A new Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) graduate is hoping to make her family proud – thanks to a New York internship that unlocked her passion for her studies.
Keri Kilbride, who was the first member of her family to go to university, has graduated with a BSc (Hons) Sound Design, and is now studying for an MSc User Experience Design at ENU.
The 29-year-old from Edinburgh was presented with her degree during a ceremony at the Usher Hall yesterday.
She said: “It feels amazing to graduate. No-one in my family has done it before. I lost my dad in 2019 and a lot of the things I do are in the hope that he would be proud of me.
“I also want to show to my younger cousins that studying is a great way to find something that you enjoy.
“My time at university wasn’t always easy, but the lecturers and support staff were absolutely accommodating and understanding. They just wanted the best for me.”
As part of her studies, Keri was part of a group who completed an internship in New York with counterparts from Farmingdale State College.
It was a trip which helped cement her plan to forge a career in user experience – a term used to describe how people interact with digital technology in their day-to-day life.
“The opportunity to go to the USA helped me navigate what I was wanting to focus on,” Keri added. “We were working with a baseball team out there, making things that fans could use. I helped come up with an app and reward system they could use.
“It was such a great experience being able to make something like that happen from scratch.
“If I hadn’t gone to university, I would never have experienced something like that.”
Keri was among the students from Edinburgh Napier University’s School of Computing, Engineering & the Built Environment who graduated during a ceremony at the Usher Hall.
ENU’s autumn graduations conclude for 2024 later today, following six ceremonies across three days.
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