Personal Blog
February 18, 2026
Creating a Professional Header for Strategic Presentation
The header image for my portfolio website is designed to communicate my professional identity and career direction. I combined a law-themed background image with my own portrait to reflect my current work experience in the legal field and my academic focus in business and accounting. The image features a statue representing justice and balance, which symbolizes fairness, responsibility, and the rule of law. Placing my photo in the foreground personalizes the site and helps visitors immediately connect the professional theme with the person behind the portfolio. This visual combination helps meet the information needs of my target audience, including potential employers, professors, and professional contacts, by presenting a clear and credible first impression.
To create the header, I used a high-resolution law-related image from a public professional resource page and verified on Google that it was available for reuse. I made sure that the image could be used appropriately for educational and non-commercial purposes and provided credit to the original source. Following guidelines about copyright and licensing reinforced the importance of using Creative Commons or permitted images rather than copying protected material without permission.
The editing process of the picture involved combining multiple layers using image editing software. I placed the law image as the background layer and added my portrait as a foreground layer. To improve visual clarity, I put a little bit of a noise effect and adjusted contrast and transparency so that my face stands out while the background remains recognizable but not distracting. This layered editing process reflects what Lev Manovich describes as the flexibility of digital media, where images can be combined, modified, and recomposed to create new meanings.
My process differs significantly from editing a single-layer bitmap image like those discussed by Patrick Davison in his analysis of MS Paint. Bitmap editing works directly on one flattened layer of pixels, meaning changes permanently alter the image and limit flexibility. In contrast, multi-layer editing lets you do independent adjustments, non-destructive editing, and strategic visual composition. While MS Paint’s bitmap structure produces a recognizable pixel-based aesthetic shaped by software limitations (Davison, 2014), modern layered editing tools allow greater control and refinement.
I tried to make this header image as a strategic visual introduction to my professional identity while demonstrating the practical application of digital image editing techniques.
Image Source:
Law background image: San Diego County Bar Association, Useful Links page — https://www.sdcba.org/?pg=UsefulLinks
Reference:
Davison, P. (2014). Because of the pixels: On the history, form, and influence of MS Paint. Journal of Visual Culture, 13(3), 275–297.
March 1, 2026
How to Build a Strong LinkedIn Profile
In today’s digital world, having a professional online presence is extremely important. One of the most widely used platforms for professional networking is LinkedIn. Employers, recruiters, and professionals often review LinkedIn profiles when searching for potential candidates, so creating a strong profile can help students and young professionals stand out.
This YouTube tutorial video was recorded ScreenPal and demonstrates how to set up a successful LinkedIn profile by focusing on the most important sections that visitors notice first. The goal of this video is to help viewers understand how they can present themselves professionally online and increase their chances of being noticed by employers.
Purpose of the Video
The purpose of this tutorial is to teach viewers how to improve their LinkedIn profiles in a simple and practical way. The video I made explains how to create a professional profile photo, write an effective headline, develop a strong “About” summary, and add meaningful experience and skills. These elements help visitors quickly understand a person’s qualifications and career goals. By demonstrating these steps visually, the tutorial provides clear guidance that viewers can easily follow and apply to their own profiles.
Intended Audience
The primary audience for this video includes college students, recent graduates, and young professionals who want to improve their professional online presence. Many students begin building their professional identity while they are still in school, so learning how to properly use LinkedIn can be very helpful when preparing for internships, networking opportunities, and job applications. This content may also benefit individuals who are new to LinkedIn or who want to improve an existing profile.
How Users Will Find This Video
Users will most likely find this video through search engine or through YouTube searches related to career development. Many people, including me, search for topics like “how to create a LinkedIn profile,” “LinkedIn tips,” or “LinkedIn profile for students.” Wolf explains that YouTube viewing often starts with simple keyword searches, but what people watch next is strongly shaped by the platform’s recommendation system, which can narrow what information viewers are exposed to over time (Wolf, 2016). By embedding the video on this website and including relevant keywords, the video can be easier for users to find and access.
Why Users Will Find This Video Useful
Viewers tend to quickly evaluate whether a video is worth watching based on its relevance and clarity. As Wolf explains, online audiences often scan content quickly and prefer videos that clearly demonstrate practical information. Wolf also shows that viewers tend to rely on quick “common sense” credibility checks, so clear visuals and step-by-step demonstrations help audiences decide a tutorial is worth watching (Wolf, 2016). This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions and visual examples, making it easy for viewers to follow along. Because the topic focuses on improving professional opportunities, the information is directly useful for students and job seekers who want to strengthen their online profiles.
Reference
Wolf, C. T. (2016). Big data, small worlds: How algorithmic sorting shapes experiences of watching DIY videos on YouTube. First Monday, 21(2).
April 14, 2026
Connecting at Rutgers Through Student Organizations
This podcast episode is part of a six-part series focused on how students build community and find belonging at Rutgers University through organizations like Verse One Dance Troupe. My episode follows an educational format with a conversational tone, focusing on why many students hesitate to get involved on campus and how those barriers can be overcome.
