Alumni Stories – Monica Bilak

 

 

Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Monica Bilak and I use design in a myriad of ways to help education and industry connect in meaningful ways

What project/job/event/research are you currently working on? Please tell us a little about the impetus, content, expected impact of this work.
I am currently developing an Innovation Hub that will serve as a new model for developing talent, inspiring creativity and critical thinking (once thought of as education). This project is the result of years of researching the student experience and what it needs to be for the new ways we work, think about business, and grow the economy (not to mention helping kids design happy and productive lives.) I also work as a consultant for a business design firm in Saint Louis helping corporations reconnect and innovate in meaningful ways with their end users, so the back and forth from education to industry always informs my design and stretches it in new ways

In what ways did the work/research you did at parsons prepare you for that transition and the work you’re doing now?
In every way, my time at Parsons prepared me for this project. I was able to apply every class, design practice, new business model, strategic viewpoint, and qualitative research method to create what I think is an incredible solution to a significant community pain point.  I learned great co-design techniques, new ways of looking at a problem, storytelling to engage – you name it – that are now embedded in the way I move forward in my work.

List any awards, recognitions, etc. that you’ve received since leaving Parsons.
Sadly, I’ve got nothing. I did just apply for a $10M grant to develop my project, but won’t know anything until December.

How has the MS-SDM program challenged you to grow as a strategic designer?
It’s definitely broadened my view of strategy and pushed me to keep broadening it. Strategy is ever changing with the changes in our world. The program allowed me to think about the response to those changes as one of agility. The program also taught me what really good learning looks like. It’s not spoon fed, but rather allows students to actively engage as practitioners. I recently heard a local university president put it as “it’s no longer what you know, it’s what you can do with what you know.” That is essentially what you get at Parsons – taking what you have learned and what you know into the world.

If you were to give one piece of advice to current students, what would it be?
Bring the burning problem you want to solve into the program and run it through every class so you can view with a variety of lenses. Use the program to make you the chief designer or idea wrangler of (fill in with current position).

What book are you reading right now?
I always read a couple. Right now, I’m into Designing Your Life by Bill Evans and Dave Burnett as well as Sketching User Experiences by Bill Buxton.