Hey, I'm Alexandra White.
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Blog posts on Work

June 02, 2011

jQuery

I decided to re-vamp the entire web design for Tom & Joanne The Wedding website. I experimented with different CMS’s (WordPress and Staceyapp), as well as the idea of a static web page. I wasn’t happy with the work that I had created. You know what they say, if you’re not happy, then fix it. I wanted it to be more dynamic and exciting.

That’s where jQuery came to the rescue. I have had little experience with jQuery in the past, but I made it my goal to learn how to use a couple different features before the end of the summer. I used two different jQuery attatchments: one to move between the navigation, and one to create a slideshow of the wedding party.

So here it is. Presenting Tom & Joanne The Wedding (website). Enjoy!

May 18, 2011

TechSmith: Day 1

**Disclaimer: I am a proud employee of TechSmith Corporation, and this blog post is reflective of my personal views. It does not necessarily reflect the views or beliefs held by TechSmith Corporation. This is an extension of my personal identity, not the company brand.**

Today was my first day at TechSmith Corporation. I have been hired as the Social Media Intern, working directly with Daniel Foster. I am not 100% sure as to what work I will be doing, but I know that I will be communicating via our social media presence, blogging, and creating analytics.

Immediately upon arrival, I felt welcomed and engaged. I met with Daniel, who gave me a lowdown on the company. Afterwards, he left for a meeting and PR/Evangelist Intern Josh Emington took me on a building/TechSmith tour. We met several people within the Marketing department, as well as in other departments within TechSmith. He explained many of the day to day tasks that he completes, as well as some of the work I would be expected to perform. His friendly demeanor and enthusiasm for TechSmith was a wonderful way to start my life at the company. We had met several times before, in relation to his girlfriend, but had never actually spoken. It was great to know that he is such a powerful leader in the TechSmith community, even just as an intern.

A lot of my time was spent reading a ton of documentation. There was the employee handbook, tons of paperwork, and a giant wiki that was composed of all of the need to know (and not so “need” to know) company information. I took the time to really read instead of skim, trying to absorb everything they threw my way. Following my read through, I had a chance to watch some of the videos on TechSmith’s YouTube channel. It was great to see consumers using the many different products that TechSmith creates to form projects and videos for different audiences.

I feel like I learned a lot in Day 1. The next few days will probably consist of more reading and absorbing information, really becoming familiar with the TechSmith products. Hopefully soon, I’ll become a part of more of the engagement. I can’t wait to get my hands “dirty” (so to speak) with social media.

To think… my job position didn’t really exist three, perhaps even two, years ago. Social media is ever growing and evolving. Who knows how my job requirements with change and develop over the course of my time with TechSmith. I can only assume it will continue in a positive way, as my experience so far has led me to believe.

April 28, 2011

Work in the WC

I work in the Michigan State Writing Center for about 13 hours every week. In this time, I generally see about 8 or 9 different clients (in earlier weeks I see fewer, during finals week I can see upwards of 15). I enjoy working with students from so many different backgrounds, and helping them achieve better writing skills.

At the Writing Center, our goal is not to improve a single paper; it’s to improve the writing skills of our clients, who therefore improve their own papers.

Today, I met with a girl about a research paper on problems with prison release in the US. She was very insightful. Although the paper was not yet complete, she explained about the difficulties of bringing ex-prisoners back into the world and re-emerging them back into society. Some states have created programs to try and help this re-emergence, such as half way houses. Others just impose stringent laws that prohibit prisoners from participating in jobs that require licensing and make it difficult for them to receive housing. It’s no wonder that felons without a strong support system outside of prison sometimes re-offend, and go back to a place of free housing on tax payer dime.

She explained two of her own ideas to help solve this problem, with an educated and well supported documentation. I talked about transitioning between paragraphs and making sure that all of her cited evidence is supported by her own ideas. In the end, the consultation took less than 40 minutes, a rarity for hour long consultations. She made notes as we continued through her paper that marked where she should improve her transitions. It was like watching a writer evolve over years of school training.

As she got up to leave, she said, “Thank you so much. I felt like last time I came here, my problems were fixed but not explained. This was much more helpful.”

I’m glad to know that even though she came in with a paper with well thought out ideas and structure, I still could help her become a better writer.

April 18, 2011

Jamming for Japan

On Saturday, April 16th, the day finally came: International Record Store Day. This was no ordinary IRSD, as this year I co-developed an event with East Lansing’s The Record Lounge for live music and tsunami relief for Japanese victims called Jamming for Japan. I created the graphic design elements for the event including posters, flyers, and t-shirts. It ate up all of my spare time since early March, when Joel Heckamen (the Creative Director at the Record Lounge, and fellow MSU PW undergraduate) asked me to get involved. It all culminated down to one day of music and donations.

We worked hard to get access to three different locations in East Lansing. Everything seemed to be falling in to place, when the one uncontrollable element decided it did not wish to cooperate. The weather was atrocious, and we were forced to relocate to just one of the original locations and The Record Lounge. However, rain could not keep down the spirits of the musicians or the generous people of East Lansing. We raised over $300 for the American Red Cross’s fund.

It was an incredible experience to work with Joel Heckamen and another PW student, Dan Nufer, in order to make such a major event happen. We received publicity in the Lansing State Journal, Lansing NOISE, and other local publications, as well as time on the student radio, The Impact. It seemed everyone really wanted to help the cause. We greatly appreciate all of the support and sponsorship from the community.

I hope that this only sheds good light on my next graphic design project with The Record Lounge, the 4th annual Middle of the Mitten in January of 2012.