Designing the Future of Higher Education: Meet Brandon

Welcome to this week’s edition of edX Insider, where we give you a behind-the-scenes look at edX HQ. Today, we sit down with Brandon, Senior User Experience Practitioner, to discuss the career advice he’d give his younger self, his role at edX, and more.

Quick Stats

Name: Brandon Cooley

Role: Senior User Experience Practitioner

Nickname: B Cool

Hometown: Greenville, SC

What’s your best advice for edX learners?

Especially for learners who are getting back into education, often times courses (or their topics) seem interesting but daunting. If you’re intrigued by the course/program, just go for it. There are so many other courses that can help you fill in the gaps and most of the programs are built with a lot of the basics given to you upfront or when you need them. Don’t let the worry of getting back into learning be the reason you don’t take something you’re interested in.

What’s your favorite course you’ve ever taken?

It isn’t a course I’ve taken yet but I just enrolled in Sheep in the Land of Fire and Ice.

What career advice would you give your younger self?

Research the parts of your life that interest you and figure out which career path(s) allow you to do those things. I began my career as a Business Analyst and it helped me get to this position, but it definitely took me longer to realize I was destined to be an Experience Designer.

What’s your favorite part of working at edX?

Professionally, it is the fact that I am in a role that allows me to create the future of higher education, and design it around who our learners are, how they interact with our site, and what their goals are.

Personally, I work with a team of incredible designers that both challenge me to be a better designer but also get along as a family (I love my team).

One thing your colleagues may not know about you?

I was a cheerleader in graduate school at Bentley University.

Last updated: September 2019