Media Scholars Practicum
I helped handle the official Media, Self and Society Instagram account with a few other scholars peers which you can find to the left .
Reflection
What did you do for your practicum?
For my Media, Self and Society Scholars Practicum I designed graphics for the Media Scholars official instagram as well as created unique content for the account. I have also been working with a few fellow students to produce new and interesting posts that other students can engage with. In this practicum, I have been given a chance to understand the process of social media marketing and realize what types of content get more engagement. With this knowledge I was able to apply it to the types as well as the amount of posts I made about a certain topic or event that was happening. Finally, through the practicum I created posts to alert and keep other media scholars up to date with events or activities that were planned for them to attend.
How did you find/identify your practicum, and what advice you would give to future Media Scholars on identifying a practicum site?
I found this practicum opportunity through one of the previous year’s instagram handlers, Nina. Through her and the media scholars teachers I was able to work with Nina starting the second semester of my freshman year in college. As a sophomore now, I have used this opportunity to count as my media scholar's practicum since it not only applies to scholars, but also to what I will do in the future. In terms of identifying a practicum for future students, I would recommend them to first choose what type of practicum and the topic they would like to do their practicum on. From there I would recommend that they speak with either the media scholars teachers’ or an advisor who works under the department you would like to focus on. This can give you many opportunities you may not have been able to find on your own.
What did you learn from your practicum?
From this practicum I was given a chance to further develop my graphic design skills and apply them to a format I had not tried before, instagram posts. Aside from my design skills, I was also able to learn how social media marketing works and how to use it to your advantage. By this I mean I was able to recognize specific patterns of which posts were more popular on the scholars account. I was also able to identify which posts did not work and how to improve them in order to increase engagement. With this knowledge in mind, I hope to apply what I have learned to my small business idea in terms of how to market and sell my idea on social media. Finally this practicum has taught me how to work in a team setting where although there is not really continued communication, we are still able to get our ideas across and done.
How have you grown as a person, student, and/or professional?
Through this practicum opportunity I have grown as a design student since I have had more real life experiences to use when learning new skills in class. It has allowed me to practice and understand how to get my ideas across better. As a person this practicum has given me a chance to think creatively and come up with new and engaging ideas. I have also been able to grow in terms of my ability to work with others. Although I have done group projects many times before, this was a lot more prolonged which helped me improve my team-work skills. Finally I have grown as a professional in the sense that I can now give advice to other students who might want to do the same practicum.
An example of my growth as a design student would be the graphics I have made for the account as shown below. I chose this specific graphic because it was my first graphic that I created under this practicum. It was also my most engaged with post so it is also the post or graphic that I am most proud of. Additionally this design was made only for this account and is unique to the event I was posting about.
Example
How can you apply your practicum experience to your life/career moving forward?
I can apply my practicum experiences to my life or future as a graphic designer as well as a small business owner. In this practicum I have practiced and learned new design skills that I can continue to use in the future. These skills will also help me during my future design classes as well as understanding what a client may want when I actually start working. In terms of my marketing skills, due to my experiences under this practicum I have actually been influenced to minor in marketing and am hoping to either minor or get into a marketing and design fellows program. Finally, I can use these social media marketing skills in my future as a small business owner. I am currently working on starting up my small business so the things I’ve noticed when posting on the scholars account can help me effectively promote my small business on social media.
What are your plans for the rest of your time at UMD?
As stated in the previous question I am currently applying for a marketing and design fellows programs as well as to my graphic design concentration program. For my rest of time at UMD, I am hoping to get a few more internships centered around graphic design as well as marketing so that I can get some more real life experiences. In terms of specific plans, I am currently also applying to a few summer internships for a graphic design company I am extremely interested in. Aside from that I hope to continue to further my knowledge in social media marketing and get my small business up and running.
What are your plans for post-graduation and your prospective career / field of interest?
For post graduation I would like to move to either New York or LA since both are extremely social hubs for entertainment and the arts. There I hope to start out by working under an entertainment company or music label to create designs as well as help in marketing for artists, the company, or anyone else. I would also like to keep my small business going and am hoping to expand that to a larger space by the time I graduate. From there I would either like to make my way into the Korean Entertainment industry, mainly music, and create designs for artists in that area or work. Another idea would be to become a freelance graphic designer after getting enough experience and contacts in the design industry. Then from there, just traveling to wherever I am needed or wherever I decide to work.
