Giang Tran, a third-year Global Business and Digital Arts (GBDA) student, was awarded Arts Co-op Student of the Year for her work with Rootly. As this was Tran’s first co-op term, her relevant experience came from class projects and personal side projects. Those projects gave her experience working through open-ended problems, collaborating in teams, and translating ideas into practical design solutions, even without prior industry experience. By sharing her work online she piqued the interest of Rootly’s CEO, leading to her first co-op role as Rootly’s first intern.
During her time at Rootly, Tran showcased how student contributions can deliver meaningful results for businesses. Her work supported the Rootly team by improving both the user experience for customer while streamlining how the team communicated and delivered features.
By gaining the trust of those working with her, she earned the opportunity to design an ad for New York’s Times Square. Through her achievements Tran proved that taking risks, working hard, and pushing your skills can lead to results.
Looking forward, Tran aims to work in a team that will allow her to design tools and products that have a positive, life-changing influence on millions of users. She encourages other co-op students to take a chance like her “as long as you put your work out there while setting your heart and mind into the things that you believe, you'll get there”.