Persona — Elena Rodriguez

Representative college student for the reassurance, route choice, vigilance, and predictability clustering themes

Following the toolkit naming conventions, this file is named exp-07.b-persona-2025-03-12.qmd.

General Info

  • Name: Elena Rodriguez
  • Age: 22
  • Role/Context: College junior, lives off-campus, commutes daily with friends.
  • Cluster Anchors: Respite (personal) and Connection (social).
  • Why this persona matters: Elena represents students whose commute feels like a social ritual rather than a source of anxiety. Her story shows how connection can mask vulnerabilities, and how safety often depends on the presence of others.

Snapshot

Persona image - Elena Rodriguez

Goals & Values

  • To enjoy commuting as a buffer between classes and home.
  • To maintain connection rituals that make the city feel friendlier.
  • To avoid feeling like she’s “at risk” when separated from her group.
  • To preserve spontaneity and joy without sacrificing safety.

Day-in-the-Life

Elena leaves campus around 6:00 PM most evenings, walking with two roommates toward the subway. This part of the day is her favorite: stories from class, shared jokes, sometimes pausing for food from a street vendor. The bustle feels energizing — the musician at the subway entrance is part of their routine, a familiar marker that signals “day’s done.”

When the train is crowded, Elena laughs it off with her friends, but she notices her pulse quicken when they’re separated in the car. Once, when she had to commute alone after a late study session, she found herself clenching her phone and rushing through poorly lit blocks, surprised at how different the same streets felt without company.

For Elena, the commute is less about getting from point A to point B and more about the connection moments that make the city livable. But those moments also hide a dependence: her sense of security is relational, not internal.

Next Steps

  • Feeds into Experience Mapping: Elena’s map highlights how companionship lowers vigilance — and how its absence spikes anxiety.
  • Contrast with Maya Patel: Maya relies on structured reassurance routines (texts, check-ins), while Elena leans on companionship. Both point to unmet needs in safety without constant dependence.

Traceability