Gabrielle Ransom is a senior in Arts and Entertainment in the School of Design and Creative Technologies. Read more Q&As with AET seniors.
Why did you choose your major?
The biggest draw for me to the AET program was the GAMMA track. After college, I want to work as a programmer in the game industry, so I knew the track would give me the skills and portfolio necessary to be competitive when applying for internships and eventually full-time jobs. Additionally, I am a huge fan of 2D and 3D animation (films, anime, tv shows, etc.) and have always wanted to learn how to make art like that. So, I saw a way that I could merge my personal interests with my professional interests and still pursue the career path I wanted and decided to transfer to the AET major.
What's been your biggest surprise in your program?
The biggest surprise for me has been the level of skill, passion, and drive displayed among my fellow students. With this being a new program, I didn’t know what to expect as far as level of work, but I believe a lot of high quality work has been produced by students and this is only the beginning as to what AET students can and will be able to do.
What project are you most proud of during your time at UT, and why?
The project I am most proud of during my time at UT is an AR wave shooter game for Iphones I made in a Mobile Applications class in Fall 2017. Though I’ve done Android development before, it was my first time doing IOS development. So there was a quick learning to becoming familiar with Swift and Xcode, then having to use the ARKit library from Apple was a little hit-or-miss because it was just released and documentation was sparse. So the development process was a little grueling at times but the joy people got from playing it made it all worth it.
What do you hope to do after graduation?
After graduating, my goal is to work as a programmer in either the gaming industry or technology.
Any advice for incoming freshmen in AET?
Use all the tools UT has made available to you. From awesome deals on software such as Adobe Creative Cloud to the Foundry makerspace to the numerous organizations available, there are many great tools at your disposal to get started early on personal projects (which will be important for a strong portfolio).