The little Things
Lizzy Gordon • Portfolio 2014
Cover letter
407-202-3217 @lizzygordon12 lizzygordon12@yahoo.com 3589 Gatlin Place Circle, 32812, Orlando, Fl
Lizzy Go rd on Camille Gardiner Founder of Down Syndrome Foundation of Central Florida 1000 E. Kaley St. Orlando, FL 32806 Dear Mrs. Camille Gardiner, I am interested in interning with the Down Syndrome Foundation of Central Florida. Perhaps the DSFF is looking for someone who can work well with others, is patient and organized. If this is the case, I am your girl. I am qualified for this position because of my people skills. Having been on newspaper staff for three years, I have learned how to work with others. Even so, I have learned how to work with kids who have disabilities through DSFF sponsored events such as iCan Bike summer camps, iCan Communicate workshops, among various holiday parties. I would like for you to look further into my qualifications in light of my request. I would love to uphold an intern position because I have patience and am organized. As an intern I foresee myself helping organize events and working with children. These two skills will allow me to do both of which with exceptional speed and kindness. As a three-year volunteer with the DSFF, I have learned how to communicate and respond to children who have disabilities. I have learned how to be committed to the foundation as I attended every event possible. Furthermore, I have decided to pursue a career in speech pathology because I love working with children with disabilities. If I hadn’t gotten plugged into the DSFF three years ago, I would not have found my passion as quickly as I have. I have attached my resume, and hope that you a glimpse of the patient, caring and hardworking person I am. I would be honored to take a moment of your time to talk to you in person. Thank you for your time. Respectfully yours,
Elizabeth Gordon
Resume
@lizzygordon12 lizzygordon12@yahoo.com elizabethngordon.wordpress.com
Lizzy Go rd on OBJECTIVE: I would like to obtain and uphold a summer internship with the Down Syndrome Foundation of Central Florida. EDUCATION: • Completed four years at Boone High School. Graduation date: May 29, 2014. Class rank: 39. Top 10 percent. • 3.8 GPA 2010-2011 • 4.0 GPA 2011-2012 • 4.0 GPA 2012-2013 • 3.8 GPA 2013-2014 EXPERIENCE: • Hilights Newspaper staffer Aug. 2011- June 2012. I researched information for news articles and features through web sources and library books. I wrote stories and edited other student’s columns, editorials and layouts. • Hilights Newspaper Business Manager Aug. 2012- June 2013. I designed advertisements for businesses, wrote checks and letters for businesses. • Hilights Newspaper Editor-in-Chief Aug 2013 - June 2014. I directed the newspaper staff while choosing story ideas, edited everyone’s stories and created the master each issue. • Down Syndrome Foundation of Central Florida volunteer. I babysat children with disabilities while their parents learned how to further communicate with them via iPads. I taught them how to ride bikes at the DSFF’s iCan Bike Camp in June 2012 and 2013. Furthermore, I learned how to communicate and bond with the children through various events such as holiday parties. RELEVANT HIGH SCHOOL STUDIES: • Journalism 1, Journalism 2, Journalism 3, Journalism 4, Spanish 1 and 2, Advanced Placement Human Geography, Advanced Placement Psychology, Advanced Placement Language and Composition, Advanced Placement Government, and Advanced Placement Literature and Composition. HONORS, AWARDS, AND MEMBERSHIPS • Sophomore Class Council member 2011-2012 • Social Justice Club 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 • Republican Club 2012-2013 • Fellowship of Christian Athletes 2011-2012 and Historian of FCA 2012-2013 • Key Club 2011-2012, 2012-2013 and Vice President 2013-2014 • Hilights Newspaper staffer 2011-2012, Business Manager 2012-2013, and Editor-in-Chief 2013-2014 REFERENCES: • Kim Davison- Advanced Placement Government, kim.davison@ocps.net, 407-893-7200 ext. 6012349 • Jennifer Hilley- Gifted English II and Advanced Placement Literature and Composition, jennifer.hilley@ocps.net, 407-893-7200 ext. 6014605 • Renee Burke- Publications Adviser/ Journalism instructor, renee.burke@ocps.net, 407-443-8451
Self a n a l y ticalevaluation
Ever since I was little I’ve enjoyed writing about events that occurred in my life. I journaled as a child and found it to be a healthy catharsis. I became interested in journalism in eighth grade when Delanee’s sister told us about how much she enjoyed yearbook. Delanee and I were eager to join yearbook; we applied before our eighth grade year was over, but received notice that in order to take yearbook or newspaper, we must go through Journalism 1. I signed up for journalism in a heartbeat, and I have that course to thank for my knowledge of InDesign and Photoshop. After taking journalism, and being in newspaper for three years, I have learned many things. I’ve learned how to work around deadlines, juggle multiple stories, design advertisements, work with businesses, use Photoshop and InDesign, and keep others and myself accountable for our personal responsibilities as newspaper staffers. As business manager, I was responsible for designing ads and contacting businesses about their graphics and payment plans. I learned how to stay on deadline while juggling advanced placement courses, business responsibilities and newspaper stories. As Editor-in-Chief, I have learned valuable life skills such as working with peers, making executive decisions, keeping staffers accountable for their work and working under pressure as deadline approached. An example of me making an executive decision was when I said we should not do senior stories because a majority of the staff had already voted against it. I took backlash from select few staffers, but as a leader this is inevitable. Newspaper is a valuable course to take because it enables students to become responsible for themselves, it teaches teamwork and gives them the opportunity to get published; in doing so they make a name for themselves. I have been able to utilize these skills in my academic courses. Had I not taken newspaper, I don’t think I would’ve been as diligent of a student. By working on deadlines in newspaper, I began to create my own mini deadlines for my academic classes. I was an asset to the staff by leading my fellow staffers as deadline approached. I take pride in my leadership skills and the talent of my staffers because both combined have made this year a success. Even so, I was an asset to the staff because I helped staffers with designs and edited their stories. I stayed dedicated to the staff and the publication as I created the master the Monday prior to us going to press. I stayed after many times to help others. Furthermore, beyond the skills I have learned, I have made great friends and shared many memorable nights bonding with my staff. I wouldn’t trade my experience as a newspaper staffer over the past three years for anything.
