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.

Before the end of lesson 2, 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 so I can give you full credit for the assignment.)

[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!

[ZAR17]

My name's Tyler, and I'm a senior civil engineering student at the University of Pittsburgh, and I minored in petroleum engineering. Like many Pitt main students, I transferred in from a different university. Before I came to school here I attended Texas Tech University (Yes, the one all the way in Lubbock TX). I'm originally from the Pittsburgh area, born in Magee Hospital so I guess you could say I'm back to where it all began. Pretty recently I accepted a job offer to work for Schlumberger, the world's largest oilfield service provider, and I'll be working in Midland Texas which is only an hour from where I used to go to school. I find it kind of funny how life is just one big circle.

[Aba430]

Hi Everyone!
My name is Aba, and I'm (technically) a junior currently majoring in Health Services and completing a Digital Media certificate. I should be graduating this spring, but I took a semester off during my sophomore year and changed my major a couple of times. I'm definitely interested in the health care industry, but I am open to exploring different fields when I graduate. I'm currently on the hunt for a summer internship so I can continue to figure out what I'm looking for in a career. I'm from Easton, PA which is on the other side of state, and right on the Delaware River. It's about a 5-hour drive from Pittsburgh, but I've gotten used to it. Looking forward to a great semester!

[tessasayers]

Hi Everyone!
My name is Tessa, I am a junior media and professional communications major. I transferred here last semester from Temple University where I was a journalism major. I am the assistant sports editor for The Pitt News (if anyone is interested in writing let me know, we could always use more writers!). I love sports, so most of my projects will most likely involve that in some capacity. I'm from a really small town in PA about an hour and a half away from Pitt, DuBois, PA. A little fun fact about me is there were only 30 students in my high school graduating class.
The pictures up top are both my dogs, they make me smile, so I hope they can make you smile too.

[jennyaimei120]

My name is Jenny, Im a sophomore
here at Pitt. I transferred here, this year from CCAC Boyce. I didn't really know what I wanted to do at CCAC, but i knew I wanted to transfer. And I am still exploring my options. I am currently a psychology major, but I am thinking about changing my major. I live about a half anhour away from campus in the Monroeville area. I wanted to try something different this semester so I enrolled in this class. I think it will be a fun one. The picture that is attached is my 3 legged dog, he's very cute.

[abrous]

Hi everyone,
I am Aliyah and I am technically sophomore biological science major but will be graduating at the end of next year. I am completely dedicated and interested in working with/helping animals in particular dogs and cats. I used to want to go to Vet school immediately after undergrad but the money is simply too much so I am saving it as an option later on. I work two jobs here in Pittsburgh and volunteer at a no-kill shelter while back at home. Home is Eastern PA: Doylestown, Sellersville, Chalfont. Home is about 5 to 6 hours away but that is okay since I do not want to stay in PA for my entire life, Pittsburgh is one step closer to being out of PA. Back at home, I have a chocolate lab who is my entire world; his name is Dexter and he is about 12 (pictured below)

[esc37]

Hi Everyone!
My name is Emma, and I am a (4/5 - so technically a junior in my courses) Bioengineering major with a minor in Chemistry. My program is 5 years since I participated in the Co-op program, where I worked at Becton Dickinson (a medical device company) for one semester, and a Johnson & Johnson plant (hence the Listerine picture) for two semesters. I also currently work as an undergraduate TA for Cell Biology. When I graduate, I hope to work in health care/medical devices and go to med school/grad school. I am originally from Westfield, NJ, which is about 5.5 hours away and I hope to return to NJ for work/grad school in the future. I am excited to take this course and hope that it can help improve my creative thinking and writing!

[laurasosovicka]

Hi y'all, my name is Laura and I am a junior media and professional communications major here at Pitt. I transferred here last semester from Pitt-Johnstown. I live and grew up in Wexford, Pennsylvania, which is about 20 minutes away from campus. I went to North Allegheny where I played lacrosse. I'm very invested into sports, so much as I wrote a profile essay on Panthers head football coach Pat Narduzzi, which was super cool! I want to be a sidelines sports reporter when I graduate and hopefully move somewhere where it's much warmer! I love being a writer and believe it is a unique way to gain insight into a person through their writing style. I hope to learn lots from this class and improve the way I write.
Here is my dog Fletcher who I love to death & is a 6-year-old Havanese

[dashn98]

Hi Everyone,
I am Nicole and I am a Junior Computer Science major here at Pitt. I first fell in love with Pitt because it is in an exciting but not an overwhelming city, has sports teams around to cheer for and is a growing city in the tech industry. At Pitt I am involved in Pitt Dance Marathon, Pitt Dance Ensemble, Ski Club and the Women in Computer Science Club. I extremely enjoy the coding and the possibilities that come from creating software. I am hoping in the future to become a software engineer and help create software that can help people and make their lives easier, safer or more efficient in some way. I have been coding since I was a sophomore in high school and I am looking forward to the opportunity to look at code from a different angle. In this course I am excited to explore the more creative side of the computer and do something a little different than the classes I typically take. I have completed most of the required electives to graduate and so this semester I decided to take some classes that I thought would complement my degree. I think that this course could help me understand digital media and how people interact with digital media which I think is very important as a developer. I am also taking a microeconomics course and marketing course along with my computer science courses as I am hoping to gain an understanding of the business side of any software company. I am hoping to expand my knowledge on how all the pieces of a business come together to create a successful product as I think we will learn in this class there is more to a project than just writing the code. I look forward to seeing all the exciting projects that everyone develops and working on my writing skills!

