William "Blake" Welch Portfolio by Blake Welch

media

photography

editorial

pg. 4

“whisper

“

pg. 16

PORTRAIT/ LANDSCAPE

IN THE SOUTH, YOU GENERALLY DON’T DO MUCH MORE THAN ABOUT SEX...

f all newly diagnosed cases in the United States, the fastest growing rates of HIV and AIDS belong to the college demographic. 2011 marked the 30th year that the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention recognized HIV. AIDS has since claimed over 600,000 lives in the United States alone and more than 30 million across the world. Stemming from the HIV infection, AIDS progressively weakens the immune system, making you more susceptible to other diseases. Originally known as “GRID” (gay-related immune deficiency) and “the 4H disease” (because of its prevalence among Haitians, homosexuals, hemophiliacs and heroin users), this disease has had many faces over the years. Today, however, it is clear that AIDS and HIV are not exclusive to any one demographic. The entire Southeast has an extremely high rate of HIV and AIDS diagnoses, accounting for the majority of cases across the nation. South Carolina largely contributes to this. Statistics released in 2009 rank Columbia as the sixth worst rate of newly diagnosed AIDS cases. The disease’s prevalence in Columbia surpasses notorious “party” cities like Las Vegas and New Orleans. Seven of the 10 worst-rated states belong to the Southeast, which the medical community has deemed as the ‘AIDS belt’ of the US–and South Carolina proves to be the buckle. Trojan, the latex provider, annually ranks universities’ sexual health resources across the country, and for many years, USC has been near the top of that list. Despite availability of sexual health

26 | GARNET & BLACK 2012

storewars [ BY WILLIAM BLAKELY WELCH

617 Harden Street

hookah spots

[

Disorderly Conduct is located on Harden Street in Five Points across from Red Hot Tomatoes. This hookah supply venue differs from the other hookah spots in Columbia in that it is actually a store that sells hookah paraphernalia and other goods. Disorderly allows its customers to smoke outside at one of its tables during regular business hours and offers great preparation and expertise. There is a limited selection of flavors to smoke at the store, but Disorderly has one of the best selections of flavors for sale that you can find in this city. You can pick up some awesome flavors if you’ve invested in your own hookah. Prices are pretty cheap at Disorderly compared to the other hookah options, but you can save even more money if you bring friends along to share the experience (and cost) with you. Hours: Sun: 12-8 p.m., M-W: 11a.m.-8 p.m., Th: 11 a.m.-11 p.m., F-Sat: 12 p.m.-12 a.m. PRICES: $5 FOR FIRST PERSON, $2 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL PERSON (MAX. FOUR PER HOOKAH)

629 Main Street

Al-Amir

Al-Amir, located on Main Street between Firehouse and Moe’s, offers a unique, quality dining experience with several traditional Mediterranean dishes that cannot be found anywhere else in Columbia. While the variety of hookah flavors isn’t the greatest, the offered options make sure that even the most inexperienced smoker can have a great time. City law prohibits customers from smoking inside of Al-Amir, but the staff does a good job of making sure its clients get customer service. For those looking to satisfy a hookah craving along with some traditional, delicious food, Al-Amir is by far the best venue in Columbia. Overall, this dining experience provides quick service and an opportunity to learn about hookah. Hours: M-Sat: 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Sun: 10 a.m.- 9 p.m. PRICES: VARY DEPENDING ON PARTY AND NIGHT, EXPECT AROUND $12-$15

919C Sumter Street

803

803 is a members-only hookah and oxygen bar located across from the Horseshoe and next to Beezer’s. It is the most convenient hookah bar for those living on campus, yet probably the least known to students. 803 offers a great selection of hookah flavors and regular specials at its two full-size bars (one upstairs and one down). This generally laid-back venue always has music playing, whether it be a live band, DJ or the bartender’s iPod. 803 has a climate geared toward the college student who wants to hang out with friends, have a few drinks and smoke hookah. The bar’s seating lines the walls, inviting clients to proceed to any section of the two-story establishment as soon as they enter. With flat rate pricing per bowl, prices at 803 can easily be kept in check by splitting a bill amongst your group.

