Author: priess.11

Being a Part of the Honors and Scholars media team

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This year, I had the opportunity to help with the Honors and Scholars media team. I got involved when I saw a call for volunteers in the weekly newsletter. I had just finished a digital media class, and I was eager to continue honing my skills in Photoshop and photography. So, I emailed that I was interested, and the rest is history!

As I had free time, I volunteered to help with activities. I would photoshop photos, and use my camera. I even did an Instagram Takeover for a week on the H&S Instagram! This is one of the pictures I used for that takeover. I plan on participating even more next year, and hope to help make Honors and Scholars’ image online and in print reflective of how great it is in person.

Living in Morrill

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The only thing I ever heard when I told people I was living in Morrill was “I’m sorry.” This was very discouraging, but I am the hopeful type. When I entered, a scared little first year, I did see why everyone disliked it. It was old, the food was just ok, and it was a chaotic living with 12 girls. I was worried that I might not enjoy my time living in Morrill.

Now, as I leave, I can see that it is mostly hyperbole. Morrill Tower is a great place to live, with big rooms and lots of space to be by yourself, even in a quad. It so convenient to go down and get food in flip flops, even if there are four inches of snow on the ground. Not to mention that Morrill has made-to-order breakfast sandwiches, which are so delicious and amazing. The only downside is the walk, but I look at it as built-in exercise.

Most memorable were the people. In Morrill, you learn to share a relatively small amount of space with up to 12 people. There might be people from different states, with different lifestyles, or even from different countries. I learned a lot about others, but I also learned about how I differ from others. The hardest part was overcoming those differences. But, my suite had zero large problems throughout the year. We all worked hard to communicate with each other about what bothers us and how to be courteous.

I may not be living in Morrill next year, but I will miss it a little. I made some great memories and friends here, and it will always have a place in my heart. I will miss the people here. And the breakfast sandwiches.

The OSU vs Purdue game

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At the beginning of the year, my sister and I purchased season tickets for football. We were very excited, both ready to experience OSU football for the first time! Unfortunately, my sister had to go to work during the Purdue game, and there was no going around it. My dad was free, however, and a big OSU fan so he just took her ticket.

What a game! It was so exciting to watch Ohio State fight to the end and to storm the field after. It is definitely a memory I’ll never forget. I am happy that my dad got to experience it too, and finally attend a game at The Ohio State University!

The Morrill Tower Front Desk

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Welcome to Morrill! How can I help you? This year, I was an office assistant, or OA, for Morrill Tower. I began working in October and will return to the job in August to help open the building for residents. My job duties include helping to sort the 100+ packages that Morrill receives daily, managing keys for residents so they can get into their rooms, answering the phone to both students and parents, solving any problems that residents may bring to us, and keep the tower secure and safe.

In this job, I learned customer-service based skills, such as communication and thinking on-the-spot as I served the residents. I also learned time management and teamwork skills as my deskmate and I worked to complete shift tasks. Most importantly, I learned about diversity and inclusion. Of our 1300 residents, many of them are international students and speak multiple languages. I loved learning about different cultures from them and my coworkers. Working at Morrill has been such a rewarding experience, and I am so glad to have had it.

I had never had a job in high school, so it was very different for me, learning how to balance work and school work. I was allowed to study during my shifts, but it was always the last priority. You could never trust you will have time to finish a really important assignment, so anything vital had to be done on your own time. This time management skill has really helped me with prioritizing my homework, and I hardly ever feel rushed or panicked now.

My critical thinking skills also have improved drastically. When you have a person on the phone, you can not tell them, “well, give me a few minutes to think.” You have to immediately have an answer, or know which direction to head for a solution. I no longer say “um” anymore, or get nervous when people ask me questions I do not know the answer to.

I am really glad that I got this job, and I am grateful for everything I have learned along the way. I work with a lot of great people from all over the world. I will never forget this experience.

About Me

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Devon Priess is a student pursuing a BSBA with a specialization in Operations Management, and a double major in English with a concentration in Writing, Rhetoric and Literacy. She is a member of the Media, Marketing and Communication Scholars where she plans to build hard and soft skills such as website design, professional development, and many more. Already, she has learned how to use WordPress, Photoshop, Tinkercad, Unreal Engine, DSLR photography. and iMovie.

