It’s that time of the year again

Job Knowledge and Performance

As Director of Design and Web Service, I played a key role in migrating our website from MODX to Cascade. I worked closely with Cascade’s project manager and developers to ensure that the new site will meet the school’s needs. Some specific examples of my responsibilities for 2024-2025:

• Implemented the new logo across all websites using the updated version from the branding office
• Created My Law School Portal landing page in WordPress
• Implemented chat widget on all library pages.
• Updated course listings
• Updated Fall 2024 Schedules
• Designed an e-invite for the Closing Reception for the Scalia-Hampton Summer Immersion Program
• Created the registration form for the Closing Reception for the Scalia-Hampton Summer Immersion Program
• Prepared to move the full calendar, powered by 25Live, over to WordPress
• Created a new calendar page on WordPress
• Put the calendar behind the firewall
• Requested SSO for WordPress
• Updated banners and photos for the “About Our Faculty” page
• Updated graduation information
• Updated Academic Regulations
• Updated exam schedules
• Updated Summer 2024 Course Schedule
• Requested swapping out the new logo and swapping out new fonts
• Checked color contrasts following the University guidelines.
• Worked on logo, colors, and typography to match the University’s new brand
• Created a new landing page for admissions to capture the applicants
• Mocked up email signature with the new brand
• Added new users to the Voices for Liberty WordPress account
• Updated Summer 2024 Course Schedule on Webpage
• Added a supporter section on the Pipeline Program
• Updated Field Study for International Students
• Updated JD Caps & Gowns info for graduation
• Reviewed ad agency’s tracking script
• Tested new chat widget for Law Library
• Upgraded to PHP 8.3 on MODX Cloud
• Upgraded MODX to version 3.0.5-pl
• Updated faculty’s profile and CV
• Updated LEC’s web directory
• Updated Outlaw & International Journal
• Updated Spring 2024 Exam Schedule (JD and JM/LLM Residential programs)
• Examined the Pixel Tracking script and XSS (Cross-Site Scripting) injections.
• Removed JD-Flex pages
• Updated Summer 2025 Course Schedule
• Updated WordPress Plugins
• Added multicolumn layout for LEC
• Updated spring 2024 course schedules
• Added to Reciprocity Guide section of website
• Updated spring 2024 course schedules
• Added new user accounts for the Gray Center
• Created a sign-up form for LEC
• Created a new faculty webpage
• Replace language on Record’s Q&A page
• Updated faculty CVs
• Added new users for CAS
• Refreshed homepage banners
• Updated recruitment calendar
• Updated faculty bio
• Monitored MODX servers
• Monitored WordPress network
• Provided WordPress training to new Career Center staff members.
• Updated Summer 2024 Course Schedules
• Tested the migration process for the course catalog, course schedule and syllabi, working papers, clinics and externships, class notes, and student organizations.
• Updated faculty bio and CV
• Added tracking codes to sls.gmu.edu/contact/
• Updated requests for Art Clinic site
• Added Summer 2024 Course Schedule
• Researched Cascade’s Connectors and Integrations for the course catalog and course schedules
• Tidied up WordPress forms
• Optimized WordPress databases
• Audited WordPress plugins
• Updated WordPress themes
• Added Ad Tracking to all of our pages for Admissions
• Updated Voices for Liberty website requests
• Updated applications for the Pipeline Program
• Updated course Schedule & Syllabi and the 2024 Spring JM/LLM, Flex-LLM, Antitrust Schedule
• Created the 2024 JD Waitlist Response Form for Admissions
• Updated LLM FLEX Spring 2024 Course Schedule
• Reviewed outstanding technical items for Cascade implementation
• Corresponded with the Cascade team on implementation technical specifications including news module, event module, flexible layouts, components, and news list component
• Hashed out backend functionalities with the Cascade team on RSS feeds, RSS parsers, Open Graph, random functions, and responsive images
• Discussed templating system with the Cascade team on embed video, custom CSS & JavaScript, custom meta tags, custom codes on header and footer, inheritance, blank page template
• Discussed dynamic functionalities with the Cascade team including automatically generated anchor link, pull date from directory to create a separate page for each department, library search box, and classes filter
• Reworked the color palette for the new site to comply with the university’s guidelines

Organizational Citizenship

As Director of Design and Web Service, I engaged with my colleagues, our University ITS, our vendors, our faculty, our administrators, and our students. I was always available and responsive to others’ questions, needs, and concerns. Some examples of the services I provided in 2024-2025:

