Greetings and Salutations!

[benmiller314]

Welcome to Composing Digital Media! Your first writing assignment is to post an introduction to yourself, here on this "Issue Queue." What is an Issue Queue? Later, we may get into some more advanced features, but for now, you can think of it as a discussion forum: it allows anyone to post and respond.

You can also add images and some other files (though not playable sound files, alas) directly into your posts here: it's as simple as drag and drop. You can also format text with bold, hyperlinks, headings, and so on. Click the buttons on your edit screen and the appropriate Markdown syntax will appear – which can be a good way to learn Markdown syntax.

Before the end of lesson 2 (or your second class, if you're joining after lesson 1), please respond to this Issue with a few words about yourself, and a picture. (Note: this is a public site. If you're not comfortable using your real identity, please choose a username and some avatar image other than a photo of yourself. Just... let me know offline or by email which post is yours, so I can give you full credit for participating.)

[paullewis2013]

Paul Lewis Introduction

Hi, I'm a senior in computer science here at Pitt, also minoring in music and spanish. In my free time I love to read, especially short fiction, and play the guitar. My favorite genres are neo soul and fingerstyle guitar and my favorite guitar to noodle around on is my thinline telecaster. I already have a decent amount of experience using some of the tools for this class between my personal projects and my internship last summer. Javascript is my favorite programming language and all of the personal coding projects I work on are written in js. I have a somewhat buggy github pages site that I created as a portfolio of other projects that I'll link to below. Even though I have some experience already, there is still a lot for me to learn. I think many people don't realize how much overlap there is between programming and language skills and I think that learning to work more effectively with digital technologies can help one to become a better writer and vice versa

My Portfolio

Finally here is a picture of me in California visiting my sister from this past thanksgiving break

[benmiller314]

I'll start! My name is Ben Miller, and I'm an assistant professor in the Composition program of the English department, where I've taught Composition Studies, Writing with Style, Composing Digital Media, and a bunch of sections of Seminar in Composition. This is my fourth year at Pitt.

Before coming here, I earned a PhD from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), where I also got a certificate in Interactive Technology and Pedagogy; I was for three years an Instructional Technology Fellow at CUNY's Macaulay Honors College, working with faculty across the curriculum to develop assignment sequences and resources that take advantage of digital environments and software. And I'm a founding editor of the Journal of Interactive Technology and Pedagogy, where I'm often called upon to edit both CSS stylesheets and articles-in-progress.

There's more, but maybe that's enough for now! I'm very much looking forward to this semester: I've thought a lot about where it might go, but I've taught enough by now to realize that it's all going to change when we get into it together. Can't wait to see where we end up!

[kaitlynmchugh]

Hi everyone! I'm Kaitlyn McHugh and I'm a senior chemistry major graduating this semester. I'm interested in nanotech, sustainability, and environmental chemistry, and I'll be working in R&D after graduation. Currently, I'm working as a peer tutor in the Study Lab and as a researcher in a nanomaterials group.

In my free time, I enjoy running, playing video games, writing horror stories/screenplays, and cooking new recipes. I'm excited for this class and hoping it will help me to improve my communication skills whether it is through prose, visuals, or other forms of media.

Here's me and my best friend's hamster named Pomegranate:

[KatelynKunzmann]

Hi, my name is Katelyn Kunzmann and I am a Computer Science senior at Pitt. My interests lie in Cryptocurrency, Decentralized Finance, and Blockchain Technology where I have created a few personal projects that work with the Solana and Ethereum blockchain. After sitting at the computer for hours programming, I like to spend my time outdoors mostly. I love snowboarding and longboarding and downhill skateboarding, although the streets in Pittsburgh are not kind. I also love to play video games, some of my favorites include Halo 3, The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of TIme, The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt, Skyrim, Terraria, and Assassin's Creed Odyssey, just to name a few.

2 years ago I got an amazing once in a lifetime opportunity to travel to the Galapagos Islands! It was the most beautiful and unique place I will ever experience I am sure.

