Devon Malloy Combines Cultural Curiosity with Technology and Design Knowledge

"Diversity in STEM is not only ethical, but important for innovation,” says Devon Malloy ’19, a dual major in global studies and digital communications with a concentration in design at Lebanon Valley College. “A workforce with a variety of backgrounds is an important contributor to creating insights and promoting new ideas." 

For her passion for building diversity in STEM, Malloy was honored with a scholarship as one of an elite group of three students during the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania’s Women in Tech Gala, June 11 in Harrisburg. Through educational programs, strategic partnerships, networking opportunities, legislative advocacy, and community awareness, the Council demonstrates its commitment to technology-driven economic development in Central Pennsylvania.

“The scholarship is an amazing honor, and attending the Gala was an even more inspiring experience. To hear of all the incredible contributions that women in our area were making in the field of STEM encouraged me that women truly have the power to change the world,” said Malloy. 

Malloy’s interest in design and technology started at a young age. She enrolled in high school courses that challenged her to be a better thinker—a skill she is using now with her LVC experiences.

Malloy says studying abroad in summer ’16 and fall ’17 in the Netherlands and Germany enhanced her creative knowledge through creativity and design. “Design is a constant process of creating and simultaneously considering how people will view or interact with your creations,” shey says. “For this reason, human behavior is incredibly important to consider while designing. Having a cultural frame of reference when designing is important to creating useable designs and the same goes for all STEM fields.”

In Germany, she explored the ideas of designing in another language. 

“It was fun to apply my creative skills to another cultural context and explore growing language skills that way. I think in the future that aspect of my time abroad will be valuable to a career as it allowed me to be a creative thinker and designer,” she said. 

Malloy enjoys witnessing all the interrelated parts of the world, design, and STEM and says curiosity plays a large role in success as a student.

As she approaches her senior year, she has more experiences and opportunities to look forward to. She spent this past summer as a design intern at Listrak. “From creating presentation and designing collateral, both digital and print, to mocking ads for potential Listrak clients, I’m helping to streamline and support the sale process and assist clients in making the choice to switch to Listrak software.”

She hopes to continue her education in graduate school studying digital culture, saying, “I know that the combination of my DCOM and global studies backgrounds will open doors all over the world.”

 

- Sierra Force, LVC Marketing & Communications Assistant