• Updated Online US Law course pages
• Updated authors and research page for Voices for Liberty site with embedded videos
• Updated content for Admitted Students Intranet
• Updated course descriptions
• Updated Connect with JD Admissions page
• Provided access and trained new staff members for the CAS Intranet
• Added Flickr photos and showcased them on the homepage Updated JM/LLM course schedule page
• Updated 5 year completion requirement for LLM programs
• Updated the homepage template to change from two-column to three column layout
• Created the Withdrawal Form for Admissions
• Created web form for the Art Clinic website
• Updated the Summer Immersion Pipeline Program section on the website
• Updated website and added photo gallery for the Voices for Liberty Symposium on Civil Rights and Free Speech
• Updated the Law & Economic LLM and Global Antitrust LLM pages
• Reviewed implementation technical specifications
• Updated JM-LLM FlexLLM Online GAE Course Schedule
• Added apply buttons for JD admissions pages
• Created new banners for the law school site homepage
• Created new banners for CMEIL homepage
• Updated JD/MPP Joint Degree
• Updated the Dean’s Alumni Advisory Board
• Updated C-IP2 design changes and added a database
• Updated Voices for Liberty website included Research, Media, and Events pages
• Created a member-only site for Air & Space Law Society
• Create a new site for Air & Space Law Society
• Reviewed and put together all the form fields for the profile pages to be implement in Cascade
• Reviewed Cascade’s components & directories
• Updated focus areas
• Updated Academic Regulations
• Updated Connected With Us Virtually schedules
• Added syllabi to Spring 2024 schedules for JM & LLM
• Updated the Transfer Admissions page
• Reviewed flexible column layouts for the new site in Cascade
• Worked on the Arts Clinic website. Added content to launch
• Updated of Reciprocity Policy on Career Page of Website
• Updated JM-LLM Spring 2024 Course Schedule on Webpage
• Updated the Scalia-Hampton Pipeline Program pages
• Removed vulnerable WordPress plugin and replaced it with a secured plugin
• Reviewed technical specifications for Cascade implementation
• Helped with designing the Scalia-Cardozo mug
• Posted graduation info
• Fixed monitor display issues
• Created new image heroes for the homepage
• Added Around the Law School section on the homepage
• Tested all WordPress sites, plug-ins, and theme to make sure everything compatible with PHP 8.2
• Updated academic calendar
• Reviewed and cleared UAT tickets for Cascade implementation
• Updated graduation information
• Added 2024 directory for faculty working papers
• Updated course descriptions
• Updated JM-LLM Spring 2024 Course Schedule
• Searched for JM program’s curriculum from 1999-2005 for SCHEV approval
• Added new faculty members
• Updated Online Directory
• Created a version of the Sixth Annual Scalia Forum invite for students
• Updated 2024 Workshops
• Added Spring 2024 course schedule
• Updated the academic calendar
• Reviewed HTML UAT with Cascade developer
• Updated Admitted Student Intranet
• Searched for JM degree information to meet SCHEV compliance
• Updated JD Admissions connect with us info
• Worked through Cascade HTML’s tickets with Cascade developers
• Researched for an alternative solution for displaying digital signages.
• Developed an alternative slider without relying on WordPress and Smart Slider.
• Continued to work with Cascade’s developer to clear HTML tickets.

Goals, objectives & Results

The goals and objectives for last year were to launch a brand new website with a new content management system. Here are the areas that needed to be accomplished and how I and my team had accomplished in 2024-2025:

• Submitted issue Full Width Banner Image Option is Missing
• Submitted issue Sidebar Navigation Still Showing When Turned Off
• Submitted issue Some Restrictions for no CSS
• Submitted issue External Link Icon Not Showing
• Submitted issue The Color Bar Block Removed From Template
• Submitted issue Auto-Listing Pages for the Student Organizations
• Submitted issue Classnote Listing Page
• Submitted issue Redirect Feature
• Submitted issue Faculty Working Papers
• Submitted issue Missing Custom Meta Tags
• Tested UAT for Cascade implementation
• Updated Academic Standards page
• Worked on CAS authentication for the full calendar
• Trained new content editors on using WordPress
• Updated recruitment calendar
• Added new faculty bio
• Updated 2024-2025 Tuition and Fees
• Helped with the Liberty and Law Center website
• Added Orientation Legal Methods Syllabus and Reading Material for Students
• Updated 2024 Fall JD Course Schedule
• Updated the Gift Commitment Form
• Helped with Global Wealth Management website
• Updated academic calendar
• Took training on how to use Cascade
• Put together the Mason Mentors page
• Updated the giving page
• Updated Academic Regulations
• Updated Fall 2024 Course Schedule
• Updated letterheads
• Prepared the migration process
• Gathered URLs for website migration to Cascade
• Pulled documents and images for website migration to Cascade
• Supported faculty members on using WordPress
• Upgraded WordPress to 6.6
• Optimize WordPress database
• Completed the Mandatory Annual IT Role-Based Security Awareness Trainings
• Switched the admitted student intranet to the incoming student intranet homepage
• Updated faculty bio pages
• Updated Fall 2024 Course Schedule
• Updated the logo assets
• Updated homepage banners
• Cleaned up MasonLEC.org according to requests
• Discussed UAT process for Cascade, which was the crucial phase in the CMS implementation.
• Tested new webpages to see how friendly it was to create a new page, update an existing content, add a link, import a file, upload a photo, and so on.
• Tested to see how intuitive it is to create a multi-column layout page, add color buttons, create a slider, add news/spotlight page, add an event page, add color boxes, create banner/hero images, and so on.
• Looked into the functionalities to see if we could add custom meta tags, CSS, and JavaScripts, create inheritance for directories, test the site search and site map, put together an automated schedule page, test the anchor links, examine the listing pages, and test the faculty director and the faculty working papers, and so on.
• Created the 2023 Year in Review page for MVETS
• Updated faculty bio requests
• Updated the Pipeline program pages
• Added new users to the Liberty Center site and trained WordPress
• Updated events info for Voices for Liberty Initiative
• Created a new WordPress site for OutLaw student org
• Worked with Web Content Specially to make PDFs and course schedule links accessible
• Updated course descriptions
• Updated Student Org requests
• Exported Faculty In the News to get the numbers of faculty quoted in the media
• Updated the Clinics, Externships, and Legal Practicum pages
• Moved the full calendar and put it behind the firewall instead of phpCAS
• Added courses to the catalog
• Added new Pipeline program supporters
• Updated Fall 2024 schedule
• Updated concentration list
• Updated Giving URL
• Posted info for the Dean Leadership Conference
• Posted summer course schedule
• Supported LEC and PEP WordPress sites
• Updated Powerpoint Template for the Dean
• Created the new letterhead for print and electronic
• Created a new JD resource section for the Career & Academics Services Intranet
• Fixed the Law & Economic Center CSS (stylesheet)
• Uploaded a student video on Vimeo and updated our new logo for Vimeo
• Updated Course Descriptions
• Updated the clinics & externships landing page and individual clinic pages
• Updated press coverages for Voices for Liberty site
• Upgraded MODX Cloud hosting plan

