"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

I personally have come a long way from the first day of class, for me it’s a bitter sweet goodbye to my dear blogger. The idea I had behind the website and the layout was absolutely perfect on paper and in my head, but of course Photoshop and Dreamweaver had different ideas in store for me. As a whole the website is supposed to be used to promote who I am to future employers. The first page I had made was my about me, this is supposed to give future employers a brief was detailed look into what I am doing currently, what I have succeeded and what my future plans are. I had made sure that some of the few things read are the things I am skilled at followed by the things that make me stand apart from any other applicants and how efficient I can work with the skills I had acquired to showcase why I would be the best possible choice for a future position.

I feel that by having my about me as the first page on my website was the best possible option because immediately anyone can be engaged and interested in reading about who I am and why I should be considered for any future jobs. On my website I have linked all my social media projects. I feel that the only one that might be the most in depth would be my blog. Even though I am also linking my Facebook and Twitter pages to also promote myself my Blogger can pull someone in more and catch their attention. The use of Facebook and Twitter can help show who I am and what my interests are but it might not always be the best approach; unless the job I am trying to obtain deals with social media and it was specially asked for.  I felt a need to provide links to my private accounts only because I know there is nothing bad on my sites and I would want a future employer to see I know how to manage different social media outlets. With that being said many workplaces want to see if you are hiding anything and take pride in trusting their employees, so the discretion of the owner should always be something kept in mind and always to remember that anything put on Facebook and Twitter might not be appropriate for the workplace.  Just because you view something one way (ex: at a bar drinking a beer socially) your future employer might view it completely different (ex: that person is an alcoholic). All social media sites help give someone a good idea of what a person might be like, however the type of person they might be could be judged in a completely wrong manner.

The process of actually putting together the website was somewhat rushed, it seemed like we had a ton of time to put everything together but towards the end of the semester I feel that people felt overwhelmed in what we actually had to do and it wasn’t done with highest potential. I felt that my knowledge of Photoshop was higher than most in the class due to the fact that I had used the program many of times in the past and was able to design things in a little amount of time; but when it came to Dreamweaver it truly became my downfall and put me behind on putting everything together since I had many questions on how to actually put everything together.  I felt absolutely relieved that I had actually finished my website and it looked actually decent for the amount of time I did it in and the fact that it took a while for me to wrap my head around it. I feel that it accomplished the task of giving someone a sense of who I am and what skills I have to offer a position; the fact that I was able to provide many different kinds of written pieces as well as things I had designed in Photoshop and InDesign really help to give people visuals on what I can successfully get done. Having a portfolio to show really allowed me to see everything I had accomplished at Buffalo State and my prior years at Niagara County Community College. It gave me a sense of being proud of myself that I have come this far and never gave up on bettering my future and I have a ton of work to show for all the hard work I have ton to get this far. In my portfolio I included a press release, a story idea memo, media release, fact sheet, an interview, planning sheets, a brochure I had done, as well as a poster, a small storybook and a magazine layout.  The main community client I was able to work for with the major written pieces was the American Diabetes Association and their event they do every year called “Tour De Cure.” There are many different branches of the ADA but Buffalo has their own main office which every year hosts their own “Tour De Cure” which is a bike ride at Niagara County Community College to help raise money to find a cure for Juvenile Diabetes. The American Diabetes Association is very close to my heart as well as my family due to the fact that I have Type One Diabetes which I was diagnosed with at the age of 8. Every year my family and I do the Step Out walk and attempt to raise money to donate and raise awareness to help find a cure for a disease that is becoming more and more common. The American Diabetes Association also contributes to hosting a two week summer camp in Rochester, NY called “Camp Aspire” which is a camp for kids ages 8-16 who have diabetes; this camp gives them the opportunity to learn to live with this disease and not let it slow them down and introduce them to other young and old who deal with all the same things they do. Since the age of 8 (a few months after I was diagnosed) I started attending this camp and never looked back; from 8-15 I was camper every summer, then at the age of 16 I became a counselor, and from 16 to this very moment at the age of 23 I still work at this camp except I have a higher title and I am in charge of my own cabin and get to teach these kids to never give up.

I had the opportunity to showcase a few pieces of work that I had designed. Throughout my college career I had found a few things that I was interested in but not as much as actually being hands on with something and having an opportunity to take a concept and run free with it. I never knew I had such a passion for design and being able to put the ideas in my head on the computer and print out a few awesome things that I can truly be proud of. Along with the pieces I had designed I was able to showcase the video I had made in this class using iMovie. Learning how to use iMovie was one of the biggest things I was looking forward to doing since the beginning of the semester; it didn’t take long to become acquainted with the program. I am very proud with the self-portrait I had put together and the overall group video we had come up with as a whole. From beginning to end my group remained strong and didn’t become frustrated which resulted in an amazing concept brought to life.

In the end, I am extremely ecstatic with my personal website. I originally had a more complex idea in my head but the end result I had made was perfect for the amount of time we had to work on it; everything I had planned on having on it (minus my personal video) was there and easy to find. Many of the new things I have learned from this class will most definitely be brought with me in my final semester at Buffalo State College as well as future jobs and hopefully many of the things learned I will be able to use at my potential internship with After Dark Entertainment (which I have my second interview for on Monday! Wish me luck kids!).

