General Introduction
Hello all, my name is Michelle. I live in Jacksonville, FL and work part time at Williams-Sonoma as a gift wrapper. I will be interning in Orlando, FL this summer, so I will spend quite a bit of time traveling between the two cities. This August I will complete both the Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Instructional Technology: Instructional Systems track, as well as the Professional Certificate in Instructional Technology: Instructional Design for Simulations. My undergrad degree is a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in History and Criticism of Art from Florida State University. I have also taken several post-baccalaureate courses in Psychology.
I have a number of interests outside of the academic arena. Among them are great food, friends and of course my 2 puppy dogs Libby & Colby. I love to travel also. I studied Art History (and Italian men 
) in Florence, Italy and lived just outside Paris, France for a short time. Experiencing new cultures fascinates me.
As a matter of fact, I recently returned from a week in Italy. One of the places we visited was the Island of Capri. It’s stunning! And getting around the Island was such an adventure, even with a local doing the driving. Our driver, Paulo, zipped up the hills, through the narrow, winding roads and slammed on the brakes any time canine, feline or pedestrian leisurely strolled into the street, tossing about the 5-6 wide-eyed tourists crammed into our tiny van (about half the size of the minivans we see everyday here in the US). Paulo and I joked that driving on the island was like a video game where all kinds of obstacles popped up when you did not expect them. Each time we arrived to our destination safely he would say “GAME OVER, YOU WIN!”
Interest in Narrative or Storytelling
I must confess I had never been an avid reader. I still wouldn’t call myself “avid” but I have had a renewed interest in reading in the last few years. Currently I am reading “Marley and Me” by John Grogan, recommended by my neighbor and listening to Christopher Paolini’s “Eldest” on disc while driving. I am always on the look out for something new and would love recommendations, if anyone has any.
Ahh, but movies and TV on the other hand, I have always been a fan! …you might even say junkie. When I have free time between assignments I retreat into my DVR, which currently only has 6 hours and 35 minutes available (out of 100 hours) b/c I have so many movies and shows recorded sitting ready to watch. I am currently hooked on shows like Lost, Hero’s, and Ugly Betty just to name a few.
Interest in Media
I love video games but rarely find time to play. As a kid all of my allowance went to video games (Centipede, Asteroids, Galaga, Tempest), and I could spend hours in front of the Atari (Jungle Hunt was my favorite). In college (undergrad) I was hooked on Tetris. After college my co-workers and I frequently visited Dave & Busters on our lunch break to shoot it out or race down the ski slopes. Most recently, I performed the PITT maneuver (fans of the show COPS will know the PITT) on a simulator at IST (Institute for Simulation and Training) that is designed to train police officers how to perform various driving maneuvers on the job.
As for my level of comfort with computers, I’m very comfortable when I have time to explore and figure things out, but under pressure I am not as good. I am addicted to the Internet. I am always using it to find information on anything and everything. It drives me mad to not have access to the Internet at my fingertips!
