CreateAthon@WVU welcomed Mountaineers to put their creative skills to the ultimate test while collaborating with some of the most successful media pro’s the area has to offer.
In only 24 hours, students worked tirelessly to produce marketing material to be implemented within the three participating nonprofits: Morgantown Theatre Company, Homeward Bound WV, and the Rosenbaum Family House. The festivities kicked off at 3 p.m. April 12 and wrapped up at about 3 p.m. April 13. Through the night, food, activities and all the coffee and energy drinks you could imagine were provided to the hardworking students and mentors to ensure that everyone stayed on task but still had fun.
I was on the Morgantown Theatre Company (MTC) team working to do a brand refresh, and I can confidently say that I have many things to add to my portfolio. My team accomplished a lot as we had to practically start from scratch. One member entirely redesigned MTC’s website, as well as made it mobile-friendly (which is a pretty big deal). I spent most of my time editing pictures from past production the theatre had and creating content for the social media playbook we made. Spending my time on these projects was super helpful because it allowed me to get a sense of what it’s like to work in the media industry.
Everyone on my team was motivating and uplifting, even into the later hours of the night and final hours the next day, and I want to thank them for that. As one of the few freshmen there, I wasn’t as experienced as everyone else on the team, but I still felt included. It definitely helped to be on such an awesome team; they made my first CreateAthon experience a positive one.
Aside from working hard all night, I was able to build relationships with those I worked with for those 24 hours, as well as partake in some fun games and cup decorating. The cup decorating activity was called “CreateAcup,” which I probably found too funny; I’ll blame that on the lack of sleep.
All jokes aside, CreateAthon was a wonderful experience and I’m thankful I had the opportunity to be a part of it. I highly recommend to any prospective WVU Reed College of Media student to look into participating in CreateAthon. Not only are you gaining valuable knowledge to put toward your own career path, but you’re helping a local nonprofit boost its organization.