Student Spotlight: Anne Lander & Alex Horne

May 10, 2014

Written by Erica Walker, Lecturer

Graphic Communications attracts a wide variety of students at Clemson University. Sometimes students in the department have a real interest in mechanical engineering and those students love working on the different printing presses. Other students have a strong sense for visual design and take the opportunity to build an impressive visual resume of their class projects. Others lean towards entrepreneurship and business interests with an eye towards sales, management, or ownership some day. Still others focus on highly technical aspects of the industry such as color management or packaging solutions. Recently, we’ve even had students express an interest in web design and development with an eye towards web-to-print and online marketing materials.

As a faculty, we hope to encourage opportunities to explore these areas of interest within the highly diverse umbrella of printing, packaging, and allied industries. Students have the opportunity to explore many minors offered on campus as well as choose from a wide array of Special Problems courses ranging in topic from Printed Electronics to Sales to Advanced Web Coding to Conceptual Packaging to Entrepreneurship. These courses change over time and topics are driven on both student and faculty interest. Students also spend at least two semesters in the industry as interns. The internship program opens up a host of real-world opportunities. With over 50 companies hiring each semester, students are strongly encouraged to take on internships that give them the chance to explore different aspects of the industry.

The class of December 2014 graduates many talented and diverse students from the Graphic Communications program. For each graduating class, we like to introduce some of our graduates.

Meet Anne Lander:

1. What led you to GC?

I originally came to Clemson for engineering and after a few semesters of it, I found that what it wasn’t what I wanted to do. It was heavily involved in numbers and I wanted to have real things in my hands. I missed the hands on component of my basic engineering courses where I could have a product in my hands at the end of the day. My advisor suggested Graphic Communications as an option since I was technically minded, but artistic and creative. I took GC 101 and 102 in the Spring and I never looked back. I loved being able to get on press and showing my creations and designs off to my friends. In my later classes I enjoyed learning more about the behind the scenes parts of printing and gained a better understanding of the how the presses worked as well as the “why”.

2. What unique path did you take in GC?

I took a fairly normal path in GC, taking two classes every semester and enjoying it all the while. I continued taking Spanish classes and eventually picked it up as a second degree. I didn’t know it at the time, but it would greatly influence the jobs that I would look into and push my career into an international perspective. As a technical elective, I took sales after a convincing conversation with the instructor, Brad Wolff. I love the sales class and I found that it was the path that I wanted to follow. I liked that I could take all of my graphics knowledge and apply it to helping others in the industry with the aid of the products or services that my company could provide.

3. Interesting stories that helped shape my path:

My last internship changed a lot of what I thought that I wanted to do for a career. Originally, I had an internship in color management and I loved learning about color and all of the science behind it. However, after taking the sales class, my thoughts change. I knew I had wanted to go into sales, but I wasn’t sure that I could sell print. They manufactured anilox rollers and because of that, the sales were often more technical in nature. You had to know a lot about the different presses that the rollers were going into, as well as the different types of substrates that the rollers would be printing on. I also found that this company had opportunities for growth in the international market, especially in South America. Since I was fluent, I was able to help out in translating orders and understanding needs from customers. I never had thought that I could have taken both of my degrees and use them at the same time.

4. Where do you think your opportunities in GC can take you after graduation?

In terms of opportunities, I think that the program offers so many options in the graphics industry. Because of the internship program, we are able to meet industry professionals and learn about the industry while still in school. The internship program also allows a lot of different opportunities within the industry as well. For example, one of my internships was in color management, and another as a customer service intern, and the third in marketing and sales. I am hoping to pursue more options in sales and possibly international sales in South America. Because I was able to take the sales class, I felt a lot more confident about accepting that internship in marketing and sales.

Meet Alex Horne:

1. What led you to GC?

I attended Clemson for a tour the Summer before my senior year of high school and met an incoming freshman advisor. I took a photography class and an art class in high school so I really wanted to do something creative moving forward. I mentioned I sublimated T-shirts and doodled in my notebooks during class, “We have a major for that!” The advisor talked about the GC major a bit more, saying that it was very creative, but also technical. That was great news to me as I really enjoy learning exactly how things work, breaking down every step of the process.

She led me over to Godfrey where I had to chase Mr. Rose around on a tour of the building. As he “led” us around pointing out all of the old equipment lining the atrium and the basic lab, I’d never seen anything so cool. I wanted to learn how these machines worked. Knowing I’d be able to work with my hands to create something unique every day really made the major stand out to me. I went home and applied to Clemson at the end of the week, and I have been in GC ever since.

2.  What unique path did you take in GC?

I started GC as everyone else did, taking one or two classes a semester, really enjoying creating designs and then turning them into finished projects, boxes, cards, etc. in the labs. I took my first internship as a general rotation of jobs within a company. I started in kit packing, fulfillment, and shipping, and moving later to finishing and special bindery. Working with presses and machines–working with my hands–has always been something I found enjoyable, but I wanted to do more with the major. After taking the 406 class and learning about flexography, I took my second internship as a Flexographic Plate Technician. My second internship allowed me to learn more about the technology behind the printing process itself, high quality dot shapes, and laser imaging technology, even experimenting with seamless sleeves, which is a relatively new technology. I took an optional third internship as an Account Manager/CSR to round out my experiences in the program with something more on the business side; I really wanted to get a feel for every aspect of the industry as best I could so I knew where to go moving forward.

3. Interesting stories that helped shape my path:

I really enjoyed running the presses starting with my time in 104 and 207. I had been taking things apart and reassembling them ever since I was a kid, everything from LEGO robots on the floor to restoring vintage cars with my dad. When the presses would break down or there was a problem, “Mr. Rose!” was usually the first solution. As I kept working with the presses, I started helping others while Mr. Rose would be juggling students on computers, or in other labs. I signed up to be his Teaching Assistant in the spring of my sophomore year and found that I really enjoyed teaching people how to run the presses more so than running them myself.

After taking 340 with Mrs. Walker her first semester as a professor at Clemson, she asked if I would TA her class, Digital Photography and Enriched Media (eMedia). I love photography and digital design so I jumped on the opportunity. I’ve been helping with teaching the labs in 340 for about three years now, and it’s given me the tools to teach and explain concepts to all kinds of people who learn and understand in different ways.

As I continued teaching labs, an opportunity arose my last semester for me to teach the 451 Web Design Class. I worked to help change the curriculum and design projects and assignments as well as lectures for the course. Though I wish I could’ve changed the course around a bit more in hindsight, the web designs and projects that the students in the class are creating are extraordinary, pushing the material we’ve covered as they grew more interested. There’s really no better feeling than teaching something to someone and watching him or her succeed.

4. Where do you think your opportunities in GC can take you after graduation?

The opportunities I have been given in GC have been nothing short of amazing. It is one of the few majors where you can actually tailor the program to suit your needs and interests. I have a background in inventory management and shipping, customer/printer relation and account management skills, and teaching experience, all because of the GC program. After graduation I will be working for CGS Publishing Technologies as a Tier 1 Technician. I’ll be responsible for installing equipment and software, educating customers on how to use it effectively, troubleshooting issues, and running tests on potential and new product offerings. I don’t know if my interest in teaching will bring me back to Clemson eventually to give back to the program that gave me so much, or if I’ll climb the corporate ladder and stay on the business side of the industry, but whatever I do I’ll be successful because I am a Clemson Tiger and Graphic Communications graduate.

Next week, both Anne Lander and Alex Horne walk across the stage to receive their diploma from President Clements along with a very strong class of GC graduates. We are excited to see this class contribute to furthering the printing and packaging industries, because we know they have left their mark on Godfrey Hall!