Strengthening Self-Confidence
Maria Brito found more than knowledge during her first year in the EDI program and through her summer internship at Amazon; she found belief in herself.
Maria Brito (EDI ‘25) is passionate about helping others. It's a desire instilled in her by the woman she calls her “greatest life inspiration.”
“I grew up in the country area of Brazil around my grandmother,” she said. “The stories she told me about her life on the farm and as an entrepreneur inspired me to gain consciousness about my role in the world.”
That role led her to Northwestern's Master of Science in Engineering Design Innovation (EDI) program, where she wanted to learn how human-centered design could help promote social justice initiatives.
The person she is today as a second-year EDI student is noticeably different from the one who started in 2023.
That difference was shaped by the EDI program itself.
“I've always struggled with confidence, but coming to EDI helped me strengthen my belief in myself,” Brito said. “Actually seeing that I am able to apply what I have learned is something that’s really good to know.”
Brito took that newfound confidence and applied it during her summer internship as a user experience (UX) researcher at Amazon. There, she worked on the Alexa audio team to study how users interacted with the personal digital assistant in an effort to improve and broaden its capabilities.
The role was one she couldn’t fathom doing prior to EDI.
“Seeing how what I learned could be translated into real-world experience is something that has helped me tremendously as a researcher,” Brito said. “It’s helping me now in my second year with EDI, too. It’s validating my knowledge to say, ‘Yeah, I can do that.”
Brito, a native of Brazil, spent nearly five years as a UX designer before beginning the EDI program.
What she realized thanks to her first year and her experience at Amazon is the effort and commitment needed to be an effective researcher.
“Good research takes time,” she said. “A study takes time to happen, and the analysis is something that takes time to happen. There's a lot of effort in it.”
Brito joined the EDI program to learn how to enhance her design skills while broadening her business acumen.
Thanks to EDI, Brito is more confident in herself and her ability to make a difference.
"EDI has made me more confident by providing the tools to enhance my design practice," she said. "I firmly believe that human-centered design can be a powerful tool to help us solve pressing needs and wicked problems. It serves as a lens through which we can see and remember that behind every problem and every proposed solution, there are people."
