Living Arts College Internship abigail carr

Living Arts College has two separate educational sectors: Medical and Creative Arts

My internship had a graphic design focus in the Creative Arts sector

Creative Arts is unequalled access to a 22 year mission to graduate Creativity Professionals.

Their goal is to practice extreme creativity in the business of media design and production.

They practice in a totally unique studio arts experience using high-end digital production tools and techniques seldom seen at the college level.

You know them by their work on the blockbuster entertainment, games, films, audio, advertising and space projects worldwide.

Living Arts students have gone on to work on well-known movies and productions such as Avatar, Pirates of The Caribbean, Superman, and many more.

Similar to the Digital Media Academy here at Middle Creek, the teachers are all industry professionals who know the business, so the students are getting real advice and experience that will further their education and careers.

ON CAMPUS AT LIVING ARTS

This internship has taught me a lot about myself, and how I learn and interact in groups. Not only have I gained experience in graphic design programs, but also in handling frustrating situations and overcoming obstacles. I’m glad that I’ve created a couple of things that I’m proud to add to my portfolio. Although I don’t plan on attending the Living Arts school of design, I have enjoyed my time here, and met some really interesting people. I’ve learned that I perform well under pressure. I need deadlines and due dates and hard work in a time crunch. It gives a certain level of intensity to projects that are ordinarily pretty boring. I’ve also learned that I can step up and be a leader in group settings if I need to. Throughout the course of this internship, there have been several critiquing and brainstorming sessions where my group wasn’t being productive, or no one wanted to take initiative and start the discussion. I found that I had no problem being the first to give my opinion, and stand by it.Overall, I think that this internship has been a beneficial experience for me from a professional aspect. Although many of the projects didn’t require a high skill level, and were similar to projects we have done in digital media class, I was able to learn how to overcome obstacles in the learning environment that I wouldn’t have encountered anywhere else. I’m grateful to Miss Ingram, Mr. Shannon, and all of my teachers here for the time and effort they’ve invested in me, and the success of this internship. I’ll take this knowledge and experience into my future design endeavors, and I’m glad I’ve had the opportunity to intern at Wakefield’s Living Arts College.

MR SHANNON // MR GARDNER

The two most influential people to my experience at Living Arts were Mr. Lamar Shannon (left), and Mr. Vince Gardner (right). Mr. Shannon is the educational director at the school, and was in charge of coordinating my classes, helping me connect with teachers and students who could be beneficial to my career, and making sure I reached my full potential in this internship.

Mr. Gardner was my Portfolio and Career Development teacher. He went out of his way to offer advice and really include us in his class. He didn't just view us as inexperienced high school students, he really cared about our work and our abilities as designers. I definitely learned the most from him, especially because he attended the NC State College of Design, so he had a lot of that has helped me along in my college journey.

EXAMPLES OF SOME WORK FROM CLASS

My role at Living Arts was that of a student. I attended four college level classes that not only gave me valuable design experience and knowledge, but showed me what my future as a design school student might look like: Graphic Design, Visual Construction, Digital Publishing, and Portfolio Studio 1. A typical day as an intern would include attending 2 of these classes per day, each class varying from 2 to 4 hours long. In Graphic Design we learned the different elements and principles of design that are essential to and creative endeavor. Our teacher typically lectured for an hour, and then gave us an assignment to work on for the rest of class that put what we just learned to work. Visual Construction is an art class that teaches the basics of drawing and sketching. It often involved timed sketching exercises and the observation of models to practice realism. In Digital Publishing, we learned all about advertising design and printmaking. We often worked on creating products like menus and posters, and then analyzed how consumers would react to different features of out designs. Portfolio Studio 1 was taught by Mr. Gardner, and gave students to opportunity to discover career direction and practice business interaction skills. We worked on out portfolios, built resumés, and took quizzes that showed what jobs might be a good fit for our personalities.

My classroom experiences with the Digital Media Academy have taught me a lot about the programs that we used at Living Arts, so I was already familiar with the ins and outs of Adobe programs like Illustrator and Photoshop. Additionally, the time we spent in Digital Media class making an online portfolio has prepared me for my portfolio studio class.

A lot of the things that Mr Petty and Mr Maldonado always say are also things the teachers say at LAC. For example, both talk about the importance of a strong resume and a well organized and visually appealing portfolio.

My experiences in the Middle Creek classroom also taught me that its okay to show off a little bit. You should never do less than your best work just to make others feel good about themselves. Always go the extra step and make yourself stand out. Be the kid that always asks questions in class. Be the one that shows the teacher a shortcut they’ve never seen before in Illustrator. That’s how you make connections, and that’s why people will remember you, and that's definitely something that I've experienced in this internship.

In both classroom settings, I've learned the importance of maintaining professionalism and networking. I've also learned to take initiative and go for what I want, because that drive is what will make my future plans come true.

This internship really solidified my dream to attend the NC State College of Design after high school. My classroom experiences and the people that I met there encouraged me to do what I'm good at, which is graphic design. Being in that college setting gave me a small taste of the things I could accomplish in design school, and I now feel confident that I can take on the challenges that NC State and the future may present.

Created By
Abbey Carr
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