Kristin To has been recognized as a University of Iowa Student Employee of the Year award winner for her work as a graphic storyteller and computer programmer at the Iowa Reading Research Center (IRRC).
Every spring, in celebration of National Student Employee Appreciation Week, the UI Pomerantz Career Center selects three university student employees from different areas of work—administrative support; student campus services; and science, health and engineering—to receive this honor. Supervisors nominate students who they believe most embody skills including communication, teamwork, and leadership, among others.
Currently a senior majoring in computer science and graphic design, To began working at the IRRC as a first-year student. She was drawn to the graphic storyteller posting as an opportunity to use her animation and illustration skills, which she had been developing previously through work with a campus publication.
“I wasn’t even a graphic design major when I first started here,” says To. “This job was what introduced me to graphic design and made me stick with it.”
One of To’s most noteworthy contributions to the IRRC has been her work on LIFTER, the center’s handwriting curriculum. For this project, To created animations demonstrating the formation of each letter of the alphabet. She also created animations depicting words starting with each target letter—for example, a spaceship for the letter “s.”
“When we think about a kid first learning their letters, it's really Kristen's artwork that's doing that,” says Shawn Datchuk, former director of the IRRC. “I've seen kids use the materials, and they get so excited to see Kristin's artwork and how the letters look.”
To also designed Lifty, a friendly, weight-lifting, cartoon brain who serves as LIFTER’s mascot. She sketched initial concepts and made revisions based on multiple rounds of feedback from the project team before arriving at the final design.
“I feel like she’s done a great job of realizing that this application is for kids,” says Taylor Miller, To’s supervisor at the IRRC. “So how do we make it fun, interactive, and engaging?”
Since its launch, LIFTER has been used by over 250,000 educators, including over 5,000 international educators from countries including Canada, Australia, China, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. LIFTER is also the primary handwriting curriculum for several districts in Iowa, including Des Moines Public Schools.
“As a student employee, I didn't [realize] this project would make that much of an impact,” says To, “but it feels amazing that it did. Seeing the positive response has really motivated me to continue making an impact with my graphic design work.”
After graduating this spring, To plans to continue her graphic design and computer programming work as a UI/UX designer.
“I really want to be creative, and I want to do things that solve problems,” says To.