Alumni Stories – Elizabeth Enck
Who are you and what do you do?
Elizabeth Enck, Design Strategist & Researcher
At the end of April, I decided to leave full-time employment with someone else to start my own practice, Blue Water Workshop. While I work build that client base, I’ve been working with co:collective as the strategy lead on a project that will define the customer experience vision for a global organization.
I was one of the older students, so I was already practicing a lot of the core skills the program highlights. What the program did, however, was widen my vision, and expose me to perspectives (both from the curriculum and my classmates) I would have never stumbled upon on my own. I also was able to explore ideas that I rarely get to do on client projects.
There were a few professors who really stretched my thinking and logic, and I am forever grateful for how they helped me grow, both as a practitioner and a leader. I think what I value most, however is the community of classmates/alumni. They are some of the smartest people I have ever had the pleasure of working with, and they both inspired me and challenged me to bring my best thinking every day. If anything, that is what I miss most; the day-to-day interaction with such amazing, interesting and creative people.
If you were to give one piece of advice to current students, what would it be?
Stay connected, and pursue some sort of passion project. The world (especially corporate clients) have not caught up to our way of thinking, and it’s easy for the new muscles you’ve gained to atrophy. Be tenacious, be inventive, for in may ways, we are defining our own pathway.
To be honest, I’ve things have been so busy, I haven’t had a chance to read much. But, just before I started my current gig, I had purchased “Originals” by Adam Grant and “Visual Intelligence” by Amy Herman.