Are you interested in working for the CCI Center? Think you'd enjoy writing these blog articles and running our social media? Well you are in luck because the CCI Center is hiring for that exact position. Shannon Halverson, the supervisor for the position, sat down with current Student worker, Kathryn Bernhardt, to ask her about her time in the position.
Q: How would you describe your position that you held as a Student Assistant /social media coordinator for CCI?
“The position is really what you make it! The creative and cultural industries are so broad and our center is always doing so much, so there is a lot to highlight. On the regular I would interview staff and students on topics relating to CCI and current events relating to the industry and Chapman. I would write blog posts based on those interviews either weekly or biweekly, and then craft social media posts based on whatever I was working on. My favorite part of the job was getting to interact with the community and learn about all of the exciting things going on. There is always something happening and always something new to jump into!”
Q: What were the most creative aspects of the job?
“The most creative aspects of the job was pretty much everything. I especially loved being able to design the website from scratch because I was able to take suggestions from what everyone wanted on the website and be able to create a space for everyone in the program to go to. But, there were creative opportunities with designing the posts every week for Instagram and also I was allowed to write about pretty much whatever I wanted within reason, so I got to explore a lot of my creative passions too in the articles.”
Q: What were the most challenging aspects of the position?
“I’d say the most challenging part of the job was time management. Being a college student is super busy with all of our classes, clubs, and other commitments, so I think making sure I gave myself enough time to schedule my interviews, write my articles, and put in edits before a deadline was sometimes a challenge. Transcribing interviews always takes more time than you think it will!”
Q: If you were not graduating and leaving us, what would you have liked to have worked on next?
“Ooh I had so many ideas of things I still wanted to do. I think if I had to pick one thing I really wanted to work student engagement on the site. I thought about featuring a new student every month and having them feature their work on the Student Gallery page and having students write more guest blog posts about things they’re working on or things they want to see. This space is really for the students so I want them to use it however they want.”
Q: What 3 pieces of advice would you give to the next person who takes this position?
“1. Make sure you schedule in specific time every week to get your CCI work done. If you do that then you won’t get to the end of the week and realize you haven’t done anything you were supposed to. You don’t want to get to your weekly meeting with Shannon and not have anything to report!
2. It’s really helpful to do things ahead of time when you can. If you know what your next couple articles are going to be or what your posts next week are going to be about, if you draft them ahead of time then it’ll make future-you’s life so much easier.
3. People will always take longer to get back to you than you think! So give people lots of time to schedule interviews and give them lots of time to proof articles because everyone is busy and they’re not going to always prioritize the things you need from them.”
If you think you might be a good fit for this position, feel free to contact Shalvers@chapman.edu with any questions or to express interest. The official posting will go up later this summer, so make sure to keep an eye on the Student job board, those with Federal work study and without will both be considered.
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