I’m Excited!!

I’m happily writing this blog entry from the Charlotte Airport! As my iMedia adventure comes to an end I am now finding myself not only juggling school, but also the job hunt! I am flying to Syracuse tonight to interview at the University for a web position in the communications school. I warned my classmates that I will probably be dead tired on Wednesday though because I am doing this entire trip in a 24 hour period!

Okay so iMedia! It is crazy to think that in two weeks it is all over! TWO WEEKS! WHAT?! I like to think that I am on the down slope when it comes to my projects, but I am trying not to get to0 cocky and let things get away from me. My CAPSTONE is coming along great! I cannot wait to make it live for the public to see! My ‘Late Afternoon Without Jimmy Fallon’ project is live and ready for review! There are still some video tweaks to make and audio to clean up but to have a full working product live is a massive weight off of my shoulders! I finally decided on a project for my application development class and now it is just a matter of creating it and troubleshooting it in the next 15 days!

It is a little scary to know that the next two weeks will determine a lot for me! I could have a job in the next two weeks! I could be moving to New York, or moving to Ohio….I could be moving somewhere I haven’t even thought of yet! I’m doing my best to not get ahead of myself and simple roll with the punches but it is hard not to let your mind wander to ‘what if’ land and imagine life after iMedia. Jobs aside, what I am most looking forward to is having a life that doesn’t revolve around my computer. I am looking forward to having the option to call it a day at 5 or 6pm. I’m looking forward to having the ability to sleep in on a Saturday and not feel like I lost valuable study time! Most of all I am just looking forward to life after iMedia. Don’t get me wrong, I love iMedia! I love what it has taught me, where it has taken me, the friendships I have made and the memories I have. Coming to Elon iMedia was no doubt one of the top 5 best decisions of my life! But most of all, I am looking forward to the life iMedia has given me the ability to have! I’m really anxious to see what I can do with this degree and push my limits with whatever job I end up with! I am excited to teach others what I have learned and sing my praises about iMedia! Simply put….I’m excited!

Home Is Home

My CAPSTONE Project is quickly coming to an end! It still freaks me out that in a few short weeks this will all be over and all of the time I have put into this project will come to a end. This week I was editing some content for the website and reading through a few historical points about Wheeling and I couldn’t help but get a little sentimental over the entire experience. Wheeling, or I should say the Ohio Valley, is home and the amount of knowledge I have gained just about my home makes me appreciate it even more.

A few months back I had a conversation with a friend, saying how we both missed just being in our hometowns and how crossing the state border makes us giddy and excited. It is that simple act of being on your home turf that I am most looking forward to, even if it is only for a short amount of time. The Ohio Valley is one of those places that you hate growing up, but you find you miss it when you leave. High schoolers and college students are constantly saying there is nothing to do, nothing exciting and no reason to stay. But, with all of the research I have been doing the past few months, I can safely say there are so many things to do in the valley and so much history, it makes me proud to be from there. During the past 10 months of school I often found myself anxious to get back to the valley, even if it was just for a short visit. I usually had a list of places I needed to go like visiting my boss at Wheeling Jesuit, going to some of the local restaurants like TJ’s, Uncle Petes, Later Gator, the Alpha, Coleman’s Fish Market,..fitting in a run by the river or bike trail, visiting friends, visiting the theater…really I could go on and on. I don’t think I have accomplished this entire list yet because my visits are usually short, but still I think the fact that I have a list says something.

Home is home…and sure I’m not sure about the next time I will be there…but doing this project has given me so much more appreciation for where I am from. I am so exciting to know I am building something that will benefit my home and the people who still live there. I am so happy to know that even from North Carolina, I am able to help my hometown.

As for the Wheeling Heritage Website…we are so close! Right now there are several little changes to make that way it can function on both desktop and mobile devices. I am waiting on content for a few more pages but once I have all of that the project will be done! I am working on completing the user guide so the staff can makes changes and organizing a training session with the staff so they know exactly what is going on! I am so anxious I can barely contain myself! 

The Bipolar Arguments My Brain Has With Itself

WOW! I have not been keeping up with this! School has definately gotten the best of me lately and if the past 48 hours didn’t add to the crazy I don’t know what will!

