So hi.
It’s been a long time since I’ve written here, as is evident by the fact that I graduated in May and this is my first entry to the alumni blog versus the student one, where I had a few posts before I graduated.
You see, it’s been quite a busy several months, admittedly, of work and play, but most all if it rigorously scheduled. But I should warn you; I’m not so good about writing with any regualrity no matter what the circumstances, but when I do write, look out, because I tend to write a lot when the spirit moves me! Consider me moved.
So to get us all up to speed:
After graduation with a SIM (student initiated major) in Interdisciplinary Design, I had a lovely retro-themed graduation party, to which guests showed up in ridiculous vintage costume—it was liberating and fun for all.
Throughout my last semester as a Student at Stephens College, I had begun to court a Graphic Design firm in Saint Louis, called Obata Design as a potential internship opportunity, and soon after graduation, was asked to interview and began designing for Obata shortly thereafter. It was an entirely educational and enriching experience, and the people there were great, so it was a tough decision to come back to Stephens for ‘08-‘09 semester, but we’ll get to that in a minute.
Also over the summer, I started running regularly, for the first time in my life, and really loved it. You see until that summer I had always lived in the boonies where sidewalks on which to run are few and far between, (and I rolled my ankle several memorable times running in pastures, so I had some bad associations with it). Anyway, I loved running in the city, because it was flat, even, and I got to spend time with Buddy, a yellow Lab, who belongs to my boyfriend’s family, who was generous enough to have me stay with them, saving me a substantially longer commute to Obata from my home. I’d like to tell you that I’m still running, but that basically stopped when I moved back to Columbia, to the boonies here, and got busier than I could ever have imagined. I am however trying to get back into it.
And one last summer activity that I can’t leave out is my annual trip to MI with Matt (my boyfriend), which is always a fun time and was particularly great this time, because both our families met us up there for vacation too. So between them, the already great group of native Michiganders we visit, the mild weather, beautiful landscape, unlimited outdoor activities, and each other, we’ve decided to strive for an encore, and perhaps extended (although more to come on that in a minute) performance this summer too.
A few notes before we move on:
Before I graduated, I was asked to consider returning for the following school year as an instructor/lab assistant/whatever they needed, by the Design dept. at Stephens, which was quite an honor for me, despite the elation I felt at the idea of moving on toward what is commonly referred to as “the rest of one’s life.”
Also, just to clarify, it was a very hard decision to leave Obata at the end of the summer. My internship had gone really well, and I was really enjoying my time and they appreciated my work enough that they hoped I’d stick around, which had it not been for a certain tacit agreement with Matt, I would have jumped in to it head first. However, I’m somewhat of a sap (believe it or not) and wanted to be where Matt was. Not to mention and knew I had a perfectly reasonable opportunity waiting for me back at Stephens, which would allow me to stave off “the real world” (yikes!) a bit longer and give back to Stephens, something I really wanted to do.
Now on to the more recent:
So I am back in Columbia, working at Stephens, and I’m in my second semester here on the other side of the learning process, and couldn’t be happier with my decision to come back. That’s not to say I haven’t had my challenges, but overall, I’m enjoying myself here. I’m a real, live teacher this semester, but began last semester as a lab assistant and assistant teacher for a couple Graphic Design classes working with two highly talented teachers, from whom I learned a lot.
Also last semester, since my part time Stephens activities weren’t supporting me financially or creatively (I was teaching, not doing), I took another internship at Socket, a local telecommunications provider doing graphic design for the marketing department. Working at Socket has been awesome, to get me engaged creatively again, and I’ve met some really fabulous people. It’s a really great atmosphere in which to work. I’m still there, and loving it—I just finished reworking our tradeshow booth, and I’m excited about how it turned out.
As for this semester, I have to admit I had my qualms about teaching on my own class. I wasn’t sure how students would respond to me—whether they’d take me seriously.
But, I pushed out of my comfort zone on the recommendation of faculty and family, and am now teaching a Graphic Design class in Typography, and thus far it’s been a good experience. Luckily, as my class is structured, I’m co-teaching with Kate Gray, our primary graphic design professor, which has been a great confidence booster for me. But I think we both benefit from our collaboration and so do our students. It really has been great for both of us to be able to meet once a week and bounce around ideas about our classes. We’ve come up with some cool projects for students. I’ve also learned a lot about teaching and myself, and (drum roll, please) my students are learning too! In fact, their first several assignments, and first projects have been great, and we’re going to display their work.
So this year is not quite what I’d have thought I’d be doing, but as always, the faculty and community at Stephens are great and Working at Socket has been fun, making Columbia a charming place to spend a few semesters, no matter what the circumstances. Here’s to the next several weeks before the semester is over, and everything changes again!
