It's Alive!

I did it! It happened! The website has officially launched and it is now live. It's really exciting and a great way to finish out my internship. I'm really proud of what I've done and can't wait to share it.

To see everything I've been working on for the last 12 weeks, head over to www.harvest3.com.

Almost the End

This week I worked with Scott and Jack to get the rest of the content put together and onto the website. Now we're in the process of editing and making sure everything is how we want it before it goes live. It's almost kind of hard to commit to such a big thing, but I'm feeling really good about it. And everyone keeps telling me what a great job I've been doing, so that's really encouraging to me.

It's kind of crazy to see all of my hard work over the last few months actually coming together to produce something. This internship has helped me realize what I'm capable of and has taught me how to collaborate with other people to produce a piece of work that everyone involved is happy with.

Next week, we will finalize everything and the website will officially launch. Then my internship will be over and I will take my finals and graduate. It's all so surreal, but I couldn't be more excited to be venturing out into the real world. I'm can't wait to see what the future has in store for me.

They Make That?

I've learned more about medical supplies this week than I ever thought possible. There are things out there that I didn't even know existed. And even with simple things like gloves, there are hundreds and hundreds of different kinds. I'm on medical supply information overload right now but I've learned a lot of really cool stuff.

Figuring out what was necessary for the website and what wasn't is a whole other story, however. I've had help honing in on what needs to be on the website, but I have found it difficult to balance getting the help I need without interfering too much with Scott and Jack's other workload.

That said, I have found my journalism research skills very useful this week. I wanted to include hard facts especially in one particular section of the site and my research skills definitely helped with this. Bobby was looking over what I was able to come up with in that particular section and he was impressed with what I did.

I feel like I got a lot done this week and I'm feeling really proud of what I'm doing. Next week, I should be able to finish the content and start preparing for the website to go live. It's getting real!

Third Time's a Charm

This week I designed three different home pages for the website. Initially, I tried building the website through the hosting site, but I found it to be kind of restricting and limited. I discussed this with Bobby and he gave me the freedom use an outside source instead.

I showed each of my designs to Bobby to see which one he liked best so I more of a direction and as it turns out, he liked the same one I did -- the third one. Each of my designs was very clean and simple, but the third one seemed to be the most effective because it kept the logo on each navigational page, which I find to be very effective in branding.

The more involved I get in building the website and seeing the logo, the more I really like it and am kind of amazed that I was the one who designed it. And to continually hear positive feedback from those who see it speaks volumes.

Next week, I will be working with my supervisor, Scott, and the salesman, Jack, to build all of the content. I already had a fair amount of information, but I think it will be more beneficial to work with them directly while selecting which content to include on the website.

At Least There Was a Beach

This week was another long week. I had to get a lot of my work done early because on Wednesday a group of students left for the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association convention in Corpus Christi.

I am continuing to get positive feedback from everyone Bobby has been showing the logo too. It's exciting to me to see how excited he is about it. It's a big motivation factor for me while building the website. Next week, I'll have to put in extra time to account for the time I lost while at TIPA in Corpus, but it was worth it.

While at TIPA, I competed in an on-site feature writing competition and I also attended four workshop sessions. It was good to be able to coerce with journalists from different schools across Texas. I didn't personally win any awards this year, but it was a good experience for me. I didn't have much free time while we were there, but our hotel was on the beach and I got to spend a couple of hours basking in the sun by the ocean on Friday. That's not something you get to do everyday.

We got back home around 1:00 a.m. this morning and today is my only day of rest before I get back to the real world tomorrow. Today is also my fiancee's birthday, so I'm going to spend the day with him and put off thinking about everything I have to get done this week. After the long week I've had, I think I'm going to need my strength!

I Think We've Got It

I did it! I finished the logo. I showed the adjustments I made to Bobby and he said, "I think we've got it." It felt so good to hear those words. I've been working on this logo for so long that it kind of feels like it's a part of me. Maybe that's how it's supposed to feel. I'm not really sure. But I'm proud of myself for getting it done.

I'm not ready to unveil it just yet. Call me superstitious, but I don't want to jinx it or anything. Especially after all the time that went into it. But I'm starting to work on the website now. I've been doing some research to figure out the best way to present the information and how to make it as user-friendly as possible. I'm definitely going for a less-is-more approach.

One of the sales guys provided me with a lot of information to use and incorporate into the website. And it really was A LOT of information. So I spent most of the week sorting through it and figuring out what was more vital and what wasn't. I think I've about got it sorted out, which is good because my internship is coming closer to the end. I'm ready to see it all come together and I don't think it will be much longer until I do.

A Much Needed Break

I had this week off from my internship because of spring break and it was really nice to have a break. I went to Dallas with Matt and we went to the Omni theatre. I haven't done that since I was in middle school, so that was fun. I also went to Lubbock with my sister for her birthday and we went shopping. A little retail therapy is always nice.

I also did some of my wedding planning. So exciting! I already have my dress and we booked our venue today. Wedding planning in your final semester of college is kind of hard. There's just so much going on. After graduation, I'll put more attention on the wedding but I wanted the major things set before it passed me by.

Next week, I'll get back to finalizing the logo and I'll start building the website. I'm halfway there!