  Devon is also involved in the program FCOB Pathways for Women in Supply Chains Program, where she is learning about how companies run their supply chains by visiting different locations and listening to speakers. She is also involved in the Honors and Scholars media team, where she helps develop content for Honors and Scholars to post on their various social media sites.

In high school, Devon was involved in marching band, varsity cheer, competition dance, French club, National Honor Society, Student Library Advisory Committee, and Tri-M Music Honors Society. She was commended for her performance on the National Merit Scholar Qualifying test, finishing in the top 50,000 over millions of other students. In April 2017, Devon received the Franklin B. Walter All-Scholastic Award for Richland County. She hopes to continue her academic excellent through college, and into her career.

How I chose my path: English-Professional Writing

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Image result for professional writingI have always loved reading. In the third grade, I read more than a million words on my hour-long bus rides to and from school. English has always been my easiest subject, and my favorite.

As I got older, I began to write in my free time. A poem here, a short story there, mostly to share with my sister. I always loved making her laugh with my stories.

When I came to college, I knew I wanted to continue writing in some form.  I wanted to explore my interests, but I also wanted to develop a valuable skill that would be used the rest of my life. At first, I just added the professional writing minor. But, as I took more classes, I realized just five writing classes would not be enough to satisfy my love of language. So, I added a second major in English, making professional writing my specialization.

How I chose my path: Operations Management

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Image result for operations managementAs you grow up, there is a lot a talk about what job you will have. In school, you go to class, and learn about subjects such as science in history. So, where did I learn about Operation Management?

In truth, I began looking into business not because I knew  what I wanted to do, but because I knew what I did not want to do. I did not want to be in a S.T.E.M. field, I did not want to work with children. That helped me narrow down my search to a few categories. From there, I started researching different business degrees.

As I browsed the internet, trying to decide what would be my future, I came across a list of different careers in business. There was accounting, finance, all the ones I had heard of time and time again. But, I saw something that was unfamiliar to me- supply chain management.

Curious, I delved deeper. There I found a degree that put on the perfect path for what I wanted in the future. It was analytical, but it also dealt with people. It was a field that thrived off of innovation and technology. Most importantly, it was a field that held hundreds of distinct jobs with different responsibilities. I was instantly hooked.

The more I learn about Operations Management, the happier I become with my career choice. I know its strange to be so sure, even before starting college, but I know through Ohio State and Fisher, I’ll be able to find a job that I love.

MMC Sandbox: WordPress 2

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For the last seven weeks of the semester, MMC offered another class on WordPress, this one going into more depth about the features of the service. We created sights using the MMC website as our parent site, so we had access to many paid features that were blocked off to us before.

Instead of a blog, we designed websites for companies. I made a site for my dance company, Sophistication Dance Company. They have a website, but it looks old and outdated, even though it is constantly updated. Using a WordPress theme, it was very simple to make a beautiful site. The hardest part was not designing the site, but populating the site with pictures and text. This class most definitely gave me a better understanding of how to use WordPress, especially for a business. Here is a link to my site!

Sophistication Dance Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MMC Sandbox: DSLR Photography

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With my camera in tow, I joined the DSLR Photography digital sandbox class at the end of the year. I wanted to finally learn how to use it effectively, and take artistic photos. I knew a little about photography, but this class really gave me the opportunity to explore the aperture and focus setting of my camera. After taking this class, I feel more comfortable using my camera. Here are a few of the photos I took for homework the week we learned about framing.

MMC Sandbox: Unreal for Beginners

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Unreal for Beginners was one of the many 14-week project groups offered during the spring. I love playing video games, so I thought it would amazing to learn more about how games are made. At this point in the year, the game Fortnite was becoming extremely popular, which was made in Unreal!

Unreal is easy for anyone to use, even if you do not know how to code. It uses commands and components to create code on the back end, while you are presented with a simplified list of actions. The 3D modeler lets you quickly terraform your environment and customize your game. Who knows, maybe one day I will make and sell my own game!