For my final project, I decided to create an entirely new subdomain focused on parks around VA. The first park located in Fredericksburg was showcased on this subdomain. However, I hope for my final, I can add another scenic park located in Richmond. The subdomain is already up and running with its first post and can be found under the name VApark.SRDspeaks.
The graph presents seven language courses offered by Mary Washington College. The chart contains the average GPAs of each language class for the fall semester of 2022 and the spring semester of 2023. It is apparent that five out of the seven classes had a higher average GPA in the spring semester than in the fall, but Arabic and Chinese both had a higher GPA in the fall than in the spring.`
The Process
The data collected is from UMW’s Grade distribution page. The webpage contains a handful of years, but the one used in this chart was the undergraduate grades from fall 2022 to spring 2023. Once I downloaded the data, I used this document to create the graph. The document shows three different pages, two of which are heavily modified versions of the original, as I isolated the information of each class needed and distributed them onto a single page. Once isolated, I was able to convert the data into a pivot table. The pivot table values include the class name, year, and average GPA for the year. Once I created the table, I then converted the table into a bar graph, which nicely displays each class on the horizontal axis along with the years and the GPA percentages on the verticle axis.
Curtis Memorial Park is a greenspace that I hold very close to my heart. Growing up in the Fredericksburg area, this is one of the few parks that has a large amount of land that everyone can enjoy at any time. Curtis Park has been one of the few places I have consistently been able to enjoy as a child up to my adulthood.
The Process
The videos were produced using my iPhone 14. Since the iPhone 14 has a fisheye lens, I used both lenses to capture the park’s beauty. I then uploaded the videos onto Google Drive, where I could access them through Canva. The audio was captured using a microphone attached to some headphones I owned, where I then used Soundtrap to record. On Soundtrap, I then recorded my vocals and used a sound from their “loop library” called “Synth – Eternity 5” and looped it throughout the video to add ambiance throughout the whole video. After recording and exporting the videos and audio onto Canva, I edited the video using Canva. I also used a text called “Coffee please” to create the title added at the beginning. The video was then exported onto my YouTube account, where I added the closed captioning.
Captions
Curtis Memorial Park is a large greenspace located in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The park has two sides. One side, currently open from 8 AM to 5 PM, houses many amenities such as an 18-hole golf course, an 18-hole disc golf course, a 5.5-mile trail, a small skate park, a pool, and many more. The other entrance is open 24/7 for fishing purposes and has a boating ramp and fishing piers open to everyone.
A few fun facts about the park include how the Curtis family donated their farmland to the county to be used for recreational purposes. It was then opened to the public in 1975. Some of their family member’s graves still remain on the site to this day.
Curtis Lake is also one of the many man-made lakes in Virginia, as there are only two natural lakes.
The lake also has large amounts of standing timber, which provides the abundance of largemouth bass, bluegill, and channel catfish populations with “structure” and many hiding spots to continue their reproduction without populations being threatened by anglers.
Jack B Wiese is a personal friend I wish to support using my current platform. He is a small business owner and a current UMW student. Jack owns and operates HRMTG, JBWdesign, and his vintage clothing shop Back by Popular Demand. I acquired the information regarding Jack’s brand through his personal LinkedIn, The HRMTG Instagram, and knowledge from speaking with Jack himself.
The Creation of the Podcast
I created this short podcast using Soundtrap, a free digital audio workstation. Along with Soundtrap, I used a microphone attached to a headphones I owned. Soundtrap allowed me to record and edit a few sentences into chunks, allowing a smooth flow between audio files. I then used Soundtrap’s “Loops and One-shots” section to add an audio file called “Detroit- Bubble Pad Texture 01,” which I repeated throughout the entire podcast. I also used the automation within the section used for the music and lowered the pitch through the “pan” option, as it allowed my voice to be a bit louder than the music.
Transcript
Hermitage, or HRMTG, is a fashion brand founded in May of 2021 by the owner and creative director Jack B. Wiese. Hermitage is a unisex streetwear clothing brand that seeks to juxtapose fashion’s past with fashion’s present to create fashion’s future through transposing art onto contemporary garments. Jack B. Wiese’s designs are heavily influenced by the MET gala archives, most of which are free for commercial and non-commercial use.
A few reasons you should support and/or purchase from this brand is that you will be aiding the small business run and owned by a student of UMW. Jack B Wiese currently attends UMW, and also runs his brand while attending in-person classes. Many of his clothing pieces are hand-crafted by Jack B Wiese himself, using his personal printing machines for his brand.
Secondly, Jack B Wiese also supports other independent streetwear owners seeking help to grow their skills through his Fashion Design Agency, JBWdesign. This Agency helps bring other owners’ ideas to life, offering help in manufacturing, design consultation, and tech pack creation.
Lastly, Jack B Wiese is a persistent donor to many organizations and fundraisers. Currently, 10% of all Hermitage pop-up and online sales for the remainder of 2023 will be donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund or the PCRF. The PCRF is an organization that provides much-needed medical aid to children in the Middle East.
To go along with the sky theme of my project, I decided to use a star as its logo. Initially, I had hoped to find an image of a sun, but this star caught my attention. The color scheme of the photo also fits with the red and orange theme of my website.
The Process
I unfortunately ran into a lot of difficulties while making this image. I used the website Vectr.com to create my site icon. The tools were difficult to use as any slight movement of one part of the image could move the entire thing. For example, my star and radial gradient were two separate entities. Thus, when trying to move one, I would accidentally move another. I also found it annoying that the color of the radial gradient could only change the inside gradient and not the outer edges, as I would’ve liked a red-to-orange gradient rather than a black-to-orange gradient. The image was then exported as a PNG.
Image taken and edited by me
Why a sunset?
To go along with my sky-related theme on my website, I decided to use another picture taken locally. This image also contains my website’s title and a tagline that I have since removed from my website to showcase on this image.
The Process
I used my own personal image, so I had no problem finding something as a good background. The website I used was canva.com. This website allowed me to create my own design using a custom-sized document. Canva also allowed me to import my own image, which I then cropped to fit the dimensions of the design. I then used the text font “ITC Magnific D” to create the text in the top left corner, which I then adjusted to the size of my liking. The image was then exported as a JPEG.
I chose to use the copyright license CC BY-NC-SA or Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license allows others to build upon my work and redistribute it non-commercially or not for marketing or other sales purposes. One must also give attribution to the work published on this page. I wanted people to be able to use my work and build, question, and redefine as much as they see fit without it being used for some financial transaction.
The Sun
The images I chose relate to the sun, specifically, a very orange sun. I originally posted the picture of a nearby hill with a small farmhouse to the website as soon as I created it, so to follow along with the theme, I found a close-up image of the sun to use as the site logo.
Image by WikiImages from PixabayImage taken by Sierra deToll
The idea of using my initials came to me in the middle of the night the day before class. I was feeling restless, which led me to overthinking about all of my classes, including this one. Thinking that I would officially have my very own website completely personalized to my standards was intimidating. While trying to come up with names, I was still deciding whether I should have my own website for anything but school. Thus, the idea of leaving my name out of it felt appealing. SRD are my initials. You should be aware of my first and last name, but for the sake of awareness, R stands for Rose, my middle name. The word “speaks” was purely because I will most likely use this website solely for blogging purposes. The “speaks” aspect could also be credited to one of my favorite childhood animations, Martha Speaks.