Here I am with the Marine Iguanas 😄

[glittaua]

Hi everyone! My name is Gabe Littaua and I am a senior in the Rehab Science program here at Pitt. After I graduate from undergrad I will be attending Arcadia University's DPT program to become a fully licensed Physical Therapist!

A couple of my hobbies and interests are playing guitar, working out, sports, snowboarding, gaming, and just experiencing new foods and places. For guitar, I love learning pop songs you can jam out, calmer fingerstyle covers, or writing my own songs. The gym is my second home and I try to go 4-5 times a week. Snowboarding is something new I have picked up and am still trying to get down. I'm also a big foodie and finding new Pittsburgh locales to eat at is one of my favorite activities.

Here's a photo of me (in navy) with my friend Nick tailgating the Pitt vs UNC football game!

[aej37]

Hello, my name is Amanda Jones, and I am a senior majoring in Information Science. I won't be graduating this semester as I just did a Co-Op (which is like a full-time internship) during the fall semester at AFLAC. I worked on creating and managing dashboards for their ticketing system. I don't know what kind of job I want to do after I graduate but I hope one day I'll save up enough money to go to graduate school abroad.

For my hobbies I enjoy doing Pilates, watching reality TV shows and doing diamond paintings. I'm excited to work with Photoshop in this class because I've always wanted to, and I feel like it will expand my skillset. However, I do look forward to learning about the rest of the content and getting to know you all. I don't have any recent pictures of myself so here's a picture of a recent diamond painting I completed!

[mknuth5]

Hi, my name is Marty Knuth and I’m a senior Computer Science student going into software engineering after I graduate in April. I have some experience in web development having taken two computer science courses related to it: CS 1520 Programming Languages for Web Apps and CS 334 Intermediate Website Design. I also have a moderate understanding of Adobe Photoshop from classes in high school and using it sporadically throughout college to build mocks-ups for classes so I'm really looking forward to increasing my knowledge throughout this class.

In my free time, I like to play golf, watch sports (hockey, football mostly), and train Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. I started training BJJ last May and I’ve had a lot of fun sparring with people from my gym, minus a few injuries like dislocating my finger almost 90 degrees.

Here's me in white, dragging my training partner by his pant legs.

And then here's me in white getting slammed to the ground not too long after!

[evankozierok]

Hello folks! My name is Evan Kozierok and I am a sophomore Computer Science/Data Science major. To be perfectly honest, I'm still not very sure what I'm doing with those majors, I just suspect that technology will be a big part of my future careers, so I'm keeping things open. I took the 2020-21 year off because of Covid, and although coming back last semester was tough, I was really glad to be back in the thick of things.

Things I do at Pitt include working as an Undergraduate Teaching Assistant for the School of Computing and Information where I have/am TAing for Discrete Math, Intermediate Programming, and Big Ideas in Computing and Information (which is sort of a survey course of various computing topics combined with data analysis that all SCI students take). Non-academically, I run and play in Dungeons & Dragons games through Rollplayers (Pitt's tabletop roleplaying game club), and I'm a member of the Pitt Men's Glee Club, a men's choir at Pitt. I also like to play video games when I have the rare opportunity during school (if you haven't played Hades, its FANTASTIC).

Here is a somewhat boring but largely professional photo of myself that my mom took on a whim because I needed a headshot and didn't have anything useful. Someday I will have one where I'm not squinting because of the sun.

[jennakupferschmid]

Hi! My name is Jenna Kupferschmid and I am currently a sophomore majoring in Communications with certificates in Public and Professional Writing as well as Digital Media. I hope to work in public relations or social media marketing once I graduate so I plan to develop a better understanding during this course on how to navigate different media itself. I worked for a social media team this summer, using Canva in order to design graphics, but hope to learn of other programs I can use and new skills in the digital space in general.

My hobbies include working out, cooking, watching dumb reality TV shows with friends, and traveling. Currently on campus I am active in Pitt Pathfinders and my sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi.