The goals and objectives for last year were to launch a brand new website with a new content management system. Here are the areas that needed to be accomplished and how I and my team had accomplished in 2024-2025:

• Submitted issue Full Width Banner Image Option is Missing
• Submitted issue Sidebar Navigation Still Showing When Turned Off
• Submitted issue Some Restrictions for no CSS
• Submitted issue External Link Icon Not Showing
• Submitted issue The Color Bar Block Removed From Template
• Submitted issue Auto-Listing Pages for the Student Organizations
• Submitted issue Classnote Listing Page
• Submitted issue Redirect Feature
• Submitted issue Faculty Working Papers
• Submitted issue Missing Custom Meta Tags
• Tested UAT for Cascade implementation
• Updated Academic Standards page
• Worked on CAS authentication for the full calendar
• Trained new content editors on using WordPress
• Updated recruitment calendar
• Added new faculty bio
• Updated 2024-2025 Tuition and Fees
• Helped with the Liberty and Law Center website
• Added Orientation Legal Methods Syllabus and Reading Material for Students
• Updated 2024 Fall JD Course Schedule
• Updated the Gift Commitment Form
• Helped with Global Wealth Management website
• Updated academic calendar
• Took training on how to use Cascade
• Put together the Mason Mentors page
• Updated the giving page
• Updated Academic Regulations
• Updated Fall 2024 Course Schedule
• Updated letterheads
• Prepared the migration process
• Gathered URLs for website migration to Cascade
• Pulled documents and images for website migration to Cascade
• Supported faculty members on using WordPress
• Upgraded WordPress to 6.6
• Optimize WordPress database
• Completed the Mandatory Annual IT Role-Based Security Awareness Trainings
• Switched the admitted student intranet to the incoming student intranet homepage
• Updated faculty bio pages
• Updated Fall 2024 Course Schedule
• Updated the logo assets
• Updated homepage banners
• Cleaned up MasonLEC.org according to requests
• Discussed UAT process for Cascade, which was the crucial phase in the CMS implementation.
• Tested new webpages to see how friendly it was to create a new page, update an existing content, add a link, import a file, upload a photo, and so on.
• Tested to see how intuitive it is to create a multi-column layout page, add color buttons, create a slider, add news/spotlight page, add an event page, add color boxes, create banner/hero images, and so on.
• Looked into the functionalities to see if we could add custom meta tags, CSS, and JavaScripts, create inheritance for directories, test the site search and site map, put together an automated schedule page, test the anchor links, examine the listing pages, and test the faculty director and the faculty working papers, and so on.
• Created the 2023 Year in Review page for MVETS
• Updated faculty bio requests
• Updated the Pipeline program pages
• Added new users to the Liberty Center site and trained WordPress
• Updated events info for Voices for Liberty Initiative
• Created a new WordPress site for OutLaw student org
• Worked with Web Content Specially to make PDFs and course schedule links accessible
• Updated course descriptions
• Updated Student Org requests
• Exported Faculty In the News to get the numbers of faculty quoted in the media
• Updated the Clinics, Externships, and Legal Practicum pages
• Moved the full calendar and put it behind the firewall instead of phpCAS
• Added courses to the catalog
• Added new Pipeline program supporters
• Updated Fall 2024 schedule
• Updated concentration list
• Updated Giving URL
• Posted info for the Dean Leadership Conference
• Posted summer course schedule
• Supported LEC and PEP WordPress sites
• Updated Powerpoint Template for the Dean
• Created the new letterhead for print and electronic
• Created a new JD resource section for the Career & Academics Services Intranet
• Fixed the Law & Economic Center CSS (stylesheet)
• Uploaded a student video on Vimeo and updated our new logo for Vimeo
• Updated Course Descriptions
• Updated the clinics & externships landing page and individual clinic pages
• Updated press coverages for Voices for Liberty site
• Upgraded MODX Cloud hosting plan

Operational Leadership

As a supervisor and leader, I communicated clearly job expectations, goals, and priorities while fostering an inclusive, fair, and engaging team environment. I implemented procedures that established the trust from our users. Here are examples to demonstrate our roles in designing and developing websites for the law school in 2024-2025:

