who is dalynn?

great question.

I grew up in Pleasanton, California, where I began taking piano classes and, subsequently, songwriting. I fell in love with music as a medium for storytelling, and often wrote songs as a means of self-expression and exploration. In high school, I began releasing my music on streaming platforms, where they began gaining traction.

At fifteen, I began receiving messages from listeners around the world telling me that the songs I had written in my bedroom made them feel seen. This is the first time I had seen the tangibe impact I could make in the lives of others, and is something I would carry with me as I navigated young adult life.

I immersed myself in math and science classes -- not because I had a passion for calculus, but rather because I loved problem solving. I found that songwriting mirrored many of my academic processes: I saw music as a documentation of my experiences, similarly to how mathematical proofs documented my thought processes.

This led me to Stanford, where I’m exploring the digital design and how these skills can be used to build social platforms that support artists. In classes, I have been studying Java, C, and C++, in addition to prototyping using Figma, Fusion 360, and Procreate. On campus, I have enjoyed connecting with others as CS + Social Good’s Design and Marketing Team Co-Lead, a Bridge Peer Counselor, and Co-Social Chair for Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity.

As I look to what’s next, I hope to help teams build a more equitable entertainment industry through innovative ideation and human-centered design. I am excited to use design as a tool through which I can create positive change in the field that first showed me the power of impact.