Carolina Schultz
Living a Designer Life
The Hunt Begins!
Posted on February 22, 2021
Career Fair came and went this past Friday in a flash. Before I knew it I had a chronological portfolio in the works, a presentation worthy portfolio for screen sharing, and a long list of updates across platforms. This job hunt is I’m sure going to be as interesting as last years.
Most things are still online including Career Fair. The school decided to use the Handshake platform this year. A few weeks in advance firms began to post online chat slots and students started booking them up. Resumes were submitted two weeks ahead of the fair. Portfolio was arranged quickly after. Daily firm research, practicing my elevator pitch, and prepping questions for the firms were just a few exercises I used to prepare for career fair.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the technical difficulties of the Career Fair. Handshake had an integrated video conference calling platform. In large group sessions many had disabled the video/audio features limiting an individuals engagement to chat only. Individual sessions would only allow you to join once. So with my iPad I could share video and audio but screen sharing is a little hit or miss. Joining my desktop meant I would be able to share screen and show off my portfolio and resume but not talk to the firm. I fully anticipated we would be using zoom links, as we had been for our classes, which would have avoided these issues.
Only one firm I talked to had arranged the handshake link to open a proper zoom link. So this firm was the only one to achieve the full career fair experience. I hope that this issue is solved for next years career fair. The online platform is nice and opens the event up to more people. Regardless of the technical errors, the conversations were informative and engaging. I feel like I learned more than in years prior where portfolio dominates the conversation as opposed to the firm culture and work style.
Career Fair checked off the list, and all the basics prepared, it’s officially time for the Job Hunt to begin! I have my eye on a few firms that can offer me the opportunity to become licensed as both a landscape architect and architect while exploring a range of designs. So to family, friends, interested parties I am all ears for interesting, integrated design opportunities. Best of luck to those also on the Job Hunt!
Superbowl Studio!!
Posted on February 7, 2021
My first year at Penn the Philadelphia Eagles won their first superbowl. I was in studio, streaming the game, and munching on snacks. You could hear the celebration echo throughout the city as soon as they won. It was one of the most incredible memories I have of footbal and school.
The years to follow I’d join friends to watch the game, critique the commercials, and, as always, munch on game day snacks. But this year the pandemic is full swing. So game day watch parties aren’t really in.
That isn’t going to stop the fun though. This year I made salsa, tried making my mom’s superbowl pink dip, and set up my workstation to maximize my solo watch party.
While most of my friends won’t have any fun with this my family and single studio football friend will be rooting for Tampa Bay! Enjoy your snacks! Be nice to the delivery guys who are definitely swamped trying to fill the orders of wings, pizza, egg rolls, and what not that make the game delicious! And let’s see what this years commercials bring out in us!
I am a huge fan of the poetry commercial that kicked off the game. That was beautiful!
The oatmilk commercial got me. I need that jingle now… :,D
The Toyota Olympics commercial supporting the US Team and an adapted Jessica Long story was adorable!!! Also what a twist… Toyota’s Japanese but the superbowl is too American to do a commercial with a Japanese team support… And this year the olympics are in Japan. What an odd play. But the message was so pure and adorable!!! <3 I love it!
Halftime!!!!! I love the set! It was sick!!! That was a beautiful arrangment with great camera angles! The view from the top into the whole staduim was super unique and breathtaking. The mini city choir and backdrop just fancy. The on field dance was probably cooler on camera then in person. The way the lights on the dancers hands played with the camera just made the whole thing more energetic and gorgeous.
The show was incredible and interesting in it’s use of masking and stage location. I am curious if the face covers and stage set location was a requirement placed by the NFL or determined by The Weekend. By placing the majority of the show at the upper end of the stadium does it keep the performers airflow away from the athletes and limited audience? or would the air sink down into the stadium? Or would it blow over and out of the stadium? Would it even matter? Is there concern for on field performance with air sticking on the field and risking athletes post season? Even if all the performers are tested and negative there’s always a risk of false negatives or delayed symptoms showing.
Overall a beautiful show, that felt covid sensitive, and certainly will be interesting how next year’s halftime show follows up on it.
I enjoyed the number of commercials with a community focus. It was a very supportive commercial set. Not too many funny ones but maybe next year.
Tampa Bay win!! A little something for Florida to celebrate and forget about all the chaos for a bit.
What’s a Snow Day?
Posted on February 3, 2021
Que sparkly winter music and the thrill of no school …. Gone. Never again will there be an equivalent. Where the weather once played a role in our lives the internet has allowed us to remove ourselves one step more from the physical world.
Meanwhile I yearn for a true snow day. While the past three days aren’t anywhere near the snow storms of my first year in Philadelphia it was strong enough to warrant canceling in person operations at the university. This impacted almost nothing. Covid tests were rescheduled for the next week and everyone continued to their next zoom meeting bitter about the click bait emails prompting dreams of snow days gone by.
No mini break but I did enjoy some hot chocolate while photographing the magic. Here’s some poor photography of the snowstorm:
As beautiful as the snow is I do hope everyone took the storm seriously. For those who are new to winter storms, like I was 4 years ago, it’s a lot like hurricane prep. You stock up on food and water. Make sure you have batteries and everything fully charged in case the power goes. Maybe the only difference is that you want to be sure to have things that will keep you warm: sweaters, good socks, blankets, heaters of any kind. The Red Cross and CDC have some nice guides on preparing for a winter storm. Once you’re prepped just sit comfy at home and watch the magic!
Should February prove to be snowy perhaps I will finally get to go sledding with friends! I’ll be sure to update you all on any fun snow shenanigans I get up to! Til then, stay warm!
Upenn Resources for Snow Emergencies:
Contact Information:
Emergencies: 215/573-3333 or 511 (from any campus phone)
Special Services: 215/898-6600
HELP Line: 215/898-HELP (4357)
Escort Services
Walking: 215/898-WALK (9255)
Penn Transit Ride Service: 215/898-RIDE (7433)
General Information: 215/898-7297
