This year I only worked at the DMB with the Ed Tech department for one semester due to study abroad, yet I have participated in many projects, learned many important skills, and ultimately improved in my digital media knowledge and being a better student helper to the college campus. With that, I feel an immense sense of accomplishment and growth.  

One of the highlights of the semester was hosting a game development workshop using Unity. This project challenged me to not only learn the ins and outs of Unity but also to develop my teaching and communication skills. It was rewarding to see the participants’ excitement and curiosity as they explored game development and learned how to bring their ideas to life. Although not all of them were able to complete their projects, they have showed up and motivated me greatly in furthering my skill to host more workshops. 

Another significant project I worked on was conducting usability testing sessions to improve the design of the IT website. This project taught me the importance of user-centered design and how valuable it is to involve users in the design process. It was interesting to observe users’ interactions with the website and hear their feedback, which helped me identify areas for improvement and make design changes that better met users’ needs. Though there were many glitches that concluded the project quite less fruitful by the end, I know how to better prepare for the continuation of it in the coming year. 

In addition to these projects, I also helped with video editing and poster design. These tasks allowed me to apply my creativity and design skills in a practical context. It was satisfying to see my designs and edits come to life and be used in various contexts, including AAAPI art festival, Chasing Showcase dance poster, and some sticker design for independent orgs. 

More career-related and personal to my digital media endeavor, yet one of the most rewarding projects I worked on during my shift was creating and deploying my own UX design portfolio with Webflow. This project challenged me to not only showcase my design skills but also to consider the user experience of my portfolio. I conducted extensive personal research to identify the best practices for UX design portfolios and used this information to inform my design decisions. Deploying my portfolio allowed me to showcase my skills and experience to potential employers and gave me a sense of pride in my work. 

Finally, I also trained myself to use Wikipedia for the edit-a-thon project. This project was a valuable learning experience as it taught me about the importance of open access information and the role that Wikipedia plays in providing accessible and reliable information to a global audience. It was fascinating to learn about Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines, how to navigate the site effectively, and how each of us can become the source of more accurate information through just a little more effort in filtering information and contributing as a writer on Wikipedia. 

Overall, my time as a digital media assistant at The College of Wooster was a valuable learning experience that allowed me to grow both personally and professionally. Through the various projects and tasks I worked on, I was able to develop and refine my skills in game development, UX design, video editing, poster design, and more.