Reflection #1
I think that my double-page spread for the topic “When I Grow Up” is my most significant piece. As you can tell from the first draft and final draft provided below, I redesigned this page drastically. I really enjoyed creating this spread, partially because it was my story idea in the first place and because it was fun to talk to my peers about their hopes and dreams. The purpose of this spread was to educate students on what their peers were pursuing in life after high school. The underlying purpose was to make students realize that it’s okay to not know what you want to do with your life. Some of the students I interviewed said they were still undecided. Even so, no one on the spread was being what he thought he would be when he was younger, so it’s okay to change your mind. Coming up with a design for this was difficult, but it turned out very well in my opinion. I redesigned the page at least three different times, and the final design called for more students to be covered on the spread, so I had to interview more students in a short amount of time. I learned a lot about my peers through creating this spread.
Reflection #1
Special feature, page 4, May 9, 2014
First draft
Reflection #1
Special feature, page 4, May 9, 2014
Final draft
Reflection #2
Opinion, page 2, October 4, 2013
DM8. Person opinion: On-campus issues: I want this piece to represent me because I feel very strongly about the assimilation of peers with disabilities into school systems. I wrote this column because I noticed that people have preconceived notions about people with Down syndrome in particular. By describing my experience with these kinds of people, I think it made people think about the way they judge people with special needs.
DM36. Informational graphics Special feature, page 4, May 9, 2014
I want this piece to represent me because I worked very hard on the design and I am very proud of how it turned out.
DM13. Sports features Sports, page 14, October 4, 2013 I want this to piece to represent me because it was one of my best sports pieces that I have done over the past three years on staff.
Reflection #3
As you can tell from my portfolio this year in comparison to last year’s, I have grown in my ability to design and write strongly about my opinions. Last year, my portfolio was very bland and my clips prove that I was lacking in design skills and creativity. This year, having been Editor-in-Chief, I had the responsibility of designing the front page of the newspaper. This responsibility forced me to think creatively. Even so, I began to look at many different websites for inspiration. My writing voice has become more prominent since last year because of my column “Through Lizzy’s Lens.” I am rather ashamed of my portfolio design last year because of how boring it was. I redesigned it last minute and you could tell. This year, I started designing my portfolio on my flight to New York City. Having the design ready two months prior to the due date took off a lot of pressure and that enabled me to create a portfolio that I am very proud of. The overall design of my portfolio proves that my design skills have improved because I utilized anchors and kerning to make it aesthetically pleasing.
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Opinion, page 2, October 4, 2013
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News, page 4, October 4, 2013
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Opinion, page 2, November 1, 2013
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Opinion, page 2, December 13, 2013
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News, page 4, December 13, 2013
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Opinion, page 2, February 7, 2014
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News, page 5, February 7, 2014
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Opinion, page 2, March 14, 2014
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News, page 4, March 14, 2014
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Opinion, page 2, May 9, 2014
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Front, page 1, October 4, 2013
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Sports, page 14, October 4, 2013
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Front, page 1, November 1, 2013
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Front, page1, December 13, 2013
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Front, page 1, February 7, 2014
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Front, page1, March 14, 2014
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Front, page 1, May 9, 2014
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Special feature, page 4, May 9, 2014
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Sports, page 12, October 4, 2013
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Features, page 9, October 4, 2013
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2013/09/23/howl-o-scream-celebrates-its-13th-year/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2013/10/13/halloween-horror-nights-no-safe-zones/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2013/10/20/runners-take-fifth/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2013/10/29/finance-academy-saves-blankner-from-financial-ignorance/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2014/03/17/harper-seeks-cycling-championships/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2014/04/16/reservation-conversation-pickup-lines/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2014/04/18/record-stores-celebrate/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2014/04/18/record-stores-celebrate/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2014/05/06/valedictorian-saves-the-world-3/
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http://teacherpress.ocps.net/hilights/2014/04/15/volunteering-sparks-passion/
competition photos
student life > down syndrome foundation ican communicate 5-11_Gordon student life > rowdy crowd 9-20_Gordon
This photo is good quality because it has a center of visual interest, leading lines and depth of field.
This photo is good quality because it has leading lines, repetition and framing.
competition photos
student life > down syndrome foundation ican communicate 5-11_Gordon This photo is good quality because it has a center of visual interest, leading lines, and framing.
Design #1
photos/MCT CAMPUS
Design #2
Design #3