Meet the 2023 Fellows: Lester Dery
Federico was a Fellow with the City of Charlotte
This blog is part of a series introducing a few of the Fellows selected to be part of Coding it Forward’s 2023 Fellowship, a cohort of 92 early-career technologists working across federal, state, and local government in data, design, product management, and software engineering roles.
About Lester
Host Office: City of Charlotte, NC
Hometown: Accra, Ghana
Current Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Academic Institution: Whitworth University
Academic Program: Bachelor’s in Human-Computer Interaction
Graduation Year: 2023
Meet Lester
Our team spoke with Lester to discover more about her and learn why she’s excited to make an impact with her design skills.
Coding it Forward: Tell us about yourself.
Lester Dery: Hi, I’m Lester. I am a recent Whitworth University graduate. I’ve worked with students as a cultural diversity advocate (international student mentor) and a student success coach since my sophomore year. I’ve enjoyed assisting international students in adjusting to school life, living in the United States, and helping them reach their academic goals. These experiences inspired me to pursue user experience further because UX design is similar in attempting to provide a better user experience—that was something I was doing with my students. The sole distinction is that UX is concerned with technology, and I would like to explore more about designing apps, websites, or, perhaps, medical devices in the future.
CIF: Why were you a Fellow this summer? What was your favorite part of the Fellowship?
LD: I was excited to be a Fellow this summer because of the opportunity to create meaningful experiences on city technologies and to get more experience as a UI/UX designer. My favorite parts of my Fellowship were working on exciting projects that challenged me to think outside the box and also having the opportunity to design applications that I was unfamiliar with. I worked with a supportive and great group of people in the City of Charlotte, and I had an incredible mentor through the mentorship program who guided me in many different ways.
CIF: What is a fun fact about you?
LD: I spent three weeks in Guadeloupe on a French study abroad program in January 2022. We visited different parts of the island and neighboring islands throughout our stay. We had the opportunity to hike La Soufrière, an active volcano, on a foggy day. The hike was three hours, but during the hike, I had to turn back fifteen minutes from the summit due to a large boulder, and since I had packed Vans sneakers for the hike. On a side note, while I was terrified of how high we were, I liked pushing myself to attempt something outside my comfort zone.
CIF: What’s your favorite thing about technology and why?
LD: My favorite thing about technology is what it can achieve for an individual or a group of people. I recently began an online accessibility course, and I’ve witnessed how, when technology is designed or developed correctly, it can greatly influence a person. People with disabilities can have greater experiences in life. It is also fascinating to me how basic technology can bring communities together and assist students who have difficulty in school. Technology is advancing, and at the rate it is, we should expect many more significant advances in the future.
CIF: What did you want to be when you grew up?
I aspired to be a doctor or a biomedical engineer. Because my parents are healthcare professionals, I was surrounded by health staff. As an engineering student, I began my first semester of college and quickly found that I did not enjoy physics as much as I thought. Though the first semester was difficult, the second semester improved, but I was still uninterested. I eventually changed my major to human-computer interaction and quickly realized that I still wanted to pursue something that entailed generating accessible and inclusive design and development. As a result, my ongoing interest in human-centered design extends beyond online and mobile apps to various sorts of technology, such as medical equipment, assistive devices, and so on.
Applications for our 2024 Fellowship will open in the fall. Subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when applications will go live.
