In early March, Treehouse and Dribbble announced a partnership to create job-ready designers through the User Experience (UX) Techdegree program. Considering that design is one of the most in-demand skills in today’s workforce, this partnership pairs the essence and ambition from Dribbble’s thriving design community with the convenience, flexibility, and expertise of Treehouse-backed industry leaders.
A key piece of the partnership is a scholarship fund dedicated to opening up opportunity for individuals who otherwise wouldn’t have the ability to pursue their learning. We’re so excited to announce the winners, and to share their stories with you.
Interested in learning how to launch a high-paying career in tech with the UX Techdegree program? Learn more on our partnership site.
Let’s meet the individuals who we chose, and follow their progress as they make their way through the program:
Meet Irma
Irma is a Product Manager for a non-profit K-12 organization who loves what she does. She spends her workdays talking with teachers, observing classrooms, and working with a team of developers and designers to produce print and digital products for students and teachers.
What is your goal with the UX Techdegree program?
“My goal is to take my learnings and apply it to my work as Product Manager to build out a digital site for our students and teachers. In addition, I’ll be applying my learnings and best practices to a personal project I’m working on that focuses on helping match local remote workers to co-work. My overarching goal with this Techdegree is not only to build and create functional products but also to ensure accessibility is top of mind and help pass that on to others!”
Follow Irma on Dribbble: _justirma
Meet Elizabeth
Elizabeth is a hard-working new mom who’s balancing a full-time job with raising a young daughter. She has a background in sales and business, but her long-term vision is to work in a creative role. She is persistent, curious, and driven, and a clear-cut example of the kind of diverse background a great UX Designer brings to their work.
What is your goal with the UX Techdegree program?
“Once I’ve completed the UX Techdegree Program, my preference is to work remotely or semi-remotely balancing the family/work dynamic. Ideally, my hope is to collaborate with companies that are [B Corp] certified, the likes of Patagonia, Renewable Resources, Sustainable Farmers, Humanitarian efforts, or entities participating and presenting ideas aligning with the Green New Deal initiatives.”
Follow Elizabeth on Dribbble: VinGraph
Meet Kevon
Kevon is a lifelong tinkerer and tech gadgeteer who loves building, making, and fixing. He demonstrates his “always-learning” mindset by continually adding to his list of tools, stacks, and toolkit. He looks forward to becoming a proficient designer and opening up pathways to craft and tell the stories that are unique to his lived experience.
What is your goal with the UX Techdegree program?
“My goal is to lay a solid foundation of design and UX knowledge. I want to bring good UX and good design to everything I work on. I want to be a more well-rounded digital professional. I hope that the UX Techdegree will bring me that much closer.”
Follow Kevon on Dribbble: kev0n
Meet Kelli
Kelli’s curiosity with digital design started when she was younger: At 13, she taught herself HTML and CSS by reading the source code on her favorite websites. After graduating from college with a Studio Arts degree, she’s built her career in advertising. But she was still looking to learn more. “I’m a person who loves structure – I love and miss taking classes. I need a syllabus and a ‘game plan.’”
What is your goal with the UX Techdegree program?
“My goal is to update and improve my skill sets. Because I’ve been self-taught in so many ways through design and art, I’ve been wanting to take an actual course that would lay out UX in general. It’s almost been a decade since I graduated with my bachelor’s degree and technology moves SO fast. This course will catch me up to speed.”
Follow Kelli on Dribbble: kelliupshur