Hi I'm Chris Martinez.

New Media Certificate Summary

I found the New Media Program my freshman year simply by wondering why the 4th floor of Grady had such bright green walls. I soon realized that floor held the program I was exactly looking for. I was frustrated with the Computer Science department for refusing to modernize their curriculum. They were still teaching us old technologies and programming languages, but I was happy to see the NMI was devoted to exploring technologies as they emerged.

I started in Digital Brown Bag, setting the foundation for my professional resources. In that class I was tasked to explore career advancement opportunities and create the image I wanted recruters to see. This include my online portfolio, resume, and LinkedIn. I got to hear from great guest speakers every week and get first hand accounts of what the first few years after graduation could be like. I'm glad I took it early into my college career as a Freshman, it prepared me for the internhsip and job hunts of the comming years.

As I progressed in my Computer Science degree, it became clear to me that learning the skills the recruiters and companies were asking for was only going to be possible through self-study and the NMI. I was looking to expand my UX and front-end skills so I signed up for Rich Media Production and Advanced Media Production. Not knowing anything about mobile nor web development, I quickly learned the fundamentals of Swift programming for iOS and JavaScript programming for Vue.JS websites. These classes encouraged me to learn at my own pace and gave me frequent opportunities to branch out to try new technologies. Even if it wasn't in the lesson plan, Dr. Aldridge would allow us to include APIs and databases related to our interests. I learned a side of programming very different from the back-end focussed Computer Science courses, and even got an internship because I was the only applicant who knew Vue.JS.

As a Freshman I thought by the time I reached Capstone I would have all the knowledge I'd need to do my project. It was a stark surprise to hear the project would be using React Native, a framework I had never even touched. It made for a semester of a lot of learning, but I'm very glad my instructors pushed us to use this new technology. It came up in several interviews for post-college positions and tied together the iOS programming I learned in the NMI with the Android programming I learned in Computer Science. As I finish up my Capstone course I look back at the learning opportunities that got me to where I am today. I am confident in my skills as a programmer, but more so as someone who knows how to learn new skills and explore unfamiliar tools. I'm glad the NMI was a major part of my time at UGA, and it was all thanks to the curiously green entrace to the 4th floor of Grady. Just kidding! It was truely because of the staff that helped me when I had questions about the program and the professors that kept encouraging me along the way.

Thank you for always encouraging me to make something work, then make it work even better.