Jesse Stallsworth

Jesse Stallsworth received a bachelor’s in information communication technology (ICT), focusing on technology management, from the University of Kentucky in May 2017. He decided to further his studies by applying to the graduate program in ICT the following semester. He graduated in May 2019. 

“I chose ICT because I have always had a passion for technology teaching and training. Given that ICT has a communications component, it will give me the skills necessary in order to put my passion to work,” Stallsworth said. 

On top of being a full-time student, Stallsworth manages all operations within the CI CoLab, a technology learning laboratory that fosters technological innovation through collaboration between students, faculty, and staff at the university. As a director of operations, he coordinates participant research sessions, trains student-interns, and participates in various outreach and promotion activities.

Stallsworth says that his favorite course throughout the graduate program has been ICT 690: Human Computer Interaction.

“This course expanded my knowledge that I had gained through my job at UK and it was very exciting to learn the theory behind why some things are designed well and others aren’t,” he said. 

His research interests, personally and professional, are understanding how different people interact with technology and how different groups of people use technology differently. 

“Finding out how to make a technology usable for everyone is a challenge that I like to tackle,” Stallsworth said. 

The most useful resource, he says, are his fellow graduate students and peers. 

“Having academic discussions with my peers allow me to see things from different perspectives and then incorporate their perspective into my own view,” Stallsworth said. “They can also bring different experiences to the table that I may not have gotten otherwise.”