The Jambar
Well this is it, I graduate May 2. I will have my bachelor’s degree in multimedia communications, and I realize how fast time has gone. This is the only written work I have put in the paper since I am the head designer.
Looking back, it is interesting to see how far I have come from when I started. I was hired in the middle of spring 2024. I did not talk a lot and not many had realized I had been hired until that fall.
I am thankful that former Head Designer Madison Fessler had chosen me to be her assistant back then because I have learned so much about the design process and using different Adobe softwares, including InDesign and Photoshop.
I remember being unsure and constantly asking if the photos I edited or the page I laid out looked okay. I learned the importance of proper spacing and taking advantage of white space in order to make the layout more engaging.
For a week in fall 2024, Madi had gone on vacation, and I had to do a paper completely by myself. I was completely overwhelmed and overthought the entire thing. But, I got it done and it came out well. This was just part of the process of preparing me to take over as head designer the following year.
Going into fall 2025 as the head designer, I decided to make a slight change in what we used to color grade the photos. Before, we used Photoshop to color grade and edit the saturation of the photos. I worked at a summer camp the summer prior where I used Adobe Lightroom to color grade the photos and realized how much more convenient that was when just changing the color of the photos. Photoshop still gets used for the fun cutouts, but for regular color grading, Lightroom was the better choice.
I remember that the spring before I became head designer, I was freaking out about who would be my assistant. The ongoing suggestion was a graphic design major of which I knew none. I had a friend suggest someone she knew to be my assistant. He went through the process of applying and got hired for fall 2025.
I am very thankful that Assistant Designer Dylan Cretella got hired as my assistant. Besides first training him to do the job, I have also learned a lot from him. With a design focused mind on the paper, I got to fully see what more we could be doing in terms of design with the paper.
I think these last two semesters of my college career have by far been the best in working for The Jambar. Over this last year, I have gotten to know my coworkers more and truly understand why we call The Jambar the Jamily. I think I have progressively come out of my shell, and I’m sad to say it feels like I’m leaving behind a second family.
It has been a pleasure to have the opportunity to develop and express my design capabilities through the paper over the past five semesters. I pray for nothing but the best for my fellow peers graduating and for the rest of the Jamily as they go forth in their college careers. I am thankful for the fun memories that I have gotten to make with The Jambar.
Sincerely,
Kristina (Kris) Tufaro