
The Student Innovation Team is a group of highly motivated student designers from an array of majors, backgrounds, and class levels. The Innovation Team utilizes strategies such as design thinking, systems thinking, and lean six sigma to work within MSU on projects and learning experiences targeted towards students. Past project partners include the MSU Computer Store, the College of Veterinary Medicine, the Global Center for Food Systems Innovation, and MSU Career Services.
We are excited to introduce the Innovation Team for Fall 2017! If you’re interested in learning more or joining the Spring 2018 Student Innovation Team, watch for the Spring application period.
Name: Shannon Lutz
Major: Educational Technology
Year of Graduation: 2019
Other Activities/Involvements: Instructional Design Network
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: My experience at MSU as a Program Training Assistant. My involvement in taking an in seat class and creating an eLearning environment for campus Research Administrators has inspired me to move forward in innovative learning.
Something I Feel Like I Have To Offer: Perspective from a student/staff member that does not have many resources for innovation.
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: My hopes are it will help me to become more acclimated with the technologies available and use what I learn to apply towards my major and career at MSU.
Name: Justin Yambao
Major: Experience Architecture
Minor/Specialization: Graphic Design
Year of Graduation: 2020
Other Activities/Involvements: Pilipino American Student Society, Lambda Phi Epsilon
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: Learning how to use prototyping software like Invision and Sketch from my summer internship helped me boost productivity while designing.
Something I Feel Like I Have To Offer: My experience with start-ups when it comes to focusing on UI/UX design.
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: I’m very interested in making technology easier to use for students at MSU.
Name: Ryan Scott
Major: Experience Architecture
Minor: Graphic Design
Year of Graduation: 2018
Other Activities: Evans Scholarship Foundation
Experience that has helped me grow: Living in the Evans Scholarship House has helped me to grow both socially and academically as we worked together to maintain a good house environment. Also, my classes in XA have helped me to learn team building skills.
Something I feel like I have to offer: I like to come up with ideas and see what I can do to explore them and maybe bring them to life. I also have been a Computer Science major in the past so I am interested in the more digital and design side of XA.
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: I want to be able to represent the students of MSU and see what kind of difference I can make on a team of my peers.
Name: Bryan Taylor
Major: Supply Chain Management
Minor/Specialization: N/A
Year of Graduation: Spring 2019
Other Activities/Involvements: Alpha Phi Omega (APO) – A non-greek service fraternity at MSU.
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: As a freshman, I joined Starbucks at MSU. Thus far, it’s been the most effective experience that I’ve been a part of in college. I currently manage the delivery program and help with store operations at our three on-campus stores.
Something I Feel Like I Have To Offer: I feel that I can offer an “operational” mind. Thinking about the big picture with a consumer-perspective has always helped me in creating quality human-oriented thinking and I hope that I can bring that to the team.
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: I was interested in the Student Innovation Team because I thought it would be a great for networking and growing my knowledge of project management.
Name: Trevon Smith
Major: Experience Architecture
Minor/Specialization: Computer Science
Year of Graduation: 2019
Other Activities/Involvements: User Experience with business development.
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: Working with OCAT Eric Thomas Success Series, where through User Research we were tasked to create a website and social media platform for this specific program for MSU.
Something I Feel Like I Have To Offer: Using user research and user experience to architect design.
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: I feel I will be able to obtain a position where I may utilize analytical, problem solving and communication skills in a great working environment that will also teach me new skills along the way.
Name: Noah Whitney
Major: Experience Architecture
Year of Graduation: 2019
Other Activities/Involvements: XA Club, Beta Testing
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: In-class experiences such as Rovi Media Redesign. UI analysis for game developers.
Something I Feel Like I Have To Offer: UI design and in-depth user experience analysis.
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: I wish to develop my current skills further while developing new skills as well.
Name: Kylie Dye
Major: Experience Architecture
Minor/Specialization: Graphic Design
Year of Graduation: 2019
Other Activities/Involvements: XA Club
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: XA classes
Something I Feel Like I Have To Offer: Different thinking
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: Good experience and I’ve always wondered what it is
Name: Valeria Obando
Major: Experience Architecture
Minor/Specialization: Graphic Design
Year of Graduation: May 2019
Other Activities/Involvements: Part time job, XA Club
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: Coming to the US
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: Interested because it is a good way to learn new methods for research and apply them to real life situations.
Name: Maia Guenther
Major: Business, Preference for accounting
Minor/Specialization: Hoping for a minor in IT
Year of Graduation: 2021
Other Activities/Involvements: Part time job, MSU leaders in IT
Experience That Has Helped You Grow: moving into the dorms where I learned to talk to people of many backgrounds and make connections.
Something I Feel Like I Have To Offer: working in a group to be able to communicate what works and what doesn’t
Why I Am Interested in Student Innovation Team: I want the opportunity to look at a product and find out if the everyday users find it as useful as the producers hope it to be.