Adieu.

Team Separation- Final video: Lauren, Jessica and Justin

oops interview!! with Vince Saraceno

For this assignment we had to do an interview with a fellow classmate with the goal of showiong professional communication. Unfortunately (just kidding) my partner was Mr. Vince Saraceno. After the innitial issue of Vince "accidently" deleting my previous interview, we got back on track and were able to produce a decent interview.
How do you plan on self promoting yourself?

I plan on self promoting myself by using all social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Tumbler along with using my Blog and Youtube/Vimeo.

Name three goals you have between now and graduation.

Three goals I have before graduation are passing all required classes that I need to get done, finding an internship, and being successful at it so I may save money for traveling.
 

What employment goals do you have after graduation?  Name three of them.

After graduation I would love to work for any sports team in or out of the area, work for a marketing or event planning agency or I would love to be an Au Pair in England or Ireland

Name three best case scenario jobs you would like to have and why.

Three best case scenario jobs would be either working for ESPN, going back to Disney and working in their marketing division, or getting a job anywhere doing sports marketing.

Do you prefer to work professionally with a group or on your own and why?

I think starting off I would prefer working in a group and seeing everything I am capable of and pushing myself to learn from others and then working my way up to being on my own and showing my true talents once I have really learned what I am good at.

What contributions can you make to a group dynamic?  Name three things.

In a group dynamic I can contribute being a good leader if the group needed direction, I am able to think on my feet and fix unexpected issues, I also am a great networker and people person.

What contributions can you make working independently?  Name three things.

Working independently I can give a more personal feel on the project I am working on and put my everything into it, I could work around the clock to meet a deadline to get things done, and independently I can work on all aspects.

What are your pet peeves in a work environment?
 

My biggest pet peeves in a work environment are, people who are sloppy with their things and have no respect for anyone else, people who are late to work and late to get things done, and also people who talk down to others.

Name three things you feel passionate about professionally - this could be school related, current job related, group or organizationally related - and outline why you feel passionate towards them.

I am very passionate about being very outgoing and having the ability to talk to anyone and work with different kinds of people, I am also passionate about my work ethic and the want to get things done on time and done right, also passionate about being able to network and get myself out there without being shy.

How do you handle stress and pressure?

I don't sweat the little things. Stress, pressure and perhaps unnecessary things you put on yourself are most likely avoidable. If stressed or pressure, I sit back, take a minute to breather and get back on track.

Name the last three jobs you had, and the best success and the worst failure you experienced at each of these jobs.
 

Bartender- working with and meeting amazing people from all over, failure: moving a half hour from my job

Camp counselor- working with amazing kids and staff, learning more about different diseases and about myself, failure: not being able to do it full time

Disney World- met people from all over the world, networked with people from a well known company, failure: moved back home

How do you handle criticism?

Never take anything personally, criticism is supposed to help you better yourself

Outline three strengths you have in school.

Have an amazing ability to work well with others, get along with all students and professors, am always on time to school and with assignments.

Outline three strengths you have in your workplace.

Am always on time, make my staff and customers feel welcomed, amazing work ethic

How has creating a WikiPage strengthened your communication skills?    Name and elaborate on three things:

Creating a wikipage has strengthened my grammar in a more professional aspect, helped use visual communication more, and help me to elaborate more on a step by step discussion that was clear, and easier to understand.

How will Facebook be used to promote yourself?

Name and elaborate on three things:

Facebook can be used to promote myself by people being able to see who I am with pictures and videos. People can see what I'm interested in, can see who I associate myself with, and also see what my likes are.

How would you promote an organization on Facebook?

Name and elaborate on three things:

I would promote an organization by creating a separate page for said organization that had a complete detailed biography, included the company logo with some other separate pictures along with a video, make sure to mention special events. I would also put a link to the organization's website, I would also put a link on my facebook page leading to the other page so anyone who sees my page will hopefully go look at what im promoting along with posting status

(If you want to answer this question on Tuesday/Thursday, that is acceptable, since we will be well into our Twitter project by then)

How will Twitter be used to promote yourself? 

Name and elaborate on three things:

I would beable to use twitter to promote myself by connecting to different organizations and tweeting on their pages with my thoughts and getting my name associated with them, I can get my name out there by tweeting specific things and showing who I really am and what my thoughts are, also use twitter to network with many people around the world who are interested in what I am and people who could help me get further in my career.

Graphically what do you want to have on your website.

Name and elaborate on three things:

Graphically I would like my website to have bold colors that show off my personality and an amazing text going throughout that is easy to read. I would also like pictures of myself and a video to be embedded, along with a biography of myself and postings of my previous work and also my resume.

What can you constructively criticize about the interviewer. Name and elaborate three things:

Three things that I can constructively critize about the interviewer are: he did a good job at reading the questions clearly and making sure that I understood what he was asking, he took his time to carefully record everything I had answered, and also he took precise notes during the interview before going back and constructing full sentences.

During the interview process I feel as if I learned a lot about the expectations and about what Vince also planned on accomplishing and who he really was. Interviewing is a great tool for organizations and other people to see who you really are. The ket to a successful interview is to be calm and enjoy yourself; don't be uptight about it, you want to show who you really are. I feel that this was a exercise most classes should do to prepare students for future experiences