Anisa Callis

Hello! I am Anisa Callis and I am a current mentee pursuing my passion for human-centered design majoring in Human-Centered Design and Development at Pennsylvania State University as a rising junior and a member of the Millennium Scholars Program, a highly selective program for underrepresented groups students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. I have and currently am engaged in active learning and developing skills in programming languages such as Java, Python, and R, and other tools used in my field such as Figma. I gained valuable experience with research last during my research experience for undergraduates (REU) at Rochester Institute of Technology. Through that opportunity, I learned how to conduct and run an experiment for the first time. My REU experience was virtual, presenting challenges that helped me grow in new ways. I learned to work in groups differently since all interaction was over zoom. I also found ways to connect and communicate with my groupmates through a screen and develop lasting relationships with my mentors. I ultimately wish to use last summer’s REU and this summer’s internship to gain experiences that will help me take my skills with human-centered design and software design into industry. I also have a desire to further my curiosities by gaining my Ph.D. in Human-centered design. My goal with my future career is to use my experiences and degree to create technological solutions that are beneficial and not harmful to the targeted users while supporting others to do the same and find their enthusiasm for technology. Through Robotics Institute of Summer Scholars (RISS) working with Dr. Jack Mostow on his project RoboTutor, I wish to continue to gain confidence in my academic and research abilities, grow in my learned ability to work in teams, gain valuable mentorship and advice with long-lasting relationships, and experiences to further my future in Human-Centered Design.