A Blank Page

Sooner 2008

January-May 2008

200-page yearbook

Designer

I don't have much to share visually about this position, but I can describe what I experienced in my first staff position at Student Media. This is where I got my first taste of designing for a publication and I fell in love with it. When I applied to work there, I had never even heard of InDesign and if you had asked me to kern a line of text, I would have stared at you blankly. All I had was my portfolio of artwork from my high school AP Studio Art class. I remember freaking out when I found out that I had gotten an interview because I didn't have a real business suit. After a stressful trip to the mall, I had what I thought was the proper attire for such an occasion. Turns out you don't need to wear a suit to your interview, which I quickly found out when I walked into the Features office and got several strange looks. But, I figured, better safe than sorry. 

It all paid off and I began working as an intern designer for Sooner 2008, OU's yearbook. OU's yearbooks are premier publications and win many awards annually, including the Pacemaker, which is considered by many to be the Pulitzer Prize for collegiate publications. I was so excited to be involved and associated with these high standards. I quickly learned the ins and outs of InDesign and began laying out pages with the help of the design editor. Mid-semester I earned a paid position on staff. 

I loved being able to build something from scratch. Some people say a blank page is intimidating, but I never found it to be. I think it's an opportunity. A blank page is also kind of like college, or more specifically, the end of college. Although the thought of leaving OU behind is insanely frightening and nerve-racking, it is also exhilarating. How many times in your life can you do anything you want and go anywhere you please without being tied down? Not many. So, as scary as my looming graduation is, I'm determined to continue looking at it as an amazing opportunity, just like the blank pages I work with every day.