Three graduating seniors received the 2024 Experience Architecture (XA) Outstanding Senior Award, which is presented each year by the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Cultures at Michigan State University to recognize XA seniors who have demonstrated excellence in the Experience Architecture Program and stand out amongst their peers.

The 2024 recipients of the XA Outstanding Senior Award are Vicky Chen, Emily Paterson, and Grace Turner.

Vicky Chen

Vicky Chen is from Mississauga, Ontario, and graduated in Spring 2024 with a B.A. in Experience Architecture and minors in Graphic Design and Entrepreneurship and Innovation. She also received a 2024 Board of Trustees Award for having maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during her undergraduate career at MSU.

This past year, Chen worked as a Digital Interpretation Intern for the Broad Art Museum, and for the past two years, she was a Resident Assistant and worked as a Graphic Designer for the MSU African Studies Center.

During Summer 2023, she participated in the MSU Education Abroad program, “Art and Archaeology in Ancient Greece.” Her studies were mainly at the excavation site in Isthmia, Greece. During this study abroad, she learned about the history and archeology of the dig site, as well as the use of augmented reality and digitalization of different artifacts used to create a virtual space where people can explore the site without having to travel there themselves.

Following graduation, Chen will be joining Sherwin-Williams’ User Experience (UX) Team in Cleveland as part of the company’s IT Rotational Program.

Emily Paterson

Emily Paterson is from Warren, Michigan, and graduated in Spring 2024 with a B.A. in Experience Architecture and a B.A. in Professional and Public Writing and minors in Museum Studies and Graphic Design. She also received a 2024 Board of Trustees Award for having maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during her undergraduate career at MSU.

While at MSU, Paterson worked at the MSU Museum as a student CoLaborator, facilitating interdisciplinary conversations about climate change and food security with visitors. She also worked on behalf of Teach Access to educate students and faculty about the importance of accessibility and disability inclusion. She served as the voice of their online communications and helped lead training sessions as a Student Ambassador Lead.

This summer, Paterson will be a Junior Fellow at the Library of Congress and will be working remotely to help advance their Year of Digital Accessibility program.

Grace Turner

Grace Turner is from Traverse City, Michigan, and graduated in Spring 2024 with a B.A. in Experience Architecture and a minor in Graphic Design. She served as President of the XA Club and XA Curriculum Committee Student Representative.

Turner spent her senior year working for the Humanities Commons as a User Communications Assistant. She also worked as a UX and Graphic Design Intern for Project Play, where she assisted in the development of a mobile learning app for educators in Tanzania to increase awareness about play-based pedagogy.

During Summer 2023, Turner completed a study abroad in Lisbon, Portugal, where she worked as a Design Consultant for Venturely, a business accelerator and online learning platform. She successfully redesigned their website to align with their future product roadmap.