Meet Iris Yuning Ye, one of QMSS’s Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs)! Iris is originally from Tianjin in Northern China and attended undergrad partly in China and partly at the University of California (UC) Berkeley. She studied finance, but after completing the degree, she decided that it wasn’t for her and later became interested in the Information Sciences. This led her to a Master’s program here at U-M, and she is now in her second year studying Information Science with a focus in Software Development and User Research.
While Iris was in her junior year at UC Berkeley, she was still figuring out what she enjoyed studying and wanted to pursue further. At first, Iris was interested in doing data science, but upon getting a chance to work at a start-up, her opinion changed. “I found that product (management) is a really interesting field.” This new found interest led her to work in industry for 2 years before diving into graduate school. Iris shared further, “I realized that if I don’t know much about technical stuff such as coding, it will be really hard to advance so I came back for information science” along with focusing on understanding user and product interaction!
During her time as a graduate student, Iris became a GSI for the QMSS Program (specifically, QMSS 301). Iris said, “I think QMSS has a very nice office. I like being there, it’s an open space and I can see students coming in and out!” In addition, from a professional/academic standpoint, Iris has learned a lot about how to teach. For example, she’s gotten plenty of experience explaining abstract concepts to those who have no background knowledge on the topic.
Outside of academic settings, Iris stated, “I’m really into watching youtube documentaries these days; just random documentaries!” These documentaries are about any topic that is niche and educational in some way. In addition, she mentioned that she’s also been getting into writing recently. We asked her how she maintains a work-life balance in her day to day routine. As a student she shared, “I try to block my time… I only do assignments in the afternoon, so after 7:00pm I forget about it.” Although being a GSI is a “job” that requires lots of commitments, she enjoys her role so much that it hardly feels like work. “Teaching is fun for me! So I don’t see too much pressure or conflict between work and life there.” Iris truly embodies Mark Twain’s saying, “Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
Iris encourages students who are interested in pursuing her area to do two things. The first is to try more things. “The university has the most resources for academia and also they care about students. So just try to go to events and go to activities if you don’t know what to do!” The second is to find your own strength. “Don’t be pulled over by other people,” she says. Avoid comparing yourself to others and discover what your personal strong points are.
The QMSS Program is so lucky to have Iris as an instructor, we wish her luck on the rest of her graduate studies and future endeavors!
