UGA New Media Institute

Last but certainly not least, the final featured recipient for Puppers Who Helped," it's Koda! An aspiring guide dog and the NMI’s unofficial mascot, Koda has a special place in everyone's heart. With simply a wag of her tail, she can turn anyone’s day around. While we know she’s off with EM graduate Tyler Mazurek to accomplish bigger and better things, we’re truly saddened to see her go. Good luck Koda! You’ll make a fantastic guide dog someday. And good luck to the rest of our graduating student workers your next exciting adventure awaits, and we can’t wait to see all you accomplish!

Congrats to the next "People Who Helped" recipient, Double Dawg Dog Dad: Tyler Mazurek! Though we haven’t had Tyler for long, we can’t imagine the NMI without him. A UX wizard, photographer, and the developer behind the New Media’s websites, you could say he wears a lot of hats. When he’s not TA'ing or extending a helping hand to the rest of the New Media Institute, you can find him caring for his guide dog in training, Koda! You're missed already, Tyler!

As the semester comes to an end, a few amazing NMI graduate assistants are graduating, leaving the 4th floor, and heading out on the next big adventure. Over the next couple of days, we’ll be featuring these People Who Helped and wishing them the absolute best with their future endeavors! TEDxUGA Producer: Brady Eastin! A long time resident of the fourth-floor, Brady is a jack of all trades. Originally a New Media Certificate student, Brady got involved with the Scouts (...anyone remember Scouts?!), upgraded to TEDxUGA Curator and the New Media’s Social Communications assistant, and then became one of the pivotal figures in the creation and execution of TEDxUGA events. While Brady may be fashionably late to everything, he always makes it work eventually. Congrats, Brady!

Student Spotlight Meet Bradley Howard! Bradley is a fourth-year majoring in Computer Science & Political Science, and of course, pursuing a New Media Certificate. After graduation, Bradley will be staying at UGA and pursuing a Masters in Artificial Intelligence! Bradley is one of the inaugural NMIXperts, a team of students dedicated to helping other students make it work even better. In addition to AI, Bradley's passionate about iOS app development using Swift.... When not in class, Bradley serves on the UGA Student Government Association Senate as the Chair of the Educational Affairs Committee, and as the undergraduate student representative on the University Council. Bradley's favorite NMIX classes have been NMIX 4310: Rich Media Production and NMIX 4510: New Media Capstone. Bradley also enjoys the feeling of coding projects finally falling into a place: [The] general happiness when you have been working on a coding project for a really long time and it finally all starts to click and work together! Congratulations Bradley! Your NMI fam is so proud of you!

Today’s the day! Our highly anticipated, end-of-semester SLAM Arcade event is this afternoon at 3:30P! Capstone teams have been hard at work creating innovative new tech projects, and you get to be some of the first to see these ambitious projects in action. Set a reminder for the livestream now! mynmi.net/slam

With SLAM Arcade less than 24 hours away, we want to give one final thank you to our sponsors! SLAM, the NMI’s end-of-semester student showcase, wouldn’t be possible without support from campus friends! Let’s give a round of applause to our Spring 2021 SLAM sponsors: UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant The Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication... Additionally, we’d like to thank our NMI capstone partner, the UGA Black Faculty and Staff Organization, for their contributions to this semester's SLAM! If you haven’t RSVP’d for SLAM yet, no worries! Check out the Facebook event for all the info, and follow along with us tomorrow, Friday, May 7 at 3:30P: fb.me/e/18HRyGCqM UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant | Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia | Black Faculty and Staff Organization - University of Georgia

Presenting Capstone projects from Emerging Media Online students! 1 Carlie Horn and Chelsey Horn | Bonnie Heretics. The Bonnie Heretics mobile iOS app helps personalize the online shopping experience! Star-powered data is used to design uniquely curated product recommendations and self-care rituals based on astrological birth charts. 2 Patty Irizarry and Victoria Powell | Simpol. This iOS mobile app was created in response to alarming disparities in the political proces...s. As a reimagined digital solution, this project aims to shatter political accessibility barriers and empower local Georgia communities! 3 Madison Andrews and Sydney Ross | TRAVLR. This is the go-to social media app for travelers. TRAVLR is an easy-to-use, UX-friendly, mobile iOS app that allows users to easily search and access user-submitted travel locations and tips throughout the world. To see all the innovative projects from graduating Emerging Media Masters and New Media Certificate students, attend this semester’s virtual SLAM on Friday, May 7 at 3:30P! https://fb.me/e/18HRyGCqM

