intros

Hi everyone! My name is Kaitlyn Darling and I am from Fleming Island, Florida, a small town 30 minutes south of Jacksonville. I have lived in Tallahassee since August of 2021 to finish my Bachelors degree in IT. I graduated last year and now am two semesters into my Master’s degree in IT as well. I am currently not working at the moment but would like to get a part time job this semester. However, during my last semester of my undergrad program here at FSU I had the amazing opportunity to be apart of the Spring 2023 ITS Intern Cohort for the Information Technology Services department. I was grouped with three other seniors and we worked with Microsoft as Solutions Architects to fix a problem on campus. We chose to introduce digital literacy courses to FSU’s curriculum. We spent our time researching, interviewing faculty, and surveying students. The ITS department, my fellow interns, and our Microsoft contacts made this experience an unforgettable one that I recommend to all students in my program/similar ones. Some other ideas we had were also implemented such as redesigning the FSUTranz parking app for on campus parking garages. Having my fellow interns and I’s thoughts and opinions not only listened to but real changes occurring meant so much to us.

My favorite hobby that takes up most of my free time is reading. I used to be an avid reader when I was younger but picked it back up last year. I enjoy most genres such as fantasy, romance, and mystery but prefer series more than standalone books. During my undergrad program I was Vice President of Women Wednesday’s, a social and mentoring organization. We also published blogs, one of my favorites I wrote was, 20 Books to Read in Your Twenties. I recommended a variety of books that offer wisdom, inspiration, and life lessons. One aspect of this class that interests me is these blogs. I enjoy writing as well as reading about others and their thoughts. I hope to gain a better understanding of media analysis during my time in this class. I wish the best to all of you this semester !! 🙂

Hello!

To start off, my name is Hussein (who-sane), I completed my undergrad at the College of Business here at FSU with a B.S. in Management Information Systems, minoring in Business Analytics back in the Spring of 2022. Originally from Palm Harbor, FL, I decided to move back home upon graduation until I received a job offer to work for the Florida Auditor General here in Tallahassee as a Data Analyst in November of that same year (where I still am currently employed). So I moved back, the city just did not want me to leave, and a little under a year later I decided to go back to school to pursue a M.S. in Information Technology. Which leads me to today, where I am starting my second semester with you all.

A little bit more about myself, like I said earlier I am from Palm Harbor, FL which is located just outside of Tampa. I moved there at the age of 7, from Spain which is where I was born. My family is Lebanese and yes I am fluent in speaking Arabic. Back home, I have two younger brothers, in 9th and 7th grade as well as a sister who is a senior at the University of Florida. Yes, our house is divided unfortunately.

I love to travel, having gone to several countries across Europe as well as Lebanon over the past couple years. This past summer, I took my first ever trip to the midwest with visiting Chicago.

Not to forget mentioning, I am an avid sports fan, from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Lightning to the Rays and most importantly the Florida State Seminoles! This year I even became a football season ticket holder.

This course is going to be a first look into the world of digital media for me and I am very excited to get into it and tackle on any challenges. Maybe even learn how I may incorporate digital media into the world of data analytics.

Hi all,

My name is Bremen, and I reside right here in Tallahassee. I’m currently serving as the Technology Coordinator for FSU Libraries, where I manage the Tech Desk and the circulating technology for Strozier, Dirac, and Engineering Libraries. This marks my first semester in MSIT!

My undergraduate degree was in Studio Art, where my interests were centered around Sculpture and Electronic Art. I have a broad collection of hobbies, including photography, 3D modeling, casting, blacksmithing, and jewelry work. I also enjoy working with digital media, and I am excited to work on these projects for the course while also looking forward to expanding my knowledge of copyright licensing.

After graduating, I hope to advance past my role as a library specialist and onto a faculty position within information technology at an academic university.

Hey everyone! My name is Pritish. I am an international student born and raised in India. I have been living in Tallahassee since fall 2023. I am pursuing my master’s degree in information technology from Florida State University. I worked as a project engineer for a multinational company in India for a year after I graduated.