“Education is key,” she says. “When people know better, to talk candidly & without shame about an issue that affects us all, their health

24 age

diagnosed with

HIV/AIDS Total

2009

2008

Our state will .”

GREENVILLE CO. 250+ of 100,000 people infected

Hours: Sun-Th: 9 p.m.- 3 a.m., F - Sat: 9 p.m.-close

the curriculum thst he was taught is long overdue. “They didn’t teach us much, and we had already heard most of what they would teach us in other places,” he says. “We all knew about condoms and birth control. They didn’t teach much beyond that.” The majority of American high school sex education programs teach an abstinence-based method, so most students learn that they should refrain from sex until marriage. This method often results in students not learning proper protection methods for infections. A large number of high school students are sexually active, and evidence proves that this number only increases among college students. If students are undereducated about infections their bodies can contract, what does that mean for our well-being? Times have changed, and this isn’t the same South that our parents grew up accustomed to. We are linked through smartphones, computers and other gadgets, and sharing explicit details of our personal lives has become relatively common. Fourth-year business management student Lee Williams believes that, despite this constant contact, the boundaries we place on our sexual discussions regarding STD’s have led to the prevalence of HIV and AIDS among college students. “We always seem to be talking about sex, and popular culture and media certainly support our generation’s general belief that sex is a good thing,” he says. “I believe that it is but also that we should do it safely. Even so, I would

gandbmagazine.com

be uncomfortable discussing AIDS status and testing with someone. I’ve never had that conversation with a partner.” Many in our student body have never discussed it either. To learn more about students’ sexual health awareness and practices, Garnet & Black spoke with 60 USC students. All but five of these students say they are sexually active, and almost all of them say that their partner’s sexual health is of large concern to them. Despite this, most of them had never discussed STD’s with their partners before engaging in sex, let alone talk about it with anyone else. Nor had they been tested themselves. A conversation about sexual health can be unnerving, particularly in the South, but Shameka Wilson believes it is the first step. “Education is key,” she says. “When people know better, to talk candidly and without shame about an issue that affects us all, their health will benefit. Our state will benefit too.” We’re willing to acknowledge the enjoyable parts of sex. Guys proudly reach into the bowl of free condoms at the Student Health Center, and girls openly pop birth control pills before class. We rarely consider, however, that we, or our partners, could be infected. Without being tested, the disease is invisible. Navigating a conversation about HIV and AIDS is difficult. Perhaps that scares us more than anything. We must look past our foolish fears and realize that one uncomfortable conversation with a partner could prevent a life-long illness.

scene

Disorderly Conduct

_Shameka Wilson

resources, the AIDS rate in Columbia consistently ranks among the worst cities in the country. But why is our rank for contracting this deadly infection so high? The homegrown, conservative lifestyle so often associated with the South may contribute. Shameka Wilson, sexual health coordinator at USC Campus Wellness, says the Southeast addresses HIV and AIDS differently than other places. “In the South, you generally don’t do more than whisper about sex. In [other parts of the country], they’re more open about it, and it shows in the programs they create,” she says. I was born and raised in South Carolina, and when it comes to sex, mum’s the word. Most people believe that what happens in the privacy of your bedroom should stay there, even among your closest friends, and our state’s overall sexual health suffers for it. How we approach and discuss the subject forms at an early age. When examining schools’ sexual health programs in different areas of the country, one cannot ignore the disparities of South Carolina’s system. “My high school [in Connecticut] required everyone to take two semesterlong classes about sexual health, and we covered just about everything,” thirdyear visual communications student Annie Drowne, recalls. “It wasn’t a big deal to talk about it.” This is in sharp contrast to the minimal amount of sexual education given in the South, as most high schools only cover it for a few weeks, if at all. Vinet Patel, fourth-year risk management and insurance student, offers that updating

