Summer 2017 Cohort
Introducing: Tamara Kunter
“ Moving forward in the corporate world, design thinking will become a requirement. Having experience with this ahead of most, I saw it as something I should take advantage of.”
What do“ cutting-edge thinkers from aviation, engineering, and technology” and GSMST Junior Tamara Kunter have in common? They all interned at Delta Air Line’ s new global innovation center, The Hangar.
Kunter took a hard pass on spending her summer like the typical teenager: lounging in bed, playing at the park, even working a summer job, and took it a step farther- all the way to the door of Delta Air Line’ s new think-tank in Tech Square.“ I chose this internship because I saw it as an amazing opportunity to learn Design Thinking with an incredible team of designers and innovative thinkers,” Kunter said.
Working with mentors Veronica Young, a Georgia Tech intern working as a customer experience designer, and Willy Barnett, an innovation consultant, Kunter created a deliverable to increase fluidity of relation to language barriers. Along the way, Kunter picked up both hard and soft skills including: gaining confidence, sending professional emails, conducting interviews by phone, and thinking in terms of the design thinking process.
“ My favorite experiences were getting to go to the Georgia Tech Language Institute and interviewing people. Also, going to Starbucks and getting a lesson from Veronica on how to do observations and apply them to the project,” Kunter said.“ I don’ t think I can choose just one thing I’ ve learned … I can apply almost everything … no matter what field.”
DesignTHINKING
“ Design thinking is a human-centered approach to innovation that draws from the designer ' s toolkit to integrate the needs of people, the possibilities of technology, and the requirements for business success.”
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