Tuesday, June 21, 2016

National Selfie Day

We had a little fun today once we found out it was National Selfie Day...

Almost the whole Web Services team, minus a couple.

We will take advantage of any opportunity to take a photo. :)

-Daphne

Monday, June 20, 2016

The Final Say.

My journey working for the Office of Web Services started in January of 2015 when I applied for an intern position the spring semester of my junior year at Tarleton. To be honest, I can’t remember how I made it to Web Services, but I’m glad my lucky stars aligned that day and I was given the opportunity to join this fabulous team. In the words of Hillary Duff, this is what dreams are made of.
Hillary Duff singing What Dreams are Made of
Hillary Duff singing What Dreams are Made of.
Photo credit: gifsoup.com
The first few weeks in the office were a breeze, but it was most definitely nothing compared to what was to come. Working at Web Services signaled the first of many experiences in my life. I was introduced to the 8-5 office environment, which was a blessing. As an intern for the university's event planning program I had no weekends or Fridays to myself and it meant long hours bustling about during the week with no set hours.  Therefore, I was ecstatic to learn that I actually had work hours to adhere to. 

This was the first time I had to interview for an internship or job. I also experienced first-hand the in's and out's of damage control. I learned the beauty of being assertive, and it was here where I became BFF with coffee and sweet tea.  

In retrospective, the improvements I made not only as an individual but also in my professional aspirations are noticeable. I learned so much in the year and a half while at Web Services such as team work, the importance of networking, web accessibility, a thing or two about design, and so much more that I plan to carry into my career.

One of the things I enjoy the most about our office is how inclusive and welcoming we are of students from any major or concentration. Our intern room, or more commonly known as the “Intern Exhibit,” is always full of conversation in between tasks and projects. The diversity each student brings to the team certainly adds sugar and spice to the everyday life in our office.  

Even though I would find myself wondering how we made it from "Point A" to "Point T," because tangents and soapboxes were a special part of our conversations, I was grateful for the lessons we learned through those discussions. I loved the quality and wide-range of topics covered by our conversations because no matter the day there was always something to talk about.

As my last day in the "Intern Exhibit" nears close, I get a sappy mix of emotions. After spending so much time with creative, hard-working, and unique individuals, you learn to love and appreciate all the little things with them. From extensive responsive training workshops with Karole to cookie and sweet tea runs at McDonald’s with the intern team to therapeutic in-office venting sessions about Cascade issues, we’ve been through it all together and that’s what counts.  
Selfie time with Daphne, Karole, Morgan, and myself!
The opportunities for growth that came from working here, the people you get to meet, the relationships you get to foster and the lessons lived and experienced have been another building rock in my foundation. 

So yes, I will be departing at the end of June, but I have the unconditional support from this great group of individuals and I plan to make them proud. 

At the end of the day I can only say that I will really miss my Web Services family.

Best,