Keely Vedanayagam

Location
Los Angeles, California

Education
University of Southern California; Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences; Bachelor of Arts in Applied and Computational Mathematics

Roski College of Art and Design, Academic Minor in Communication Design

Introduction
Keely was born and raised in Portland, Oregon, before she moved down to sunny, Southern California. She studied both Applied Mathematics and Design at USC (Go Trojans!!!). The ultimate goal of her career is to combine her love for analytics and math with her love for aesthetics and design. Keely is half-German, half-Indian (“Germindian”) and her favorite color is mango.

Briefly describe your current day-to-day.
Every day is different, which I love. I get into the office just before 8:30. Throughout the day I balance a workload of 3 to 4 projects. We have such a variety of projects within consulting — there is always something new to learn and always something to help out on. Sometimes I dedicate a bunch of time to researching a new project so that I have all the background information I need to move forward. Sometimes I’m in InDesign, developing graphic communications or organizing information in an aesthetic way. Other days I spend time in Excel, organizing information and making sense of numbers. I get to use the right side and the left side of my brain!.

What advice would you give someone applying to the DSD Program?
It’s worth spending over 100 hours on the application. I basically gave up my Christmas break to apply to the program and it was worth every hour. In your application, it’s important to demonstrate your flexibility as a professional. This program does not tie you down to one specific subject (or even a specific industry). If you are looking for an exploratory career path, this could be a great program for you.

Describe the Los Angeles office in 3 words or less?
Eclectic web.