Design Day

"Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition." -Freeman Thomas

After today's Magazine and Feature Writing class, I found the above quote to be quite relevant. The topic of discussion in today's class, as you might have guessed, was design. (Most of you reading this blog were there so you already knew that.)

I found today's class to be really productive. Being able to share design ideas and work together to create our look for Update Magazine is something that I really enjoyed, and I think our class was pretty excited to finally get our design and layout nailed down. I think that this year's Update staff members are all dedicated to making this issue of Update the best yet. I know, I know, that sounds cheesy, but I mean it. We all bring a lot of experience to the class and all have strenghes that will only better Update Magazine. Needless to say, I am pretty excited to see this magazine come together.

So, going along with the topic of this post, I thought I would share with you all a really cool Web Site that Serge shared with my PR Techniques class. I took this class a couple of semesters ago and have been using this site as a tool ever since. Many of you may be familiar with this site already, but for those of you who haven't you should definitely check it out. It is called Adobe Kuler. On this site you are able to create and share color stories and templates with people across the world. You can even upload a photo to the site and it will pull out 5 colors from the photo to create a color story! Pretty cool! If you can't figure out the site or want to know more Adobe has tutorials on Kuler. Hey, who knows some of you may find a color story you like and update your blog or website.

Some of my favorites are Monsoon Season, Exterior Fresh and Alone in a Cafe. There are thousands to choose from and you can even make your own. Check it out...
http://kuler.adobe.com/#themes/rating?time=30

A Restful Yet Productive Spring Break

It has been cloudy and rainy for the past week, which means one thing; Spring is finally here! I hope...

Spring Break is officially here and it is nice to be home and with family. The down time has been great, but at the same time I find myself a little bit bored. So, I have been continuing my job search and plan to do some updating of my blog. I still need to figure out how to get my resume and portfolio onto Blogger. Anyone have any advice?

I had my first "real interview" today. It went really well and have already been asked back for a second interview! I am really excited about this interview process and this potential job. It is not journalism related but more so geared toward my minor, leadership studies, and my retail experience. I have to thank those who have guided me through this interview process. From those people who have critiqued my resume and cover letter to those who have given me tips on great interviewing techniques. We will see what happens with this potential job soon.

While this break is sure to be restful I can't seem to slow down. I know that in only one short week I will have projects and assignments due again and that graduation is quickly approaching! SCARY!

Oh, and before I go...it is not only spring but also March Madness! Go Cats! (I know shamless plug for the Cats!)

Twitter Is Used as as Tool to Engage Students

Twitter has become a classroom staple at universities across the country. At the University of Texas at Dallas and at Purdue University professors are using the social media outlet, Twitter, to engage students in class discussions.

While some students are comfortable with expressing their opinions in front of a 200+ lecture hall, others are not. Twitter has given a shy student the opportunity to have their opinion heard and acts as a review guide for all students in the class.

Do you think Twitter is a positive or negative way to engage students? Is it a good thing that we aren't making students speak in front of their peers? You be the judge...

Check out this article, How Twitter in the Classroom is Boosting Engagement, from mashable.com and the video, The Twitter Experiment, from the University of Texas at Dallas.

Job Searching...a Job Within Itself

So, I never thought trying to find a job would be as difficult as it has been. I have spent the past couple of weeks browsing companies' websites and using business connections to learn of job openings in Kansas City and other Midwest cities. Let me just say, it's been hard. Between school, work and my internship there is barely enough time in the day. But I know that finding a job is important so just recently I have moved job searching to the top of my "to do" list.

As hard as it is for me to admit, I think a part of me has been a little intimidated to look for jobs. I keep pushing the "Job Search" task farther and farther down my to do list in hopes that a job will miraculously fall into my lap. We all know that won't happen. No one likes rejection and I really don't like rejection. Job searching is definitely a humbling experience in the fact that you think you are the best and brightest that a specific company has ever seen only to be quickly put in your place by a rejection letter or e-mail.

I will say that every cover letter I've written and every time I edit my resume I become a better writer. Until recently cover letters have been my worst enemy. For whatever reason, I found it hard to express my interest in a company or firm and brag about myself in a one page letter. But, I now realize that a cover letter is a great tool and resource for marketing and selling yourself to a potential employer.

Well, my first "real" interview falls over spring break. Stay tuned and I will let you all know how it goes...keep your fingers crossed!