• Helped fixing the Mason LEC homepage loading issue
• Evaluated third-party tracking scripts.
• Closed out UAT tickets
• Updated 2025 Spring JD Course Schedule
• Continued working out UAT tickets
• Tested the new blank template in Cascade
• Tested the new course schedule import script
• Monitored MODX page loading
• Reported MODX failover server not in sync with the production server
• Updated Connect with Admission page
• Updated the spring 2025 course schedule
• Cleared out UTA tickets
• Created two test pages in Cascade for demo
• Discussed with Cascade to figure out a friendly solution for importing the course schedule
• Converted cours schedule from Excel to XML
• Updated admin and faculty bio pages
• Added Symposium to homepage on Voices for Liberty and Liberty & Law Center websites
• Updated Dean’s Alumni Advisory Board page
• Tested course import schedule in Cascade
• Tested faculty working papers in Cascade
• Tested profile pages in Cascade
• Set up Startup Law Clinic landing page
• Updated CAS intranet
• Renewed SSL certificates for new production servers
• Activated PHP on new server
• Followed the controversy between WordPress and WP Engine, which affected our WordPress sites
• Continued to work on UAT
• Updated Intranet calendar for admitted students
• Updated LLM Online requests
• Took the FERPA 101 training
• Collaborated with Hannon Hill on UAT tickets
• Reviewed Cascade’s “In the News” component
• Requested PHP includes for header and footer in Cascade
• Reviewed the profile components in Cascade
• Tested footer link issues
• Tested course schedule on mobile and accessibility
• Requested central location for links including SSRN, social media, and webpages
• Continued to test out the blank template
• Continued working with Hannon Hill on Cascade UAT
• Tested profile pages, but they are not ready
• Tested a blank template, but issues haven’t resolved
• Tested main navigation, which still has accessibility issues
• Tested the course schedule table, which is still in early stage
• Tested faculty working papers, which are still missing some functions
• Updated faculty bios
• Completed ITS mandatory cyber security training
• Worked with Cascade developer on components
• Created a new WordPress site for the Thomas More Society student organization
• Added new editor to the Thomas More Society student organization
• Updated WordPress plugins
• Tested working papers for migration to Cascade
• Tested course schedule table for migration to Cascade
• Tested blank template for migration to Cascade
• Transitioned JD Focus Areas & Concentrations to the University’s course catalog
• Updated financial aid info
• Updated the JD Focus Areas & Concentrations to direct students to the University’s course catalog
• Continued to work on CAS Authentication for the full calendar
• Updated faculty bio
• Continued to test Cascade for implementation
• Migrated Course Catalog to University’s site.
• Updated Fall 2024 Course Schedule
• Assisted MVETs with the online application
• Removed SBA site from WordPress
• Moved the catalog from Law site to University site
• Moved JD Focus Area & Concentrations from Law site to University site
• Unpublished all individual course pages in MODX
• Unpublished all individual JD Focus Areas & Concentrations in MODX
• Worked with ITS on CAS authentication for the full calendar
• Updated Fall 2024 Course Schedule
• Conducted UAT for Cascading implementation
• Reported bugs in Cascade for the new site
• Followed up on phpCAS authentication.
• Worked on faculty and staff new photos and bios
• Created the PDF Viewbook
• Tested UAT for Cascade implementation
• Submitted issue Featured Image Cropped Off
• Submitted issue All Events Link is not showing up on the homepage
• Submitted issue Optional Alt Tag
• Submitted issue Open Sans is not loading
• Submitted issue A Blank Template Feature
• Submitted issue Course Schedule Import, Sorting, and Accessibility
• Submitted issue Bio Page Form Fields
• Submitted issue Missing More News Links
• Submitted issue Row of Buttons Implementation

Mentoring & Coaching

As a leader, I worked closely with my team on projects and requests. I also performed hands-on tasks. We built on our team skills. I assigned tasks and projects that fit the skillsets of individual. Here are some of the examples we worked together that demonstrated my mentoring and coaching abilities in 2024-2025:

• Archived outdated pages
• Worked with UA IT team to migrate C-IP2 off our server
• Worked on UTA tickets with Cascade developers
• Put together landing pages for departments to review
• Worked on landing pages in Cascade
• Launched a new faculty page in WordPress Multisite
• Mapped current landing pages to Cascade template
• Worked with U Akron to transfer C-IP2 website
• Researched, tested, and implemented password-protected intranet sites
• Changed CAS intranet log-in method
• Changed Adjunct portal login method
• Changed Graduate Info portal login method
• Continued working on tickets for Cascade migration
• Worked on mapping templates for migration
• Replied to the developer questions for page migration
• Updated GradInfo page
• Replied to migration testing tickets
• Replied to migration questions regarding to components, layouts, and functionalities
• Updated faculty bios
• Removed web pages as requested
• Reported migration issues
• Removed PHP functions in the current CMS including library search box, library catalog, and people finder
• Mapped current site components to new site components
• Mapped current grid layouts to new multi-columns
• Added Title IX link to the footer of the current site
• Reported over 100 issues on website migration
• Tested out the new server for scalability
• Mocked up new landing pages
• Experimented with CSS in Cascade
• Created custom styles in Cascade
• Tested the latest website migration
• Reported migration issues including broken internal links, broken PDF links, broken email links, wrong link, unstyled pages, duplicate sidebar, duplicated navigation, and incorrect quotes.
• Tested out the header and footer includes in Cascade
• Test out different types of content in Cascade
• Upgraded to MODX 3.1.0
• Updated faculty bio requests
• Updated Working papers for 2025
• Updated Spring 2025 course schedule and syllabi
• Created photo gallery for Voices for Liberty Symposium 2024
• Tested website migration
• Ran into sidebar issues in Cascade
• Reported incorrect rendering of typographical details including quotes, dashes, and characters
• Reported issue with responsive layout
• Provided updated list of URLs
• Reported missing links during migration
• Checked as many pages as possible to figure out the issues
• Updated the Academic Administration section
• Updated final exam schedule
• Took training on International Collaborations
• Updated Art Clinic info
• Updated 2025 Spring Flex LLM Schedule
• Tested website migration into Cascade
• Reported pages of incorrect imports
• Ran the URL scripts in MODX to provide the number of pages need to be imported
• Assessed the adjusted timeline for the new site lunch
• Tested dynamic sections include clinics, student orgs, class notes, concentrations, and people finder.
• Figured out the solution for the full calendar, which sat behind CAS authentication
• Reviewed our current site to get ready for for the migration into Cascade
• Prepared the migration checklist.
• Checked to see if the pages render correctly
• Checked to see if the text has any weird characters
• Checked to see if the sidebar populate correct nav items
• Checked to see if images display correctly
• Checked to see if the buttons work correctly
• Check to see if the links are not broken
• Posted final exam schedule
• Updated the 2024-2025 Academic Calendar
• Tested sample pages for the migration to Cascade
• Reported bugs on the tested pages
• Worked with server admins to prepare for the launch
• Set up sFTP access for the backend
• Ran DubBot on the Dev server to test out new pages
• Whitelisted the Graduation Info Portal
• Created a new site in WordPress for Graduation Info Portal
• Prepared for the website migration into Cascade
• Selected pages for test migration
• Switched Admit Intranet homepage
• Updated Academic Calendar
• Fixed formatting issues for the CAS intranet
• Migrated Law Library’s Public Database Catalog from MODX to WordPress

