Professor Nikolina Dobreva interviews Dan Curry ’68 about his work with Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. Click here to view the webinar recording.
The Evolution of Visual Effects Technology with Dan Curry ’68
Tag Archives: technology
MediaVillage – Advancing Diversity Week – September 20- 23!
Register now to join Media, Advertising, Marketing and Entertainment professionals for four days of open dialogue focused on advancing diversity from advocacy to activism and from inclusion to belonging, September 20-23.
Digital Transformation: An Assessment of Grants Supporting Digital Staff in Museums
Knight Foundation believes that the digital space holds significant opportunities for cultural institutions, and in recent years has intensified its work to help organizations create valuable digital content. Museums that do not invest in digital capabilities and offerings will miss important connections with potential audiences. This deficiency also seems likely to erode the relevance of the arts in society as audiences spend increasing amounts of time online.
In early 2018, Knight Foundation approved $970,000 in grants that aimed to raise the digital profiles of eight museums by supporting the costs of positions dedicated to digital and technology work. These digital positions would conceive, plan, and implement digital strategies that improve the visitor experience and expand audiences. Seven of the initial eight grantees proceeded to hire their digital positions; four of the museums’ hires remain in their positions as of this writing.
The grant period presented a series of unprecedented challenges for museums and for society at large. The Covid-19 pandemic forced many museums to close their physical spaces, pivot to remote work and add more digital programming. The racial justice movement accelerated in 2020, which itself caused a reckoning with museums’ histories of Eurocentrism and lack of staff and board diversity.
All seven grantees showed growth in digital capacity during the grant period. And, though the grantees differed significantly in their budget sizes and in the scope of their digital programs, several themes surfaced repeatedly during the research.
Terrence (TJ) Smith’18, Account Manager at Google, shares insights about Diversity and your Career
Peer Career Advisor (PCA) and Posse Scholar Zoey Ellis’22 interviewed Terrence (TJ) Smith, Account Manager at Google, to answer common career related questions LGBTQ+ identifying students might have when seeking job opportunities.
Zoey: What activities or student organizations were you involved in during college and how did they help you get to where you are today?
TJ: I was involved in Black Student Union as the treasurer. I also was a RIDDIM co-director and a Language Tables manager. My experiences in these organizations allowed me to strengthen transferable soft skills such as: people management, effective communication, and organizing events. That said, I think the biggest benefit was being able to have a diverse outlet. Understanding the importance of caring about something or being involved in something outside of work is crucial.
Zoey: As a graduate who identifies as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Non-Binary, Gender Non-Conforming, Genderfluid, or Queer, what are some of the questions you suggest students should keep in mind when researching employers and applying to job opportunities?
TJ: When researching employers, check to see if they have a LGBTQ+ resource group, typically you can find that around the company culture section. Do they have a resource group? Are they recognized for their work in the LGBTQ+ space? If they have a company blog, do they mention topics the queer community face? Honestly, any question that interrogates how the company values their queer employees.
Zoey: Would you suggest students consider to what extent they would like their career to incorporate their LGBTQ+ identity? Do you want your identity to have a major role, such as working for an LGBTQ+ advocacy group? Or expressed in a different way, like joining the LGBTQ+ affinity group for employees at an organization?
TJ: When thinking about your brand and who you are, think about what kind of role you want your LGBTQ+ identity to play. I, personally, decided to be out at work, but I haven’t been too involved with our company’s LGBTQ+ resource group. I’m a big advocate of separating work and personal life, so I focus on expressing my queer identity in avenues outside of work i.e. volunteering with LGBTQ+ orgs.
Zoey: Could you recommend any career related LGBTQ+ resources that helped you in the job search process?
TJ: O4U (Out for Undergrad) is a great organization that hosts conferences for queer college students to explore their LGBTQ+ identity while in the workplace. I recommend every queer student to at least check out the website. If they have an event for your field, definitely apply! It’s a great network and exposure opportunity.
Zoey: Have you come out to your employer, and if so, when in the employment process and how?
TJ: I came out after I was already hired. If you decide to divulge your queer identity during the interview process, I would just make sure you leverage it in a way that shows strength to your character. I have no strong feelings for or against discussing your identity while interviewing, it’s all situational.
Zoey: What advice would you give your younger college self?
TJ: Be open to change. Determining how you spend your 40+ hours of the week for the rest of your life at 21 years old is absurd. Your dreams may change. Don’t be afraid of evolving.
Zoey: Is there any other advice that you’d like to share with Middlebury students?
TJ: You’re a Middlebury College student during a pandemic. Except for the class of 2020, literally no one alive can say they’ve experienced that. Be easy on yourself and give yourself space to take things day by day.
If you would like to contact Terrence (TJ) Smith, please reach out via Midd2Midd!