In this episode, I explore key psychological challenges such as fear of judgment, social anxiety, and intimidation, especially in performance-based organizations. I also explain how Verse One operates as a non-audition, student-run hip-hop dance team, allowing students of all experience levels to participate. The podcast highlights how structured practices, shared activities, and repeated interaction help students naturally build connections over time.
This episode does not include a formal guest interview, but it incorporates realistic scenarios and observations that reflect common student experiences. The goal is to provide both informational and practical insight for Rutgers students who may be struggling to find their place within a large university environment.
You can learn more about Verse One through the following links:
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Website: https://verseonesite.wordpress.com/
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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verseonedt/
Group Collaboration
This podcast is part of a collaborative series created by my group, where each member produced an individual episode focused on different aspects of student belonging and involvement.
Each group member’s podcast explores a different perspective, including barriers to involvement, accessibility, student experiences, and the impact of organizations like Verse One.
Sources
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American College Health Association
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National College Health Assessment
April 21, 2026
Memes and Professional Identity: How Internet Culture Reflects the Path to Becoming a Tax Attorney
In today’s digital environment, memes are not just entertainment. They are a form of communication that reflects shared experiences, especially among students and young professionals. As an aspiring tax attorney, I recognize that the path to a legal career involves discipline, pressure, and moments of both doubt and achievement. Using Patrick Davison’s framework, this post analyzes three popular Internet memes to show how they represent the realities of building a professional identity in law and business.
1. Success Kid Meme
Know Your Meme: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/success-kid-i-hate-sandcastles
The “Success Kid” meme is widely used to represent small but meaningful accomplishments. For students pursuing careers in law or accounting, this could reflect passing a difficult exam, completing a major project, or securing an internship.
According to Davison, the ideal of a meme is the underlying concept it communicates. In this case, the ideal is achievement through persistence and effort (Davison). This aligns directly with the experience of aspiring tax attorneys, where long-term success is built on incremental progress.
The behavior of this meme involves users applying the same image to different personal successes. It originated from a photograph posted online and spread rapidly as users began adding captions to represent their own achievements (Know Your Meme).
The manifestation I selected focuses on an academic or career-related success caption, which differs from other versions that may focus on everyday situations. This version is more relevant to a professional audience because it highlights goal-oriented achievement.
2. "This is Fine" Meme
Know Your Meme: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/this-is-fine
The “This Is Fine” meme represents situations where individuals pretend everything is under control despite clear signs of stress or failure. This is especially relevant for students and aspiring professionals in demanding fields such as law and accounting, where pressure can build even when individuals appear composed.
In this case, the ideal is denial or forced calm in the face of overwhelming circumstances. This reflects the experience of many students pursuing competitive careers, including aspiring tax attorneys, who may feel pressure but continue to maintain a professional image.
The behavior of this meme involves users sharing or adapting the image to express stress, burnout, or difficult situations. The meme originates from a 2013 webcomic by artist K.C. Green, where a dog sits calmly in a room on fire while saying “this is fine.” It became widely used as a reaction image across social media to represent ignoring or coping with chaotic situations .
The manifestation I selected shows the classic image of the dog surrounded by flames with the caption “this is fine.” Other versions of this meme may include edited captions, professional scenarios, or academic-related text. This specific version is effective because it clearly represents internal stress while maintaining an outward appearance of control, which strongly connects to the experiences of students and professionals.
3. "Two Buttons" Meme
Know Your Meme: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/daily-struggle-two-buttons
The “Two Buttons” meme represents situations where an individual must choose between two conflicting options. This is highly relevant to students and aspiring professionals, especially in fields like law and accounting, where individuals frequently face difficult decisions involving time, priorities, and career direction. For example, a law student might struggle between studying for exams or gaining practical experience through internships.
In this case, the ideal is internal conflict and decision-making under pressure. This reflects the reality of pursuing a professional career, where individuals must constantly weigh competing responsibilities and make strategic choices.
Davison also explains that “the behavior of a meme is the action taken by an individual in service of the meme.” The behavior of the “Two Buttons” meme involves users creating new versions by labeling each button with different choices and applying it to relatable dilemmas. The meme originated from a webcomic by Jake Clark and spread widely across platforms such as Reddit and Twitter due to its adaptability (Know Your Meme).
Finally, “the manifestation of a meme is its observable, external phenomena.” The manifestation I selected includes a version that focuses on academic or career-related decisions, which differs from other versions that may address humor or everyday life situations. This specific manifestation is effective for my target audience because it directly reflects the types of decisions students and aspiring professionals face while building their careers.
These three memes demonstrate that Internet culture can communicate meaningful aspects of professional development rather than just humor. The selected examples reflect key stages of my journey as an aspiring tax attorney: like achievement, internal pressure, and decision-making. Using Davison’s framework, each meme communicates an ideal, is shaped by specific behaviors of sharing and adaptation, and appears through different manifestations that make the message more relatable to a particular audience.
The specific versions I chose focus on academic and career-related situations, which makes them more relevant to my target audience of students, professors, and potential employers. By presenting familiar professional experiences through widely recognized meme formats, these examples make complex ideas such as stress, growth, and responsibility more accessible and engaging. Overall, these manifestations show how digital media can support the communication of professional identity while still remaining relatable and culturally relevant.