Name: Lauren Emory Class Year: 2015 College Degree: Bachelor of Science in Digital Media, Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art (Concentration in Painting) Current Location: Queens, New York What was your first job out of college, and what is your current job (if they’re different)? I started a job as a Graphic Designer at a wholesale company called Iscream right after graduating in June. Three months into that job I found out there was an opening at one of my former internships at an animation production company/youtube network called Frederator Networks, Inc. I absolutely loved that internship and really wanted to work there, so I applied - and in September I started working as their Graphic Designer in New York City. 10 months into that position the company went through major restructuring and laid off nearly half of their employees, including me. I was unemployed for two months until I was hired at Nickelodeon as a Designer in their marketing department. What do you miss most about Marist? My professors! I loved learning from them not only from their classes- but learning from them because of the people they are, and the kind of artist they are, and how they continue to create on the side, while still working a full time job! (which is so, so, hard to do). I really looked up to all of them and I wish I could still hang out with them all the time at the Steel Plant. Tell us a little about your current job and how Marist prepared you for it. Right now I'm a Designer at Nickelodeon in their Partner Marketing, Positioning, and Presentations team. (otherwise known as NP3!) We're a support team for the Partner Marketing, Ad Sales, Consumer Products, and Retail departments. We create presentations, one-sheets, e-mail blasts, Nickelodeon premiums, and so much more! Marist helped me prepare for this job not only because I have the skills within the entire Adobe Suite and Microsoft Office - but my Art and Advertising Design certificate gave me a nice background when starting this job, because I am still learning a lot more about marketing! To create easy-to-read and easy-to-understand marketing collateral- you really need to understand the information being presented. Because as a designer, not only are you making it look pretty - you might need to reword and shorten things to make everything as seamless as possible. The design and scripting go hand and hand - sometimes scripting changes with the design or the design changes with the scripting. This is all stuff I'm still learning about but going to a Liberal Arts college like Marist, where I got a nice background in English, Advertising, and so much more, really helped me catch on quickly. What is your favorite part of your job now? I like designing! I love the work, I love the Adobe Suite and working with it all day - and I can do so with my headphones on and music blasting in my ears!! So my favorite part is probably that I am able to stay creative all day. But also, Nickelodeon is a part of Viacom - a huge entertainment company that includes other brands like MTV, CMT, TVLand, Comedy Central, and more. Another favorite part not related to the work I do would be that the building I work in is AWESOME and there is a lot of perks. Sometimes we have free happy hours on Thursdays. They also give out a lot of free stuff when announcing new shows, like I got a pair of sunglasses when they announced the new season of "America's Next Top Model!" But also, their Christmas party was insane - I actually got to attend two of them since our team overlaps with different parts of the company, and it was unbelievable! What’s the best part about life after college? The worst? I'd say the best part is being independent. I got a whole new sense of accomplishment and self worth after graduating and moving out of my parents house. I'm a lot more confident as a person, and so much happier now than when I was in school. Living on my own and doing whatever I want to on my own time is awesome! I'm making slightly enough money that if I want to go to a concert, or a convention, or travel, or buy video games, or eat expensive mac and cheese, I can save up and do so - which is the best. I'd say the worst part is the uncertainty of everything and how fast time flies now. Working every weekday 9-6, the days go by so quickly and you forget what even happened half of the time. Then, some days you could be working until 12 A.M. and have to cancel all of your plans. And then just like that - you could be laid off from your job. I'd recommend to everyone to have a savings account readily handy because that's what saved me when it happened to me! What’s one thing you wish someone had told you about postgrad life? What’s something surprising? I wish somebody would have told me that things will go wrong and you need to be prepared. At this point, I'm always just waiting for the next obstacle. I knew that nothing would be perfect, but it doesn't get that much easier after graduating. While you can be independent and make your own decisions, life will continue to throw you unexpected curveballs! However, you will become more tough and mature with each obstacle and everything will be all right in the end! This is something my mother is just admitting to me recently, that there's 'always the next thing' - but that's why you need to make the most of the happy times you have, so you can keep a good spirit when the bad times roll around again! Something I found surprising is how quickly time flies by when you're working, doing basically the same thing, every weekday - it's been nearly two years already and it feels like I graduated just yesterday. Do you have anything you’d like to tell current seniors as they prepare to graduate? As soon as you start working - start a savings account, aside from your 401k. And keep your resume and portfolio up to date! Because layoffs do happen and if you don't want to move back into your parents house, make sure you have at the very least what would be equal to three months rent and loan payments - because finding a new job is always super difficult no matter how much experience you have! It took me two months to find my current job and that was honestly really quick. However, don't let this scare [you] and continue to take chances! Just stay prepared. But still spend the money you make on things that are fun. You're not just working to pay your rent and your loans - if you want to drop a couple hundred on the new Nintendo console coming out... you worked hard for your money- DO IT! (if you have the reasonable means, of course). Also, when it comes to becoming a professional in the workplace - you're going to have to learn! You might have no idea what you're doing at first, and you will make mistakes. You're new, the person who hired you knows you're new, and they know you're going to mess up. It will only be a problem if it continues to happen - so take notes, be present, own up to your mistakes and then fix them, take advice from your coworkers, and keep a good attitude. Everybody you work with wants you to succeed and if you have a good attitude, take constructive criticism to heart, and always make changes for the better - your career will keep on growing! What’s your dream job? I'd like to be a Creative Director one day. I want to be able to lead and teach a team of designers to create awesome projects. I'm not exactly sure where, but I'd love to continue to work in a field that has to do with cartoons and animation, or maybe music, or puppies, or something else fun that I am passionate about!
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