July 1, 2019 marked a bittersweet day for my career. I sadly said goodbye to the last six years of my professional life with the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, and excitedly welcomed a new position as the assistant director of social and digital media at CSU.
If you read last month’s blogs then you know Jen Smith, CSU Social’s previous assistant director, took a job with the CSU System and left pretty big shoes to fill on the social media team. (And I know she’s reading this blog, so, hi Jen! We miss you!) As I look forward to new and exciting opportunities serving on CSU Social’s team full time, I can’t help but reflect on the last six years with CVMBS and the #CommSquad team. The journey down memory lane has reminded me of all the cool projects I’ve worked on, and I’m therefore dragging you along on my trip.
Here are my Top 10 Favorite Projects (ordered by date, of course).
10. Women in Science
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=672835899806308
I recently blogged about the Women in Science video, so I won’t get TOO deep into it now. But, this video was a representation of the inspiring women in science and research at CSU, and afforded me the opportunity to meet some incredible people.
9. CSU Surprises Veterinary Student for the Holidays
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=791192544557788
This video was a passion project of mine, and one I dreamed of doing for two years before I was able to pull it off. I partnered with the incredibly talented Brian Buss to film and edit the video, and we surprised a veterinary student who wasn’t able to go home for the holidays by bringing her mom to Fort Collins. Talk about rewarding.
8. 17-Foot Python has Surgery
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10155374917136968
I, like most humans, am not a snake person. But I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to gown up when this 17-foot python had surgery at CSU’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The care our veterinarians gave this snake, including the HOURS it took to suture the three-foot incision, was a beautiful reminder of what it means to be a veterinarian.
7. Letters from Graduating Veterinarians
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10155282962331968
I teamed up with Chase on this video project, and he helped me film/edit a beautiful piece I am so proud of. We asked two graduating DVM students to write a letter to the next CSU veterinary student, and WOW. I love facilitating projects with talented people. Chase (the visual artist) paired with the beautiful words written by the veterinary students made for an emotional video about closing doors and new chapters in life.
6. Dr. Hackett Scares the Hospital
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154833922716968
I mean, he tried to scare the hospital. I don’t know if I’ve ever laughed as much as I did while filming this video. Dr. Tim Hackett, who was the director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the time, is one of the funniest people I know. Pairing that with him running into multiple walls and objects made for a not-so-spooky Halloween video. This was by far the most fun video to edit.
5. Surprising Students with Puppies
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10154365094711968
If there is one video I wish I could re-create every day at work, it’s this one. We surprised students and professors with puppies for finals week, and got to watch the pure joy that ensued. (Not to mention, we got a lot of time to snuggle with the puppies ourselves.) The social media world loved it almost as much as I loved producing it, which made it all the sweeter.
4. CSU Veterinarians Read Dr. Seuss Book to Animals
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10152904165406968
This was another Chase/Ashley production. A new Dr. Seuss book, “What Pet Should I Get?” was posthumously published in 2015, and we filmed veterinarians reading the book to all types of animals. The animals didn’t really care about the book, naturally, but it made for a pretty adorable video.
3. Valentine’s Day
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10152562515586968
This was a CSU Social video, but I couldn’t help but include it. Even though it didn’t get a ton of love on social media, it was a sweet video to film. I love the Newlywed Game (well, I love any and all games), and watching these couples laugh and smile together made for one of my favorite Valentine’s Days yet.
2. Surprising Veterinary Student Applicants with Acceptance Letters
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10152490327026968
Now THIS is a throwback. Jen and I teamed up with the DVM Admissions team to surprise hopeful applicants with news that they got into CSU’s prestigious veterinary program. Is there anything better than getting to tell people their dreams are coming true? (If you can’t tell, I’m really into surprising people and filming it.)
1. Better Paws for Brutus
Brutus is and always will be one of the most special projects of my career. It was the first time I had ever written a story (and been paid for it), and the story went viral (it was even trending on Facebook alongside the first-released photo of Kourtney Kardashian’s (then) three-month old baby, Reign).
Quick recap: As a puppy, Brutus got frostbite in his paws and survived an at-home amputation on all four paws that was performed by a breeder who, clearly, should not be a breeder. Brutus was rescued and lived with a foster mom, Laura, who brought him to CSU for physical therapy after he was fitted with four prosthetics. Laura ended up adopting Brutus, and they are currently living happily ever after in Loveland, Colorado.
Not only was the story crazy successful across social media and traditional media, but it was my first story, and will therefore forever be my most beloved story.
Of course, there are many other projects I am super duper proud of that are not included, and many people I will miss so dearly from the college that I didn’t mention. I am so grateful and humbled that I’ve had the last six years with them, and I’m looking forward to the new adventures (and surely a few more surprise videos) to come. That’s all, folks!