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SPORTs

PRICES FOR ADMISSION: $5 FOR GUEST; $10 FOR 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP; $15 FOR 1-YEAR MEMBERSHIP, ADDITIONAL $18 FOR FOUR-PERSON HOOKAH

ﬂavor studies

RICHLAND CO. 250+ of 100,000 people infected

BLOGS

no preference 18

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other 8

watermelon 7

peach 3

blue mist 3

grape 4

cherry 9

BLAKE SURVEYED 52 HOOKAH-SMOKING STUDENTS FOR THEIR FAVORITE FLAVORS

2010 GARNET & BLACK | 13

CHARLESTON CO. 250+ of 100,000 people infected

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2012 GARNET & BLACK | 27

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EVENTs

design

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PUBLICATION ADS/PR

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WHERE Ive BEEN

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WHERE IM GOING

WILLIAM B. WELCH 864-303-7289

welchwb@gmail.com

@welchwb35

Education: University of South Carolina Fall 2008 - Fall 2012 B.A. Journalism and Mass Communications Major: Visual Communications

Executive Editor for G&B Magazine August 2012 - current Blogging / PR Intern for Yellowflag.net August 2012 - current Media Consultant for Chemstone Inc. June 2012 - current Research Intern for S.C. Policy Council May 2012 - August 2012 Editor-in-Chief of Discover Carolina March 2012 - May 2012 Study Abroad Semester in Munich, Germany May 2011 Editor-in-Chief of G&B Magazine May 2011 - May 2012 Enrolled in Journalism program at USC October 2010 Online Editor for G&B Magazine August 2010 - May 2011 Enrolled at the University of South Carolina Fall 2008

Work Experience: Production: Conducting photo, design and editorial research, photography, photo editing, page layout, flyer and brochure design, writing and copyediting. Management: Developing monthly and yearly production and content schedules, setting up photoshoots, finding and contacting models and article subjects and planning publication editorial, design and photo boards. Et cetera: Creating and developing external relations and partnerships, online content management, SEO utilization, social media management, creating and running staff development programs and event planning.

Related Skills:

RESUME

I have professional experience with all of the below: - Content management systems (Wordpress, Joomla, et al.) - Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office Suite - basic HTML coding - using DSLR cameras, lighting equipment, et al. - iMovie and FinalCut Pro software - client communication and project management

Objective: Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m looking for an opportunity to be hands-on and engaged in a dynamic workplace that challenges me on a daily basis. I believe that my wide range of work experiences in such a condensed time frame proves that I can be an efficient, highly-motivated and valuable member of any creative company.

about

Management Experience This cover is from my first issue as Editor-in-Chief, during the fall 2011 semester. Garnet & Black Magazine is a student-run publication funded by the university. The purpose of this magazine is to serve as a replacement to the yearbook. In our first issue, we wanted to immediately capture everyone’s attention while talking about something everyone was already thinking about: the rise of college tuition. Over the summer, I put together a staff that would build the magazines over the course of the year. I also brainstormed concepts, photos and artwork for each issue. Within the first four hours of the first issue’s release, we gave away nearly seventy percent of our printed issues.

Student Magazine of the University of South Carolina

COLUMBIA’S SECRET PLAGUE

This cover is from the spring issue during my year as Editor-in-Chief. Typically, this quarter’s magazine has always revolved around Valentine’s Day. This year, we wanted to take the opportunity to raise awareness for an

DANCE MARATHON: UP ALL NIGHT

issue that’s become a serious problem in

DATING IN THE MODERN WORLD

Columbia: AIDS and HIV.

HOW TO FAKE A GREAT INTERVIEW

POSITIVE

TESTING

Spring 2O12

The summer issue of Garnet & Black Magazine featured a much lighter atmosphere, as we wanted to focus on the one thing almost all college students love: summer break. For the cover, we decided to focus on our strengths in photography and style. In doing so, we were able to capture the idea of summer travel and leisure. This also helped the magazine market itself towards Columbiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s many local boutiques, which are generally our largest advertisers. In doing so, we recorded our single highest ad sales per issue, to further build on our already record sales for the entire year. Additionally, G&B Magazine received several regional and national awards in my year as Editor-in-Chief.

