CSUB | President's Annual Reports

(2013-14,14-15, 15-16,16-17,17-18,18-19,19-20,20-21)

When initially hired on, it was primarily for the President’s Annual Report, I became an expert in planning and executing with this project, while working alongside the director of marketing and communications.

The first year was different, as the outline had already been provided to my colleague and I who were hired on. We were hired to focus more on the stories. But, because we worked so quickly through that, we were given other tasks to work on.

It was a major lesson in ensuring that we not only capture the main events throughout the year, but also to keep a clear line in communication when managing and organizing the publication at the end of the year.

I was able to have a hand in just about every aspect, from piecing the timeline together, based on our news releases and events that took place during that academic year, as well as being aware of what should be captured throughout the year as archivable items that might come in handy for us down the road.

• Organization in timeline

  • This was the first step before anything else. I’d compile the most important stories and events from the previous year. I’d meet with my director, whoever it may be at the time, to discuss the important items, what will officially be included and breaking into the various sections. From there, we’d either start on the research/interview aspects, or pull the important pieces needed from the stories already written about a particular event or highlight.

• Collaboration

  • This is one of the most collaborative projects I’ve worked on. There are many hands involved, at one time, and the trick was always to bring in the necessary people when needed. It’s making sure there’s always communication, whether that’s in email, any important updates (not hearing back from a source, not being able to meet a certain deadline or a holdup with the printing process).

• Design

  • Once all of the stories were written, I would work alongside our graphic design artist on campus throughout the entirety of the project. We would meet, discuss the vision, any ideas we had for layout and design, then she would get to work. From there, there were usually countless edits back and forth between our team and the print shop designer team.

• Review/Edits

  • As we moved further into the process, we started working more efficiently. We’d make the edits within our documents, then send to the designer, so the edits and design process wasn’t quite as tedious.

I learned so many valuable lessons during my time of working on these publications.

• It highlighted the importance of branding and presentation; how we were showing ourselves off to the rest of the community and beyond.

• Keeping track of the process, from first drafts and notes in emails, to the timelines and status of specific items. Organization was a key factor in the success and continuous movement of the publication.

• It also gave me a chance to learn more about the design process. I was able to see the project from start to finish, and also researched more ideas on how to keep the designs fun and more modern.

Being that this was one of my first major projects at the university, it was a great way to introduce me to so many important contacts on campus, as well as taking leadership over a specific task and making sure others follow suit.