As a Graphic Designer, my experience with research tends to be more visual. Instead of researching facts or information about certain subjects, I tend to research different ways a designer would treat a situation according to what the content is. My experience with writing goes no farther than the amount of English classes I have taken. The closest I have been to writing at a professional level is proofreading programs that I am designing while working at my current (Wolftrap Graphic Design Intern).
With that being said, writing is very beneficial in my field of study, if not everyone’s field of study. My Writing for Artist’s professor Kirby Malone told our class last semester “If you want to be taken seriously, it always helps to have a strong understanding of the English language.”
My major is directly connected to my career goals. In the future, I would like to work as a graphic designer. The location or job description does not matter that much to me as long as I am doing graphic design. I first came to George Mason University with the thought that I was going to be in Information Technology major. My dad had beaten it into me that this was the key to making money. After taking a few Information Technology classes, I realized this was not for me.
I had already had an internship in the graphic design field prior to college. It was a very enjoyable experience and is the reason why I decided to switch my major from Information Technology to Graphic Design. This was probably the best decision I have made in college. Halfway into my second Graphic Design class at George Mason, I got a job offer to work for a friends company (SME) as their graphic designer. Without hesitation, I took the job offer.
I continued to work and take classes throughout my sophmore and junior year until the economy fell apart. The economy hit our company, like most small business, hard. Our biggest client ended up changing their company name as an attempt to get out of paying us the large amount of money they owed us. This resulted in a dwindling workload for me. Eventually, the work load ran out and I was out of a job.
This caused me to do as most juniors in college do and look for an internship. I came across an internship at the Wolf Trap Foundation. They prided themselves on being ranked as one of the top 100 internships in the country. I was lucky and got the job I applied for; the graphic design intern.
I am currently working there. The internship has been very enjoyable so far but has opened my eyes to the excessive amount of work a graphic designer can and will receive. Summer is considered the “busy” season at Wolf Trap and it did not take me long at all to figure this out. I plan on continuing my career (just beginning) as a Graphic Designer. I have not figured out if I want to attend graduate school or not. Right now, I think I will take things one step at a time.
