August 23rd, 2010

I got the job working with Seminaries and Institutes in the Church Office Building. It will be a great adventure to move to Salt Lake, etc. I'm glad I have a husband who is supportive and helpful in regards to my job hunt and in moving everything to a new apartment. I'm grateful he is by my side.

I wrote up my review paper for the Visual Art office:
Where do I begin to describe what I’ve learned while working as an intern for BYU Admissions

Services? I have to say that I had no idea what it would be like to work as a designer for someone else. All throughout school we’ve designed for “companies” or “clients” – but it wasn’t a REAL work environment. When I say REAL I mean co-workers, a boss, different assignments, real deadlines and presentations, critiques of your work from non-artists, and many other things. First off, I have to admit – I was blessed to work in an LDS environment. Not many students get that opportunity for an internship or a job. When I requested the internship, I wasn’t quite sure what I would be getting into. I assumed I would be designing brochures, working on websites, among other little jobs. What I got was a little of the above in addition to a set of 4 presentations that would be my project for the next 4 months.

BYU admissions is responsible for organizing and producing a CES recruiting presentation called
the BeSmart Fireside. They not only present to students all around the United States and Canada, but Seminary and Institute personnel, high school counselors, and other’s concerned with helping students gain higher education. Originally, I was asked to design a template for each of the five CES entities (BYU, BYU-Idaho, BYU-Hawaii, LDSBC, and Institute). I did so and figured that each school would complete their own portion. I assumed that I was done with that assignment two weeks after I started. How very wrong I was. What started in April, has continued well into August with me being the main designer for each school. They send content and I put it together. Those presentations have been through 50+ revisions. At the beginning and obviously as a designer, it was extremely hard to hear “take that part out, we’re adding ____,” or “Can you change_____”? It felt like everything I had worked on for weeks
was going through the shredder. There were days that I would have to step outside of myself and realize that this project is NOT mine, it’s ultimately theirs. I am here to do what THEY want me to do. That was hard for me to grasp at first. I cringed when we’d sit down to run through it because I knew I’d walk away with 20-30 edits on my 100 slide presentation. There were days that it hurt.
As time has progressed, it was that factor that I thrived on. I live on criticism now. With each run through, I ask over and over, “Is there something else you’d like to see?,” or “Please don’t hesitate to give me feedback on what you’d like.” I’ve learned, that’s how my work gets better and better. My ideas and their ideas working off of each other equal much more than the sum of adding our individual ideas together. That is called synergy. I would often say that to my supervisor, James. We would work on a design for the new BeSmart website and I’d throw an idea out there, he’d critique it and hone it, then we’d talk about how to improve it and modify it together, bouncing ideas off of each other throughout the process. I found that I prefer to work with others, rather than on my own. That was a discovery that I hope I will take with me wherever I go, designing or not. I want other’s feedback on how to improve something I’ve done. As much as you may love your design, if you can’t reach those you are trying to communicate with, you’ve failed. Feedback enables you to know if you are communicating clearly and
I think my boss, Kirk didn’t really take me seriously when I asked to accompany him to the
meeting with all the CES schools in Salt Lake. He said he’d bring back the notes on what they wanted changed. I don’t normally argue with people, but I did that day with Kirk. I wanted so much to sit in that room as they went through the presentations – to hear their thoughts first hand. To discuss with them what THEY wanted it to look like or communicate. After a few hours, I finally convinced him. That was a turning point for me in the internship.

After that trip, Kirk would ask me if I was coming to many of the following meetings. I ended up
getting to go on a trip to Springhaven for 3 days with the CES institutions. We reviewed the
presentations, sat down and made edits right then and there, played games, got to work together on higher levels, among other things. Just this past week, I accompanied Kirk to Salt Lake to attend the presentation they put on for Seminary and Institute personnel at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

While running through Institute’s portion before the presentation began, the director of their program mentioned that if I was looking for a job, they would hire me to work at The Church Office Building. After the presentation, I had an impromptu interview with his boss. Had I not pushed that first meeting to attend and be a part of how things were working, I don’t think I would have been at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building that morning.

I have learned to be assertive, but kind and hard worker while interning here. I have learned
to be a team player and to take criticism productively. It has been a great blessing to me. I cannot say enough about my experience and the numerous things I have learned. What a blessing it has been to intern with BYU Admissions.

August 19th-20th, 2010

Had another meeting with Tom, Jacob, and Kirk about the BeSmart presentation. We revised the BYU portion - adding a video to the "Most Notable Advantages" as a "surprise" when Daniel presents for the BeSmart fireside in Sugar City, Idaho. I updated everything. Sent it out to everyone so they could practice before the presentation on Tuesday. I loaded the presentation on Kirk's Computer and on a flash drive for him to take.

August 18th, 2010

Met at 6:00 in the morning to go to SLC with Kirk, Daniel, Mark, Tom, Esther, the interns, etc. We met with all of the schools again. We set everything up, had breakfast, socialized a little. I was asked to make some changes to Institute's presentation and the director, Brent said, " If you were looking for a job, I'd hire you." and I said, "that's funny- because I am looking for a job."

We set an interview up that afternoon after the presentation.

This is not ironic to me. There are too many "coincidences" in my life to say they are just that. I feel like I've worked hard - and that Heavenly Father knows who I am. Events that lead up to this are tender mercies that I hope I have acknowledged appropriately to my Father in Heaven. I will add more on this later.

