For me, National Public Radio’s Next Generation training program was an insightful, positive experience. While I was an apprentice for the project’s illustrator, Emily Whang, I was very engaged in learning various, professional tools available to me and the development of my conceptual process. As an illustrator for the university’s newspaper, The Sundial, I was already slightly familiar with the basics of editorial illustration, but with her guidance I was able to think about what it truly means to engage the audience while staying true to the main point of the article.
I was also exposed to more editorial positions by participating in a few interviews led by mentees and mentors. It was quite inspiring hearing them in person, and it gave way to more concepts for the final visual products. I would like to extend this thinking towards my position at the Sundial and towards future positions.
From this experience, I feel that I mainly struggled with communication and time management within the workspace. Communication and time management are key in a fast-paced, collaborative workspace and this project inspired me to continue growing as a newcomer in this professional environment. I hope to work towards becoming more comfortable with being honest with my coworkers and peers in the future. I look forward to the finished project and I will miss this team; hopefully, I will keep in contact with those who I’ve worked with and foster these professional opportunities.