The Employment class was graced with the presence of Emily O’Hearn who is the Art Director of Print Services for a company called American Marketing Group. Emily has a wealth of experience having been in the graphic design industry for seven years creating a variety of magazines and brochures.
The essence of any profession or skill is that it does not happen overnight, and starting early from scratch makes a huge difference! Emily took a drawing class in high school, for example. Even though it did not completely prepare her for the Internet technology necessary for her career, it was a catalyst going forward. In college, Emily took on classes that helped her learn programs such as Adobe. Other programs she was able to master on her own so taking an initiative is essential when wanting to thrive in a career.
Staying organized with all of the projects going on all the time is important according to Emily. Setting a schedule and sticking to it while making sure everybody is on the same page going forward are also essential strategies along with teamwork and communication. Emily is responsible for constructing the vision of the project and then the whole group eventually works together as a team.
There are definitely challenges even when we are doing what we love. It is exciting for Emily to design magazines and brochures, but there may be multiple deadlines bouncing around at the same time that need to be prioritized. A good strategy is to ask one’s supervisor what is the greatest priority and obtain any advice as to how to make the project as successful as possible.
Emily’s wealth of advice for the students as they begin their internships is, “Be yourself…be confident. Know that it is alright to make mistakes. Everybody is growing and everybody is learning. If you do not like where you are and you do not like the job you are in there are people to help you reach goals. It is important to set goals for yourself and you can do anything you set your mind to….”
One of the many things we appreciated about Emily’s advice is she stressed the importance of having passions and interests outside of the workplace. Emily loves dogs, but her apartment complex does not allow such pets so she fulfills this passion by helping out at one of her local animal shelters as a dog walker. The College Experience expects all alumni to volunteer in some capacity. Therefore, we were happy to hear that Emily has these values.
We thank Emily, all of the instructors, and the students for asking their excellent questions. The whole group gave Emily a healthy round of applause at the end of class!
The following are links to projects that Emily has worked on in the past displaying her talents:
What comes after graduation? Many College Experience students, in fact most, choose to remain in Albany. They maintain friendships with their fellow and former graduates, form romantic partnerships, and some get married.