I wear many hats in life…one of them is my running hat. I started in high school and even though I took some time off I still love it. I do my best thinking while running, plus it gives me about an hour break from my computer. When I ran cross country in high school a few of the more elite runners on my team told me they prefer to run up steep hills than go down hill. I thought they were ridiculous! I always hated hills in high school, especially when my coach would find the steepest hill in town and make us run drills on it until we thought our legs were going to fall off. Now, living in North Carolina there are not many hills to run up (physically that is), and  I actually kinda miss them. There is something very rewarding about starting at the bottom of a massive hill, and slowly pushing your way to the top of it. That pain you get in your legs about half way through and your brain starts having a bipolar argument with itself on if you should stop and keep going. Your chest is literally pounding and you can’t breath and part of you just wants to die. But you keep pushing…for me it usually involved putting my head down and watching the road…taking one step after another until I was at the top…you keep going because you know you will get to the top and when you get there it will all be worth it. Graduate school has been almost exactly like running up those hills in high school. I can’t tell you how many times my brain has had bipolar arguments with itself. My body tried to tell my brain to stop, but my brain just tells my soar eyes to knock it off, go take out your contact put on your glasses, and keep working. Several times a week my brain and body would have arguments at 7am after only four hours of sleep with the classic debate of should I get out of bed…but then my alarm clock across the room forces me to. Sure I have probably done permanent damage to my retinas and I have ruined my posture from sitting at a computer all day, I have gotten stress acne and I might be borderline albino due to lack of sun! But it’s worth it…this massive hill of graduate school is worth it.

We are so close to being done with school that I get excited just thinking about it. I realized earlier in the week that exactly one year ago my mind was having another bipolar argument with itself on whether I should give up a job and come to Elon for graduate school. Eventually  with the strong nudge of a few family and friends I decided to come. Now here we are one year later, one month of school to go, and my mind is having another bipolar argument on what I am going to do next. I’m excited about having some what of life again outside of iMedia. Don’t get me wrong I love what I am doing and learning…but I am looking forward to taking off a Friday night and not feeling guilty because I have a pile of work to do. I am looking forward to taking a day to sit at the lake and my only worry being what time are we going to go skiing. But for me it’s all about the decisions we make, and how we choose to play those decisions in our favor. Sure I could have taken the easy route, the one that didn’t involve the massive hill, the easy way out so to speak…but here I am, half way up that ridiculous hill. Almost there!  I’m still not sure what life after iMedia has in store for me and I think that is what stresses me out the most, but I keep reminding myself not to stress over the unknown factor. Just keep climbing, keep working and it will all fall into place.

So I wouldn’t say that we are on the down slope of graduate school just yet…but we are close. I am almost to the top of the steep side…at that point where my legs want to kill me and my mind is cursing at itself because of the insanity I am putting it through. At that point where my heart is pounding out of my chest and my brain is once again having a bipolar argument with itself on what to do next. But for now it’s just one foot in front of the other…almost to the top!

Hunt and Gather

With iMedia coming to a very fast end I have barely been able to update by blogs and keep track of what I am doing! I have accomplished a lot within the past few weeks and I am more excited than ever to push the website out to the public and start getting some feedback.

A few weeks ago I was able to transfer the website from my computer to the Wheeling Heritage server space. A task that I thought would take me a few days to figure out, I was able to accomplish in only a few hours so I was very excited by the amount of time I had saved. I was then working on polishing the website as much as possible so it could be sent to a few board members for a review and feedback. I worked with little style points on the website, adjusting how text sits in a page. I received a few emails late last night with some feedback from a few board members so I need to take the time to go through those today and make a game plan based off of their feedback. The past few weeks have been based on content development and collection. We found that the best way to exchange information was to set up a shared Dropbox folder rather than through email. That way all of the content is in one spot and I do not have to file through tons of emails making sure that I have everything. If the staff at Wheeling Heritage has new material or updated information they just drop it in our folder and my computer gives me an alert that new information has been added. They have been great with shooting me an email just to make sure I see the new material.

Still a lot of odds and ends to clean up! I feel like that is what the rest of this project will be! All of the big decisions and building are done and out of the way, now it is a matter of making the little changes to perfect this project and make it the best it can be.

And We’re Back!!

Spring break is officially over, but it didn’t seem like much of a break to me! I feel like I worked non-stop on everything from CAPSTONE, to final class assignments, research, consulting work, work around the house for my parents, and of course making time to catch up with a few long lost friends while back in the valley. I even stayed home and extra day and drove back on Tuesday just so I could get more work done. But of course, I wasn’t even in North Carolina for even two hours before I ended up back in the labs working. Seven weeks seems like a decent amount of time…but we all know too well that they are going to fly by and this entire experience will be over very very soon.

In the category known as my CAPSTONE project I feel like I have been able to accomplish a lot and I am way ahead of the ball. The website is basically completed, just several small changes to add, design and complete plus adding and editing the content as needed. Right now my biggest challenge is transfering the website from my localhost to the organizations main server, without disrupting the current website. I think I know how to handle that one, but I am going to wait and double check with a few teachers before I jump.

