Now although at the conclusion of my last post my office looked nothing like the office picture at the beginning of that same post – I can certainly say – to me it doesn’t matter so much. All I need is a place to think clearly, make phone calls and work without distraction – which as you may have noticed – I have an office “room” to myself – which to me is ultimately BETTER although it may not look as modern and bright as the first photo… with that being said to continue with a typical or usual day at work at the Yard – after arriving to my office and getting situated – depending on 1. how many hours I am scheduled to work and 2. the workload that I may have for that shift – my lunch break usually varies in time, length and sometimes isn’t necessary… Some of the work I do at the yard includes working with Chantelle – who as I mentioned is also a graphic designer and a former CUNY service corp member. I’ve worked on many projects with her including the bus route map, event flyers and photography projects that need to be re-branded. One project in particular that I found to be both interesting as well as challenging were some of the re-branding material she had worked on with me… This included a re-branded bus route map for certain tenants within the yard and also a series of flyers for “hiring” employees… The way we executed this project in collaboration with each other was different for me as a creative designer not because I didn’t enjoy it but because of how quickly and short the deadlines were. Chantelle usually sends me a round 1 rough draft of a design in which I over look the design and add any finishing touches or vise versa – but the best part is – is that either of us have to hover over the others shoulder – instead we work on our own personal laptops and share files efficiently because thats just what us designers are used to doing! If I were to give myself a work-grade or evaluation grade I would definitely say I am a very efficient but patient employee/designer. I always like to stay organized both digitally and physically in my work place environment and I also sometimes become overwhelmed or worried about deadlines – or certain projects that I may not know how to execute. But this has taught me to be friendly and ask the right questions as well as how to make something work by figuring out a solution on my own.
Recently after attending several meetings with external affairs reps including other executives and employees from other buildings who are also apart of external affairs – I had the opportunity to work on a brief for an executive director from the program and exhibits building 92 located in the navy yard. Her name is Carli Beseau. I consider her not only a role model but a mentor as well. I consider her both of these things because she has not only gave me career advice but spoke to me about her story and path and how we not only have things in common but how she can help me apply my soft skills and knowledge with her at building 92 as CUNY service corps will soon end. Carli Beseau is not only a mentor for me but a former educator and future museum director!
Once again I am grateful for the opportunities that I’ve created and the opportunities that were brought to me at the navy yard!
