COVID-19 was challenging on many levels for everyone. We are still feeling the effects of the pandemic on our economy, workforce development, and healthcare. As a creative professional, the pandemic created new opportunities to reimagine design and branding by developing virtual events, increasing digital presences, utilizing video conferencing, and data development. Below are just a few examples of this:

George Shirley Vocal Competition was an in-person vocal competition that provided live concerts, in-person judging, masterclasses, and education. The competition would require an entire staff of volunteers, judges, donors, musicians, photographers, videographers, digital content specialists, designers, and logistical managers. COVID-19 completely changed the application process and how we administered the competition. In 2020, we decreased the competition to only virtually administering the composer’s competition. This required a smaller team to host the competition using five computers in various locations. In 2021, we decided to host the competition in its entirety and honor the ten-year anniversary of its inception and its founder, George Shirley. 1) We had to create a process and digital solution for this year to accept video submissions for over 100 competitors, across five divisions. 2) We had to create a virtual way to honor George Shirley and the tenth anniversary of the competition. 3) We had to create a virtual competition that the public could view over the course of three days.

George Mason University—College of Science. During this period, signature events like graduation, ScienceConnect and Celebration of Success, were reimagined as both virtual and hybrid events. I served as a producer, making sure these events worked seamlessly for both virtual and live audiences. The needs of the job changed, requiring the creation of additional digital content through video and social media. This work included script writing as well as capturing stills and video clips for reels and video shorts on social media. I created PowerPoint presentations to appear behind the presenter, handled room setup to accommodate live and virtual audiences, and worked with audio to ensure a balanced output for both audiences.