About me

Behavioral science, accessibility and design, in that order.

I'm a senior at Oregon State University studying psychology with a minor in UX research. I'm interested in how people think, decide and use technology, especially when systems don't account for the full range of human needs.

LinkedIn Email me Granite case studies →

How I got here

As a Direct Support Professional at Joieful Connections, I spend my days supporting individuals with disabilities through daily living, community participation and person-centered care. That work shapes how I approach UX. I care about building tools that are clear, accessible and useful, not just functional on paper.

I'm currently an Undergraduate Research Assistant in Professor Sanchez's lab, contributing to study design, data collection and analysis on how AI-assisted learning shapes student outcomes. In summer 2026 I took that research lens into the field as a safety intern at Granite Construction, where I read incident reports end to end, built classification workflows with human review, and presented findings to regional leadership.

Alongside that, I run independent UX projects covering interviews, personas, wireframing and prototyping. I'm comfortable with semi-structured interviews, usability testing, affinity mapping and prototyping in Figma.

Experience

  • 2026 · Summer
    Safety Intern, Granite ConstructionPacific Northwest region. Incident-data classification, a jobsite management app, field inspections, leadership presentations. Four case studies →
  • 2025 · Present
    Undergraduate Research AssistantAI Learning Research, Psychology Department, Oregon State University
  • 2024 · Present
    UX Researcher and DesignerPortfolio and academic projects: interviews, personas, wireframes, prototypes
  • 2020 · Present
    Direct Support ProfessionalJoieful Connections

Education

  • Anticipated 2026
    B.A. Psychology, Minor in UX Research and DesignOregon State University
SKILLS

What I bring to a research team.

Research

  • Literature review
  • Study design
  • Semi-structured interviews
  • Usability testing
  • Affinity mapping
  • Document analysis
  • Data analysis
  • Synthesis

Design

  • User flows
  • Wireframing
  • Lo/mid-fi prototyping
  • Content design
  • Information architecture

Tools

  • Figma
  • Qualtrics
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Power Apps
  • Power Automate
  • Copilot Studio
  • Excel
  • AI research tools

Interpersonal

  • Client-centered communication
  • Cross-functional collaboration
  • Behavioral observation
  • Written and verbal reporting
  • Presenting to leadership

Off the clock

Grew up in a very small town in Oregon. Now based near Salem.

If you're hiring for UX research, or just want to talk about how people actually use the tools we build, I'd love to hear from you.

thorsgard.alex@gmail.com