Awards, Appreciation, and Recognition

• Celebrated 13 years at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University.

Goals & Objective

• I understood how Cascade works as a CMS
• I am confident using the Cascade interface
• I figured out the architecture in Cascade
• I would like to take a deeper dive into the backend of Cascade
• I would like to learn its programming language
• I would like to attend Cascade conferences in the future

Upon hiring me for the instructor position, the manager invited me to the Instructors Training Course. The first order of business at the ITC was introducing ourselves. Most instructors had been either skiing or snowboarding for at least 10 seasons. I only snowboarded for 2 seasons.

I had the least experience, but I could ride comfortably on any terrain from the greens to the blues to the double blacks. Some people think I have a natural talent, but I don’t. I only have the passion and the determination. I had to work hard at it.

My second son has a natural talent. I have always been so envious of him. In December, 2021, he and I took a semi-private snowboarding lesson together for the first time. I fell, got up, and fell some more. My feet were uncomfortable. My body was exhausted. I bruised my thumb on the magic carpet. I went back to skiing. My son went on and excelled in snowboarding. He could ride down the double black terrains in his second season. These days, he can zoom down the double black with ease.

After giving up snowboarding, my skiing soared. I could ski anywhere on the mountains. Nevertheless, I felt somewhat of a failure. I couldn’t accept the fact that I could not snowboard. The next season, December 2022, I decided to give snowboarding another shot. I made myself a challenge. Age was not an excuse to back down.

I took another group lesson, but the class was only me and another beginner learner. I was catching the edge like crazy. I could not make it down the lift without falling. I skated on one foot and almost twisted my ankle, but I did not give up. I kept at it for two weeks. I watched countless tutorials on YouTube and learned how not to catch an edge. I progressed to the blue and black terrains. I still fell on the double black terrains and I didn’t conquer them until season 2.

The Epic Pass motivated me to ski and snowboard as much as I could. I loved both sports; therefore, I didn’t give up skiing. As I was getting excited about snowboarding, my son was getting bored. He was gifted, but he didn’t want to learn new skills. On the other hand, my goal was to learn how to carve. Something about leaving a thin line on the trail fascinated me. I kept working toward my goal. This year, I am starting to get it. I encouraged my son to learn with me, but he refused. I am sure he could pick it up in no time if he wanted.

I keep telling him how good he is and I wish I could have his skills. With his talent and my hard work, I would go far. Then again, when something comes easy, you take it for granted. In contrast, you treasure it when you work hard to earn it. I am happy to be where I am today, but I will continue to grow.

Check out my snowboarding shorts on YouTube.

Starting tomorrow, I will be working seven days a week at two different jobs for the rest of the winter. One pays the bills; the other pays the lifts.

When I took on the instructor position, I didn’t know one of the perks was that my whole family got to access all of the ski resorts almost for free. I was glad that I ran into another employee who not only told me about the perks, but also gave me the refunds for all of our seasonal passes.

Another part of the job I enjoy is the employee connection. It didn’t matter which resort I went to, the employees took care of me if I needed something. I was part of the larger network of employees. We all worked under a big cooperation, but we looked out for one another.

I was going to give teaching a try for one season, but the perks and the employee connection will keep me coming back next season if they still want me to return.

Of course, I miss my colleagues at my other job as well. Can’t wait to see them on Monday.

Administrator’s Name: Donny Truong
Position and Department: Web Designer, College Relations
Supervisor: Carolyn Guyer
Period covered by this review: April 2005 – April 2006

Areas for Discussion

to be completed by the supervisor

Job Knowledge

Like his colleagues in the web group, Donny necessarily keeps up with changes in web technology, learning and refining skills almost constantly. He not only seeks out research and study of both technical and graphic design technique, but also joins and adds to what others in the group share and discuss. As the most senior of our web designers, Donny exhibits a grasp of Vassar practices and expectations that comes from his almost four years of experience here.

Quality Of Work During This Time Period

As ever, Donny can always be relied on to work quickly. And, while his design skills have continually improved over time, this year, I observed a distinctly strong upturn in his ability to hit the mark right away. He himself attributes this to the change in his office location, which puts him in central proximity to the others. His receptiveness to more interaction with colleagues has definitely improved his overall abilities.

Communication

In my opinion, Donny is a born communicator. Moving to the U.S. from Vietnam when he was eleven radically altered his ability to communicate in his new environment. He spent his playground time in those early years trying to learn English. He learned quickly, and even prior to the time I’ve known him, he has been publishing an online blog, or journal, where he reviews music, books, film, and software, and keeps up conversations about life in general with others who read his writing. This past year, he became a rather high-profile figure among the population of the international Vietnamese diaspora, and others interested in Vietnamese culture, for his Flash pieces combining music with images of Vietnam. As a result of his public voice on his own website, he has corresponded with people from all parts of society in different countries. Donny is clearly not a person who needs perfect English to be a communicator, yet he sets as a goal for himself working to perfect it. He has my respect and admiration for that.