Discover Carolina is the University of South Carolinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s official guidebook for incoming students and their parents. During the spring semester of 2012, I served as Editor-in-Chief with a primary staff of four people to put together this 134-page book. This year, our bottom-line, ad sales and page count all reached all-time records. Personally, I was responsible for much of the artwork, writing, copy-editing, photography and decision-making on what would be included.

Blake Welch Media pg.5

storewars [ BY WILLIAM BLAKELY WELCH

617 Harden Street

hookah spots

[

PUBLICATION EDITORIAL

scene

Disorderly Conduct

629 Main Street

Al-Amir

This was my first written story for a

printed publication. In it, I went to three local stores to review everything from their food and atmosphere to their location and

PRICES: VARY DEPENDING ON PARTY AND NIGHT, EXPECT AROUND $12-$15

919C Sumter Street

803

hookah collection.

After my initial review of these stores, I then went around campus and collected a sample survey of how many students smoke hookah and the what the preferred

Hours: Sun-Th: 9 p.m.- 3 a.m., F - Sat: 9 p.m.-close PRICES FOR ADMISSION: $5 FOR GUEST; $10 FOR 6-MONTH MEMBERSHIP; $15 FOR 1-YEAR MEMBERSHIP, ADDITIONAL $18 FOR FOUR-PERSON HOOKAH

flavors were.

ﬂavor studies

summer 2012 issue of Garnet & Black Magazine, I attended a show of the local band “Dead Surf.” Afterwards, I had the opportunity to interview each member of the band and find out more about their history and personal style. This was my first attempt at music review writing and, while it was admittedly outside of my general knowledge, the story was highly commended within the local music industry. Since this article, Dead Surf has gone on to release their second EP

pg.6 Blake Welch Media

no preference 18

other 8

gandbmagazine.com

In this article, published in the

and completed a regional tour.

watermelon 7

blue mist 3

peach 3

grape 4

cherry 9

BLAKE SURVEYED 52 HOOKAH-SMOKING STUDENTS FOR THEIR FAVORITE FLAVORS

2010 GARNET & BLACK | 13

FEATURE WRITING In the spring 2012 issue of Garnet & Black Magazine, I wrote the cover feature, in which I looked at the AIDS/HIV infection rate statistics in Columbia across several years and then compared them with the rest of the country. Further, I interviewed several local health experts to find out why the problem is so prominent in the area. I then went out to talk to students and collect my own information on common practices in sexual health.

Student Magazine of the University of South Carolina

Spring 2O12

POSITIVE

TESTING COLUMBIA’S SECRET PLAGUE

DANCE MARATHON: UP ALL NIGHT DATING IN THE MODERN WORLD HOW TO FAKE A GREAT INTERVIEW

“

“whisper

IN THE SOUTH, YOU GENERALLY DON’T DO MUCH MORE THAN ABOUT SEX...

26 | GARNET & BLACK 2012

gandbmagazine.com

_Shameka Wilson

GREENVILLE CO. 250+ of 100,000 people infected

“Education is key,” she says. “When people know better, to talk candidly & without shame about an issue that affects us all, their health

24 age

diagnosed with

HIV/AIDS Total

2009

2008

Our state will .”

2007

2006

30,560

7640

8558

2671

8039

2482

7274

2478

6689

2191

HIV

AIDS

RICHLAND CO. 250+ of 100,000 people infected CHARLESTON CO. 250+ of 100,000 people infected

gandbmagazine.com

2012 GARNET & BLACK | 27

Blake Welch Media pg.7

State Medicaid Agency Hid Deficit, Report Says | The Nerve

7/5/12 11:35 AM

State Medicaid Agency Hid Deficit, Report Says by Blake Welch July 4, 2012, 6 a.m.

