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Andrew Shipka works for Kent State Online at �鶹��ý, leading a team of instructional designers creating user-friendly experiences for undergraduate and graduate programs.

Before coming to Kent State, Shipka was jumping between jobs and trying to find what career clicked for him. This brought him to Kent State and the UX master's degree.

“I had always heard about the degree because it was well known in the area,” Shipka said. “So I thought that it would be nice to try it out.”

While completing his degree, Shipka learned about the importance of looking at differences or problems through a variety of lenses.

“There’s always some benefit looking at things from an outside perspective,” Shipka said. “There’s so many skills that can be applied to this such as critical thinking and getting to the root of issues.”

As a graduate assistant, Shipka built online courses for the UX program and was hired full-time after graduation. Shipka would eventually work for the iSchool helping to build online courses.

“It was a direct line from being a student in the UX degree program to doing what I am doing now,” Shipka said. “Learning about UX served as a benefit to building these courses and understanding how people take in information.”

Most importantly, the program taught Shipka to keep users as the end goal throughout all work.

“It has helped me with learning how users parse information, what is the correct amount of content to deliver and how should the information get presented to users,” Shipka said.

In his current role, Shipka advocated for Canvas to be the new learning management system for �鶹��ý.  

“I was on the RFP committee and helped make a compelling case for Canvas after looking at and testing all of the possible options,” Shipka said.

Developing online classes to tailor to different users can be challenging for UX professionals. Shipka noted that it’s important to recognize challenges as a puzzle and rapid technological changes.

“I like to think of challenges as potential solutions to solve something,” Shipka said. “If you get your ego out of the way, it’s usually something fun.”

Due to his hard work, Shipka was a recipient of the �鶹��ý 2020 President’s Award of Distinction.

“It was something that my coworkers had submitted on my behalf without my knowledge,” Shipka said. “I was surprised and grateful to them that they were appreciative of the hard work that was put in.”

For those looking to enter the UX field, Shipka noted that it is relatively new and moving fast, meaning there are a ton of jobs available.

“Having a job in UX gives you the chance to advocate for your users and to have an influence on what they’re making,” Shipka said. “You get the chance to be creative,” Shipka said.