I’m really getting my first taste at video editing right now, which makes me so excited. I have always wanted to test my limits when it comes to creating videos and this semester is giving me the opportunity. I have my final digital storytelling project, promotional pieces for the iMedia Exhibition in May, and our branding and marketing piece for our ConvergeSouth class. It is a little intimidating to have so many projects based in a world I am not very familiar with, but like I have said all along, “If I knew it all, I wouldn’t be here.” I could have gotten out of a few of these projects, or not made my final storytelling project such a massive undertaking, but I think at this stage of the game all of us wanted to challenge ourselves and push our limits. I know I know web development, and I like to think that my design skills have increased by a million..but video is still something I have only skimmed the surface of and I want to keep going and see what I am capable of creating in this area as well.

I know for me, I am planning my social events over a month in advance, because  I know any weekend I want to have or even a night out, I will need to plan out a few days in advance. I am still pursing almost every job lead I come across, and I am hearing back from a few which is really exciting! The idea of not knowing where I will be going just yet is a little intimidating, but I have faith something will work out…until them, in traditional ‘Audra Macri Fashion’…I’m gonna go code something.

Come So Far…Still A Long Way To Go…

Now that I am on Spring Break I have finally had the opportunity to sit down with Wheeling Heritage and go over what I have done so far, and what is to come. I have accomplished so much, and yet there is still so much to do.

What is great is that the staff at Wheeling Heritage is really flexible, so I have a ton of wiggle room when it comes to design and making suggestions on types of media to incorporate. I love this because not only is this giving me the ability to show my skills but I am also able to push my own limits and think outside of the box. The staff loved what I have done with the website, and design wise, there are very few changes to make. The majority of our meeting on Tuesday surrounded around content, what to include, what not to include, what to restructure, how to display certain elements, what to eliminate etc. etc. etc. I have been adding pages, eliminating sections and building up other areas. Right now I am working to build a few more media elements and get the website as close to the final product as possible before I leave on Tuesday. We have another meeting scheduled for next Monday. I hope by that point the only thing missing is all of the content I will need to fill the pages with. The staff at Wheeling Heritage is using this week to rewrite sections and collect material to give to me at our Monday meeting. I am both excited and nervous because without this material the website is just a website, the media elements we want to include will fall short and not hold the weight and purpose we would like them to without the proper content.

The tough part right now is the one thing I thought would be the easiest…taking pictures! I know Wheeling Heritage has a ton of pictures, but I wanted the opportunity to take a few not only as filler for the website, but for my personal portfolio. The valley has been hit with a very late snow storm this week making any good picture opportunity impossible. I am hoping for a clear day either tomorrow or Saturday. Fingers crossed!

Although I’m on Spring Break, it’s not much of a break! I have been using every opportunity to work on school work and get ahead in my work. There is still so much to do, but I am very confident we will produce a great piece with this project and finish it ahead of schedule.

Half Way Through The Half Way Point

WOW! I have been slacking with my blog posts lately..obviously iMedia it taking over! Spring Break starts this Friday which marks the halfway point of our second and final semester. In about 9 weeks we graduate and are shoved out into the real world with a larger than average amount of knowledge about media, technology, social media trends, coding, production, management, and just the media/technology world in general. It is both scary, happy, rewarding, confusing and one of the most exciting moments in my life.  When my mom visited this past weekend she said, “The next 10 weeks are going to be big decision moments.”, and she is right..a lot is going to happen in the next ten weeks. But I make it a point not to focus on the ‘What If’s’ in life and just focus on what is happening now.

School has been crazy like always…but I am happy to say that I am very comfortable with where all of my projects stand! What is great is that I have had wonderful opportunities this semester to do more than just code a website. This week alone I am in the middle of filming three different projects. First, for Multimedia Storytelling my partner Anna and I are creating a parody based off the Jimmy Fallon show. Our ultimate goal is to get a tweet, have our project on the show, or get jobs at the show. We have recruited a few classmates to help us out so we made it a point for ourselves and our recruits to get all of our filming done before break, because we know it is going to be crazy in April.

My second project is a group project we are creating in my Conference class. We will be attending the Converge South Conference in April, but as part of this class we are creating a new branding and identity campaign for the iMedia program. I am the project manager for media production, but right now it is an all hands on deck project, trying to collect as much footage as we can. The goal is to launch only a few weeks after break so there is a lot going into this project really fast.

Finally, every year iMedia hosts and exhibition the night before graduation. It is the job of the class to plan everything from locations, to invites, to promos etc etc etc. I am working with the video team on this project to create a teaser video as well as videos to play on the large screens in the halls during the exhibition. We were just pitched the ‘theme’ of the exhibition yesterday and after some quick brainstorming we have a great idea to promote the showcase. One group has decided to take several headshots of everyone in the class tomorrow which will be used in the print, promo and other pieces of the exhibition. So, since everyone is together, we decided to film everyone as well to collect the footage we will need for the videos we are creating.