[mpalko]

Hello! My name is Margaret, and I am a sophomore who is majoring in Information Science with a certificate in Public and Professional Writing. I am from outside of Philadelphia (shocking) in the King of Prussia Area. Outside of school, I am a Pathfinder, part of Incline Consulting, and a Resident Assistant. I love communicating with people, and I am very passionate about technology, so I love that my major is able to bridge those two needs together. Post-graduation I hope to pursue a career in the technology consulting industry. Altogether, if I am not doing something for Pitt, I am probably running or doing yoga. This class is incredibly interesting because I am curious on how I can combine coding into something that is visual and unique. I am looking forward to the semester as a whole.

[eaj34]

Hey everyone!
My name is Beth and I am currently a sophomore going for a major in Media and Professional Communications. This is my first semester in the major, so I am very excited to see where I go with it! I am from Scranton, PA, which is a short five hour drive. I currently am not involved in any clubs, but I do tend to work quite a bit. Back home I work at a movie theater, but here I work at Heinz Field as a caterer. When I'm not working or at school, I love to go hiking and kayaking or watching movies. I like to watch golf too in my spare time, but that never impresses anyone hahaha! I have no plans so far for after college, but I'm just going with the flow for right now.

Everyone's posting pictures of their dogs, but I sadly don't have any pictures of mine of my phone, but here are my plants:

[jlherrle]

Hi Guys! My name is Jennifer, and I am a senior communications major with a certificate in Public and Professional Writing. I grew up 25 minutes north of Pittsburgh in a suburb called Wexford. One of the things I am most passionate about it working out and leading a healthy lifestyle. With that being said, I am part of a all women's fitness and wellness organization on campus called CHAARG. Not only am I a dedicated member, but I also am on the executive board as VP of media. I love taking time to inspire girls to love themselves and to realize the working out can be fun as well as enjoyable. When I'm not working out you can find me at the mall probably spending way too much money on clothing I do not need.

[bcy5]

Hello! My name is Byong Yoo (Russell) and I am a senior majoring in Biological Sciences. I am from a small quiet town called Broomall, which is located about half an hour outside of Philadelphia. A fun fact about me is that my nickname "Russell" was given by my 10th grade highschool teacher because of my resemblance with the character "Russell" from the movie Up. Outside of class, I can be found playing videogames with my friends or practicing my guitar to show off to my friends!

[jlt118]

Hi my name is Jesse! I'm a sophomore media and professional communications major with a track in digital media. I'm from Bucks County (outside of Philly) and am super close with my family. I've always loved art and design and luckily have been able to incorporate this with my major. On campus I'm in Chi Omega, fashion business association, and Chaarg. A couple little facts about me are that I'm a vegetarian and have a golden retriever named Layla.

[ghost]

Hello, I'm Lauren! I'm a junior double degree student studying theatre arts and media & professional communications with a certificate in digital media. I'm from Pittsburgh, and during the breaks I live about half an hour north, right outside of Cranberry Township. I love theatre, music, and any kind of visual art! I play the soprano clarinet, alto saxophone, and a little bit of piano. On campus I'm really involved with Pitt Stages and I play the sax in the Pitt's Varsity Marching Band. When I'm not in class you can find me hanging out with friends, watching another movie, or finding another cool place to eat around the city! I'm looking forward to this class, and I can't wait to learn a little bit more about working with digital media as I think it's a really valuable skill set to have.

[tyllerbarner]

Hi everyone! My name is Tyller and I am Junior at Pitt. I am majoring in Media and Professional Communications with a certificate in Corporate/Community Relations and Writing for the Professionals. I am originally from New Jersey, however, I grew up in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania and now my family and I live in Cleveland, Ohio. I currently work for a Realtor doing marketing for his team of agents. In my free time, I work on a UPTV show called "The Word" and volunteer for the Office of Financial Aid and Admissions.

[jfrank1120]

Hi everyone! My name is Jared and I'm a current Junior here at Pitt. I am majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Physics (because why not). I am from Haverford, PA about 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia. I am an avid Pitt sports fan and attend all of the football and basketball games I can! Outside of Pitt sports I am also a very big hockey fan and enjoy attending concerts with friends throughout the year, and am very involved with YoungLife here at Pitt! After college I hope to attend graduate school to possibly attain a PhD in Computer Science and teach at the college level in some capacity.

I sadly don't have a dog (hopefully that will change after college!) but here is me with a cute baby!

[christyh310]

Hey everyone!

My name is Christy. I'm a junior Bioengineering major at Pitt. I just got back from doing a co-op at DSM Biomedical for the whole year of 2018. I'm involved in Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), a Christian campus ministry, here at Pitt. With RUF, I have had the opportunity to go to Yakama, WA and work alongside an organization called Sacred Road Ministries as they work to love our 'first neighbors', the Native Americans on the Yakama Reservation, well. I'm excited to be able to write/process/share more about this place and people through different projects in this class. The picture included here is of me and one of the wonderful children I've met while there.

[RYRATT]

Hey,

My name is Ryan Rattley. I'm a sophomore Media and Professional Communications major. I'm from Woodbridge, Connecticut. There's nothing cool about Woodbridge, but it is close to New Haven which has Yale and Pepe's Pizza, the number one pizza place in America. I played lacrosse in high school and I'm in Pi Kappa Alpha at Pitt.