Student Spotlight: Daniela Carey

HOMETOWN: VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA MAJOR: DIGITAL MEDIA DESIGN EXPECTED YEAR OF GRADUATION: 2022

Tiffin University offers many outstanding undergraduate science and technology-oriented degree programs. Additionally, TU recognizes the role art often plays in these areas of study, its Digital Media Design (DMD) program being a perfect example of how departmental overlap can be beneficial. Graduates pursuing this line of work need to have a keen eye for visual aesthetics, know their way around a computer and be aware of the role math plays in these tasks. Though TU’s DMD program is newer, enrolled students feel well-prepared to meet the standards of the field post-graduation and even take pride in helping to shape this evolving program. Current senior and DMD major, Daniela Carey is no exception.

Daniela is one of TU’s international undergraduate students, hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is a fourth-year student in our digital media design program (DMD), housed within the Department of Arts and Sciences. While she was initially drawn to campus because of our lacrosse program, she soon discovered that she could pursue another lifelong passion of hers while enrolled. As a long-time design hobbyist, she already had plenty of experience in the area prior to starting college, her inspiration even coming from a source outside higher education entirely.

“My mom is the graphic designer for my dad’s supplement company, and she also does design work for local real estate agents, so I knew this was for me before I knew about TU. Watching her work when I was younger was how I developed the passion, so once we changed the old digital innovation program to digital media design my sophomore year, I knew I had to declare the major.”

Daniela is proud to have been one of the first students to participate in the newly restructured DMD program, and is now assured in her ability to attain and succeed in a related career post-graduation.

“I was excited to help shape the new program and give feedback as they brought in new faculty and dedicated funding toward making it better. It made me feel like my opinion was valued, which gave me a new sense of confidence with this work. Like, if I can come up with good ideas and see them be put to use here, who’s to say that won’t happen in the real world, too?”

When asked about her overall experience as a DMD student at TU, Daniela said “I love the professors, especially my advisor, Michael Lynch, and it was cool to see a new department get off the ground in such a short time. They gave us enough money for a photography room and editing studio, an Apple computer lab and all the equipment we could need. I’m even working on a claymation movie project as we speak for a class with Professor Joseph Van Kerkhove, and I love it so far. It’s such a unique thing; I never thought I’d have the chance to try it, but here we are.”

Daniela’s status as an international student is of particular significance, as it indicates her deep fondness for TU and the richness of opportunities presented to her. While she could have easily found a university closer to home for the sake of comfort, she saw the value in being able to collaborate with faculty advisors as they navigated the formation of this new major, advocating for herself and others to receive relevant, hands-on experiences. She recognized that this was a gift, and chose to forge her own path, thus creating unique prospects for herself she may not have had access to at other institutions. Daniela’s willingness to take risks was rewarded, and her mentors responded favorably to this initiative, ultimately recommending her for a coveted position as it became available.

Daniela recently finished an internship with TU’s Department of Marketing and Communications. Rebecca Kielbasa, Web Content Editor, said “Daniela has been a phenomenal asset to our department this year. In the short time we had the privilege to work with her, she worked on all kinds of projects, which range from designing labels, shooting and editing videos, writing blogs and posting to the website. For every task we gave her, she stepped up to the plate with enthusiasm and exceeded our expectations. We cannot wait to see what she does next after graduation.”