with a mission.

Q: How did you first hear about TechChange?

Davidson College offers an amazing opportunity called Gig-hub consultancy, where a group of students are offered access to several remote, short-term job offerings in fields of their interest. I first heard about TechChange through the Gig-hub program, and once I started working there, just absolutely fell in love with the company and its mission. Every time my short-term contract would come to a close, we kept on renewing it! Now, as a full-time member of the Events team, I couldn’t be more grateful to the Gig-hub program for first introducing me to my career.

Q: What are some of your favorite parts of working at TechChange so far?

The people! While I really do love the work at TechChange, it’s the people on my team that inspire me to work harder and to produce a product that I am proud of. We collaborate to produce and facilitate the most amazing conferences, and TechChange wouldn’t be the same without them.

Q: What excites you about this role?

It’s a great feeling to be able to support so many different projects at once – there’s always something new to try or work on! One day I’ll be building out the DRG platform for a conference in democracy assistance and the next I’ll be stepping in to moderate a SID-W meeting about writing your own memoir. The day after could be spent brainstorming with a new partner organization, editing conference recordings, or networking with experts in a vast array of fields. I think it’s amazing to meet so many different people working towards a similar mission – and to act as a real contributor towards making that goal come to life!

Q: Anything you look forward to working on or learning at TechChange in the next year?

The TechChange Events team is always looking for ways to improve its process to become more efficient and invaluable to its partners. I’m incredibly excited to be a part of the team’s efforts to innovate and streamline the way we build out, facilitate, and review our events. Not only am I working to produce the amazing and vital global conferences happening now, I’m also helping to establish the systems that will improve conferences like these in the future (and building up the creative thinking skills to do this)!

Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?

I’m a pretty good beatboxer! It surprises a lot of people when I tell them, but I was the beatboxer for my a cappella group in high school and for a couple groups in college. Really, anything in the performing arts is a passion of mine, from beatboxing to ballet. I believe that the arts provide a space to connect and communicate on a deeper level, and that the stage is a catalyst to broadcast that message.  

Emma Demers joined the TechChange team as a Summer Education Fellow! Emma graduated from Brown University and recently completed a service year with AmeriCorps. We sat down virtually with Emma to learn more about her background and experience. So excited to have you on the team, Emma!

Q: So, tell us more about yourself. How did you first hear about TechChange?

I’m originally from Boston and recently graduated from college with a degree in English and Creative Nonfiction. In my spare time, I volunteer at the Red Cross, meet with local writer’s groups and read a lot. I also enjoy dairy-free baking and weight lifting. 

I heard about TechChange when I was looking for jobs in the education/nonprofit sector. I’ve been living in DC for the last year (first Hill East and now Dupont) and really wanted to stay in the area because I have found such a wonderful community here. 

Q: How has your past experience prepared you for this fellowship position?

I just finished up an awesome year of teaching as an AmeriCorps volunteer with the local organization Literacy Lab. My year of teaching and learning about educational equity has primed me to get even more involved in questions about how we as educators and designers can create meaningful learning experiences for people everywhere. 

In addition to teaching, I’ve also previously worked for a higher education nonprofit in DC and I’ve worked as a UX/UI designer for the last 5 years. Human-centered design and design thinking are at the heart of productive learning experiences and I’m excited to apply that knowledge to my fellowship!

Q: What is your research topic and what are you most looking forward to when conducting this research?

I am taking a look at three different synchronous courses at TechChange, each surrounding public health education. I’m super excited to 1) learn more about public health and international development on an instructional design level and 2) learn more about how to extract important insights from the data I’m reviewing — it’s a part of the UX research process that’s the most unfamiliar to me, so I’m excited to get to dig into that area more this summer. 

Q: What excites you about this fellowship and research opportunity?

I’m excited to have the opportunity to conduct in-depth research on topics I care about. This fellowship also gives me the flexibility to explore so much of TechChange’s philosophy regarding human-centered research and design. I’m also excited to receive guidance and mentorship from the insightful, caring people on the Education team — already they’ve been very supportive of my fellowship goals and I feel very welcomed! 

Q: What is something you look forward to while a fellow at TechChange?

I look forward to getting to know the other team members at TechChange and gaining more insight from them in regards to career paths in education and international development. And making connections with others in and out of the office is something I miss from pre-Covid working conditions. I’m already impressed and excited by TechChange’s commitment to remote collaboration and I’m looking forward to producing high-quality research with the virtual and in-person support of my coworkers and mentors.

Q: Lastly, what’s something that not a lot of people know about you?

I am an avid Minecraft player! The game allows users to stretch our design-thinking imagination and provides a delightful user experience. I love the emphasis on user creation and world-building.

Nick join Impact Boom‘s Thomas Long to discuss the importance of effectively marketing your impact as a social enterprise as well as the positive and negative implementations of technology progressing rapidly. Read the blog and listen in on the conversation.

