Amara Poolswasdi Hulslander
Sphero
Boulder, CO USA
"Whenever you’re at an impasse, think about your deathbed. Would you have regretted not doing this thing? If you think you would regret not doing it, you should absolutely go do it."
Career Roadmap
Amara's work combines: Design, Technology, and Learning / Being Challenged
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
I experimented and tried a lot of different majors in college because I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do. My parents had a very specific life planned out for me and my indecision was confusing to them. I just committed to following my interests wherever that would lead me.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Graphic Design
California State University-San Bernardino
Graduate Degree
Marketing/Marketing Management, General
Golden Gate University-San Francisco
Graduate Degree
Human Computer Interaction
Iowa State University
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
Both of her parents immigrated to the United States from Thailand; their goal for Amara was for her to have a “sit-down” job in an office, rather than a “stand-up” job.
2.
When she was 10 or 11 years old, she played around with making websites by viewing the HTML source codes of sites that she liked.
3.
In middle school, she worked on her school’s yearbook; she started learning about graphic design and typesetting.
4.
After high school, she had a slightly “tumultuous” time where she tried everything: she enrolled and then dropped out of the Coast Guard Academy, cycled through various majors.
5.
Eventually she landed on graphic design; after graduating, she worked for a few different design and marketing startups, including one of her own.
6.
One day, Amazon “came knocking” and hired her, moved her out to Seattle; then a couple years later, Sphero came knocking.
7.
Says she makes her life decisions based on whether or not her next move will challenge her or stoke her curiosity—she felt like Sphero would both of those things, so she made the move.
8.
Believes that her upbringing as a minority in a less affluent community helped her by forcing her to have a successful mindset right off the bat.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Family:
You are all over the place. Pick something!
How I responded:
I experimented and tried a lot of different majors in college because I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do. My parents had a very specific life planned out for me and my indecision was confusing to them. I just committed to following my interests wherever that would lead me.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
Both of my parents immigrated to the United States from Thailand.