Student Spotlight Meet Tyler Kitchens! Tyler is a fourth-year Computer Science major pursuing a New Media Certificate. After graduation, Tyler wants to start either a software development company or create a SaaS company. This past summer, Tyler interned at ADP, a provider of human resources management software and services, as a Global Product and Technology Intern. During the school year, Tyler is involved with UGA Club Swim Team and New Media Capstone, where he is wo...rking closely with Georgia River Network to create an iOS app that makes it easy for adventurers to find new river locations, put in and out points, and to report and view hazards. When asked what his favorite work related experience has been thus far, Tyler replied, Using my skills learned from my classes to freelance real projects for real clients. As a certificate student, Tyler’s favorite New Media class was NMIX 4310: Rich Media Production, where he learned the fundamentals of native application development for platforms such as iOS, tvOS, and watchOS with modern programming languages. His favorite NMI memory? Emuel providing Jittery Joe's coffee during Monday morning class! Congratulations Tyler! Your NMI fam is so proud of you!

The countdown for SLAM Arcade is on! With only four days left till our end-of-semester celebration, we’re showcasing our incredible projects from Emerging Media Masters students all week! 1 Tyler Mazurek | UGA App for Apple Watch. Check out the University of Georgia from your wrist! 2 Andy Johnston, Crysta Jones, and Rohit Rammohan | Campus X. Campus X is a safer, online marketplace for college communities.... 3 Alison Jibilian, Ev Andrews, and Olivia Carino | Juxtapose. Juxtapose is a free, one-stop-shop for local newsrooms to revamp websites, improve UX, and drive readership. To learn more about these ambitious tech projects, attend this semester’s virtual SLAM this Friday, May 7 at 3:30P: https://fb.me/e/18HRyGCqM

The end of this semester is coming at us fast, and you know what that means: SLAM! Check out the fantastic student teams working with local nonprofits to develop innovative Capstone solutions. 1 Melissa Wright, Tyler Kitchens, Abbey Vanderpoel, Anna Debowski, and Nina Vu are collaborating with Georgia River Network to create an iOS app to simplify river navigation. With this new mobile guide, river adventurers can more easily access info, research local wildlife, and explor...e nearby food and amenity locations! 2 Working with United Way of Northeast Georgia, students Simon Beckham, Lily Guthrie, Annie Lim, Mary Rose Provence, and Henry Queen are creating an Amazon-easy resource of information and access to a plethora of services and products greatly needed in our community. User navigation in this particular domain is crucial and specific, creating an easy-to-navigate website for local nonprofit resources! To see these ambitious tech projects in action, attend this semester’s virtual SLAM on Friday, May 7 at 3:30P: fb.me/e/18HRyGCqM

Congrats to New Media Certificate alumni and Offbeat co-founders Shep Ogden and Kevin Planovsky for pioneering new spaces in the virtual world! With investments from Mark Cuban (Shark Tank, anyone?) and others in Atlanta, Offbeat Media Group is growing the city’s next media empire. This group of University of Georgia alumni has built a native media network with over one billion followers to date. They’ve garnered quite an impressive client list, helping brands like Twitch,... Netflix, TikTok, Warner Music, and Grubhub to name a few. We're so proud of Shep and Kevin for putting those new media skills to work, and can't wait to see where Offbeat goes next! bit.ly/3v3lRJU

Congratulations to New Media Certificate student Kelly Krincek for being awarded the 2021 Student Employee of the Year! With approximately 5,000 on-campus student employees, placing in the top 75 is always competitive, and winning even more so! As Student Media Coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Students, Kelly has put her web development, video production, photography, and storytelling skills to work. She's exemplified the spirit of making it work, then making it wo...rk better! Congratulations Kelly! Your NMI fam is so proud of you! University of Georgia | UGA Office of the Dean of Students | Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia bit.ly/3xhIcFl