“We’ve had many twists and turns in a 10-year journey, but my core team on the leadership side were patient, and it wasn’t easy. Waiting for that product-market fit was certainly worth it.”

Nick Martin – Founder & CEO, TechChange

Our Founder & CEO, Nick Martin, recently appeared on Endurance Learning’s Train Like You Listen series. Nick held a conversation with Brian Washburn on leveraging technology like the TechChange Platform to Make Virtual Fell Less Virtual. Read more and listen to the conversation!

TechChange’s courses, events, and learning experiences are designed to “not just build skills, but build relationships and share knowledge in ways that make all of our lives and work more effective.”

Nick Martin – Founder & CEO, TechChange

Watch:

Author: Melanie McKenzie Spring/Summer/Winter Internship 2020

Before working at TechChange, my professional experience existed almost exclusively outside: as a ski instructor, a field research assistant, and a trip leader and co-president of my college’s outdoor organization. In my first few weeks as an Education Team Consultant at TechChange, it was intimidating to be in a setting with so many individuals well-versed on topics that seemed unfamiliar to me. However, in the past seven months, I’ve come to realize that while I didn’t know the terms for these concepts, I was already quite familiar with them. As it turns out, having experience in the outdoor industry has prepared me well for a job in the tech industry, and having a job in the tech industry has helped me build on these skills even further. Here’s why:

1. You have to be ready for the unknown and make quick decisions.

What if you’re on a backpacking trip and someone twists their ankle? Or worse, someone is stung by a bee and has an allergic reaction? As much as we stress the importance of risk management in the outdoors, there’s no way to control what might happen. We have to be ready for whatever obstacles come our way, and if there is an accident, we must act fast.

I’ve utilized this skill a lot at TechChange. Working with clients on projects that have courses with various elements, several stakeholders, and hard deadlines requires effective planning and quick thinking, especially if a roadblock comes our way. For example, what if we hear from clients that ten video clips for a course (which were supposed to be completed by the end of the day) are missing a piece of formatting? Sometimes a new plan and a new approach can be helpful in stressful times. In cases like this, I used the same skills of scoping out the scene and making plans for action in an entirely new environment.

2. There’s always something to do, even when it seems like there’s a lull in tasks.

Hours of preparation go into every outdoor trip planned, and some tasks are more difficult to recognize than others. Sometimes it takes a lull in time between tangible action items to find the tasks that might not be done otherwise, like double-checking that everyone’s dietary restrictions are accounted for in the meal plan, or that the paperwork is in the correct folders.

As my time at TechChange increased from ten hours a week to twenty, I started to comprehend the processes behind the scenes and to prioritize the must-do action items, all building on my previous experiences as a trip leader. For example, if there are a few days where we’re waiting to hear feedback from clients, we can work on quality assurance, create new graphics, or organize our shared folders and files to maintain our workflow. There’s always something that you can do! Further, I was able to learn new skills, like creating graphics on Adobe Illustrator, that I have now applied in several other contexts, from creating infographics for my outdoor organization to crafting a model building and its circuitry in my physics class.

Image caption: Infographics I made this year for the YouthMappers course (top) and for the Financing Community Health Programs for Scale and Sustainability seven-course program (bottom).

3. It is essential that you teach effective lessons.

I’ve gone through several months of outdoor training and each one taught a different structure for giving lessons. I learned to teach kids how to ski by having them follow me or by playing games so that they form a muscle memory of the proper movements. I learned that I could show someone how to tie a knot with three different approaches before I tell them to try it themselves (an example of the Universal Design for Learning). In the outdoors, it’s essential that lessons are catered to the audience so that they absorb the information because there can be high stakes if a skier doesn’t know how to stop, or if a rock climber can’t tie a knot correctly.

When my colleague Nat led an “Introduction to Instructional Design” session for the summer interns, the term instructional design was just one of the many buzzwords that I hadn’t yet grasped. Nat asked if we’d had any prior experience with instructional design, and I initially said no. But in her session, she helped me realize that I had been practicing instructional design for the past four years and I just hadn’t known it. Not only had I been using different instructional design frameworks in the outdoors, but I’d been using them during my time at TechChange. I helped onboard new members of the team through platform tutorials and brainstormed a format for interactive activities. Well-thought-out instructional design has a major role in TechChange’s success. 

This session revealed to me how much my previous experience teaching lessons connect to my time at TechChange, and why I’ve come to enjoy my job here so quickly. This time for reflection was essential to my understanding of how TechChange has helped me learn new skills while expanding on my old ones. And as it turns out, my previous experience in an outdoors setting helped ease the steep learning curve as I started working in a tech-centered office setting (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic). What’s more important is that TechChange has taught me how to build on and reimagine these skills in an entirely different setting. The TechChange community has facilitated my growth as an employee and for that, I am grateful.