Hey y’all, my name is Heather Kwak. I was born and raised in Jacksonville, FL. I lived in Tallahassee when I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree in IT, but I moved back home after I graduated. I work at a local high school as an IT Coordinator. I am responsible for providing technical support and troubleshooting for high school students and faculty, with a specific focus on iPads used by students
I have always been into some form of arts and crafts. I love painting with acrylic, drawing with charcoal, making Kandi cuffs, and using the sewing machine. I am excited to create videos in this class since I used to create animated videos using game characters from Maple Story as a child and have used programs like Windows Movie Maker and Sony Vegas.
I have two dogs at home named Junpyo and Khalifa. The photo on the right is a photo of Khalifa when she was a puppy. I also used to have a cat named Pumpkin and she is missed very much.
I am looking forward to learning about copyright because it has always been hard for me to wrap my head around it on my own when I was creating videos as a 12 years old.
Hello Heather, it’s nice to e-meet you! Working as an IT Coordinator sounds challenging, especially at a high school. Also, making Kandi cuffs sounds super interesting. I will admit I had to search for what they were, but they look so colorful and seem very intricate! I love the picture of Khalifa—so cute! How did your dogs, Junpyo and Khalifa, get their names? Pumpkin is an amazing name, and I’m so sorry for your loss 💕.
I have also struggled to understand how copyright works in the past, but I am excited to learn more! Your enthusiasm for your animation videos is contagious, and I can’t wait to see what you create!
Hi Heather! It’s great to meet you (virtually)! It sounds like you’ve got the perfect mix of tech and creativity in your life. Working as an IT Coordinator at a high school must keep you on your toes, especially with all the iPad troubleshooting! I hope the kids aren’t too crazy!
It’s awesome that you’re excited to dive into video creation. I checked out Maple Story, and those characters are super cute! I can’t wait to see what you come up with for our video editing project.
Your arts and crafts hobbies sound like so much fun! Painting with acrylics and drawing with charcoal must be such a nice creative outlet. I love hearing how people stay connected to their artistic side; it can be so relaxing. I have been into junk journaling, and it’s been a fun way to reflect on memories throughout the year.
Your dogs, Junpyo and Khalifa, must keep you busy! The picture of Khalifa as a puppy is just too cute. I’m sorry to hear about Pumpkin and losing a pet is never easy.
I’m excited to learn about copyright too. It’s definitely important, especially when creating videos. Looking forward to learning alongside you this semester!
Hey there, Heather!
Thanks for taking the time to thoughtfully introduce yourself. I’d imagine that working at a high school in an IT capacity sees you juggling a lot of roles as the de facto computer person. I’m sure they value your work a lot. Do you see yourself continuing to work in educational institutions with your expertise, or is it more of a means to and end for the time being? Personally, working at FSU, I love getting to apply my tech support skills in a learning environment- it feels like a meaningful way to watch your contributions pay off first-hand.
Your post reminded me of two very nostalgic cultural objects: Kandi cuffs (which I never knew by name) and Maple Story. The former reminds me a lot of pixel art. Have you ever messed around with Aesprite? Its a lovely (and affordable) piece of software that lets you create and animate pixel-based artwork very easily. It’s awesome. My partner just brought home a kit to make fuse bead designs, which feels related.
Maple Story videos are CLASSIC. Probably one of my first introductions to machinima. What a deeply under-appreciated art form. It’s really cool that you made those; a gem of early YouTube!