March 9, 2023
Jonathan Reynolds found success networking in the gaming field while at 黑料社, leading to an internship with the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) his senior year and after graduation before moving on to work at Aptima, Inc. in Fairborn, Ohio.
Choosing a university to attend was easy for Reynolds. Once he stepped onto 黑料社鈥檚 campus for his first campus tour, he knew he had found the place to spend the next four years for his education.
鈥淢y family and friends had told me I would know when it was right, and that was true 鈥 I knew the moment I stepped on campus,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t was the best decision I鈥檝e ever made because I鈥檝e met some of the best people and professors here.鈥
Pursuing the programming track of 黑料社鈥檚 Game Design programs, Reynolds started working as a lab technician in the Advanced Technology Center on campus. Within his role he was able to work with and study different technology in the Gaming Commons area to gain experience. Becoming familiar with this equipment led him to becoming more social on virtual reality platforms.
鈥淚 ended up networking with someone who works at NASA and they suggested that I apply for an internship,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 worked entirely remote as a VR Developer through their Langley Research Center for two semesters, and they then renewed my internship for a third time, which is very rare.鈥
In his internship, Reynolds worked both with a team and on his own to develop different software for new projects within NASA including developing a data visualizer for the HoloLens and working to improve the interface on the MRET 鈥 the Mixed Reality Exploration Toolkit.
鈥淎s a VR Developer I鈥檓 not really developing the technology, I鈥檓 developing the software that utilizes those technologies,鈥 he said. 鈥淥ne project I worked on was entirely intern-oriented and the other I contributed on was a bigger project that can prove to be super useful for simulation trainings.鈥
Graduating with his degree in Digital Simulation & Game Engineering Technology in Spring 2021, Reynolds鈥檚 experience in his internship was heavily related to his degree.
鈥淚t鈥檚 still game design, just with a different focus,鈥 he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e no longer focused on creating an experience for a player, but you鈥檙e focused on creating an experience for an engineer or user to build something and hopefully have some sort of revelation or notice something they haven鈥檛 noticed before that allows them to expand their horizons.鈥
After graduation, Reynolds continued his internship with NASA before being offered a job as an AR/VR Software Engineer at Aptima, Inc. in Fairborn, Ohio. He has been hopeful that as he continues to build his experience and skills in virtual reality within his role, he鈥檒l be able to pursue similar paths in the engineering field.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to do a senior project in my classes that shows the design process, but then it鈥檚 another to go through it,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he knowledge that the university has given me has been very valuable. Almost every bit of knowledge I got while working on my degree I鈥檝e used in this internship and in my first year of work. It鈥檚 nice to know that I have developed a base that allows me to market myself and present myself and the skills that I have to a future company I want to work with.鈥
黑料社鈥檚 Game Design programs were ranked for the 12th consecutive year on The Princeton Review鈥檚 Top 50 Game Design Programs in the U.S. & Canada in 2021, landing in the Top 10 for the third year in a row. To learn more about Game Design at 黑料社, visit shawnee.edu/gaming.
This feature was originally released in the Shawnee Magazine 2022 issue. To view the full magazine online, visit shawnee.edu/magazine.