Ģ������Ƶ digital technology and culture student Kyle Kopta.

For more than 80 years, Washington State University has recognized ten of the top seniors in each graduating class. The WSU Alumni Association selects these women and men who represent the highest standards in specific aspects of the college experience, including academics, athletics, campus involvement, community service, and visual and performing arts.

Kyle Kopta, a senior studying digital technology and culture at Ģ������Ƶ, was selected as a WSU Top Ten Senior for the category of visual/performing arts.

He is a talented graphic designer, photographer, videographer, writer and overall creative. He serves as an intern with the Office of Marketing and Communication, served as a graphic designer for the Associated Students of Ģ������Ƶ, serves as a DTC lab tutor, as well as on the Washington State Arts Commission. He transferred to Ģ������Ƶ from Blue Mountain Community College.

VISUAL/PERFORMING ARTS

• College of Arts and Sciences
• Digital technology and culture
• Ģ������Ƶ
• Hermiston, Oregon

INVOLVEMENT

Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society; President’s Honors List, summa cum laude; ASWUTC Perseverance Award; Douglas P. Gast Fine Arts Scholarship; member, committee of the Washington State Arts Commission overseeing the Washington State Art Collection; graphic designer for ASWSUTC; marketing intern for Ģ������Ƶ; teacher’s assistant and tutor in the ; host of biweekly community radio show; and Ģ������Ƶ Student Employee of the Year for the 2020-2021 academic year

FAVORITE WSU EXPERIENCE

The Ģ������Ƶ Undergraduate Research Symposium and Art Exhibition is held at the end of each semester. What stands out most to me is really those shows. Our students are making just incredible work. I helped put it on when we were in-person. Being able to showcase their work and my work is always the most fun event. I’m currently 3D modeling a space for us so we can hold it virtually this semester. I’m doing it in my free time; I’m not doing it paid or part of any job. It’s something I know how to do and can donate. It’s just so important for students to have this kind of culmination for all their hard work. They create all this amazing work, and they have to be able to somehow show it.

Ģ������Ƶ also has a lot of mentors who helped me navigate the higher education world and the art world. I grew up in a rural area. There were zero galleries. Neither of my parents graduated from college, but they have been so supportive of my journey in higher education. I couldn’t have done it without them and my professors, who helped me succeed inside and outside the classroom. I think art in general has been a vehicle for self-growth in my professional, personal, and academic life. Through video, photography, and painting, I can learn about myself and my community and how I fit into it and I can help other people. Sometimes the things you don’t expect can end up having the most impact and being the most rewarding. Limitation can breed innovation.

FUTURE PLANS

I’ve really found a love for marketing. It’s not something I expected to love as much as I do. I came to Ģ������Ƶ putting myself in a box, saying, “I’m going to become a videographer or graphic designer,” but I’ve been awarded so many opportunities to collaborate with so many different WSU departments that I’ve found I have a real love for creating things for the community with other people. My plan now is to get a marketing job. I contemplated whether I should move to a bigger city or stay local, and I think I’ve kind of settled on staying local because it’s really important to me to foster this small but tight-knit arts community. I really want to contribute to the Tri-Cities community what I wish I had growing up in Hermiston.

By Maegan Murray, Ģ������Ƶ

RICHLAND, Wash. – Life preparation. It was the thing that most drove Dana Dollarhyde to get a college degree and the thing that she said she is most grateful for her college experience from Washington State University Tri-Cities.

Dollarhyde chose Ģ������Ƶ for her college option because it was affordable – she received thousands in scholarships and also qualified for the College Bound Program, which would pay for her tuition in full. But it was Ģ������Ƶ staff and faculty that helped her find her passion for graphic design and marketing and a career pathway that made most sense for her personal goals.

“I knew I wanted to get a degree in something that I was going to use, not only career-wise, but also in life,” she said. “I wanted it to be something practical that I could apply directly to my life. Ģ������Ƶ helped me find that path and helped get me there. I found my ideal degree program.”

That program, she said, was digital technology and culture – an multimedia and arts-based degree that allows students to study and explore communication through media platforms. And it was the connections she made along the way that led to her success.

Finding her dream career

Dollarhyde had first decided on a pathway in computer science when she started at Ģ������Ƶ as a freshman. She took introductory courses in coding and other related fields, but realized the path wasn’t for her. She decided to take a course in digital technology and culture, which would allow her to build skills in graphic design, video production, photography and web design. The degree program proved to be a perfect fit.

She switched majors, intending to still use her experience in computer science, and instead dedicated full-force to a career path in graphic design.

In her courses, she was taught out to use programs like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere and more. She learned how to edit videos, take photographs using a DSLR camera and how to market herself digitally in the multimedia sphere.

Her professors, she said, were knowledgeable and supportive of her and her peers in their preparation for a career in multimedia fields.

“I really enjoyed my classes and my professors really cared about us succeeding in our field,” she said. “I was also able to make a number of connections that set me up for success.”

Connecting degree to real-life

As a student at Ģ������Ƶ, Dollarhyde first worked for the financial aid office, and then in the Office of Admissions as a student ambassador. Through this role, she gave tours and educated prospective students about life as a student at Ģ������Ƶ.

She was then connected with an opportunity to work as a student graphic designer with the Office of Student Life, where she used what she had learned in class to produce flyers, pamphlets, screen displays and more.

In combination with her role as a graphic designer, she also served as an orientation leader, where she worked with new students to educate them about all that Ģ������Ƶ has to offer and use her creative mentality to help come up with programming and activities.

By the end of her student experience, Dollarhyde was overseeing her fellow student leaders in the Office of Student Life, which provided an incredible learning opportunity where she also gained some management experience.

