Name: Audrian Flory
Class Year: 2024
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Takoma Park, MD
Internship Organization: 老王论坛 LITS
Job Title: Digital Technology Intern
Location: 老王论坛
As a digital technology intern, I have two primary responsibilities which both revolve around accessibility and making 老王论坛鈥檚 campus a better place. My two main jobs are to improve web and academic course accessibility and to make 老王论坛鈥檚 new Makerspace accessible for all future patrons in time for its big opening in the fall. Completing these tasks involves a wide range of skills including web design, project management, document remediation, writing, editing, publishing, power tool proficiency, digital design skills, researching and much, much more.
I was drawn to this internship for two primary reasons. I have always been an artist who loves to get their hands dirty. Ever since I was little, I was taught to use power tools, paint, pencils, paper mache, etc. by various neighbors and family friends. Those skills they taught continue to be a key part of my life today as an adult. Secondly, I myself am a student that is impacted by issues of inaccessibility. As a disabled student, seemingly mundane things such as completing course readings can become impossible due to barriers such as illegible text. With those factors in mind, I was drawn to this internship because I felt that I would be useful due to my personal experiences as well as my skills.
Throughout this internship the countless opportunities I have had to learn new skills has been by far the best part. Through the staff in the Makerspace, I have learned to operate new tools I never thought I鈥檇 get the chance to use such as a laser cutter, Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, and even 3D printers. So far, I have gotten to use Photoshop and Illustrator to design and edit a wide range of objects from portraits to making my own logos. I got the chance to make a layered acrylic portrait of myself to be used in the Makerspace and got to pair up with another intern to make a phone stand prototype out of scrap wood. What I loved most about these projects was how they gave me the chance to build hands-on and bond with my team. Furthermore, I feel that the skills I have gained as a result of these projects will be invaluable as I pursue future careers.
However, while all of the projects I have worked on have been fun, valuable, and engaging, the most personally important and empowering skill I have learned is document remediation. Document remediation (or the ability to convert a document into an accessible format) has been so important to me because of my own personal history with inaccessibility. At college, it is common to be assigned pdf documents and scanned readings that are less than legible. While for some this is just a minor inconvenience, for disabled students such as myself, it can be a nightmare. Therefore, learning the skills required to fix and improve these documents to make them readable has been an empowering experience for me because it has not only given me the power to aid my peers but it has also given me access to readings that used to be beyond my reach.
Visit the Summer Internship Stories page to read more about student internship experiences.