-----Original Message-----

Prof. Burton,

My name is Ben Bishop and I had CGT 411 last spring and was a main

contributor for the 3rd Floor Video website. I'm emailing you to give a

small story of how a 411 project opened some doors for me.

After creating the 3rd Floor Video website, Craig Shimala and I got hired by

Elliott Hall of Music Productions to redo their entire site. Craig and I

spent the summer working for $13.50/hr full time developing the site,

creating an extranet to update the site, and a virtual tour of Elliott Hall.

The site is going to be officially launching within the next couple of

weeks. The site will be valued (in money spent developing it) around 10 -

12,000 dollars.

Not only did the Elliott Hall site give me a nice portfolio piece, but it

gave me enough experience and a foot in the door for my current freelance

project. I showed Prof. Morales the virtual tour I created early last

semester. This proved to be a smart move on my part because later in the

semester when asked to recommend someone that had 3D scripting skills, I was

the first one to pop into his mind (it also helped that I've busted my ass

in 4 of his classes.)

I'm now working for a company named Bexar Technologies (the company Morales

recommended me too) that specializes in educational games/tools. I'm

currently developing the front end to their eCommerce site and once I'm done

with that I'll be main programmer for an video game for them. At $20/hr this

has been a nice freelance project, especially since I get to work from home.

The company has also made mention that I can be making as much $30/hr after

graduation.

I thought you may be interested in this, since you are always trying to

motivate students to actually put some serious time into these projects. I

would also like to note that the two other students that didn't take a

proactive role in my group were left out in the cold when Craig and I

pursued the Elliott Hall job.

Thanks for your support and opportunity - Ben Bishop