Hailey Fry has always had a strong affinity for making things. It doesn’t really matter what she creates.
The senior digital media student at PennWest Clarion stated, “Any opportunity I get to be creative and create something that is visually beautiful or appreciated by others makes me super pleased.
These opportunities have been plentiful for Fry over the past two summers as she has worked as an intern for PXD Studio (2023) and Public Knowledge (2022), two very different industries where she has been able to exercise her creativity, supplement her academic learning with real-world experience, and support the missions of both employers.
A tiny UX design firm in Lancaster City, PXD Studio assists clients in improving the customer experiences through services like product design and website design. She was the coordinator for digital media.
“My role was created to essentially develop the backbone for all of their social media needs because PXD’s social media presence is relatively new and small,” Fry explained.
She has a few posts that have been published, but the majority of her work has been done behind the scenes, including constructing a hub of documentation that will enable the PXD team to continue producing content.
This includes instructions on how to submit specific kinds of content and process documents, as well as detailed instructions on how to make designs in Figma (the tool used by PXD), according to Fry. “In addition to doing a lot of copywriting, I also had a lot of chances to improve my photography abilities. I took pictures inside the studio and organized sessions to get posed pictures of the team working together.
She updated the photographs on PXD’s website using the content management system.
She claimed, “My work at PXD is exactly what I want to do within my field. I won’t confine myself to this, but managing social media and making eye-catching visuals and designs are my two biggest areas of enthusiasm.
Fry claimed that the emphasis of her internship was on teamwork and project management.
“Working closely with the PXD team members there gave me the opportunity to learn the advantages of working in small teams. Everyone at PXD is motivated to work together and provide the finest job possible, she said. They take project management very seriously, which enables everyone in the studio to play an important part.
Fry admired PXD’s emphasis on a healthy work-life balance.
She claimed that PXD deviates from the norm and fosters an atmosphere where workers don’t experience exhaustion. I looked forward to entering the studio since I knew I would be given enjoyable tasks to complete while working in a welcoming environment.
Fry finished her internship at Public Knowledge, a group that promotes an open internet, over the past summer. Her duties there involved developing content for social media.
“The big difference was that I did a lot of copywriting for marketing emails, blog posts, and press releases,” Fry said. Although it wasn’t what I had envisioned myself doing as a job, I enjoyed learning new writing techniques.
She was exposed to analytics and CMS at Public Knowledge, which strengthened her background and allowed her to leverage the knowledge for her work with PXD. She developed knowledge of legal issues through her work in the communications industry, which prepared her for success in courses like Communication Law and Global Communications.
According to Fry, “my education and internship experiences have given me a great deal more knowledge in design programs and hard skill.” “Using software like Adobe Suite and WordPress has given me more confidence when using other programs like this.”
She mentions that Dr. Erin Lewis, director of Career and Professional Development, and Dr. Lacey Fulton, professor of communication, have both played significant roles in helping her achieve her objectives.
Fry, a Mount Joy native, choose PennWest Clarion because it was a cost-effective option with her major and a strong swim team, which gave the campus a homey feel. She has received recognition as a scholar-athlete every semester since her freshman year. She most recently received the Division II Academic Achievement Award from the ADA. The women’s swim and dive team earned a 3.7 team GPA this autumn, placing them in the top three of all NCAA Division II institutions, earning them recognition from Scholar All-America.
Outside of the classroom and the pool, Fry serves as the historian of the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter at Clarion and is a co-ambassador of a recently founded chapter of Morgan’s Message, an organization that works to dispel the stigma associated with mental health in the community of student-athletes.
“I’m a huge K-Pop nerd and a fitness enthusiast,” Fry declared. “These two go together. I’m probably listening to “Twice” on my headphones if anyone sees me in the gym. I also enjoy getting active and socializing with new people.
