Throughout the past few weeks, working as a design team member was a positive experience for me. Initially, I was hesitant to join the team because I did not know any of the other people and group work tends to end tragically. The most challenging aspect of the project, like any group project, was collaborating with everyone. At times, it was difficult to maintain communication because we were predominantly using a google doc, which I am less familiar with, and email messaging, which none of us check as regularly as we probably should. After meeting up a few times and exchanging cell phone numbers, the communication became more fluid and was easier to maintain. I have to give props to Emir for his leadership and devotion to making the project work and run smoothly. I honestly do not believe that without him on the team that it would have come out the way it did. Mrs. A was always extremely helpful in guiding us when we were not necessarily sure what to do or how to express our thoughts and ideas.
The most rewarding aspect of the project was the freedom that we had. We were able to work on our own schedules, let our creative juices flow, and really make the website our own. Without that sort of freedom, I do not feel as though we would have been as successful. I know that with my busy schedule, classes and two jobs, I would not been able to commit to this project without that freedom. However, the freedom was a little bit bitter sweet. I still have not spoken to or met half of the team members. The freedom to choose when to meet made getting everyone in one place at one time difficult to accomplish. In the future, I would make a few mandatory all-team meetings. If everyone were in the same place and able to bounce ideas off of one another, we could have done more and gotten to know our fellow design team members better.
Overall, I enjoyed the project and appreciated the opportunity to be a member of the design team. I learned quite a bit about myself. I learned to communicate with others and take responsibility for doing my part. Another major thing that I learned is that each one of us are different and have our own ideas and our own sense of creativity so I have to be able to accept the ideas of others as theirs and learn to sit back a little bit and not micromanage how others decide to do their part. No one idea is better than another. I also learned that I am spread much too thin and that in order to have time for the projects, classes, internships, and work that I enjoy, I need to cut back on the things that I do not enjoy as much. I liked this and almost didn’t do it because of all of the things going on in my life; I am glad I did, though. With more time, I would definitely do another project like this. I would also encourage other students to participate in this project because it allows you to meet some of your classmates, work as a team, and express your creativity. In college, there are few chances to do projects that incorporate all of those things; people should take advantage of the opportunity.
