Conversations with Irene Chen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Irene Chen.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
As a graduating undergraduate senior at the University of Southern California, I am currently experiencing the joys of job recruitment. So, when I’m asked to describe “my story,” I instinctively reflect upon the most common job interview question – “Tell me about yourself.”

I think my story, in terms of my current career trajectory, really started at the moment I started taking risks in my decisions – ones that I had chosen for myself and weren’t vetted by my parents. The first one of these decisions was to take a 3D animation class in high school rather than something like Business or AP Biology. At the time, this decision was just for fun and out of interest in animated films. But it was this first forage into the 3D, immersive technology industry that lent me my initial experience with 3D modeling, animation, and game development software – experience that I used to create an eye-catching portfolio to get into the University of Southern California Iovine and Young Academy.

My second big decision: Should I study “Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation” at a new USC school, founded by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre, that didn’t even have a graduating class yet? Or, play it safe and study Cognitive Psychology at a similarly ranked California school? Or, play it even safer – study Computer Science at the in-state school closest to my home on the East coast? Honestly, all good choices. While at the time, this decision seemed world-ending, by now I know that my instinct to take the leap and trust Dr. Dre’s innovative endeavors was the right one.

In the Iovine and Young Academy, I was surrounded by people like me who wanted to learn a little bit of everything. Most of my closest peers were interested in UI/UX design, so I followed suit, learning design and prototyping skills. When COVID hit, this is still the field where I thought I would ultimately end up – until I made my third big decision, Taking A Gap Year.

This was big. Something I never thought I’d ever do in my entire life. Honestly, I had looked down on the idea, thinking that I had to reach all the societal milestones of a 4-year undergraduate experience and immediate embarkment into the career force. But what in a COVID year is normal? My previous design skills allowed me to find a Designer job at a Games and Animation Lab at a University in Taiwan. The small, educational space allowed me the chance to branch out and explore more of my experiences with 3D design and game development.

Finally, with this compounded amalgamation of experiences, I entered my junior year of college with a new sense of confidence and direction, seeking to increase my knowledge in programming and design for virtual reality and immersive experiences by taking on an Immersive Media minor. Now I begin my job search with new vigor while being a Teaching Assistant for a class I had been terrified to take.

Little did I know that that first decision to step out of what I had been expected to do would lead me to the start of a career I’m enthusiastically passionate about. This is where I am today, and looking at the end of a maze back to the start, everything makes sense. But when you’re standing at the beginning of the path, it’s difficult to see how your shot-in-the-dark decisions connect with everything else in your life.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has definitely not been smooth. Concerning my gap year, I had to deal with some people who thought that this was not the right move and that I should stick with the 4-year undergraduate degree plan. While perhaps I could have gone into the workforce faster, I don’t think I would have ended up in a role I would be as happy in, nor confident enough in myself to be able to express myself how I’d like to.

Additionally, I spent a lot of time taking on as many jobs as possible to experience various roles and industries. Instead, this often resulted in burnout and nights of stressing over everything I had to get done. Especially when working with people I held a personal connection with, it felt especially overwhelming trying to perfect my work when our relationship wasn’t just as coworkers and I had a personal relationship at stake.

I’ve started to learn to take a step back to focus on a few items I’m super excited about instead of taking on too much at once. Everyone always talks about self-improvement in improving one’s satisfaction in life, and I think it was during this year that I learned the truth in that.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Right now, I’m definitely trying to learn more about the developing Virtual Reality space and where this technology can be applied!

I feel like the people who know my personal work would say that I specialize in creating strange but intriguingly charming worlds – whether that involves producing a song and animated video about a cat on a roof or a VR world about cute tube creatures with a thirst for human flesh. I am proudest of the pieces of work that can capture that specific balance between “Why/How would you ever think of this?” and “I can’t look away,” especially if it has a cute aesthetic.

I’m a bit of a hoarder of random skills, so I love anything that’s interdisciplinary. I try to do every part of what I do myself, including but not limited to: virtual reality development, game programming, 3d modeling, graphic design, rotoscoping, songwriting, music production, ukulele playing, sewing, etc.

As someone who joined the choir world for the first time four years ago during my freshman year of college, I also had the pleasure of helping several choirs create virtual choir videos during the social isolation phase of the pandemic. I felt proud of being able to use my video skills to assist my choir community in this way, and several of these videos have now gone on to achieve gold rankings at international choir competitions. This is something I had never imagined doing, especially winning awards for it. There is a playlist on my Youtube channel of all of these videos!

Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
I feel like I was able to cover many of these lessons in my previous answers. Honestly, aside from my personal life, I feel like this global health pandemic has truly opened my eyes to the imbalances of resources in our societies and the different privileges groups of people hold, including myself. It’s motivated me to learn more about how the world is run and how I can help do my part in trying to contribute to a more balanced and empathetic society.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://irenechen.myportfolio.com/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXgf9GLBKT4sqwCAOcE6uZQ

Image Credits
Kris Loew, Yu Hang Tan, Jose Godinez