Reflection
What did you do for your practicum?
For my Media, Self and Society Scholars Practicum I designed graphics for the Media Scholars official instagram as well as created unique content for the account. I have also been working with a few fellow students to produce new and interesting posts that other students can engage with. In this practicum, I have been given a chance to understand the process of social media marketing and realize what types of content get more engagement. With this knowledge I was able to apply it to the types as well as the amount of posts I made about a certain topic or event that was happening. Finally, through the practicum I created posts to alert and keep other media scholars up to date with events or activities that were planned for them to attend.
How did you find/identify your practicum, and what advice you would give to future Media Scholars on identifying a practicum site?
I found this practicum opportunity through one of the previous year’s instagram handlers, Nina. Through her and the media scholars teachers I was able to work with Nina starting the second semester of my freshman year in college. As a sophomore now, I have used this opportunity to count as my media scholar's practicum since it not only applies to scholars, but also to what I will do in the future. In terms of identifying a practicum for future students, I would recommend them to first choose what type of practicum and the topic they would like to do their practicum on. From there I would recommend that they speak with either the media scholars teachers’ or an advisor who works under the department you would like to focus on. This can give you many opportunities you may not have been able to find on your own.
What did you learn from your practicum?
From this practicum I was given a chance to further develop my graphic design skills and apply them to a format I had not tried before, instagram posts. Aside from my design skills, I was also able to learn how social media marketing works and how to use it to your advantage. By this I mean I was able to recognize specific patterns of which posts were more popular on the scholars account. I was also able to identify which posts did not work and how to improve them in order to increase engagement. With this knowledge in mind, I hope to apply what I have learned to my small business idea in terms of how to market and sell my idea on social media. Finally this practicum has taught me how to work in a team setting where although there is not really continued communication, we are still able to get our ideas across and done.
How have you grown as a person, student, and/or professional?
Through this practicum opportunity I have grown as a design student since I have had more real life experiences to use when learning new skills in class. It has allowed me to practice and understand how to get my ideas across better. As a person this practicum has given me a chance to think creatively and come up with new and engaging ideas. I have also been able to grow in terms of my ability to work with others. Although I have done group projects many times before, this was a lot more prolonged which helped me improve my team-work skills. Finally I have grown as a professional in the sense that I can now give advice to other students who might want to do the same practicum.
An example of my growth as a design student would be the graphics I have made for the account as shown below. I chose this specific graphic because it was my first graphic that I created under this practicum. It was also my most engaged with post so it is also the post or graphic that I am most proud of. Additionally this design was made only for this account and is unique to the event I was posting about.
Example
How can you apply your practicum experience to your life/career moving forward?
I can apply my practicum experiences to my life or future as a graphic designer as well as a small business owner. In this practicum I have practiced and learned new design skills that I can continue to use in the future. These skills will also help me during my future design classes as well as understanding what a client may want when I actually start working. In terms of my marketing skills, due to my experiences under this practicum I have actually been influenced to minor in marketing and am hoping to either minor or get into a marketing and design fellows program. Finally, I can use these social media marketing skills in my future as a small business owner. I am currently working on starting up my small business so the things I’ve noticed when posting on the scholars account can help me effectively promote my small business on social media.
What are your plans for the rest of your time at UMD?
As stated in the previous question I am currently applying for a marketing and design fellows programs as well as to my graphic design concentration program. For my rest of time at UMD, I am hoping to get a few more internships centered around graphic design as well as marketing so that I can get some more real life experiences. In terms of specific plans, I am currently also applying to a few summer internships for a graphic design company I am extremely interested in. Aside from that I hope to continue to further my knowledge in social media marketing and get my small business up and running.
What are your plans for post-graduation and your prospective career / field of interest?
For post graduation I would like to move to either New York or LA since both are extremely social hubs for entertainment and the arts. There I hope to start out by working under an entertainment company or music label to create designs as well as help in marketing for artists, the company, or anyone else. I would also like to keep my small business going and am hoping to expand that to a larger space by the time I graduate. From there I would either like to make my way into the Korean Entertainment industry, mainly music, and create designs for artists in that area or work. Another idea would be to become a freelance graphic designer after getting enough experience and contacts in the design industry. Then from there, just traveling to wherever I am needed or wherever I decide to work.