Senior Exit Interview: Eric Barlow
Eric Barlow always thought he was going to work in the film industry. After spending the last 11-months in an intensive graduate program at Ball State University, he’s now excited to work in Indianapolis as a full-time project manager! Eric’s shift from video production to project management may have been unexpected, but he accredits the Digital Corps for providing him with opportunities that he would not have had anywhere else.
His Favorite Moments
One of the largest, team-collective projects the Corps has ever worked on was Ball State Field Trips. At the time, Eric was a graduate student and worked as an acting project manager for the project.Occasionally, he would assist in creating video assets alongside the Video Team. He traveled with other team members to locations across the State of Indiana to produce educational videos about the state’s history and people that made it what it is today. The videos would later be edited and added into the final product, an app that was also created by Digital Corps. The app was targeted to fourth grade students to help them learn more about Indiana history. The entire project ended in a live television broadcast from the Indiana State Museum!
“The project itself was such a large undertaking and it has so many steps and stages and so many people working full time on it,” Eric said. “The culmination of it at the live show and seeing all the work we had done for months actually come to fruition was pretty incredible.”
Eric also loved working on personal projects with the friends he made at the Corps.
“I loved working on a side project with the Video Team at the Corps when we made the video, ‘Rendering It Now’,” Eric said. “It was just a goofy fun video that was done in our personal time, but the creativity and collaboration of everybody on the team to make such a cool, fun product was amazing.”
“Rendering It Now” is a rap video that Video Team members created to test a new slow-motion camera. It served as both a learning opportunity and a bonding moment for the team.
An Extended Stay
Near the end of his undergraduate program, Eric had already decided that he wanted to stay at Ball State to pursue a Master’s degree through the Center for Communication and Information Sciences at Ball State. At the time, the Corps had open positions for graduate assistantships. It was a perfect fit!
“When I transitioned from undergrad to graduate, I also transitioned my role at the Corps from being on the Video Team to helping with project management. I am very grateful that I had that opportunity because it definitely taught me a lot.”
As a graduate assistant, Eric worked alongside Charity Coffman, the Digital Corps Assistant Director, to manage projects, communicate with clients, and reach important deadlines. The experience he gained in such a short period of time proved to be extremely beneficial in the long-run.
“It will make me a lot more comfortable going into the workforce,” said Eric. After he graduates, Eric will begin working with Kronos as a full-time project manager in Indianapolis, IN. Kronos is a workforce management software and service company.
The People are The Corps
Despite all the experience gained and all the opportunities had, Eric will miss the people at the Corps the most. He says the people at the Corps, are the Corps and the students who work in the office are what really make it such a great place to work. The environment is friendly, welcoming, and collaborative.
“Being surrounded by such a talented group of people make it an experience unlike any other.”
The Digital Corps employs students from multiple disciplines such as video, design, communication and development to solve problems for clients on and off campus by creating deliverables in an industry-standard setting. Students are paid to learn and create assets to better prepare for the workforce.
