Student shares experience working for Community Engagement and Service Learning Center

Annie Cheng in her regular working space at the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning office

Catchy, vibrant, and engaging.

These are the qualifications that Annie Cheng considers when making designs for marketing collaterals. Cheng works as a student assistant for graphics design at the Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning. She is primarily responsible for making digital and print layouts attention-grabbing. For her, creating designs are not all about aesthetics.

“Compelling and well-thought out designs command attention and helps it stand out. Well-designed collaterals also present information in a concise manner that is memorable,” Cheng said.

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Cheng is a junior graphics design major. She learned of the student assistant opening through a friend and saw this as an opportunity to gain practical experience. And she thinks she made the right decision.

“I really enjoy and appreciate having a lot of creative control in the graphics that I create for the center’s events. Additionally, the center has provided me more work to put into my portfolio and creating graphics here has given me the opportunity to apply the knowledge I’ve learned in classes,” she added.

Cheng makes two proposals for each project. After getting an approval, she will modify the graphics based on the feedback and add or take out details if needed. She also templates the designs to fit different print sizes and convert them for digital screens around campus.

Aside from the actual job, Cheng said that her biggest takeaway would be her exposure to civic engagements and service opportunities. And this would make her recommend the job to other students.

“I like being in an environment with such passion and focus for service,” Cheng said.