Sparking Sparks

Summer is a UX/UI designer, photographer, IG filter creator, and web developer from Malaysia. She studied Computer Science in university and because of her love for design, decided to combine the two to pursue UX/UI design as a career. If you're curious about being a woman in tech, UX/UI design and freelancing, then this is the episode for you!

Note: Apologies in advance for the poor audio quality in this episode as it was from our Zoom call.

⏰ Timestamps ⏰

- Introduction to Summer (00:49)

- How her passions shaped her career path (01:08)

- How she discovered and enjoyed CS in high school despite her struggles in Maths (02:11)

- Being a woman in tech (03:51)

- Her experiences as a product manager intern (05:15)

- How to support women in tech (06:27)

- Why she chose a career in design instead of software engineering (07:46)

- The UX/UI industry in Malaysia (10:07)

- Why she likes being a UX/UI designer (11:37)

- And why she likes it more than being a graphic designer (13:10)

- Difference between problem solving in code and design (13:50)

- Her why for making cute Instagram filters and stickers (15:38)

- Finding clients for her freelance work (18:20)

- How she sets her price for her freelance work (20:07)

- How she deals with difficult clients (22:35)

- An important piece of advice for freelancers (23:53)

- What inspires her to keep going (26:42)

- Her advice for those who are lost in life (27:56)

- The concept of ikigai (29:18)

- Her advice for people who want to pursue their passions (30:19)

📸 Where to Find Summer 📸

In this episode of Sparking Sparks, we talk about all things creative. Jay is a photographer and videographer based in Dunedin who also does YouTube. In 2020, he made the bold move to drop out of uni to chase his dreams. However, things didn't exactly go as planned, and Jay had to pivot. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as he found a new avenue to pursue his passions - YouTube. We discuss what it's like being a creative and why he loves it so much.

⏰ Timestamps ⏰

- Introduction to Jay (00:34)

- How he got started with photography and videography (04:10)

- How COVID-19 affected his plans for 2020 after dropping out of uni (11:51)

- Changing his perspective towards his problem and rediscovering YouTube (15:22)

- How he learnt all his camera knowledge and his biggest inspirations (16:23)

- Overcoming creative blocks (17:40)

- Dealing with feedback and criticism (18:47)

- Dealing with people who doubt you (19:16)

- Challenges of being a creative (20:13)

- What inspires him to keep going (21:51)

- Most memorable YouTube comments and shouting out to some special fans! (22:43)

- Jay's advice for people who want to pursue their passions (24:18)

📸 Where to Find Jay 📸

In this episode of Sparking Sparks, we talk about embracing change. 2020 was an especially difficult year for job-hunting graduates like Thishni, and COVID-19 made matters worse by cancelling her plans. However one chance encounter sparked her to make the life-changing decision of switching from politics to becoming a journalist, and she even ended up hosting her own radio show, all without having prior experience.

We also discuss childhood ambitions and stereotypical Asian career paths, and how they influenced our field of study at university. We both ended up switching our majors after our first year, and shared how that was the best decision we have ever made.

⏰ Timestamps ⏰

- Introduction to Thishni (00:42)

- Post-COVID job hunting struggles (02:57)

- Chance encounter with journalism (04:12)

- How Thishni increased her chances of getting into (and eventually got into) a competitive journalism programme (04:58)

- Everything happens for a reason (09:44)

- Where you can listen to Thishni's radio show (Thoughts and Talks with Thishni) (11:12)

- The most exciting thing about having a radio show (11:40)

- The huge responsibility that the media plays (14:53)

- How Thishni's childhood ambitions influenced her career choices (17:23)

- Discussing stereotypical Asian career paths (18:55)

- Thishni's law school to Bachelor of Arts transition (20:58)

- Magdeline's pre-med (HSFY) to computer science transition (23:55)

- Magdeline's reason for choosing computer science (26:22)

- Thishni's advice for anyone having to deal with change (28:13)

💬 Thishni's Radio Show 💬

In this episode of Sparking Sparks, Jehoon shares about his advocacy journey, finding a community outside his own, and how all you need is a little bit of audacity. We also discuss our different experiences of growing up Asian in New Zealand.

⏰ Timestamps ⏰

- Joining Model United Nations (01:11)

- The benefit of trying something new even if you're afraid (04:18)

- From participant to becoming the Otago Regional President of UN Youth (05:48)

- Leading the Overseas Christian Fellowship (12:50)

- The importance of the people around you (15:27)

- Chancing upon the Malaysian community and finding a sense of belonging in it despite being Korean (16:11)

- Being the Music Director in Malam Malaysia (an annual production by the Malaysian Students' Association) (19:15)

- Jehoon's story of growing up Asian in NZ (26:40)

- Struggling to connect to his own community (33:47)

- Being too Korean in Western settings, and too White in Korean settings (36:18)

- Magdeline's story of growing up Asian in NZ (37:37)

- Finding a community in K-POP (40:51)

- Learning to embrace my own Malaysian Chinese heritage (43:39)

- What is identity to us? (46:39)

- Jehoon's life advice (49:38)

🙋🏻‍♀️ Connect with me! 🙋🏻‍♀️

Welcome to the very first episode of Sparking Sparks! In this episode, I give an introduction to myself, what you can expect on this podcast, and why I'm starting this.

⏰ Timestamps ⏰

- What you can expect on this podcast (01:14)

- My life story so far (02:09)

- Why I'm starting this (14:08)

🎉 Programmes and Organisations mentioned 🎉

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