Haley Calls Out Lawmakers Over Budget Stalemate | The Nerve

Watchdog: Stiffer House Ethics Penalties Would Not Apply to Haley

by Blake Welch June 26, 2012, 5:55 a.m.

by Blake Welch June 28, 2012, 5:55 a.m.

But in the sunny Palmetto State?

The Ethics Committee is meeting today to hear public testimony, question witnesses and examine evidence in the case.

With only five days remaining in the state’s current fiscal year, the General Assembly is deadlocked on a spending plan for the new budget year that begins Sunday.

Such potential for conflicts of interest exists throughout much of state government, according to the report.

Rep. Roland Smith, R-Aiken and chairman of the committee, said in earlier Ethics Committee meeting that he hopes the hearing will be wrapped up within two days.

In lieu of an agreement, the Legislature is moving to take the highly unusual step of approving a resolution that would allow the state to continue operating at current spending levels.

The committee’s six members – five Republicans and one Democrat – have said they will not answer questions regarding the investigation until it is complete.

Meanwhile, S.C. House and Senate budget conferees met Monday to try to iron out the last few wrinkles in a new state budget. Despite hours of closed-door deliberations and debate between the two chambers, there was very little to show for it at the end of the day.

The LAC acts as the General Assembly’s inspector general.

Two of the main arguments still being settled include tax relief for businesses and money to purchase additional property for the new State Farmers Market in Lexington County.

HHS primarily operates the Medicaid program in South Carolina. Medicaid provides health care to the poor and disabled. One of the three requests for a review of HHS came from 24 legislators. Then-Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston and now the lieutenant governor, and the department’s director, Tony Keck, submitted the other two requests. Keck had been on the job for just a few weeks when he asked the LAC to investigate the deficit. The Audit Council’s report on Health and Human Services shows that some of the problems it uncovered stemmed from unauthorized accounting procedures, while other issues might necessitate legislative action. The origin of the department’s deficit traces to the 2009-10 fiscal year. “To avoid a deficit in FY 09-10, the department made timing adjustments in the payment and receipt of $46.4 million in non-federal funds and $67.8 million in federal funds,” the report says. Those adjustments were not authorized in the state budget for that year, according to the report. “In addition,” the review says, “the department made questionable use of $5.5 million in non-federal funds from a restricted account.” Then, during the legislative budget-writing process for fiscal 2011, HHS “did not inform the General Assembly of a projected deficit, the foundation of which was the deficit averted” the previous year. Continuing, the report says, “If the department had not received a $222.5 million funding supplement from the Budget and Control Board to offset the FY 10-11 deficit, the state could have lost an additional $700 million in federal matching funds.” According to the report, the average number of Medicaid enrollees increased 18 percent – from about 718,000 to 850,000 – from fiscal 2008 to fiscal 2011.

Gov. Nikki Haley weighed into the mix Tuesday morning, holding a news conference at the State House in which she expressed disappointment that the Legislature hasn’t finalized a budget for the upcoming fiscal year.

The rules change, sponsored by Republican Rep. Jim Harrison of Richland County, also opens cases pending before the committee to public disclosure if the panel finds probable cause of wrongdoing. Fortunately for Haley, she would not be subject to the new rules because they took effect after she left the House. Among other things, the new rules give the Ethics Committee power to impose steeper penalties, including, for the first time, fines.

“We have a mantra in this State House where everybody says they’re for small businesses, and they say one thing and they do another,” Haley said. “You are either for small businesses or you’re not.”

However, Common Cause of South Carolina Director John Crangle says, “Under ex post facto laws of the federal Constitution, the new laws passed by the House would not be enforceable since they would be retroactive.”

Haley singled out Sen. John Land, D-Clarendon and a budget conference committee member, saying he “doesn’t want a tax relief, period.”

This means that Haley would be subject to penalties under the old House rules if the committee finds her guilty.

Land, citing the distribution of tax relief proposed by the House, said Monday that 44 percent of it would go to businesses that make more than $500,000 per year. He said that makes it a “big business bill” rather than help for small businesses.

