Hello everyone! My name is Gwen Roberts, and I’m currently in my penultimate semester at FSU for the MSI program. My academic background is actually in the social sciences, as I obtained a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the New College of Florida in Sarasota. However, I’m happy to be getting my graduate degree in a field that facilitates another one of my interests, librarianship and information literacy. Currently I work for the Broward County Public Library System as a Librarian Trainee, on track to becoming a fully salaried Librarian when I graduate in August! I mainly work in Adult Services right now, but at some point I’d like to be a Youth Librarian as I feel like my enthusiasm and penchant for silliness suits that environment better. I live in Sunrise, but I’m actually from Trinidad, which is a place so rich in cultural diversity and natural beauty I can’t even begin to describe it.
I’m very excited for this class because I’ve been creatively inclined my entire life and really enjoy making art as well as engaging with it. I wrote my undergraduate thesis on Korean hip-hop music and cross-cultural expression, and for one of my classes last semester I managed to make an entire book trailer using only Powerpoint. It was quite possibly one of the most interesting experiences I’ve had making art since Powerpoint is not really a software for doing animation, but I really enjoyed trying to make it work. Hopefully this time I will learn how to use tools that are actually intended to be used for video editing however. I look forward to honing my (very elementary) skills in editing and digital media creation, and having a creative outlet. I’m also really excited to see what kind of unique artwork everyone else produces! Aside from writing about art and using unusual programs to make it, I also enjoy reading and playing video games, in the hopes of possibly making a game of my own some day.