An Alumni’s Perspective
Jacob Pechacek
Working as an intern at the Biotechnology Institute’s Science Communications Lab was a great
experience. My work focused on developing an animation describing how diet and eating habits
impact microbiota in the colon. At the start of the 6 weeks, I came in with a good amount of
Adobe Illustrator knowledge, but Adobe After Effects was a different story. This project pushed
me to develop my skills and workflow across both programs. I dove head first into After Effects,
and I have come out confident in my abilities to create new work. Besides learning technical
skills and techniques, I gained experience working in a client-artist relationship. The experience
gave me confidence in presenting my work and receiving feedback and comments. It also gave
me a taste of the back and forth between clients and artists—receiving feedback then making
those changes and continuing this process until the product was finalized. Working alongside
science-minded people also gave me a greater appreciation for their work and how the fields of
art and science can be interwoven. Overall this internship opportunity was a great place to
develop my skills as an artist and designer and gave me a better understanding of a creative
workplace.