Below is a picture from a ski trip I went on with friends (yes I am sitting, no I cannot ski):

[elisewebb6]

Hi my name is Elise Webb and I am from Washington DC. I am currently a sophomore and I am double majoring in Economics and Finance at the moment. I'm not exactly sure what career I want to pursue yet but I am set on getting my Masters and deifintely spending some time abroad, preferably in London or Italy, after I graduate.

Some of my hobbies include traveling, working out, photography and playing soccer. I am a part of Pitt's club soccer team and have gotten to meet a lot of great people through that. I just switched to the business school so I am hoping to now join a few business related clubs as well during my time at Pitt.

(on the left)

[amo104]

Hello! I'm Alex Ocampo (he/him), and I'm an undeclared junior. I transferred to Pitt this year from Bard College at Simon's Rock, and intend to double major in Linguistics and Digital Narrative & Interactive Design with a minor in Computer Science. I'm not sure what I plan to do after graduation—it's been getting increasingly hard to straddle the dreams of "managing dictionary corpora" and "making weird art things on the internet." I'd like to pursue higher education if I can, though.

My main hobbies include digital painting, playing video games, learning Filipino (poorly), and cooking. I enjoy exploring different media and how they can be used for artistic, narrative, & functional purposes, so I look forward to what this class has to offer!

I don't have any interesting pics of myself, so here's a self-portrait I made last semester (mimicking the album art of Watsky's "X Infinity") :)

[andres-trujillo7]

Hello! My name is Andres Trujillo (he/him). I'm currently a sophomore majoring in Computer Science and minoring in Spanish.

I'm still determining what path I want to take in the broad field of CS, so I'm taking different courses to really find out what's best for me. As of right now, the programming languages I'm most familiar with are Java and some Python, but am really looking forward to learning HTML and CSS because I've always wanted to learn how to build nice-looking websites. I also am very excited to work with the photo- and sound-editing software we'll be using in this course.

My hobbies include working out, playing/watching soccer, and hanging out with my friends.

Here is a poorly lit photo of me at the Color Park

[emilymears]

Hi everyone!

My name is Emily Mears and I am a senior graduating this spring. I am majoring in Media and Professional Communications as well as Legal Studies, although I do not currently plan on using the latter degree. I have been interning with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season in their Media Relations department (I'm a big Pittsburgh sports fan), and will be starting another internship in the same department with Pitt Athletics next week. I'm taking this class because I'm currently not the most experienced in creating digital media, but I'm super interested in it and know that it's an important skill to have in the communications field. After graduation, I hope to secure a more permanent role in media relations for a professional sports team (hopefully the Penguins).

I'm not a big "hobby" person -- most of my free time is spent hanging out with my roommates, usually just watching TV. We just finished the new season of Dexter, which is definitely my favorite TV show of all time (and I am very passionate that Dexter is not a bad guy). Beyond that, I enjoy writing, listening to music, going on walks, and playing/watching hockey.

Here is a picture of me and my maltipoo, Nala. Looking forward to the rest of the semester!

[jsw64]

Hey everyone, my name is James Wang. I am a junior studying computer science and statistics. Likely going to pursue software engineering after graduation. I have no prior experience with composing Digital Media but I've always been curious, so I'm looking forward to everything we learn in this class. I know the gist of HTML and some CSS, but I've never made a website look visually pleasing before, so I'm looking forward to that as well. My hobbies include playing piano, watching basketball, and boxing.

I don't have a picture of myself on my PC, so here's a gif instead:

[isabellebautista]

Hi everyone! My name is Isabelle Bautista and I am a senior studying Marketing and Communications, as well as Digital Media. In the future, I'd like to go into Public Relations, post grad. I enjoy hiking, working out and photography. I have been into film for the last year or so and I am trying to get more cameras in different kinds. I am part of greek life here at Pitt which has really helped in developing relationships with people of all years, as well as helped with giving back to the community, and specifically our philanthropy St. Jude. This past summer, I was an intern for a marketing firm in Beverly Hills, where I helped with digital tracking of online influencers over social media apps.

I am excited to see what I can learn in this class, especially because I haven't really taken a class like this before.