But Crangle, a lawyer and longtime legislative ethics watchdog, says the ex post facto standard applies only to the new, stiffer penalties, not the public airing of the case.

Regarding $16.3 million the Senate has proposed to buy more land for the State Farmers Market, Haley said she had no opinion about it.

That places the committee in uncharted waters – conducting a public inquiry into a sitting governor’s actions as a former legislator.

“And the reason is we haven’t seen a budget yet,” she said.

Under the old House ethics rules, the committee is limited to administering a private or public reprimand, determining whether technical paperwork violations occurred, expelling a member from the House, or referring the case to the state Attorney General’s Office.

“I know that with the Farmers Market there are a lot of unanswered questions, and there’s a lot of gray around there; and so we’re kind of hearing it in bits and pieces,” Haley added.

State Ports Authority Chairman Bill Stern owns 15 acres expected to be purchased with the money.

The changes also remove the option for a private reprimand and empower the committee to impose multiple penalties rather than just one.

As for a continuing resolution, the House has approved such a measure, and it awaits agreement by the Senate.

But the department did a poor job of communicating the impending deficit to the Budget and Control Board, the report says.

Reach Welch at (803) 254-4411 or blake@thenerve.org.

As a result of that finding, the Audit Council recommended a change in state law so that a quarterly report on expenditures and receipts is required by all agencies that receive state funding.

Budget General Assembly Taxes

Reach Welch at (803) 254-4411 or blake@thenerve.org. Ethics General Assembly Legislation Transparency Legislative Power Trip Rep. Jim Harrison S.C. House Ethics Committee Gov. Nikki Haley John Crangle Rep. Roland Smith Common Cause of South Carolina Like

State Farmers Market Gov. Nikki Haley State Ports Authority Chairman Bill Stern Sen. John Land Like

The latter is limited to potential criminal violations, which would be under the attorney general’s jurisdiction. The penalties under the new House rules include a fine of up to $2,000 per violation and the forfeiture of “gifts, receipts, profits or the value of them” deemed to have been obtained improperly.

The House has agreed to $1 million for additional Farmers Market land, but the two chambers remain far apart on the amount.

However, Sen. Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said in Monday’s meeting that he was not interested in continuing to operate under the current year’s budget.

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Changes to House rules under H. 3445, which was passed one day before the public opening of the Haley investigation, give the chamber’s Ethics Committee stronger options for handling investigations.

Haley also advocated tax relief for small businesses.

That far exceeded HHS projections.

In his audit request letter, McConnell said he had been looking into the HHS deficit for several months. “This is overspending in its purest form and makes a mockery out of the budget process,” he wrote to the LAC.

7/5/12 11:34 AM

If the S.C. House Ethics Committee finds Gov. Nikki Haley guilty of allegations that she illegally lobbied while a member of the House, Haley would not be subject to stricter ethics penalties the House adopted in May, a government watchdog says.

South Carolinians probably are accustomed to hearing talk of a government shutdown in Washington, D.C.

Health and Human Services (HHS) also is susceptible to a revolving door of agency officials leaving and immediately going to work for private companies that do business with the department, the Audit Council found.

http://thenerve.org/news/2012/07/04/HHS-deficit/

Watchdog: Stiffer House Ethics Penalties Would Not Apply to Haley | The Nerve

Haley Calls Out Lawmakers Over Budget Stalemate

The S.C. Department of Human and Health Services engaged in unauthorized accounting procedures to mask a more than $220 million deficit in the 2011 fiscal year, according to a Legislative Audit Council report.

The review was prompted by three written requests for the Legislative Audit Council (LAC) to investigate why the Health and Human Services agency ran up $222.5 million in red ink in fiscal 2011.