WHEW!! Along with all of that I have the usual class work, my CAPSTONE Project, a few freelancing projects, consulting work, applying for jobs and trying to squeeze in a few hours of sleep a night! It’s still crazy to think in 9 short weeks this will all be over! It seems like I just got here and now I have to prepare myself to leave. I’m anxious, excited, nervous, happy, sad, and just a little stressed…but I couldn’t ask for more!

If I Had To Give You A Number…

…Last week we had to give a progress report on our CAPSTONE Projects and give a number for illustrate where our project stands. I said about 40% complete…which is good because I consider myself right on schedule if not a little bit ahead. Right now I am at a little bit of a standstill because I am at that awkward point in the project where i feel like I have completed as much on my end as I can right now, and now I need the content to edit and use to fill the website. The WordPress Template is about 90% complete which takes a huge weight off of my shoulders. I am really excited to get home next week and show the Wheeling Heritage staff what I have so far and get some feedback in terms of style, structure, colors, font, etc. I love showing clients the work I have been doing and getting feedback in order to help them get their message across.

I am actually making the seven hour drive back to the Ohio Valley this Friday after class! I already have a meeting scheduled with the staff for Tuesday morning to go over everything I have done, and fill in the missing pieces. I have a few WordPress plugins already picked out that I would like to use to incorporate some media such as photos and audio clips. I am trying to look for plugins that are very simple to use and that come with a very good user guide, that way updates will be a very easy process for the staff and not intimidating. I also continue to build a user manual for the staff which I will hand over when the project is completed. I am taking screenshots of the current website, highlighting areas, and giving them step-by-step instructions on how to do everything from updating text to adding new media. I am also going to be taking some equipment from school back home so I can collect pictures, video, audio and anything else that we may need for the project. I guess you can say my spring break really isn’t going to be a break…it’s going to be a crash course in content collection and creation.

Right now, I am putting the finishing touches on the website template and doing some last minute research and content collection to go over with the staff next week. My goal for spring break is to collect all of the content I will need, then use April to build all of the pieces and polish off the website as well as begin to collect user feedback and see how an outside user views the website.

Lot’s to do…very little time…but I am still so excited about this project.

Keepin’ On Keepin’ On

Just keep at it!…That has been my motto this week when it comes to my CAPSTONE Project. Don’t get me wrong I am loving every minute of this project and I am really excited to get home to show Wheeling Heritage what I have been working on, but as every student knows…eventually you hit a wall and need a break. I have really but a lot into this project so far. I made it a point to get ahead in my design and building process! The template is almost finished for our first round of critiques..there are just a few little problem areas that I am having trouble figuring out. It definitely becomes frustrating when you are constantly trying to troubleshoot one issue…but can’t seem to find the right answer. No worries..just keep swimming.

This week I also started researching all the different types of media I want to include and the possible plugins I could use. i would like to go home and have several options for the staff to choose from, rather than forcing them to use something they do no like. However, as most of us know WordPress plugins are usually hit or miss..so this is definitely taking up a little bit of time. I am also being sure to take notes on areas that I want to clean up or rearrange. The last thing I want to do is create this great design, but put the exact same content on it in the exact same format. There are several PDF’s that I would like to find an interesting way to display as well as photos and other media elements.

Right now I am pretty confident that I will finish the website template before I go home for break and have an idea of what plugins I will be using for the different media’s. I can’t wait to show everyone what I have been working on and I hope they are just as excited as I am about the project!!

Making Progress…But Still A Long Way To Go

I am both excited, and slighlty intimidated by my past week of work on the new Wheeling National Heritage Area website. It took me forever, but I finally got MAMP set up on my computer so I can start building the website files locally rather than on another server. I still haven’t decided if I am going to build the entire website this way, or transfer the files to a subdirectory on the Wheeling Heritage hosting space and build the rest of the website there. I still have a lot of research to do on that one.

I have started building the template and structure of the website. I am familiar with this process because of my work on the CODECE Website for my winter fly-in but I am taking a lot more time on this project. With the fly-in project we created a great product, but I had to take a ton of shortcuts because of our 9 day time limit. With this project I have some more time so I am really taking the time when it comes to creating the templates. Every time I make a change, I am testing in both full screen, and for mobile devices to make sure the website will be responsive. I am also making it a point to now power through crazy long hours of coding just yet. Right now I am working with the mid set of dedicated a few hours a day to it, with my hard hitting days being Tuesdays and Thursdays since I do not have class then. I am hoping that the breaks in time will help me figure out problems easily and work on other areas of the website.

Right now I feel that I am way ahead of schedule. However, it still blows my mind that this project will be completed in two months from now! On top of all of my regular school work plus my job search there is a lot going on!  I am pretty confident that I will be able to produce a full template of the website for review by the staff when I am home for Spring Break. I will continue to work through several content areas and other pieces of media in the meantime. I am hoping that by Spring Break there are very few changes to be made to the initial website and then I am focus on the media aspects of the project more.