The small campus size, she said, made it easy for students to pursue leadership and other extracurricular opportunities – all of which were incredibly valuable to her college experience.

“The connections I made and the opportunities I had at Ģ������Ƶ were great,” she said. “I always had someone to connect with and talk to because of the things I got to be involved in on campus. It’s the real reason why I was successful.”

‘Ģ������Ƶ prepared me for real life’

After graduating in 2018, Dollarhyde is now pursuing a career in design, where she works as a marketer for Retter and Company Sotheby’s International Realty – a job connection she made as a result of her mentor at Ģ������Ƶ.

Chris Meiers, vice chancellor for student affairs at Ģ������Ƶ, saw that the company was looking for someone to fulfill the full-time position and connected Dollarhyde with a contact at the company and gave her a recommendation.

“He thought I would be a good resource for them,” she said. “They were looking for someone to do design and web – someone with a full skills set. He reached out to me and it worked out really well.”

She spends her days producing website, creating digital graphics and other design materials, creating videos for realtors and more.

Looking back on her Ģ������Ƶ experience, Dollarhyde said her experience at Ģ������Ƶ really did prepare her for the real world, especially in her field.

“Ģ������Ƶ really prepared me for real life,” she said. “Looking back, it’s more than the degree you get. It’s the skills that you get, the connections you make. It’s the little things along the way that prepare you for something big.”

Interested in pursuing a degree in design or other multimedia field? Visit tricities.wsu.edu/cas/undergraduate/dtc.

By Maegan Murray, Ģ������Ƶ

RICHLAND, Wash. – For student Lian Jacquez, finding the ideal university fit was a bit of a challenge – that is, until he arrived at Washington State University Tri-Cities.

Originally from eastern Oregon, he attended a university located in his home state, but found that the decision was an expensive one and more based on impulse than it was in finding a good fit for where he was at in his life.

But after his parents moved to the Tri-Cities, he decided to move back in with them so he could save money, but could also find a university that would allow him to pursue his passions. He decided to attend Ģ������Ƶ and it ended up being one of the best decisions he has made to date.

Whether it be interacting and learning from his professors through tight-knit classes, to participating in a variety of clubs, to participating in student government, to finding the perfect job on campus, Jacquez said he feels like he has found a home at Ģ������Ƶ.

“Ģ������Ƶ is a hidden gem,” he said. “We are located in an area that offers great opportunities without a lot of the competition that one might experience at a much larger university. And the people who work here – our faculty, administration, staff and everyone behind the scenes – are here to make sure we all succeed. We, as students, aren’t just a number or another name on the roster.”

Majoring in digital technology and culture –  a focus on the creative

Jacquez found his ideal major at Ģ������Ƶ after taking the MyMajors Quiz on the university website. He was recommended to study digital technology and culture, elementary education and psychology.

“Out of the three, digital technology and culture, or DTC as we call it, resonated with me and made me the most excited to pursue, and I always imagined doing something in design,” he said.

Through the digital technology and culture program, Jacquez is learning about graphic design, photography, video production, sound production, media and technical writing and much more in the creative sphere. With his experience in the program, he said he initially wanted to pursue a career as a graphic designer. But after working more with individuals on campus and speaking with people in similar creative industries, he realizes he now wants to pursue a career as a creative director or program coordinator.

“Being the person creating the work is fun, but being able to establish a concept, all of its components and tracking it from beginning to end is more appealing,” he said.

Jacquez said he loves the creative freedom that he and all the other students in the DTC program have.

“There are guidelines and requirements, but we have creative reign to create something that is an extension of ourselves,” he said.

Varied campus experiences to fit every student

In addition to his experience in the DTC program, Jacquez is a student ambassador for the office of admissions on campus, is director of diversity affairs for the

Associated Students of Ģ������Ƶ (student government), is vice president of the World Research Club on campus, in addition to serving as a member of the Queers and Allies Club.

He said since coming to Ģ������Ƶ, he feels he can really make his academic and student life experience his own.

Through his experiences with the student clubs, he is able to truly connect with his peers and organize programming and events to benefit his fellow students. Through his role with student government, he is able to extend and create initiatives so that all students on campus feel connected with the resources to make them successful. And through his role as a student ambassador with the office of admissions, he is able to communicate and inspire prospective students who express an interest in attending Ģ������Ƶ, giving them a genuine look into what his life as a student on campus looks like.

As director of diversity affairs with ASWSUTC, he said he values opportunities created on campus that directly benefit students, including a range of student resources: access services, counseling, a student pantry called Cougar Cupboard, the veteran center and being able to connect with the international student coordinator – both to see about options for studying abroad and to connect with international students. Another example is the UndocuQueer Conference that is being held this year on the Ģ������Ƶ campus.

“I am really excited to learn more about the intersections of the LGBTQ and undocumented communities and the people who are affected by them,” he said. “This will be my first time attending the conference.”

Career connections

In addition to his job in the admissions office on campus, Jacquez said there are also a variety of resources to help students connect with prestigious internships at Ģ������Ƶ and in the community.

Last spring, after participating in the campus Career Development Etiquette Dinner where students are connected to professionals for an evening of networking through dinner, he met an an internship coordinator who connected him with an internship at the National Park Service. He now works as an interpretive specialist for the Manhattan Project National Historical Park.

He also hopes to land another internship before he graduates, which he aims to get connected with through Ģ������Ƶ.

The connections at Ģ������Ƶ, he said, are truly what has allowed him to get involved with many of these opportunities on campus.

“I love how incredibly diverse the campus is and the fact that not everyone is a stranger, thanks to the size of Ģ������Ƶ,” he said.

For more information on the Ģ������Ƶ Digital Technology and Culture program, visit tricities.wsu.edu/dtc.