Thinking Out Loud

My name is Sharmaine Mitchell. I was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. After high school (Landmark Christian School – Fairburn, Georgia), I graduated from Oglethorpe University with a Bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education. In May of 2008, I graduated from Walden University with a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology. This is my fourth year at Trinity School. I taught 1st grade for the past three years. Before coming to Trinity, I taught 2nd grade EIP (Early Intervention Program) at Evoline C. West Elementary School in Fairburn, Georgia (Fulton County Schools).

So how did I end up in the position of Webmaster and Production Studio? During my first year at Trinity, our students were performing a play for Reader’s Theater. It really wasn’t a huge production at all. It was meant to be a small performance in the classroom just for the students, but when parents heard about it, they were eager to see it. I was torn, though, because I felt like we had to invite all of the parents, which was fine, but it was already the last minute, and I knew people would be upset about not being given enough notice. So my solution was to invite all of the parents, but make it clear that it was not necessary to come, as it would be recorded and burned to DVD for everyone.

Um, at that time, I had NO IDEA how to do that! I made a promise, then thought to myself, “What have I gotten myself into?” Well, that promise forced me to broaden my horizons, and that’s where it all started. I edited that video (which was NOT a masterpiece, I have to admit, especially given what I have learned in the field since then – it makes me laugh) and kept my word by burning DVDs for everyone. That’s when I realized that I absolutely loved video editing. I took that and ran with it, starting a business on the side, editing home movies and converting them to DVD, and creating video productions (otherwise known as “slideshows”) for special occasions. I realized that I truly had a passion for this, and thought, “This is what I should be doing”.

Now, for the “Webmaster” part of this position: Toward the beginning of my master’s degree program, the main assignment for one of the classes was to build a classroom website. I had built one for my business, so I was familiar with the concept, but again, I was forced to broaden my horizons in so many ways. After that course ended, I kept the website for the remainder of the school year, and for the next school year, because of the students’ enthusiasm and the parents’ feedback. I spent countless hours developing and maintaining that website for almost two years, and I loved every minute of it, and again I thought, “This is what I should be doing”.

So that’s how my two passions became my job! I consider myself very blessed in that sense.