Carole's February Reflection
What’s one piece of constructive criticism you received during your time at U+ that changed your perspective or approach? How did you implement it?
One piece of constructive criticism I received while working at U+ was about balancing user experience and functionality in website development. Early on, I spent a lot of time making sure that all the features and elements on the website were working. However, one of my colleagues informed me that while my sites worked, they would not be intuitive to use or visually pleasing, which would impact user interaction. This criticism changed my perception of web development—I realized that I must start placing emphasis on user-centered design principles, employing more responsive layouts, optimizing page flow, and considering accessibility factors.
What’s a “small win” you accomplished recently that made a big difference in your confidence or productivity?
A small win that I accomplished along with Krishna is an increase in the number of clicks and impressions for Google Ads. In fact, in just one week, we were able to bring up the number of impressions by over double. This increased my confidence and allowed me to work harder in Google Ads as I knew my efforts and progress are coming to good use and are making a significant impact. While creating Google Ad campaigns, I gained valuable insights into the key qualities that drive successful ad performance. I learned which strategies effectively enhance Google Ads and should be consistently implemented in my work, as well as which aspects need refinement due to their limited impact on optimization scores. That being said, other than the results obtained from Google Ads, the process of learning and improving to get to the goal or the “small win” was essential for growth during my time here at U+ Education.
If your first two months at U+ were a TV show, what would the title be and what genre would it fall under?
If my initial two months at U+ were a TV show, it would be called “Stack Overflowed” and it would fall under a drama-comedy genre. As a teaching assistant and web developer, every day was an act of juggling troubleshooting technical issues, optimizing sites, and guiding students through learning paths. One moment, I’d be deep in debugging a stubborn error, and the next, I’d be answering a wave of student questions, sometimes feeling like my brain had too many tabs open. It was a whirlwind of trial and error, small wins, and constant learning—sometimes chaotic, often challenging, but always rewarding.