Seek Momentum Article
At first glance, it seemed like just a typical field trip: my class would arrive in the morning at a company I had never heard of, spend the day listening to their spiel about the company and what they do, and drag through the day until we reached the mediocre lunch, signaling the end of the excursion. I was more than happy to be proven wrong. At the end of the day, I left with much more than a vague recollection of presentations. Instead, I had a framework for the layout of my website, a better understanding of coding, and a new appreciation for web design as a profession, all things I’d consider far from typical of a field trip. On an early September morning, my four advanced classmates, teacher Mrs. Tasha Candela, and I arrived at Seek Momentum, a local web design company based in Clinton Township. We all entered the small office building, unsure of the agenda for the coming hours. We were greeted by the welcoming and casual staff, led by Jimi Plouffe, the CEO of the company. After walking through a single room of small cubicles, we settled in in a conference room with several laptops and a large monitor on the wall. Everyone took their seats, along with name tags and complimentary donuts and cider, and the day began. Plouffe introduced himself and his team, and gave us all a quick description of what Seek Momentum is all about. Starting off as a small team of Jimi and about four others based in metro Detroit, Momentum has grown significantly over the past few years, increasing their clientele to over 100 companies and causes, such as the Detroit Free Press Marathon and Trinity Transportation. I was unaware of the company before the field trip, despite having lived across the street from its office for almost a year. Momentum’s workspace and staff exude a laid-back attitude, yet also a passion for being on the forefront of web design. Our next topic of discussion was the Michigan Council of Women in Technology’s annual web design competition and its requirements, the whole purpose behind our trip. Since the five of us would be competing in the advanced category, Mrs. Candela procured this opportunity specifically for my classmates and I so we could have a better shot at the coveted 12 finalist positions. She wanted us to learn more about coding, give us a better chance at succeeding in the competition, and how what we learned in class could translate directly into a career. I was surprised when I realized how similar some their daily tasks were to ours in the classroom. The web designers at Momentum began teaching us the basics of setting up a website layout. In the next few hours, the team helped us create our layouts, mine including a navigation bar at the top, dual columns for the body content, and a footer. The vision I had for my website came to life in a matter of hours, forming the framework I would build off of for the next two months. My classmates and I had the opportunity to ask questions about anything from our codes to designing websites for a career, and time flew by. Taking a trip to a professional web design company to help you do well in a competition is not a regular occurrence as a high schooler. I truly believe that, by learning new codes and having the opportunity to ask questions through this experience, we all gained an invaluable amount of knowledge. The maximum of three girls placed from my school, including myself, and our trip to Seek Momentum was a crucial step in the process of reaching this goal. I want to personally thank them for allowing me to make the ideas I had envisioned a reality, and for giving me the confidence I needed to complete this strenuous journey. Jimi and the rest of the Seek Momentum crew have definitely impacted my perspective of web design and the technology career field, leaving me more and more intrigued by our ever-changing, tech-filled world.
1 Comment
Candela
12/13/2016 07:09:44 am
That looks like a senior picture. You know you are not leaving high school until I get one!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
Natalie S.I am a senior at Lake Shore High School and I go to Macomb Community College through the Early College program. I play volleyball, basketball, and softball, and I will play softball at Hillsdale College next year. Archives
May 2017
Categories |