NCCC Success Story

Hometown: Queens, New York

Degree Program: 3D Digital Design

Employer Name and location: RIT/NTID Motion Capture Lab, Rochester, New York

What was your position and work responsibilities in the co-op?
My position was 3D Animation Intern and my work responsibilities on co-op were to working on creating 3D characters, UV mapping, texturing, lighting, rigging, and rendering.

How did your studies at RIT/NTID prepare you for this co-op and your future career?
My studies at RIT/NTID prepared me for this co-op by helping me find my preferred work field for future jobs. It helped me to visualize where I will work after college. I’d love to continue working on 3D animation since I enjoyed this internship. For my future career, I learned new important skills and terms related to my major. I will use these for the rest of my life, and I am thankful to learn all that is being taught by my wonderful teammates.

What did you think your co-op would be like before starting, and what was it actually like?
I thought my co-op would be like teammates who would work together in person. They may have expected me to know what to do with the tasks they gave me. But I realized eventually that the purpose of this co-op is to get experience and to be exposed to the 3D animation work style, within 3D modeling, UV mapping, texturing, lighting, paintweighting, rigging, rendering, and more. I had such a rich experience while on this co-op!

What lessons did you learn while on co-op?
There are many lessons I learned while in this co-op, I learned new important terms related to my major, new shortcuts to create 3D modelings, and many other animation applications that I never knew before.

What advice would you give to students going on co-op?
I would advise students going on co-op to take it seriously and invest a lot of their time in it because there are so many benefits and a lot of new things to learn. I am thankful to have this experience and to be able to explain to other students what I learned on co-op. It’s super nice to have coworkers who will help you to learn beyond the work and to be able to apply that knowledge. You will gain a lot of connections through your co-op which you can utilize in the future.

How did COVID impact your co-op?
The COVID-19 pandemic impacted my co-op greatly. I knew that many co-ops have been impacted by being canceled, postponed, or moved online. My co-op moved to a remote job. It was hard at first, but then I learned to manage a co-op remotely. It was very smooth once I learned to keep communicating with my teammates. If it wasn’t for COVID-19, I would be able to meet all my teammates in person and work with them which would have been a very cool experience for me. I wish I could have learned more about the motion capture suit in person, but I am thankful for my co-op experience.