By Kate Wallace
You may have wondered: who鈥檚 behind the big posters on the Bookstore windows?
At the beginning of the year, a group of people on campus thought it would be educational to share information about the different heritage months that happen throughout the year, and the 黑料不打烊 Marketing & Communications Office took on the design of the posters.
But the person who actually designs the posters? Jasmine Pelzer, a student in the Marketing & Design program who鈥檚 going to be graduating May 2020.
Jasmine has been a part of the 黑料不打烊 Marketing & Communications team as a student worker since fall of 2017, not shortly after starting classes at 黑料不打烊. We sat down with her to ask her a few questions about being a student worker and how she comes up with the designs for the posters.
What kind of work do you do in the Marketing department?聽
I do a wide range of things as a student worker - anything from designing posters and digital signage to co-running the college鈥檚 Instagram account. I鈥檓 very grateful for all of the real-world experience that this job has given me, and I鈥檓 really going to miss it once I graduate!
What鈥檚 your favorite thing to work on?聽
Although I really do enjoy designing posters, managing social media platforms is something I鈥檝e really come to like the most. Whenever I say that, people just assume that means posting cute pictures on Instagram, but there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes! I especially enjoy doing giveaways, boosting our follower account, and scheduling posts.
What is your process for coming up with designs for the Bookstore posters?
At our initial 鈥榤onthly themes鈥 meeting, we came up with a list of holidays/celebrations that mattered the most to our students. One by one, I take the topics and research them and look for inspiration on Google. I look into important people, facts, and even colors regarding that subject until I have a basic direction I plan to go with it. After that, it鈥檚 a lot of tweaking and editing before getting the final polished design. My favorite part is seeing it printed and even taller than me!
You鈥檝e heard good feedback about the MLK/Black History Month poster 鈥 what were a couple things you learned while researching that one?
Well first of all, I鈥檓 happy to hear so many people like this window cling! I love getting the opportunity to create something that not only catches people鈥檚 attention but also gets them talking.
While designing this piece, I got to brush up on my Black history - I remembered a lot of it from high school but also learned some new things on the way. Although Black history should be celebrated EVERY month, I鈥檓 glad we can hang this poster up and hopefully put some names to faces as well as get people talking. Everyone should know about Black history; it鈥檚 AMERICAN history.
What are your plans after graduating?
With this being my last semester before graduation, I really hope to narrow down what I鈥檇 like to do with my AAS. Like any soon-to-be graduate would say, I just hope to get a job after graduation. I can鈥檛 wait to get out there and apply everything I鈥檝e learned in the last three years.
How did you become a student worker? Would you recommend students do a work study or become a student worker?
I first became a student worker back in the Fall of 2017. Kate Wallace from the Marketing Department came into my Intro to Advertising class and told us they were looking for a student worker. I had no experience and very little free time, but I thought 鈥渨hat鈥檚 the harm in applying?鈥 and to my surprise, I actually got the job. I might not have had any experience at the time, but boy do I now 鈥 sometimes all you need is the willingness to learn. Along with the knowledge gained from the Marketing & Design program, I have learned so much from Matt and Kate in 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Marketing Department 鈥 it also took my portfolio to the next level.
Throughout the last couple years, I have really become a big advocate for the work study program. If you get the opportunity to be a work study in your desired field, take it!