On Wednesday, October 25th, the HOD Capstone Team welcomed Ellie Zimmerman, Current HOD Capstone Student, Madison Good, HOD 2023 Grad and Current Project Manager and Experience Design Specialist at Stoked, and Jackie Hansom, Current HOD Capstone Site Supervisor at the Wond’ry, to our weekly HOD Coffee Chat.
Jackie Hansom is a Program Manager in the Social Innovation practice area at the Wond’ry, Vanderbilt University’s Innovation Center. Here she works alongside students and colleagues, including Ellie and Madison, to lead programs such as Map the System and Social Changemakers that interweave such frameworks as liberatory design, design thinking and systems thinking. She is energized by work that is WITH not for or at people, be it a co-created learning space or a youth-led, community-embedded project.
Madison Good is a 2023 VU graduate who double majored in HOD and Theatre with a minor in Psychology. She is currently working as a Project Manager and Experience Design Specialist at Stoked, a human-centered design consulting company that uses education, innovation, and culture to help organizations reimagine how they work. Madison is based in New York City and often travels to work with clients like 3M, Eventbrite, and The Cigna Group. At Vanderbilt, she was a Social Innovation Fellow at the Wond’ry and an Undergraduate Curator on the Art of Healing Exposition with the Curb Center. She is passionate about the intersection of human-centered design and social innovation, as well as the importance of adding theatrical magic to make any client experience memorable.
Ellie Zimmerman is a current HOD student who completed her Capstone Design semester in Spring 2023 and is currently completing her Capstone this fall at the Wond’ry! Ellie also founded Interns4Good.
Listen to the full coffee chat recording HERE.
What is a day in the life?
For Jackie, most days are spent working with different students and the community. She says that no day is ever the same.
For Ellie, a typical day involves finding ways to benefit the Wond’ry and ways to integrate their programing to the wider campus and community. She also uses her contacts from her organization Interns4Good, which helps high school students find internships, to create new resources and involve young people. When shaping her internship at the Wond’ry, they were flexible in allowing her to create an experience that would be valuable to her personally as well as the Wond’ry.
For Madison, a day in the life working remotely for Stoked typically includes travel and day time meetings. She explains that since she works with so many different clients with unique needs, no day is the same. For example, this week she is working with a company to bring in real users in to test the company’s upcoming products. She also coaches the company on talking to participants with empathy to better understand their thoughts and feelings. Her job involves innovation and human centered design, both of which are skills she built in HOD and at the Wond’ry. Her time in HOD also helped prepare her for navigating ambiguity. When Madison was doing her Capstone at the Wond’ry, a day in the life involved space planning and designing of the experience when walking into the Wond’ry building.
Interested in an internship?
If interested in an internship with the Wond’ry, Jackie recommends getting involved and getting to know the people there. When taking applicants, they prioritize working with students who have already engaged with the Wond’ry. Another tip is when reaching out, get specific about your interests related to the internship. One option for getting involved HERE.
We asked, “What is HOD?”
To Ellie, HOD is a major that equips problem solvers to effectively enter the work force, work together with people, and be a valuable member of an organization. She recommends students adjust their definition of HOD based on the job they are applying for. To Madison, HOD is the intersection of business and psychology with an emphasis on social innovation and equity. It applies a humanistic lens to facing challenges. To Jackie, HOD prepares students to think about the interactions between systems holistically rather than by the individual.
Advice for HOD students:
- Be intentional with your work hours.
- Have clear expectations for your projects and your role.
- Do your research before applying for a position.
- Be curious, be open, and be confident (not cocky).
- Favorite/most helpful classes: HODC 3262: Social Entrepreneurship: Principles and Application, HODC 3352: Philanthropy and Social Problem Solving, BUSA 2160: Corporate Social Responsibility
Read more HOD Coffee Chat recaps HERE to discover additional stories about HOD graduates, community partners and program news.
To share more about your experience with HOD Coffee Chats please fill out our feedback form HERE. Through this form you can share more about what you found interesting, tips you learned, ideas you have for future coffee chats, and more! You can also email hod.capstone@vanderbilt.edu.
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