First Semester Reflection

This semester of Arlingtonian has taught me a lot about what it takes to produce quality content both online and on print. One thing that I think that I did well with this semester is trying more design things. While they may not be crazy, I have attempted to expand my abilities with photoshop and indesign. One thing that I am really proud of that I wouldn't have been able to do in the beginning of the year was the 3 in the "Three things to do in Columbus this weekend". I know its not much but by continuing to play around, I will be able to do even more by the end of the year. Another thing I think I did well with this year was getting more interviews for my stories. In the past I would only get the bare minimum, but recently I have been getting extra like in the competition story. Not only has it given me the oprutinity to choose the best quotes that really fit in my story, but it also allows me to add more content to my story.

Some things that I can improve upon next semester are including more multimedia things to my online stories. After seeing what people from JEA learned to do, I was very inspired to include more video and interactive things to my story. This will not only engage readers and make people more excited to read our stories, but it will also make putting stories online more fun. Another thing I would like to work on for next semester is sticking to deadlines more for online rotations. If I do this then I will be able to create better stories.

One way that my work has impacted the UA community is with the "Silent Education" story. This piece gave a voice to many who felt like they had an issue with how sex ed was taught and issues revolving around sexual assault in our community. This was a great expirence for me and I am very glad that I got to write it.

Another work that I believe has created positive change is Humans of UA. I think that giving students a platform to talk about the things that they are passionate about keeps our community informed about the thoughts of others and gives us a chance to get to know people we would maybe never see in real life.