Monica Zaczynski
This article is part of our Alumni Stories series, which focuses on perspectives of graduates of Carleton’s Human-Computer Interaction Master’s program. Today, we are talking to Monica Zaczynski.
Q: What did you do before coming to Carleton?
A: Prior to Carleton, I completed an undergrad in graphic design at York/Sheridan. While working in the industry as a graphic designer, I gained an interest in user experience design and research and knew I needed to dive deeper. This drove me to apply to the Carleton HCI program.
Q: What did you do in your HCI Master’s?
A: My thesis, supervised by the late Anthony Whitehead, incorporated my interests in UX for health and fitness. I explored clarity of instruction and optimal modes of feedback delivery for two-dimensional (i.e., on a screen) delivery of fitness or physiotherapy movements. The goal was to examine how exercises could be provided safely and without risk for the patient for physiotherapy at a distance. During my degree, I appreciated the guidance from each of the professors to bring us back to the relevant and meaningful questions that needed to be answered.
Q: How has your career progressed since graduating?
A: Since Carleton, I had the amazing opportunity to work at Akendi, a user experience consultancy. They provided design, research, and training services to a wide range of clients including Rogers, TD, The Ottawa Senators, Kijiji, and more.
Monica’s project with Akendi for the Library of Parliament – redesign of a responsive intranet website.
After completing a really challenging project at Akendi with a health-related application, I was reminded how much I cared about UX for healthcare. I found a position with TELUS Health where I could work on various areas of healthcare from benefits management to primary care applications, all of which contribute to improving the overall industry. Most recently, I lead the launch of a mobile app for allied health providers (massage therapists, optometrists, etc.) to submit service claims directly to insurance companies – so that the patients can avoid hurdles such as remembering to submit claims themselves, or paying out of pocket.
Currently, I’m on maternity leave.
Q: How can readers contact you?
A: You can find me on LinkedIn.