If you’ve been to a Dancers’ Symposium show, Lunar Gala, Greek Sing, Carnival, or walked past the design studios in the Margaret Morrison building, you’ve probably seen the amazing work of So-Hee Woo, a junior Industrial Design major. Although she is only a junior, her experiences with dance, design, and work are more than most people accomplish in a lifetime, and her love for design and dance fuels her ambitions for the future.
So-Hee started dancing at the age of five under the instruction of her mom, who is trained in classical dance. As a child, she participated in several competitions and performed in Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, and Taiwan for cultural exchanges and events. Here at CMU, So-Hee is the co-head of the dance crew, Soulstylz, and an active member of Dancers’ Symposium (DS). As a choreographer and performer for both organizations, she dedicates at least seven hours of each week to dance. Even though the two organizations are very different, she always has high standards for her dancers because she knows that they are capable of pulling together great choreography. “I view Soulstylz as a method for my dancers to grow beyond just remembering the moves,” So-Hee said, “And with DS, I want my dancers to be challenged with the choreo and have fun with different styles.” Being involved in Soulstylz and DS is undoubtedly stressful, but through it all, she loves dancing because it’s not only fun, but also challenging and a direct connection with her culture.
Even though So-Hee is a design major, her early work experience includes an eclectic mix of working at Delia’s, Bubba Gumps, Chuck E. Cheese, a pool snack bar, and as an art teaching assistant and design assistant at CMU. And despite the fact that she’s only a junior, So-Hee has already held internships at Anthropologie and PieceMaker (a 3D Printing startup) as a Design Intern for both companies. Recently, she scored another internship for this coming summer at IDEO, a well-known international design firm and innovation consultancy acclaimed by designers around the world. To put it in a more relatable perspective, in the design world, it’s basically the equivalent of a CS student scoring an internship at Google. You go, girl!
In addition to her academic and dance commitments, So-Hee is dedicated member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, contributing countless hours to Booth and Greek Sing, as well as taking on the role of a Greek Sing chair this past semester. She is also a part of the Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) and an Orientation Counselor for incoming freshmen.
In the future, So-Hee aspires to design strategies to create change, whether it’s through systems or products. “I want to have the ability and power to make a difference that reaches across a large number of people,” she said, “and my ultimate goal is to be able to go around, give lectures about my ideologies on change, and inspire people to make differences within their own lives and communities.” So-Hee’s love for design is driven by her desire to inspire change. “I think design’s a catalyst for change. It’s a tool that can provide people with new perspectives of people, things, and themselves. With the right experience, right form, and right solution, designers can be the people that are willing to ask the tough questions and move through those problems to make a true difference. I don’t want to just be a maker. I want to be a changer.” Watch out, world. So-Hee Woo is out to make it big.