a story about sage serin lee
MY STORYmy passions and life experiences mutually impact one another.
i strive to connect what i do with what i love. thankfully, it’s worked out for me thus far, as i work in user experience design and user research in my current position. but it goes far beyond just my day job.
i someday hope to write, illustrate, and publish a book of my own poetry and art. i hope to start my own indie game company and create magic. i hope to share stories that mean something to someone, anyone.
i feel as though i have a story to tell, even though my identity may not be unique to myself — i am not the only korean american woman to have struggled. but i may be one of few who are happy and excited to be open and transparent about what has influenced me the most to become who i am today.
this page has a lot of info that overlaps with my LinkedIn professional page. it’s all meaningful stuff, but there’s more to me. check out my portfolio page for more insight.
i was born and raised in ATX, went to school for 4 years in NY state, and now am located full time in CA — i’ve created a sort of triangle across the nation. i currently work a full time job in fintech here in LA, living with my composer boyfriend and 2 very dumb cats (you can find em on my Instagram, linked in those photos above). my life is solely video games, music (been playing cello since age 9 and piano since age 4) & singing, and various ways to try and keep myself in shape (figure skating, wushu/martial arts, hiking).
things i love
-
i could talk for ages about the games i’ve played and loved, but since i don’t have ages to spend, i’m just gonna list them:
Nier:Automata (absolutely, unequivocally my #1 favorite game of all time)
Nier:Replicant is on my to-play list!!!
Hollow Knight (very, very excited about Silksong)
Breath of the Wild (also very excited about TotK)
also been loving the Hyrule Warriors hack-n-slash spinoff, it’s SO addicting
and i’m playing the Skyward Sword remake in preparation for TotK release
Omori (thinking about the game makes me sad)
Hades (still haven’t hit my 10 escapes…)
Persona5 Royals (Makoto best girl)
God of War ( B O Y . )
Celeste (but platformers are not my strong suit)
obligatory life/farming sim category: Animal Crossing New Horizons, Stardew Valley
Zero Escape series (999, VLR, ZTD — truly my favorite puzzle VN series of all time)
Professor Layton series is a very close second place for puzzle series
honorary mentions:
As Far as the Eye (AFATE)
Overcooked 1 & 2
Undertale & Deltarune (only HM because i have yet to finish)
Chronotrigger (i highkey rage quit a boss and never got back to it)
Limbo
Spiritfarer
games i’m ashamed to have played but yeah i’ll talk about it
League of Legends
DDLC (i will not elaborate)
i think that’s it lol
-
music is a huge Thing and everybody loves it, so i thought i’d just mention a couple favorites
some favorite classical composers: Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Bartok, Rimsky-Korsakov, Chopin, Debussy, Ravel
“oh, you’re a cellist? what’s your favorite cello concerto?”
i really don’t like playing solo pieces but i will begrudgingly answer with Lalo, maybe?
“what about favorite chamber piece?”
SHOST QUARTET 8
but also the Piazzolla 4 Seasons trio, Ravel quartet in F, Schubert Death & the Maiden, and a Borodin
i don’t think i could give you a short answer for favorite orchestral piece ;_;
“okay, non-classical music?”
i basically only listen to lofi and video game OSTs on a daily basis
but i also listen to a lot of DnB and some indie, R&B, and k-pop
i will not list any favorite artists i cannot think
but aside from listening to music, i also really like to sing…!
almost all of the lyrical songs from the Nier:Automata OST are in a completely made-up language, and i took it upon myself to transcribe the lyrics from all of the songs i could parse, and then memorize all of these fake words just so i could sing along to them — in particular, Amusement Park, Voice of no Return, Vague Hope, Peaceful Sleep, Wretched Weaponry, Faltering Prayer
my favorite pastime is making up lyrics to non-lyrical songs, like Accumula Town theme from Pokemon lol
-
bulbasaur.
that is all.
industry experience
Capital Group,
TREx Associate
August 2022 - present
i’m currently a TREx (tech rotational experience) associate at CG, and i’m spending my first rotation on a team dedicated to researching and discovering emerging technologies within the tech and fintech industries.
the TREx program is under a larger early career program called EDGE, which offers incredible support, mentorship, and experiences for new hires like myself.
Capital Group,
Summer Associate
May 2021 - August 2021
my last internship before i graduated was with CG, where i worked remotely on designing and user testing an internal tool on the Private Client Services team. i worked with tools such as Appian, Figma, MS Visio, Confluence, and more.
at the moment, this internal tool is in prod, and much of my designs have remained the same, which i’m very proud of!
Google,
EP (STEP) Intern
May 2019 - August 2019
my first internship was with Google, where i worked in Sunnyvale, CA on a team dedicated to the AppMaker product. i worked mostly on a migration of the product and coded in Angular.
unfortunately, shortly after i left Google, this project and tool became deprecated, and Google stopped supporting AppMaker.
various other projects, work, & experiences
just… during my life
created & maintained a website for my dad’s restaurant, which you can view here
created a simple pixel art animation for Devin Chin, a composer, which you can view here
created a retirement website for a Cornell professor, which i no longer have access to 🤨 oh well!
worked on the front end web dev team for Thread, a Cornell fashion magazine
education
Ithaca, NY
August 2018 - May 2022
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
❤️ i graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree from the College of Arts & Sciences with a double major in Information Science and English and a minor in music. i concentrated in UX design within my InfoSci major.
❤️ i was president of Cornell Orchestras for two years, which was my biggest and most meaningful commitment; however, i also participated in WICC (Women in Computing at Cornell), GDIAC (Game Design Initiative at Cornell), Thread Magazine, Cornell Wushu, and CUFSC (Cornell University Figure Skating Club).
Austin, TX
August 2014 - May 2018
LIBERAL ARTS
& SCIENCE ACADEMY
🧡 born and raised in ATX, I attended LASA for high school, a prestigious magnet program in the area. we used to rank #1 public high school in the state!
🧡 i spent a lot of time playing cello and leading community/school ensembles, including the orchestra student board. high school was where i really discovered my love and affinity for both technology and writing.