I like to play and learn guitar I took this as a hobby during my undergraduate years. I wanted to learn how to play guitar ever since I was a kid but I did not got the chance to do so. During the COVID lockdown, I started to learn guitar on a regular basis. I also like to play video games especially open-world games as it is always fun to explore and find the various things developers have added to open-world games.

I also like to watch movies especially comedy movies or movies from Marvel Cinematic Universe or DC Cinematic Universe. Here is the list top 100 comedy movies to watch. I have always liked photography and I always wanted to learn cinematography. I hope to learn basic image editing and video editing to enhance my photography skills.

There is no Frigate like one’s Life
Whose winds fill up our sails,
Nor any Detour like the Strife
Of AIDS and other’s AILS –
Such events can change our tack,
Oft’ cause our boats to luff,
Yet, still surprising is that puff
That takes us quite aback–

(The above is penned with the sincerest apologies to Emily Dickinson)

Things naval and sailing have always been part of my life; consequently, sailing seems an apt metaphor, as my experiences are strongly intertwined with unexpected life events impacting my navigation. After taking my Bachelor’s degree in the Humanities, I chose a large city with bright lights as my home. Though unsure what career to pursue, it quickly became clear that there were social exigencies that needed tending. I joined the forces combating the 90’s AIDS pandemic and fought in both establishment and anti-establishment organizations to help ameliorate the crisis our society was facing. I found an outlet for frustration by joining ACT UP, a practical but slow-going remedy by engaging in grassroots party politics, and to answer the call to Tikkun Olam, I started an AIDS care-giving team at my synagogue. About the time things began to look more hopeful in the Pandemic, I decided to pursue graduate studies in social work and began working in the mental health field at a major university. But in my last year of studies, my father experienced a major health event. I put my goals on hold and moved, so that I could provide care. My parents had retired to a remote hobby farm in the rural south. I was sure my intellectual life had come to an end. I found a job working as a policy analyst for a state child welfare agency and discovered a library system with amazingly intellectually stimulating programing. After my father’s death, my earlier pursuits seemed to belong to another place and time. Indeed, they had been a destined port for a different sailor than the one I currently was. So, I treated myself to nearly three years of utter joy by pursuing an advanced degree in English. Next, I “adjuncted” around a while, then taught on the Navajo Reservation. Finally, profoundly missing the hobby of sailing, I accepted a teaching job near the Florida Gulf Coast. Because library programming made an impact on the quality of my life, I am interested in helping create (electronic and other) programming for a public library, so here I am.

Over the Winter Break I wandered into a used-book store and happily discovered the complete set of Patrick O’Brian’s books, Master and Commander, which tell about the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. These are not just adventure- or action-packed, but exceedingly literate; they read closer to Jane Austen in style than other texts belonging to the adventure genre. As such, they combine two of my favorite passions in life: great literature and sailing. If you are unfamiliar with them, read up about them on the publisher’s website.

https://wwnorton.com/books/master-and-commander/

When I need a taste of the real thing, I go to the Clearwater Sailing Center

https://ccsc1001.clubexpress.com/

and rent a Sunfish. These little boats are very light and fast; this often makes for very wet sailing, as they are more than easy to capsize.

Hi everyone! My name is Carole (“with an E!”) Lemley. I am a Tallahassee native, born to a high school English teacher two days before Christmas. You could say that my love of books and learning started before I did.

I completed my undergraduate degree in English Literature at FSU in 2010, returning to Tallahassee from Valdosta State University when the economy collapsed in 2009. Although I worked part time at Special Collections both at Valdosta State and at FSU, I needed secure, full time work. Fortunately, a paraprofessional opportunity opened up in the media center of a public high school here in Tallahassee, where I have been since the 2013-2014 school year. While I have always had a passion for books and libraries, my time as a media assistant has helped me focus my career goals on school libraries. Now I am in my second year of the MSI program and also earning a graduate certificate in School Librarian Leadership.