7/5/12 11:33 AM

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The Nerve, a program of the South Carolina Policy Council, is a non-partisan political watchdog group based out of Columbia, South Carolina. During my internship there in the summer of 2012, I was responsible for everything from recording board meetings to writing up articles on particular bills or lobbyists and everything in-between. At the beginning of the internship, I admittedly knew very little about the political landscape in South Carolina, or Columbia for that matter. Despite this, I went on to write several pieces that would receive state-wide, and even national attention for the Policy Council. Two of these became the most read, commented on and shared stories via social media over the four months that I was at The Nerve. At the end of the summer, I returned to my class schedule and work for the university magazine. After I left, The Nerve created a new internship position based off of the type of work I had done over the summer. This position, the Research Journalist Internship, is now responsible for reading the fine-print of proposed bills, collecting quotes from the appropriate sources and fact-checking stories through state and national records.

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Yellowflag.net is a startup blog and social media app, focused on connecting football fans throughout their university and the rest of the country through real-time conversations before, during and after games in college and professional football. Currently in its first year, Yellowflag has already been featured as a top free app in the Apple iTunes store. I began writing for Yellowflag just prior to the fall 2012 semester and the start of the 2012-2013 football season. Blogging for Yellowflag is my first attempt at sports writing. Initially, I was the primary writer for my university, the South Carolina Gamecocks. After a few weeks, I was promoted to the primary writer for the entire Southeastern Conference, the premiere conference in college football. Before the midpoint of the season, I was further promoted to the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Game of the Weekâ&#x20AC;? blogger. This article has the most views and shares via social media of all Yellowflag stories on a weekly basis.

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FLYER DESIGN

2013 April 8-11

These two flyers were designed for USC Fashion Week 2013, sponsored by Fashion Board at USC. The design to the left is meant to be used as a campus flyer to draw interest by student

STUDENT DESIGNER SHOWCASE SEASON 2

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APRIL 9

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designers to join the Student Designer Showcase. The flyer below serves as a “save the date” to the general public and rest of the student body. I also took the photo in the design below after the Student Designer Showcase in last year’s fashion week. These posters will be distributed throughout the spring semester on the USC campus.

LOGO DESIGN These three logos were all designed as self-assignments. The one on the left, for Chemstone International, is actually a three-dimensional animation of a spinning cube. I based this design off of the well-known Apple Cube on 5th Avenue in New York City after a trip there in the winter of 2011. The other two were successive developments in the construction of my own logo. The logo on the top right was my first model, which was later replaced by the bottom-right logo, in an attempt to simplify the design and shorten the name in my branding from “Blake Welch Media” to “Welch Media.”

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PUBLICATION DESIGN This project was developed following a Maymester course in which I had to do extensive research and ultimately develop a magazine and video documentary of the subject. For this, I worked in a small group to learn about the “urban art” in Munich, Germany. Though this would typically be described as “graffiti” in America, the Germans (and most people outside of the U.S. for that matter) view it quite differently. There, urban art is viewed as a way to make a statement. One of the most well-known and respected urban artists in the world, Loomit, resides in Munich. On this trip, I had the opportunity to meet and interview the famous artist. Additionally, we toured the classroom — if you can call it that — where he teaches young artists how to make urban art that truly means something. Most of the images in this magazine come from that school’s work.

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WEB DESIGN This was a class assigned project in my final course at USC, in which we had to design, code and present a website to a non-profit organization. In this case, our non-profit was a documentary video produced by a university professor. The film, â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Last Farmer in Gullah Land,â&#x20AC;? documents one of the last farming communities on the East coast as it struggles to hold onto its cultural roots and halt the spread of commercial real-estate. In this design, I was part of a design team that set out to capture the feeling of solitude in this farming community, that may be facing its last generation of sustenance farmers. Further, we wanted to keep the color scheme as natural and soft as possible, to further play up the images and let them do the speaking for us, instead of crowding the page with text.

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Public RELATIONS The e-newsletter to the left was a weekly occurrence during my time as Editor-in-Chief of Garnet & Black Magazine. It served as a quick, clickable way for people to stay aware of changes to the website and upcoming meetings. This process was relatively simple and could be updated in less than ten minutes, using a basic draft of this finished newsletter. The quarter-page handout below was placed inside the distributed issues of G&B Magazine in the spring of 2012. This is a process that is continued today, with different designs depending on the theme of the issue.