Innovation

As a web and graphic designer in College Relations, Donny is expected to respond to assignments with creative solutions. He not only does this, but when numerous versions become necessary, he does not lose patience and always remains flexible. Sometimes, when a refining process has slowed too much, he jettisons it and comes up with a completely new and fresh design that almost always hits the mark precisely, based on all the earlier iterations. This is a wonderful and valuable creative ability.

Working Relationships/Teamwork

Teamwork underlies everything we do in web development and Donny has always participated with great respect and generosity with his colleagues. He quietly listens and is often one of the last to speak in a group discussion, but he does not hesitate giving an opinion if he feels it will help. His willingness to aid others was particularly evident this year as he worked across somewhat undefined boundaries with the new web designer in Development. Donny, who redesigned the Development site last year, helped the new designer to transition into taking over responsibility for it. Ego issues must be put aside in this kind of situation and that never seemed to be a problem for Donny.

Summary of Overall Performance

After almost four years of working at Vassar, Donny clearly shows evidence of his accumulation of institutional knowledge. He remains a steady and reliable web expert, devoted to his work, and always trying to improve. His willingness to carry the extra load we’ve all felt this past year while we were shorthanded was exemplary for how he did not let it noticeably impact his legendary speed.

It’s official. I am joining Vail Resorts as a ski and snowboard instructor at Whitetail. My first day will start as soon as we get some snow. My job depends on you, Mother Nature.

When I first started to ski, I learned my first lesson at Whitetail. Now I am part of the team. I would like to teach skiing and snowboarding because I love both sports. Skiing is easier to get started. I taught a few kids to ski and they could get on the lift themselves and ski down the green slopes at the learning center.

Snowboarding is more challenging to get started. I struggled quite a bit and I had to figure out how to get over the learning curve. I only snowboarded for two seasons. All the learning techniques are still fresh in my mind. If I have to pick one sport to teach, I would go with snowboarding.

It’s going to be an exciting winter!

Today marks my thirteenth year working at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School. Thirteen years is a long time, but I am still here and still holding on to the title: Director of Design and Web Services.

My role hasn’t changed much this past year. My main responsibilities are still our websites. The new site for the law school has been underdevelopment for more than a year. It will launch soon—hopefully. I don’t design or code anymore. I give advice and feedback. Someone else is doing the coding. I am cool with that.

Flexibility is the other aspect I am enjoying. It gives a balance between work and life. The benefit is the reason I am sticking around. I get to spend more time with my family through the PTO I had accumulated over the years. My kids are still my priority. I hope they will love me back because I know damn well my job won’t.

Nevertheless, I can’t complain about my job. I still have the freedom and the flexibility within my perimeter. When you are not your own boss, you have to follow orders. I am fine with that. I just need to do my job. When I leave my passion and pride outside of my work, I do a better job.

I don’t need to show off my work. I don’t need to put my name on a design. I don’t get bogged down when my work is gone. I don’t need to protect my legacy. I just need to make money to feed my family.

That’s where I am at with my career. I am just going to ride it out. I am taking it one day at a time. I don’t think about the future. I just go with the flow. I will adapt when I have to. For now, I am thankful for the opportunity to continue to work at George Mason university’s Antonin Scalia Law School.

In February, I took a ski lesson at Whitetail. Since it was on a weekday, the snow school was not so busy and I requested to learn carving; therefore, I was assigned to just one instructor. It was a private lesson for the price of a group lesson. While taking lesson, the instructor encouraged me to teach.

I was not serious about it, but her words stayed with me. Last week, on a whim, I applied for a part-time position for a non-certified ski or snowboard instructor. I wrote an honest, enthusiastic cover letter about my love and passion for both skiing and snowboarding. My story paid off. I got accepted two days later.

Without a doubt, I am excited about the opportunities not only to teach, but also to learn. One of the perks for the job is getting free lessons. Just the thought of learning, teaching, and playing on the snow reinvigorated me. I couldn’t wait to share the new endeavor with my wife. Of course, she supported me. I tried to convince her this might be the beginning of my dream career. That was when she brought me back to reality and reminded me of my responsibilities. Right, I have four kids to raise.

The gist of the story is that I can do anything I want as long as I keep my full-time job. It’s all good. I still am enjoying being the director of design and web services. Skiing and snowboarding will keep my body active and my mind strong. It’s a perfect balance between sitting in front of the computer and spending time outdoors.

On January 21, 2020, I skied for the first time in my life at the age of 42. I took a beginner lesson at Whitetail Resort and fell in love with skiing ever since. Our family (2 adults and 4 kids) has become Epic Pass holders for three consecutive years. Between Whitetail and Liberty, which are close to where we live, these resorts are our family’s winter playgrounds.

I can ski my ways down the green, blue, and double-black trails. In the coming winter, I would like to work on my carving. In addition to skiing, I fell in love with snowboarding. In the winter of 2022, I decided to learn snowboarding to challenge myself. Picking up snowboarding at the age of 44 was not easy, but I overcame the steep learning curve. Now my snowboarding skills are as good as skiing skills. My goal in the coming winter is to learn carving on snowboard as well.

Thanks to the wonderful instructors who had taught me to get started on snow sports; therefore, I would like to share my experience with anyone who is interested in trying out skiing or snowboarding or both. Since coming to both sports fairly new, I still have the learning experiences fresh in my mind. I understand the importance of ski postures and snowboard stances. I can help new learners avoid the mistakes that I had made so they can progress much faster. I would love the opportunity to put my passion to work.