Full time work along with grad school certainly keeps me busy, but I do have some other interests in my “spare” time. I enjoy watching Major League Baseball (Go Rays!) and try to attend at least one game in person each season. I also like to travel, especially to colder more urban climates such as Chicago and NYC, and I love attending concerts and live theatre performances. I’m an active member of The Episcopal Church (my local church was founded in the late 1820s) and a happy dog mom to my lab mix Sam who’s been with me since August of 2020. 

When I applied for my graduate program, my school district was still recovering from the pandemic. The library was closed; students could see what print and digital resources were available, but they did not have the guidance of a librarian to help them. As we have opened back up and more and more digital resources are available, it seems even more important to have a school librarian who can support both students and teachers in finding and using digital media.

One aspect of this class that interests me is learning more about copyleft and fair use media. Not only will this help me enhance my own media projects, but I will be better prepared to help future students use open source media in their own creative aspirations. I also hope to gain the skills to solve technology challenges I may have with producing and using digital media, and be able to provide technical support for students and my colleagues in my future role as a school media specialist.

Hello, my name is Alexa Lowry I am from Pembroke Pines, Florida but I moved to Tallahassee when I started undergrad in 2016 and decided that this was my new home. This is the third degree that I have pursued at Florid State University. My first degree was a Bachelors of Science in Information Communication Technology and minor in business. When I graduated I decided that I just wasnt done yet so I got a job with the University Business Administrators as an HR and accounting apprentice and began geting my masters. My second degree I obtained in the Fall of 2022 is a MAsters of Science in Communicatins and Media Studies.

Now I am working as the Marketing Coordinator for the Information Technology Services (ITS) department at FSU and in my second semester of the Information Specialist program. In my roll with ITS I work on multiple different areas of the communications process. My main rolls involve project communicatoins, from building out marketing plans and executing them by writing, publishing, printing, sending, creating and more communications materials. The next major part of my job is that I handle our social media accounts and content. ITS has a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and recently we created a LinkedIn.

We recently started a Podcast that I host where we talk about campus technology. I also have created other series like a “things to know” monthly video series and student spotlights. While the mian focus of my job is marketing communications I also have two interns who I supervise and some other miscellaneous projects such as making edits to our websit, running our news website, crisis communications and stepping in when needed with other projects. My recent assistance with our website redesign project is part of why I am excited about the lessons I will be learning in this class. From the content I create to my newer intrests in website design I think this class will help me learn new skills I can use in my position.

Outside of work and school I love spending time with friends, playing video games, cooking and going to the movies. I hve AMC A-list so I go to the movies every week if not more than once. I also have an obsession with candles to the point where I have a whole cabinet filled with candles for every season. There is one more thing I enjoy more than all these things though and that is my cat Olive! She was a covid kitten so we are super attatched. She is the most loving black kitty who loves people.

Hi everyone! My name is Hannah Paul. I currently live in Orlando, Florida, about 15 minutes from Disney World, when I-4 is not being evil. So on a regular day it is about a 30 minute drive for me to get to the theme parks when I want to hang out there on the weekends or after work. 

I currently work at Dr. Phillips High School teaching 10th grade English. This is my 7th year of teaching, although my first in 10th grade. I spent the last 6 years teaching 9th graders, so there were parts of my job I felt like I was learning to do all over again with new benchmarks and new content.

To relax I like to spend my time petting my cat, Benvolio, and watching reality TV. (Anybody else excited for the new season of Vanderpump Rules?) Even though high school starts early, I like to wake up with enough time to read and enjoy my coffee, giving me a solid moment of peace before the insanity of the teaching day. I predominantly enjoy fantasy and science-fiction books, but I also do not hesitate to pick up just about any book that sounds good to me. I am currently reading a suspense novel.

I began the Master of Science in Information program here at FSU last summer and this is my second round at FSU. I graduated in 2015 with a BA in English Creative Writing. I am taking this course, because I want to expand my digital media skills. My eventual goal is to transition out of the classroom into a media specialist position, before moving out of the public school system into a librarian position.