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SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY Below is a photo of the Steeplechase Races at Colonial Cup in the fall of 2012. The top-left photo of the opposite page shows a Florida women’s basketball player driving against USC’s defense in the spring of 2012. Next to that, the top-right photo is of the Terrier Races at the Colonial Cup in the fall of 2012. In the middle-left of the right page is a photo from the USC vs. LSU super-regional game in 2012, which snapped USC’s record win streak in the post-season. In the middle-right on the right page is one of the guards waiting for the riders at Colonial Cup in the fall of 2012. The bottom photo on the opposite page shows Marcus Lattimore running the ball through the middle against Missouri in 2012.

EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY The first photo and the second photo to the left on the bar below both portray contestants in a oyster shucking competition at the Columbia Oyster Festival in the fall of 2012. Next to those, Alicia Barnes of ABC Columbia modeled in a Cancer Awareness benefit gala in Spartanburg, SC in the spring of 2012. On the right page, the top-left photo was a series of behind-the-scenes photos from the cover shoot of G&B Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s summer 2012 issue. Below that, a student designer explains the concepts behind her pieces in the 2012 Student Designer Showcase. In the top-right, a parachuter drifts towards the ground with an American flag tethered to himself at the Colonial Cup in the fall of 2012. At the bottom of the right page is a series of clips from The Daily Gamecock, the University of South Carolinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s student newspaper. In these clips are some of the photos from my coverage of the Miss South Carolina and Miss Teen South Carolina in the summer of 2012.

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PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY While studying abroad in Munich, I had the opportunity to meet several well-known urban artists. Among them was Sat One. This photo shows him standing in front of a large mural just after finishing the piece.

In the spring of 2012, I attended a fashion gala in Spartanburg, South Carolina for Fashion Board of USC. At this gala, many local celebrities turned up to show their support for the galaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cause: cancer awareness. No star was bigger at the event than Carmen Marc Volvo, the internationally renowned fashion designer.

NATURAL PHOTOGRAPHY The top-left photo was taken while visiting the Spanish Riviera, just outside of Barcelona, in the summer of 2011. The bottom-left photo was taken at Multnomah Falls in Oregon, just after New Years in 2012. The top-right photo was taken overlooking the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany while studying abroad in the summer of 2011. The bottom-right photo was taken along the Blue Ridge Parkway in the fall of 2011.

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WHERE IVE BEEN

WILLIAM B. WELCH 864-303-7289

welchwb@gmail.com

@welchwb35

Education: University of South Carolina Fall 2008 - Fall 2012 B.A. Journalism and Mass Communications Major: Visual Communications

Related Skills: I have professional experience with all of the below: - Content management systems (Wordpress, Joomla, et al.) - Adobe Creative Suite and Microsoft Office Suite - basic HTML coding - using DSLR cameras, lighting equipment, et al. - iMovie and FinalCut Pro software - client communication and project management

WHERE Im going I’ve always enjoyed pushing myself to my limits. From helping my dad with his landscaping company after two sports practices in high school to working a hundred hours a week on the student magazine. Don’t believe me? Feel free to check my references. If there’s one thing I want people to be able to say about me, it’s that I never stop going and I won’t settle. Hopefully, I’ve been successful in that so far. When I started working in journalism, I wanted to be the typical guy on t.v. talking about sports and getting paid to travel the country. As I kept working and developing my skills in writing, photography and design, I learned that there’s so much more to it than that. Now I have much higher aspirations. I don’t care if you’ve never heard my name before or if most people never do, because that’s not what journalists do. It’s all about finding those stories that need to be told. Why? Because we have a responsibility to do so. We’re the people that tell everyone else what they need to know, what they want to know and we’re the people that keep the world informed.

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c. 864-303-7289 welchwb@gmail.com @ welchwb35 BlakeWelch.com