I was go through my old boxes and came across a letter my former supervisor at George Washington University School of Business. On November, 4, 2008, Molly Brauer wrote:

To Whom It May Concern:

I have known Donny Truong for about a year, and during that time he has impressed me as a very thoughtful, hardworking, problem-solving, diplomatic person.

When I called one of Donny’s references during the hiring process, the gentleman I spoke to said, “Donny will quietly win the respect of everyone around him.” And that endorsement has rung true every day I’ve worked with him. Donny has a sterling work ethic, and the ability to organize and prioritize tasks efficiently and effectively.

He has been working for the Office of Communications in the GW School of Business for about nine months, and everyone he’s worked with has been very pleased with his work—both his cooperative spirit and his finished products.

Donny works with a wide variety of people in senior positions and much lower positions and treats everyone with the same respect. He is an excellent team builder and a good listener. Beyond his work ethic, Donny is a creative problem solver who finds elegant solutions to complex problems, taking into account the diverse needs of sometimes incongruent groups masterfully.

Donny works hard and learns quickly. He came to this country when he was 12 years old, learned a new language, and managed to attend college and find work in his chosen field – no small task. His only weakness is some minor difficulty with written and spoken English; his comprehension is excellent and he reads broadly.

I recommend Donny highly because I believe he will succeed at anything he puts his mind too; his life is testament to that.

Yours sincerely,

Molly Brauer

It’s time for the annual performance review. Started last year, I am keeping track of my responsibilities. Since I write on the daily basis, documenting my work flowed smoothly into my routine. Around this time of the year, I had always dreaded the self evaluation. This year, I am going incorporate my year-long tasks into the evaluation.

Specific examples which demonstrate the employee’s job knowledge and execution:

• Created Scalia Forum Save The Date Invitation
• Worked with the alumni office on class notes
• Worked on WordPress update requests
• Worked with University on moving to GA4
• Provided ITS access to our Google Tag Manager account
• Reworked the slides to double up the dimensions to ensure better image quality on large-screen TVs
• Attended 2023 Computer In Libraries Conference
• Created promotions for the 23rd Annual Judicial & Legislative Reception
• Met with Beacon Technologies to get quotes on HTML and migration for Cascade
• Met with Cascade to get quotes for portion of migration and templates
• Recommended specs for the production server: Cloudflare Add-on for CDN and security, 16 CPU Cores, 20GB Memory, 160GB SSD Space, and 5TB Data Тransfer
• Compared monthly price for cloud hosting services including DigitalOcean, SiteGround, etc.
• Worked with colleagues on Google Tags.
• Provided feedback to a fellow designer on banner designs
• Worked with director of technology on the calendar
• Work with the web content specialist on site updates
• Worked on WordPress support with colleagues
• Researched on Cascade to understand more about its architecture and to ask questions.
• Discussed server administrations with Beacon Technologies
• Upgraded MODX to 3.0.3
• Upgraded PHP to 8.1 on production server
• Upgrade MySQL 10.3.34 on production server
• Rewrote the NGINX web rules to force HTTP to HTTPS on production server

Specific examples which demonstrate effectiveness in organizational relationships:

• Published MVETS’s 2022 Year in Review. Highlights of what they had done in 2022.
• Worked with Law Review staff on developing their new website. The current site was a huge mess. It was powered by the Elementor Full Site Editing plugin. The plug-in was not working correctly. They kept running into issues. I had a meeting with them and I suggested that they need to get off Elementor and migrate over to Gutenberg. They hired developers to do the redesign. I gave them advice and guidance.
• Made ppdates for Voices for Liberty’s Call for Proposal Request
• Worked with Admissions staff to show them how to update the CAS intranet so they can link to videos and PDFs
• Restructured Working Papers on our site and on SSRN
• Posted course schedules
• Attended 2023 Computers in Libraries Conference
• Discussed whether higher institutions should continue to use social media. Why do we send our users to other social media sites where we don’t have control of the content? The sources aren’t reliable. We should instead draw the users from other networks to our site where we have complete control.
• Discussed Open AI (ChatGPT) and Metaverse (VR)
• Attended sessions on web content strategy and web security, which I found useful.
• Tested out WordPress 6.2 release. The Site Editor was out of beta and very stable. You can do anything without knowing any code. It’s quite impressive.
• Worked with the Director of Technologies to move the courtroom videos to WordPress so he can shut down the server upstairs. We should consider moving it into Cascade as well for the migration.
• Renewed SiteImprove for another year.
• Worked on Scalia Forum graphics for print menu, signages, and digital screens.
• Collaborated with the Web Content Specialist to take care of change requests.
• Supported WordPress sites for the Centers.
• Worked on the Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic website in WordPress.

Status and results of previously agreed-upon performance goals and objectives:

• Launched Student Bar Association Website
• Launched the Art Clinic Website
• Published the Request for Proposal for Voices for Liberty Website
• Put together the landing pages for the IP program
• Handled update requests
• Added new adjunct faculty members
• Updated profiles and People Finder
• Updated course schedule
• Updated tuition costs
• Updated student organizations and their officers
• Published the web version of the fall 2023 course schedules.
• Fixed the Events Calendar Issues with duplicating titles.
• Published the Transcript Information for International Students for LLM and FLEX LLM pages.
• Work with the Dean of Admissions on the admit/incoming switchover.
• Designed Voices For Liberty’s speakers page with bios and photos.
• Finished putting up the summer course schedule
• Put the fall course schedule together. The page was ready. Just waiting for the greenlight to publish.
• Added 3 new courses: Law 246, Law 370, Law 427
• Worked with career staff to post the job fair on the CAS intranet
• Worked with career staff to upload videos to the CAS intranet
• Worked with Director of Admissions to add transcript evaluation on LLM and Flex LLM pages
• Worked on adding Google Scholar for faculty members
• Worked with Gray Center to give vendor access to their site
• Worked on the IP Program landing page.
• Worked on updating MVETS pages.