August 17th, 2010

Again - making changes, running errands to the Hinckley Center to get the presentation down loaded on Daniel's computer. I downloaded the presentation on Kirk's computer and on a flash drive so that we would have backups. Set up a ride situation to get to SLC... it was a busy day.

August 16th, 2010

This week we are preparing for the Seminaries and Institutes Articulation conference at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We had a meeting with Tom, Daniel, etc and resolved some of the changes that needed to be made.

August 13th, 2010

Got back from Springhaven and made changes on the presentation. Additionally - did Travis's last presentation for psychology.

August 11-12th, 2010

SPRINGHAVEN!!!

For three days I have been up at Springhaven ( up Springville Canyon) with the different CES entities. We had meetings all day long, then played in the evenings (baseball, volley ball, frisbee golf, race car driving, and board games, etc). We reviewed all of the presentations, and I was able to sit down one on one with each entity and review their presentation and make changes. It was really nice to have that opportunity - I wish it was one that we could have done more often. I know they expressed their gratitude for that opportunity.
It was all around a great event.

August 10th, 2010

Tuesday was hectic - I finished Travis's section 6 presentation (videos and all) and also finished his CES review with lots of updates, etc. The presentation looked great and I was happy to be able to help with getting things presented correctly. I got everything finished and onto the laptop and a flash drive just in time for us to head out to Springhaven for the next few days!

August 9th, 2010

Today was another CRAZY day. There were lots up updates on Travis's presentation for the CES 2010 review. I also started his section 6 presentation for his psychology class. I was still waiting on the video from one CES institution - which was pretty frustrating. It's good to be prepared - and to do things when people ask you to do them. It's hard to say "no - too late" when people come to you with an "update" days after you say the final is due.

I'm going to work to be sure that I don't do that to others.

August 6th, 2010

Today was the day James coded and added the new BeSmart home page. WOOO!!!

We had a few trial and error things, but ultimately came up with this:

The buttons darken as you scroll over them... and the "Apply online, Check Application Status, and Sample Application" links underline. This is a fabulous end product.
I'm glad I've had the chance to work on it with James. It has been a great learning experience.

Side note: Today I'm reading the "Don't make me think" book again.
I'm also updating a presentation for Travis. woo!
Never a dull moment.

August 5th, 2010

Wowie! This morning I sent out all the rest of the videos and presentations (12 videos and 4 presentations). I have yet to hear back from anyone, though I suspect that I will get a call fairly soon regarding Institute. We added some slides to their presentation and I'm not sure if they'll like it. =P

After I sent everything out - I had time to work on the BeSmart website again - WOOOO!!!! FINALLY! James and I have been throwing ideas back and forth regarding the website design and layout. It has been fun to play with ideas of, "Do we use a vertical or a horizontal picture?", " If we do a horizontal picture, where do we place the buttons?", "Which buttons are most visited and how do we set those apart from the other buttons, but still leave them similar?".... there are lots and lots of questions to ask. While I don't mind designing on my own, I prefer to work with someone else - to toss ideas back and forth. Ahhh- synergy.

I guess you'll want to see pictures, huh?


These were our last two options... we asked for different people's opinion and got some great suggestions. Again with the synergy! I love it!

August 4th 2010

Whew! Today was a whirlwind! Everyone is preparing for Springhaven and it's C-R-A-Z-Y!

I love working hard.

I worked a bit on the presentations, and on besmart (website) with James. We've come up with a few designs that work pretty well - but there are a few kinks to work out. As usual - I'm amazed at what happens when more than one person works on a project. Synergy. That's what happens.
If you don't know what that means - google it.

August 3, 2010

Whoo! Impromptu meeting and lunch with the Admissions Director, Associate Directors, and a few others. It lasted 3, yes THREE, hours. A good portion of the time was spent on whether or not to use an admissions "pie chart" to portray how BYU considers students for admission. We talked about timing with each presenter and the differences with each school. I got about a page and a half of notes to update on the presentation, many of them just different perspectives on wording.
We developed a great addition to each school to enhance the humor and fun of the presentation.

It has been a great learning experience to sit in and review things with people who have been doing this for a long time. They are honest and clear (most of the time) with what is going on. Plus there was pizza - that didn't hurt at all.

August 2, 2010

Today was hectic. Lots of meetings, lots of edits, lots of suggestions. I like days like today because I feel extremely productive. I met with Travis and ran through his psychology presentation. The videos were acting weird again. Sigh - the repetitive problem.

July 30th, 2010

Got feedback from other schools. In my last post I talked about getting feedback. I should probably clarify: I enjoy feedback when it's legit, clear, and kind and he's generally pretty good at suggesting things that need to change or could be better. I appreciate that. There is one key factor that is key that is sometimes lacking. Positive feedback before the criticism. Just a thought.

July 29, 2010

Editing, editing, editing. I actually really enjoy editing at this point. I feel like I have a clean product to present to people. The changes are minute and are generally tweaks to the animation or trial and error with the videos. It feels good to get this far. I actually love hearing feedback from Mark, James, and Kirk. Weird - I know. They are just good at being positive and then asking if _____ could be revised or changed. I really appreciate their input. It makes the whole product better.

July 28th, 2010

Met with Kirk and Mark again today to review changes and see if there were any additions to the presentations... We now have 2 versions of each presentation. There were a few changes and updates that needed to happen. I thought I would have mastered inserting video by now, but I haven't. There are always little quirks that come up and I have to resolve them. I should probably google each problem as it comes up and see if I can resolve it from happening in the future.