Meet Marta

Marta began her career with iD as a Lead Instructor then moved up the ranks as an Assistant Director and Director at our summer camps for kids and teens. We’re happy to say she is now our full-time Lead Designer at the iD Tech Camps headquarters in Campbell, CA. She developed her graphic design skills in college, then was inspired by working at iD Tech Camps and then the rest, as they say, is history! Read on to learn more about Marta and her incredible story.

iD: What’s your hometown?
Marta: I’m originally from Nicollet, Minnesota (a verrrrrry small town of 900!).

iD: Which iD locations did you teach at?
M: I’ve worked as a Lead Instructor, Assistant Director and Director at the Stanford location and I recently directed at one of our iD Film Academy locations.

iD: When you instructed, what courses did you teach?
M: Web Design & Flash® Animation and the Junior Courses (Adventures in Game Design and Create Your Own Adventure).

iD: Where did you attend college?
M: The College of Saint Scholastica (2 years…excellent education) and then because I wanted to go into design I transferred to The University of WI (Stout).

iD: How many years have you worked at iD?
M: I worked three years as a summer employee and have worked two years full time at the main office in Campbell, CA in the Web & Creative Department, so five years in total.

iD: What is your current position?
M: I’m the Lead Designer at iD Tech Camps. Every day I get to turn on my computer, open up design programs like Photoshop or grab a pencil and paper to sketch and get paid to be creative. It’s pretty awesome!

iD: What are your favorite things about our summer camps?
M: The friendships and bonds that you form with your summer co-workers. You become so close through working and spending time with them during your off hours that they become lifelong friends.

iD: What do you do for fun when you aren’t at our computer camp?
M: I like to play sports, especially basketball and running, and enjoy traveling, reading, fishing, talking with people who have a different perspective on things and learning from them, and spending time with my family in MN.

iD: Why do you like iD?
M: Within the company, there is an enormous amount of hard work, dedication and willingness to have fun that starts all the way from the top (the CEO, CFO and the managers) and flows through to the rest of the summer staff. Because of this, the atmosphere at each location is bursting with kids that are having so much fun, creating projects that they love and getting the chance to be themselves. I’ve seen so many kids go through camp and start the week off apprehensive about so many things and then find them at the end of the week with life-long friends, higher self esteem, and a vast new amount of new knowledge. In fact I still have some of the thank you notes that I’ve received from campers in the past and each time I read them it really hits home at what an amazing experience iD and its people provide for their clients.

I’m also really happy that iD Tech Camps will now be offering a Graphic Arts camp in 2009! This is exactly the kind of exposure kids and teens need if they’re interested in the graphic arts and graphic design field.

iD: How has iD inspired you to “Do Something Big”?
M: The company, without a doubt, believes in their employees and stands behind them. Even during my first year as a summer staff, I always knew I had a support system coming from my Director, Regional Manager and the people working at the main office, whether I had met them or not, which is something that you don’t see in every company you work for these days. Fast forward three years and it was no surprise that I wanted to work for a company that motivated me from the beginning and allowed me to see how important it is to do the same for youth.

iD: How has iD helped you improve in other aspects of your life besides technology?
M: It’s allowed me to come out of my shell. When I’m working at camp it’s so much fun being there that there’s no way you can’t be excited and outgoing. I’ve also learned the importance of good management since I’ve always had such good experiences with any kind of manager at iD. This helped greatly when I was asked to help direct at Stanford and then the iD Film Academy.

iD: Any advice for future iD Tech campers?
M: If there’s no harm in it, do what makes you happy…even if you’re worried that you’re not the best at it or you have reservations if it’s the “cool” thing to do. And learn from others. There is a wealth of knowledge out there in people that we often miss because we’re too tech oriented or we just don’t realize that we can learn interesting things everywhere we go.

In the end, “It’s not how good you are, it’s how good you want to be“.

Check out some of the cool courses Marta mentioned. Register early and do something big with iD this summer!