Here is some film I just got back from April, accidentally double exposed it but I thought it looked pretty cool.

[Mapatterson379]

Hi everyone! My name is Makenzi Patterson and I am a senior majoring in Health Services and Natural Sciences with a minor in Economics. I'm really passionate about global health/public health policy and am currently completing a Global Health Fellowship. After graduation I plan to go to medical school. As of right now, in my free time I like to binge watch TV shows, try new restaurants, and find music in vinyl or cassette form. I have never taken a class like this before and am pretty unfamiliar with creating digital media aside from photography and social media/canva, but I'm looking forward to learning more!

A picture of me and a close friend (I'm on the left):

[kfm24]

Welcome to Composing Digital Media! Your first writing assignment is to post an introduction to yourself, here on this "Issue Queue." What is an Issue Queue? Later, we may get into some more advanced features, but for now, you can think of it as a discussion forum: it allows anyone to post and respond.

You can also add images and some other files (though not playable sound files, alas) directly into your posts here: it's as simple as drag and drop. You can also format text with bold, hyperlinks, headings, and so on. Click the buttons on your edit screen and the appropriate Markdown syntax will appear – which can be a good way to learn Markdown syntax.

Before the end of lesson 2 (or your second class, if you're joining after lesson 1), please respond to this Issue with a few words about yourself, and a picture. (Note: this is a public site. If you're not comfortable using your real identity, please choose a username and some avatar image other than a photo of yourself. Just... let me know offline or by email which post is yours, so I can give you full credit for participating.)

Hi everyone! My name is Kaitlyn Miller (one of the three Kaitlyns in class) and I am a senior, Media and Professional Communications major, at Pitt! I am on a Corporate and Community Relations track with a certificate in Leadership. I promote mental health awareness and hope to benefit the future generations with what I learn and can bring to the professional work field. I love exploring outside, watching movies and crafting! ex. painting

[ellsimm]

Hi! My name is Ellie, and I am a marketing major graduating this semester (sheesh). I like to pretend I know what I want to do with my life, but I don't. However, as soon as I graduate, I am moving to Austin, Texas for work. I hope one day to attend grad school abroad to study marketing and consumer behavior. When I'm in Pittsburgh, I enjoy playing with (or more likely annoying) my roommate's cat, walking around, trying new foods/restaurants, going to the gym, and attempting yoga. I also love playing and coaching soccer. On campus, I worked for Pitt Program Council for 2 years and am a part of Greek life.

I’ve never taken a class quite like this one, so I’m pretty excited to see what we’ll be learning. Hoping to move a little further away from my current tech illiteracy.

Below is a photo of my dog Dakota and I right before I left for sophomore year :/

[19jinjinwu]

Hello! My name is Jin Jin Wu, and I am a junior studying DNID (Digital Narrative and Interactive Design) and Information Science. I'm from central PA, and I've taken a course similar to this one called Projects in Composition. I know a bit about Photoshop, so if you ever have any questions, I'd be happy to help! I hope to go into a career dealing with creative arts in games, such as Concept Art or Illustrations, but I'm also interested in UI/Website Design. I have a passion for art, mostly fanart of games and anime. You can see some of my work down below...

Portfolio

I like painting on all sorts of medium, including my own face. Here's one I did of the Nun for Halloween a couple years back:

[ellagrant]

Hello! My name is Ella Grant and I am a sophomore English Nonfiction Writing and DNID double major. I'm from Northern New Jersey. I am passionate about reading and writing, hence why I decided to major in English. I'm currently reading James Baldwin's novel _Another Country, which I'm loving so far. Some of my other interests include music- I play guitar, bass, and piano and enjoy writing music in my free time. I also enjoy spending time outside running, hiking, skiing, and ice skating. I'm not quite sure about my plans post-grad yet, but I figure I have lots of time to figure that out.

I'm super excited to take this class! I'll admit that I'm relatively new to all things digital media. Last semester, I took an intro to computer programming class to fulfill a gen-ed requirement and found it fascinating, so I decided to also pursue a major in DNID. I look forward to the rest of the semester!