The nature of an internship is to get your hands wet with every task that is thrown at you. One of my biggest projects as a communication intern was to create content for the 25th anniversary of VMASC. I did not expect the work that would eventually come about when I initially first started.
It is exciting work - and I am sad that my time as an intern is coming to an end. A large part of my internship was to work on this. It is hard to believe that August 10th all the work I have done will be showcased at the anniversary event we are holding. The littlest of work and accessories, I think I have done, are going to be shown. My impact will be in my face. I am nervous and excited but that is just the pessimistic I have internally.
I am happy to show off my work - a slight note to make is that I do not claim 100% of this work was solely created. It was a collaboration of myself and one of my supervisors Alex Neilson. Without him, my work would not be as crisp, unique and clean.
This coin is for the handheld fan that will be given out at the anniversary celebration. The event will be outside. The fan will be white with this design. I will give credit where credit is to - the only thing I did for this design is adding the wording. A graphic designer at VMASC, BaTo, created the coin portion. While does not make the much of a impact; the program software I had to use, Adobe Illustrator, is something I had to familiarize myself with. I had not used it prior to this but Alex helped me tremendously and helped me with making a circular path, text path and proportioning the words.
The likelihood of you knowing my supervisor Alex is extremely slim but something you should know about him is that he is a perfectionist. He is creative and precise, and wants things close to perfect as much as it can be.
Alex did not like the previous design showed above - he found inconsistency's. He told me to work on something different. The concept was my idea, he helped me execute it. What that really means is that he worked on constructing it while teaching me the steps to do. I, again, did the wording. We worked together on many different kinds of designs and we collaborated on what worked and what didn't. This is the end design. However, this design could not replace the original as ODU had already approved of it.
That's the thing, since VMASC is associated with ODU things of this nature have to be approved. So while the design was more favored - after the fact - it could not be approved in time. However, it is now the avatar for VMASC's social media and it is so rewarding to see things I have worked on are broadcasted. Faculty now have this emblem as a part of their signature. I am so proud of this and it could not have been done with the wizardly intelligent Alex Neilson.
Another unexpected project was to help VMASC's one (and only) Public Relations faculty Jessica Zimmerman. The Director, Executive Administration Alexxis Hutchinson took a special liking (I think) to me and applies my talents to where I am most needed. The 25th is not only a celebration but emphasizes the excellence VMASC has achieved since the beginning. I was asked to make templates so Jessica could plug in information. As the only PR person she handles a lot of responsibilities in general so I started working with her which was something different from what I expected during this internship but it is something I enjoy. It is another creative project that allows me to showcase my skills. Overall, it's been an enjoyable experience to make templates. It is rewarding to see my work broadcasted on social media.
Something VMASC is lacking is social media engagement. Low views and low likes. So, I took that into account and tried to make posts less stagnant and rehearsed. I incorporated the VMASC/ODU look and mixed it with a GenZ / millennial look to attract a newer and bigger audience.
Here are some examples of my work. These are specific posts to be on the feed. More of my templates can be found by clicking on the link which will take you to Canva.
These are specific towards Instagram stories and highlights. The Instagram was underdeveloped in these categories. I would like to think that my skills played a big role in this task as I am more modernized and can adapt trends into social media platforms. Click the link to see more of my templates.
Here are some examples of my work:
Another attempt to get more engagement, I made templates to add posts to Instagram stories to get more views. If you follow a lot of accounts and interact less with certain accounts it will not be at the top of one's feed. I made a more aesthetic look to capture eyes of the audience. Social media plays a huge part of branding and recruiting.
Here are examples of getting engagement on posts via Instagram stories. Click the link for more templates.
My work can be viewed on @oduvmasc on Instagram. If you have any questions or comments I will be happy to discuss them with you.
My email is lcook005@odu.edu
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