Cimone Dailey
Journalist. Designer. Adventurer.
Cimone Dailey rises to new heights as a Journalism and User Experience student.
Cimone Dailey left her home in the Los Angeles suburbs to try something new at Columbia College Chicago. A theatre kid since age six, she chose to study Journalism and User Experience. Below, she discusses some of her most challenging—albeit instructive—moments at Columbia.
Going Solo
A few months after graduating high school, Dailey found herself standing alone on the threshold of her new home. “My parents didn’t come for my first time at Columbia. I got out of my Uber in front of my dorm and was like, ‘What is going on.’” At first, navigating Chicago seemed a little daunting to Dailey, a self-described homebody. But she ventured out and learned the transit system, an accomplishment that lifted her spirits: “Mastering [public transportation] felt so good!”
Getting the Story
Dailey learned firsthand that good journalism requires sacrifice. One snowy afternoon, Associate Professor Jackie Spinner moved Dailey’s class to city hall. That meant a hike across downtown through the cold. Dailey and her classmates grumbled about the weather. Spinner, a seasoned war reporter, replied, “You think you’re cold, talk to a Syrian refugee.” “I was like wow, that’s drive,” Dailey recalls. “Let me take my butt outside and be cold but get the story.”
Setting the Standard
In her proudest moment, Dailey set a new standard for User Experience students. For Interface Design II, she had to create a universal interface, an assignment that no student had ever earned an A on. After weeks of diligent work, she turned in her interface, a product that allowed users to tour Columbia’s campus remotely. Her final grade? A. “I was like, ‘wow,’” she says. “I’m good at this. I can do this.”
