Photo by Carolin Seeliger

Maryanna Rogers currently is a doctoral student in the Stanford School of Education. In research, work, and play, she's been exploring the creative process of what is motivational about making things and how individuals stay interested and motivated during long term creative projects. In addition to her studies in Educational Psychology, she continues to address her insatiable desire to acquire design skills:  machining metal and plastic, silversmithing, design thinking, woodworking....

Maryanna has an undergraduate degree in film and worked in the TV/Film industry for a few years.  While working at a commercial editing boutique in NYC, she realized that in order to be a responsible media creator, she needed to know more about how her work was impacting viewers.  That motivation lead her to UCLA for study and research in Psychology and onwards to Stanford for a Master's in Learning, Design, and Technology.  She has since then worked on several projects that integrate the desire to make things and the interest in human behavior with the ultimate goal of making the world a better place (for at least one person).  Some projects include:  a video-guided program for youth at-risk for depression and anxiety, a mobile phone application for children with OCD, psychoeducational curricula and comic books for Ethiopian sex workers.

Rather than a pragmatic take on the subject, Maryanna takes a more psychological, educational and sociological view on the Palomar5 experience. From the Palomar5 camp she expects camp to be full of the unexpected. She's particularly excited about finding interesting ways of working together and inspiring each other. She'd like to finish the Palomar5 experience not only with interesting and generative ideas developed during the camp but first and foremost with an experiential understanding of what it's like to collaborate with a diverse group of inspired brainiacs.