Photograph by Kathy De La Torre
West Valley College student Tomoko Wilson is evaluated by her instructors as she applies for a position on the West Valley Design Group.
Students in Design Group get real work experience
By Rebecca Ray
For West Valley College students, it's no longer necessary to enter the workforce to gain practical experience in digital media.
Faculty and staff in the digital media department at the school have created the West Valley Design Group, which faculty and students run. In the group, faculty members advise students, who work on Internet media projects for profit and nonprofit companies and agencies. Since last year, students have interned for companies, built professional portfolios and worked on commercial-level design and production products, such as web banners, websites, logos, CD-ROMS and videos.
"Organizations don't have time to train interns in this fast-paced field," said Donette Dake, interim dean of career education and workforce development. "Students are able to gain the experience they need for Internet careers through the Design Group."
The Design Group's new studio, located in one of the rooms that used to belong to the technology center at West Valley, gives students an even better taste of what working in digital media is like. The studio, which opened in August, contains both Macintosh computers and PCs, drawing tables, a meeting table, video equipment, scanners, a blue screen section with lighting and an overhead-projection system. It is comparable to professional studios, Jeff Rascov, digital media department chairman and Design Group instructor, said. Because of the overhead-projection system, spectators no longer have to huddle around computer screens during presentations, Rascov said.
Another advantage the studio provides is that it gives students a place to work together. Last year, students would either meet in a classroom or in the technology center, and would run their own directions to work on projects. If they wanted to work together, they had to arrange to meet at each other's homes. Faculty also had to schedule Design Group meetings around classes.
With the studio, students not only have their own facility, but have a greater opportunity to develop the teamwork skills that digital media companies desire .
The Design Group receives funds through West Valley's I.D.E.A., or Industry-Driven Education Apprenticeships, a project funded by a grant from the state chancellor's economic development division. The Design Group has received $249,000 each year from the grant since June 1999, and will continue to receive it until June 2001.
Although Kelly Carey, the digital media instructor who wrote the grant proposal, and I.D.E.A. project director Jennifer Oliver will write another proposal in March, the ultimate goal of the Design Group is to sustain itself through money paid by its clients. Clients pay students for their work on a sliding scale. While 60 percent of the money goes directly to the students, 40 percent goes to the Design Group fund.
In addition, the I.D.E.A. project partners with Leland and Prospect High schools so that students at these high school can take free credited digital media and JAVA programming courses taught by West Valley digital media instructors at their schools. Once the students complete the courses, they can apply to work at the design center.
Any West Valley student who wants to work at the Design Center can apply. After students interview with digital media instructors and show their résumés and portfolios, the instructors place the student as a preapprentice, apprentice or intern. While preapprentices observe apprentices do commercial-level contract work for companies and are not paid, apprentices work in teams on projects, adhere to production schedules and deadlines and are paid by clients. Interns work outside the Design Group at companies and may or may not get paid.
Last year, about 137 students at West Valley and Leland participated in design group activities, and more than 15 of the students were employed in digital media-targeted industries.
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