{"id":46996,"date":"2025-05-14T14:19:22","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T18:19:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/technology\/?p=46996"},"modified":"2025-05-14T15:19:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T19:19:27","slug":"minh-phan-sta-reflection-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inside.wooster.edu\/technology\/minh-phan-sta-reflection-25\/","title":{"rendered":"Minh Phan – STA Reflection ’25"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guess who’s graduating? I’m Minh, an STA veteran like Jessica.<\/strong> Today I’ll be sharing a bird’s-eye reflection of my time as an STA.<\/h2>\n\n\n
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most updated pic of me!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I first joined as a first-year student, I was a graphic designer who knew how to wrangle Photoshop, navigate Microsoft Office, and tinker with old-school sites like DeviantArt. I even edited videos in Photoshop<\/em>\u2014yes, that was a thing. I started off just wanting to make clear, digestible posters to communicate visually with the campus community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My oldest DeviantArt account<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But watching upperclassmen like Aubry and other senior STAs showcase their technical range made me realize: I had to level up. So in my second year, I dove into vector graphics, added sound and effects to my videos, and started learning more software through hands-on troubleshooting in real classrooms. I saw firsthand how essential tech was to daily campus life\u2014and how the STA structure itself helped me grow into a stronger technologist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My third year was a turning point. I studied abroad, taking time off from STA and diving into hand-drawing and game development. That\u2019s when I discovered UX design. I returned to campus energized, taught a Unity game dev workshop where every attendee got their Flappy Bird to fly, and started learning Figma, prototyping, and building out user experiences. This was the year I decided what I really wanted to do with my career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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tinker with computer graphics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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A poster I designed for my co-living apartment year-end food waste initiative<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In my fourth year, I stepped away from STA to focus on graduation and poured my design skills into the library\u2019s marketing projects. I realized I\u2019m someone who craves polish\u2014pixel-perfect production is my default\u2014sometimes at the cost of speed. And I learned I need to build more engineering muscle to match the speed of my design vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So for my fifth and final year, I returned to STA to rekindle the passion. I focused deeply on Figma as my primary tool, continued to refine my sound and video editing through Audacity, explored podcasting and photography, and learned Lightroom and InDesign for final print production. My I.S. (an animated film) became a personal capstone, combining character design, animation, VFX, sound editing, and storytelling\u2014truly a fusion of everything I\u2019d gained from this job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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My IS Film showcase<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I also took on a senior role: helping onboard new STAs, supporting projects, and stepping into leadership\u2014imperfectly, but wholeheartedly. I got closer to my supervisor and truly appreciated the kindness, patience, and dedication of the people I worked with. This year felt like a full-circle moment, and I leave with deep gratitude and clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n

Projects I\u2019m Especially Proud Of<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n
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  1. Unity Game Development Workshop<\/strong>
    After returning from abroad, I led a workshop on building Flappy Bird in Unity. Everyone got their bird flying\u2014and I got over my fear of leading sessions. It was a huge confidence boost and sharpened my facilitation skills.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Ed Tech Website Usability Testing with Ta<\/strong>emour
    Senior year, I got to help test the tech department\u2019s website. This hands-on UX testing experience was incredibly aligned with my career goals and helped me understand real user pain points.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Chasing International Dance Team Branding & Marketing<\/strong> (Instagram<\/a>)
    As artistic director, I designed viral content and cohesive visual branding across YouTube videos, brochures, and posters using STA-honed skills. It felt powerful to bring a performance vision to life with strong design principles. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. WooHackathon Planning with Google DSC<\/strong>
    Though not strictly an STA event, it was powered by everything I\u2019d learned from STA\u2014planning, logistics, facilitation, and design. I led a major hackathon focused on tech for social good, and I\u2019m especially proud of how smoothly it ran.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    WooHack opening ceremony ~<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

    Skills Gained and Lessons Learned<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n