Student Staff Spotlight: Anna Bradsher
Anna Bradsher is a senior at UNC currently pursuing a Graphic Design degree through the School of Media and Journalism. Now in her second year as a Design Assistant for the Communications and Creative Services (CCS) office, Anna also serves as student supervisor. This experience is paving the way for a career at a branding agency, which she hopes to pursue after graduation. Learn more about all the great work she does for the Union below!
What do your jobs (design assistant and CCS student supervisor) entail?
As a design assistant, I’m tasked with all sorts of projects - everything from posters, t-shirts, banners, logos, and TV ads. I work with the full-time staff and part-time student staff to fulfill those products for our clients - which are student organizations and departments within the Carolina Union.
For my student supervisor role, I make sure things are communicated clearly with students and I sit-in on meetings and interviews. Essentially, I serve as the liaison for the student staff and the full-time staff. I serve as the voice of students in full-time meetings and interviews for staff. For example, I recently participated in an interview for a full-time graphic designer.
What have you learned?Definitely a lot of collaboration skills. I think before I came in, I took criticism negatively and was not able to adapt to it. However, working in this environment has really opened my eyes to different perspectives and taught me how to properly work with other people. It has also made me more aware that not everyone sees the same things as you - so it’s been amazing being able to collaborate with both full-time and student staff.
I’ve also gained a lot of design and leadership experience from my positions. The fact that I am able to sit-in on interviews is incredibly valuable since I get to see the whole process for my future interviews and listen to potential interview questions.
Additionally, a good third of my portfolio will probably be from my design assistant position. Within CCS, so many of our projects actually get printed and distributed - so it is really cool to be able to walk outside and see a banner you designed or see someone wearing a t-shirt you designed.
How is your job preparing you for your future career?
Mainly, working in a collaborative environment. A lot of design jobs are in more of an agency setting, so learning how to work with people around you, people higher up than you, as well as clients is incredibly helpful.
Hopefully, my future career will be working within a branding agency - which they specialize in identities for brands, such as logos.
What’s your favorite thing about working in the Union?Definitely the people. I have met a lot of really great friends within the CCS department. Getting to see like-minded people everyday is really cool. I enjoy being able to observe their work processes and listen to the ideas that they have because it is inspiring and influential with my own work. Also, the mentorship of the full-time staff is something I really value.
Where is your favorite place in the Union?
The CCS office! It is always bright and sunny and full of happy people! We have plants down here and we occasionally have baked goods as well - it’s a great place!Tell us a fun fact about yourself:My current hobby is bread-making. My current obsession is perfecting a bagel recipe - so that’s what I spend most of my free time doing, baking bread!
Note: Interested in applying to work at the Union? You can find an overview of the careers offered at https://carolinaunion.unc.edu/get-involved/employment/job-opportunities.