COMMUNITY STORIES: GEENSIA XIONG
For my entire life, I grew up in Morganton, where my parents started their own small business: an Asian market. Because of this, I didn’t get to live the typical kid dream of staying home.
I got to meet all kinds of people, and once I was old enough to start working as a cashier, I interacted with customers more and more and learned new things about them.
But leaving for college to pursue my dreams of being a web developer meant I would have to live this new life of not interacting with others as much as I was used to
…at least that was what I thought.
I was surrounded by a more diverse group of people, who were also kind and extremely self-driven.
I almost felt like I was back to living a life like at home.
I wanted to do something I was passionate about, like web designing.
I knew that I had to apply and that the worst thing to happen was that I would get rejected.
I found out that I had gotten the position as the Website Manager and this brought me so much joy!
I went in thinking that all the role entailed was managing how the website looks, uploading products, and making sure orders are being shipped.
There was a lot of communicating with creators about what they envisioned for their products, and also ensuring things were properly put into the website. It was a lot more work than I intended.
It was on the new semester launch day for Student-Made UNC, which also meant MY first day of classes.
I realized I didn’t take a few items off the website that weren't being sold anymore… and these ended up being ordered by a customer
I felt terrible since I caused an issue that could have been avoided if I communicated better with that creator.
As much as it stung, I had to reach out for help and figure out a solution.
And they’ve made sure to be there for me.
It worked out well for me since I enjoyed checking off the check boxes every time I completed something. It was like a game for me.
I did just want to focus on creating websites when I first started with Student-Made, but now I want to expand on being a UX designer.
I want to help ensure that things are accessible for people, just like I make sure things are accessible for our creators at UNC, and help them with anything they need.
Submit the form in your Resource Portal to let us know your interest in sharing your journey with our Student-Made community— whether you’re a Creator or Manager! We’ll be in touch with you soon about helping you craft your inspiring story.
