If you were to ask User Experience Master Sydney Chappell what her plans are today, you will learn that she is more than likely super-human.  

Sydney casually bounces from 8 a.m. meetings to dance rehearsals, mixing in a few classes from her full-time schedule. But don’t worry, she also finds time to hang out with her friends, go to the gym, and hit up the photo studio to pursue her love of photography all on the same day.  

Sydney doesn’t fear a busy schedule. If anything, a busy schedule fears her.  

“I have a lot of hopes and dreams and I’m very passionate to make them happen.” 

Her freshman year, Sydney entered the Digital Corps doors after an impressive interview with our UX Team Lead Stuart Sipahigil. There was no doubt in Stuart’s mind that Sydney was going to make a splash at the Corps. Now that Sydney is graduating with her B.S, double majoring in Dance and Media Design and Development, there is no doubt that Stuart was correct. 

A recent example was her work interning at the Corps last semester. Alongside a separate internship and her double major class load, Sydney took on the task of analyzing the Digital Corps project process. Using her UX talent, she identified pain points and created solutions to help correct them.  

She created a client intake form, so students and staff would have a better understanding of projects as they came in, a creative brief, so UX and Design students can present to the team more effectively, a ClickUp template for breakout meetings, so tasks can be easily identified, and a client feedback form, so clients can give real-time feedback after projects are completed. 

“One of the hardest parts of this project was that it was all on me. Sitting down and telling myself, ‘I have to do this, no one else is going to do this for me,’ was so challenging but so rewarding. When I was presenting this to the staff, I was really proud of all the work I did, and it was so awesome.”  

But her ripple at the Corps doesn’t stop at workflow. She has confidently led onboarding activities, UX-centered projects, Corps presentations, and peer check ins. Sydney has blossomed into an incredible leader. She connects students together and isn’t afraid to step out of her own comfort zone.  

Through the chaos that surrounds her day-to-day schedule, Sydney still focuses on the happiness of those around her. She helps her dance partners, checks in on her friends, and still finds the time to ensure her team is handling the semester smoothly.  

“I care for a lot of people, and I like to do things that make them happy. I love to advocate for others.” 

Sydney’s experience from the Corps, Media Design and Development major, and three different media-centered internships, shadows only half of what she is capable of. In fact, a lot of her leadership and communication style comes from her experience in dance.  

Sydney has been dancing since she was three years old and has always loved it. She loves being athletic and pushing herself as her body moves and tells her story.  

“I just love dance. I love performing in front of crowds. An audience clapping? Like ooo– it gives me a sense of adrenaline, ya know? I also just really like dancing for myself, creating movement that feels good in my body and expressing my story, my journey, and my mood for that day. I think dance is a good art form for that because it is so internal.” 

In addition to her personal dance journey, Sydney also focuses on teaching others. She has a studio back home that she loves to teach at, and she works on various shows at Ball State as an assistant choreographer including The Nutcracker and Cats. She’s excited to continue choreographing shows such as these that showcase her interest in Musical Theater.  

In her reflection of her collegiate careers, Sydney thought about the obvious differences in her majors, but in her mind, there’s much more that overlaps:  

“I feel like you wouldn’t always think there is a cross-over between dance and UX, but there is. For example, my dance portfolio I’ve only been able to make so great because of what I have learned here.” 

Sydney has brought so much energy into the Corps since she started over three years ago. As she ventures into the world, post-graduation, we know she is going to carry that energy with her. Her passion for the world, ambition for her dreams, and kindness that she generously gives will never go unnoticed.