Grrr.... finding pieces that don't exist :/

Question: As a publication design major we are expected to take Portfolio in our final semester at UB... the idea is to take projects we have create during our time here and 'perfect' them to use in our portfolio to present to clients... that being said, how does anyone really expect to find suitable pieces for a portfolio if most of the assignments we have been given during our UB career have been just projects? Most not suitable for presentation to a client? I'd like to hear other views and opinions on this, because I am quite irritated that teachers look at our work and say that most of it cannot be used because it was not work suitable (for example: fruit crate labels?). Why not give students assignments that they'll be able to use for portfolio pieces to present to clients? I think some of the syllabuses need to be revised drastically so that students have more options to work with for their last class... thoughts and opinions???

Just What is a Welter?

One of the more interesting experiences I had outside the classroom at the University of Baltimore was sending a short story I wrote to Welter. Welter is a literary journal produced annually by the students in the School of Communication Design and contains fiction, essays, and poetry. Now let's be clear: I have no literary talent whatsoever. Really. But I try not to let lack of talent get in the way of doing things.

So back in 2002, I wrote a brief (about four page) short story, set up as a series of journal entries, about how I was building a spaceship in my apartment (then in Silver Spring). I don't really recall why I wrote it. But I kept it around for a while. And then I sent it to Welter in the Spring of 2006. And for some reason they printed it. And then at the issue party, Lydia West stepped up to read it (it was kind of a poetry slam, except a short story). She sounded better than I would have reading it.

So, in all its glory, you can read the story online. Enjoy!