Miriam Desta

She/Her/Hers
MIIPS, 2025

This is how to say my name:

   

About

In an age where so many industries have created intuitive and engaging experiences, healthcare remains a space where many design-thinking practices have yet to be adopted. I see the amazing potential in the coalescence of human-centered design and sustainable management models within healthcare. I am passionate about contributing to this charge through my work. I am an innovator who is passionate about impacting social change, humanizing technology, and strategically building new products. I want to be excellent at what I do, and I am willing to put the work in to be so. I thrive in ambiguity and love discovering new ways to attack problems, old and new.

Why MIIPS?

The advanced study program would afford me the opportunity to learn experientially collaborate and network with diverse thinkers, and gain practical industry experience with the summer internship. MIIPS also stresses the importance of learning how to think. This really resonated with me. Today, society is facing so many different issues that it can be overwhelming. There is no one solution for everything. There are, however, frameworks that can help us understand and solve societal challenges. Innovation is driven by people, and if we can train the next generation how to think, we can create sustainable systems that prioritize humanity and culture and add value to people.

Education

Cognitive & Neuroscience at the University of Virginia

Experience

UX/UI Designer for a fitness app startup

What type of role are you looking to obtain after you graduate?

I am looking for a role where I can apply my UX design skills to create intuitive and impactful user experiences, ideally in a collaborative team environment focused on innovative digital products!