The Contemporary and Digital Art Fair
Devoted to supporting a global community of galleries, artists, and collectors, CADAF launched CADAF Online, a virtual art fair held online from June 25 to 28, 2020. Click here to Listen to All the Replays!
Jopwell – Represent and advance careers for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals
We have added Jopwell as a career resource in handshake.
Click here to go directly to the Resource page under the Career Center in Handshake.
Click below for helpful articles and information for upcoming events!
-5 Ways To Make The Best Out Of Professional Rejection
-3 Stories of Black Success in the Tech Field
-Join Jopwell on September 15th for their virtual event, Comunidad Unida, where they will bring together various voices and diasporas across corporate, entrepreneurship, and academic leadership to discuss identity in the workforce and emerging trends in the emerging Latinx labor force.
–Jopwell Talks – Explores early career development and what students need to be successful in the workplace.
Redesigned Remote Team4Tech Internships
The Team4Tech internship opportunity has been redesigned for remote participation. Take a look at the specifics below and apply today on Handshake!
Virtual EdTech Internship Summer 2020, Team4Tech
Applications close May 3, 2020
Team4Tech is a California-based nonprofit that helps education-focused NGOs working in the developing world to increase their impact and improve the quality of education in their local communities. We do this by working with teams of skilled volunteers and interns who develop technology solutions and training for these education nonprofits. Over the past five years, Team4Tech has implemented over 60 projects with more than 500 volunteers from 18 leading tech companies and universities, reaching some 60,000 students and teachers.
Our response to the COVID-19 crisis has been to provide virtual and remote support for our NGO network as they navigate a rapid and turbulent transition to online learning. In partnership with the Middlebury Center for Careers and Internships (CCI), we are offering an opportunity to support two of Team4Tech’s nonprofit partners in Africa: Gashora Girls Academy in Rwanda and the Center for Youth and Development in Malawi. Team4Tech and CCI are confident that this project will provide the interns with an exciting opportunity to gain valuable work experience in a challenging environment, enhance their leadership development skills, and most importantly, help enhance the education of children in two developing countries.
The Gashora Girls Academy of Science and Technology (GGAST) is a boarding school for 270 girls, located in the Gashora sector of Rwanda, an hour south of the capital city of Kigali. Their vision is for their students to become inspired young leaders filled with confidence, a love of learning, and a sense of economic empowerment to strengthen their communities and foster Rwanda’s growth. 100% of their graduates get scholarships to attend university abroad, including the USA. This will be Team4Tech’s fourth engagement with GGAST as part of a five-year partnership.
Potential virtual project workstreams:
- Remote mentoring of teams who are working on their science and technology-focused capstone projects;
- University application support and general mentorship for girls who are planning their higher education goals;
- Presentations to teachers and students on topics of interns’ interest and expertise, e.g. digital storytelling, data science, computer aided design, programming in Python
Established in 2012, Centre for Youth and Development in Malawi leverages the talent and potential of young people by providing them access to ICT to enable innovation and development. They collect used and refurbished computers with pre-loaded educational software and install them in schools. Schools pay a basic management fee for CYD’s technicians to help with troubleshooting and maintenance. They also train teachers on how to integrate the technology into their classrooms to expand their impact.
Primary virtual project workstream:
- Research and identify relevant content to add to CYD’s digital education resource platform, Kolibri. CYD staff conducted consultations with teachers to identify 30 topics, learning objectives for the topics, and available recommended syllabus-based textbooks. These materials will be shared with Team4Tech’s interns to research and identify relevant content in interactive forms to be added to the Kolibri digital educational platform.
As part of the summer program, interns will be led through our leadership development curriculum by Team4Tech Program Directors. This curriculum was designed in partnership with leading technology companies to develop key leadership capabilities that they find are critical to their employees’ development and success. Important parts of an internship abroad are learning about another culture, acquiring cross cultural skills to adapt to a globalized world, working in a challenging and unfamiliar environment, and developing new friendships. Our remote project preparation and experience will teach interns about working in cross cultural, remote, and global teams. Furthermore, we will expose the interns to Rwanda and Malawi cultures through speakers, readings, and films. Finally, we will give the interns an opportunity to develop friendships with the students and teachers engaged with our NGO partners.
Volunteer Skills & Experience:
- Interest in or experience designing and conducting technical training
- Interest in working with and mentoring young learners/high school students
- Interest in working in a developing country
The project will kick off on June 15 and end on August 15, with an expectation of 8-10 hours of work per week. We will use Zoom, WhatsApp, and email to communicate with the students and teachers.
Please note: This program is a CCI-sponsored program. The Center for Careers and Internships covers the program fee for you to participate, and provides a $1000 stipend. If you are offered this internship and accept, you will be required to complete funded internship paperwork.
