In November of 2018 I decided to reach out to Hudl to set up a job shadow with one of their graphic designers. I filled out an application where I explained why I was interested in graphic design and why I wanted to shadow at Hudl specifically. I was pleased to receive a quick response where I was given the contact information of one of Hudl's graphic designers, Alex Mabry. 

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On November 6th, I arrived at Hudl's headquarters in downtown Lincoln for the job shadow. First, I met Alex Mabry, a brand designer for Hudl, and right away she gave me a tour of Hudl's impressive four level office space. During this tour, Alex told me about some of her favorite parts of her job and working for Hudl. I was interested to see that their office space did not include any set desks. Instead, employees work from wherever they would like to each day. We concluded the tour at Alex's desk where she typically chooses to sit. Many of the design team members work in the same area together each day. 

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The most interesting part of my day was sitting down at her desk and seeing a few of her graphic design projects. She showed me a few of her current projects including a couple email templates and a new landing page for the website. I was extremely interested to see that she works with Adobe programs that I have access to already. Alex also introduced me to a website called Behance where you can put together an online portfolio. She told me that it would be a great place to start as I begin developing my own portfolio because it is free, easy to use, and professional.

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One of the things I wanted to know about going into this job shadow was Alex's college experience. I found out that she attended the University of Nebraska Lincoln, which is one of my top picks for school next year. I was glad to hear that she loved her experience at UNL and that she'd recommend it to me. 

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During my shadow, she began asking me about my current classes and graphic design opportunities. I told her about my roles in FBLA on the local and state level. After I finished explaining my role as Media Director of the Executive Committee she told me that I am far ahead of any experience that she had before college and that it will benefit me greatly. 

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At the end of my time at Hudl, Alex told me to feel free to contact her with any questions or to send her my work if I want some feedback on any future projects. This experience reinforced my interest in the graphic design field and I am thankful for the opportunity I had to shadow at a thriving company with an awesome brand designer. From the short time I spent in the office it became clear to me that graphic designers need to possess strong qualities in communication, time-management, organization, teamwork, and creativity.