Examples which demonstrate the supervisor’s Operational Leadership

• Created email invitation for the Annual Fall Kick-off Reception.
• Ran a report in Eventbrite for the Capitol Hill Alumni Reception.
• Worked with students to put together the announcement for the Moot Court Competition.
• Participated in the Law Library’s summer workday & Learning institute.
• Updated and added new Faculty pages.
• Created Mason Mentors Profiles for Fall 2023
• Created an online form for students to submit their profile pictures.
• Worked on admissions orientation agendas
• Updated JD Tuition & Costs
• Added new full-time faculty members
• Updated the course schedules for David and Margarita
• Updated forms for Record Office
• Added and trained new content editor for Trial Ad student organization
• Added request form for Event Planning
• Added new content editor for Admit Intranet
• Updated Incoming information for the intranet and switch from Accepted homepage to Incoming homepage
• Worked with Beacon Technologies to set up SSL certificates and sFTP access for the new server.
• Took the FREE Annual Cascade CMS End User Training Webinar.
• Worked with outside consultants to set up 4 WordPress microsites: JurisMasters.gmu.edu , JMCyber.gmu.edu , JMCriminalJustice.gmu.edu , and JMGovCon.gmu.edu
• Worked with ITS and HR to get outside consultants access to our VPN.
• Updated the Fall 2023 Incoming Class Profiles
• Updated the ranking page
• Worked on revising the Online LLM in U.S. Law and Online Global Antitrust Law & Economic landing pages.
• Attended the WordCamp Conference. Since I had been getting lots of requests for WordPress sites, the conference was very helpful. It had a very strong, passionate, and ambitious community. They focused on Gutenberg, accessibilities, and longevity. They were working on a 100-year goal.
• Removed all course schedules and syllabi.
• Republished 2 years course schedules and syllabi.

Examples which demonstrate the supervisor’s Mentoring and Coaching

• Fixed CAS login issues.
• Contacted an alumna about accessing the alumni directory site.
• Completed training: 2023 Mandatory Role-Based Technical IT Security Awareness.
• Completed training: University Policy 1204: Prohibited Relationships with Students.
• Updated webinar pages for Online LLM.
• Updated course schedule.
• Created HTML version of course schedule.
• Updated course descriptions.
• Designed Sixth Scalia Forum’s save the date, invitation, and graphics.
• Replaced the WordPress sliders for the monitors. Soliloquy cut off the top of the slides every time new sliders were added. Smart Slider solved that issue.
• Fixed the WordPress Events Calendar for Voices for Liberty website.
• Re-uploaded course schedules and syllabi from 2021 to 2023.
• Relaunched the Online LLM U.S Law and Online Antitrust pages.
• Updated admissions pages requested by Sabrina.
• Supported outside consultants on WordPress for the 4 JM sites.
• Assisted the Gray Center WordPress site including adding new editors and authors.
• Assisted Law & Liberty WordPress site to provide editors and authors access.
• Continued to update Fall course schedules and syllabi.
• Updated the WordPresss kiosk site.
• Upgraded to MODX 3.0.4
• Created Alumni News block on the homepage and archive page.
• Trained alumni staff to make updates in MODX.
• Updated Voices for Liberty pages.
• Designed Sixth Annual Scalia Forum Invite
• Updated Records language
• Created a faculty site for a faculty member
• Created and updated Voices for Liberty pages
• Updated Admitted Student Intranet
• Updated Mediation Course Description
• Updated Arts Clinic webpages
• Created a form for Alumni Newsletter
• Updated Flex LLM Spring 2024 Course Schedule
• Migrated CDN and Firewall from StackPath to CloudFlare
• Created a Thanksgiving card.
• Created a holiday party card.
• Updated requests from the Records office.
• Updated U.S. Law and Antitrust Online requests.
• Updated MVETS requests.
• Updated course schedules.
• Created new events pages for Voices for Liberty.
• Created a new site for Global Wealth Management.
• Reviewed the testing pages and templates for the new law.gmu.edu.
• Switched to CloudFlare’s CDN and Firewall for MODX Cloud.
• Switched the Admit Intranet from incoming landing page to accepted landing page.
• Created a new subscriber user for Admit Intranet.
• Changed student org’s descriptions.
• Fixed the job links on the homepage.
• Fixed SSL Certificate issue for JM landing sites.
• Created save the date card for the Sixth Scalia Forum.
• Created graphic banners for CMEIL.

Performance and development goals and objectives

• Complete the migration to the new content management system (Cascade)
• Make the transition to the new CMS
• Learn the admin side of the new CMS
• Provide support for the new CMS
• Collaborate with colleagues on the new CMS
• Continue to support WordPress Multisites 
• Grow the network of WordPress-powered sites
• Make the transition to the Gutenberg editor
• Create new WordPress theme to meet the Mason new branding
• Support the law school members (faculty, staff, admin, students) with web-related technologies
• Support the web team members
• Collaborate with the library technology admin
• Attend web development conferences to sharpen up my skills
• Attend design conferences to stay on top of the trend
• Dive deeper into web accessibility
• Get ready for AI, especially ChatGTP