DFA Spotlight with Molly Sullivan, DFA Notre Dame

For our third installment of the DFA Spotlight, Ward Bullard, our Director of External Relations, reconnects with Molly Sullivan, University of Notre Dame Junior and current DFA Co-President. Last summer, Molly was an AI research intern at École Centrale de Lyon in Lyon, France, under the guidance of Professor Michael Niemier.  This summer, Molly is working at NVIDIA as an AI for Chip Design Intern.  Molly is originally from Menlo Park, California and just finished studying abroad in London, England. Beyond DFA, Molly’s interests include traveling, hiking, going to the beach, golfing, and playing sand volleyball. 

Note: this interview was edited for length and clarity.

Ward: Hi Molly, thank you for joining us for this DFA Spotlight. How was London?

Molly: London has been incredible! I’ve loved exploring all the beautiful neighborhoods throughout the city. It’s impossible to run out of new things to do here! Being able to travel all over Europe each weekend has been an amazing experience as well. My favorite weekend trips have included attending a ball in Vienna and snorkeling in Croatia. 

Ward: In a prior conversation, you spoke a bit about your design thinking journey that led you to get involved with DFA at Notre Dame. Can you describe this path?

Molly: I was first introduced to design thinking through a course I took at Saint Francis High School. I immediately fell in love with the fast-paced, energetic, and collaborative nature of design sprints and working in teams to solve problems with out-of-the-box solutions. My teacher, Miss Shraddha Chaplot, was pivotal in my design thinking journey. She inspired me to develop a strong sense of creativity, confidence, and empathy in my design work and provided students with impactful, real-world project experiences that empowered us to create change.

I joined an undergraduate organization at Stanford University, Stanford Women in Design (SWID), gaining additional hands-on, design thinking experiences. Their annual Design for Sustainability event and Inclusive Design Workshop inspired my pursuit to innovate people-centered products and technologies. I was able to use my engineering skills to bring about positive change in people’s lives. It was also an exciting accomplishment to earn my Design Consultant Certification in UX/UI design through SWID. 

I heard about DFA before coming to Notre Dame, and sought out opportunities to get involved as soon as I arrived on campus. During my freshman year, I worked on the Unity Gardens team (with my current Co-President Macy Eglinton Manner :) to create and implement an interactive and adaptable map for their garden space. During my sophomore year, I led a project with The Boys and Girls Club to increase and streamline volunteer engagement. This year, I am Co-President, which I will continue into next year! 

Ward: You’ve been involved in DFA Notre Dame at a number of different levels. Can you share one of your most treasured experiences?

Molly: One of my most memorable semesters with DFA was during the spring of my freshman year. At DFA Notre Dame, our projects take place during the fall semester, and we scope future community partners and projects in the spring. At the end of the fall semester, teams present a deliverable solution for their community partner to implement. However, my Unity Gardens team was so passionate about our garden map prototype that we continued the partnership into the spring semester. We designed the map, managed the printing process, and installed it in the garden space. It was extremely rewarding and memorable to see the project through completion. Our team grew very close that year, and we hosted group picnics and dinners outside of DFA studio meetings. I love the bond that grows between DFA teams each semester; it truly feels like a family! 

Ward: What does being a Co-President / Studio Lead at DFA entail?

Molly: As Co-Presidents, we do everything to make DFA the thriving, welcoming, and vibrant community that it is. Over the summer, we stay in touch with community partners to confirm their project scopes for the semester as well as plan the schedule for the upcoming year. When the school year begins, we focus on new member recruitment and retention. We love onboarding new members to our DFAmily! Diverse perspectives and experiences are not only welcomed, they are vital. Throughout the semester, we plan the design thinking curriculum and activities for each meeting. We lead the studio meeting sessions and stay in close contact with both project leads and their community partners to ensure everything is running smoothly. 

Studio Leads serve as the main liaison between the community partner and their DFA student team. Oftentimes, the leads are the ones that scoped the project and have developed a close connection with their organizational contact and mission. They are in charge of all communication with their community partners, and are comfortable and confident enough with the design thinking process to lead a new team of students through it. Typically leads have been a previous DFA member or have taken a design thinking course. 

Ward: How are you hoping to use the skills and experiences from your time at DFA after you graduate?

Molly: Through my various roles in DFA, I have unlocked a powerful skill set that has greatly shaped the person and student I am today. The human-centered design thinking process requires creativity, confidence, collaboration, and empathy. I’ve learned how to think outside of the box and listen to others in order to create the most innovative and valuable solutions for a user. Additionally, I have grown in my communication, leadership, and presentation skills. Combining this with my technical computer science background will equip me to design and build human-centered technologies that are a force for good. 

Ward: You’ve got one more year! School is flying by! What are you hoping to do after you graduate next spring?

Molly: I’ve become interested in accelerating AI systems through high-performance algorithms and architectures from my recent internship experiences. This summer, I am excited to contribute to the advanced AI applications powering chip design at NVIDIA. I’d love to continue working on impactful AI systems after graduation. Outside of work, I’m eager to travel all throughout Greece and Australia :) 

Ward: If you were to offer a piece of advice to a prospective DFA studio member, what would it be?

Molly: I would say to step outside your comfort zone and take advantage of new experiences. These experiences will equip you with new skills that will likely shape your next opportunity. DFA provides the perfect environment for this kind of personal and professional growth. The design thinking process is invaluable to anyone in any field. It provides real experience in rapid prototyping, business development, problem-solving, communication, and so much more. And you never know what lasting passions and friendships you will unlock throughout the process! 

Ward: Thanks again for your time today. Have a great summer at NVIDIA!