Image by Celia Hoffman Annalee Barbar is passionate about using her graphic design skills to help make the world more accessible for all. Through her internship at the Institute for Trauma, Adversity, and Resilience in Higher Education, she was able to accomplish that.
Over the summer, Barbar and fellow graphic design major Oumaima Attioui worked together to create two videos for Jeanie Tietjen and Carolyn Guttilla, professors at Massachusetts Bay Community College. Tietjen founded the Institute for Trauma, Adversity, and Resilience in Higher Education in 2012, which aims to grow literacy and awareness of how trauma and adversity impact teaching and learning and explore practical steps students, faculty, staff, and administrators might consider.
Barbar, a senior and Groton native, and Attioui, from Revere, each created a five-minute animated video on how transportation impacts college students’ academic success. Barbar targeted her video to an audience of students; Attioui, who completed the internship before starting her junior year, created her video for a faculty audience. The videos are featured on the institute’s website.
“We wanted to show simple ways that students can be supported,” says Attioui.
Both Barbar and Attioui had previous internship experience: Barber worked as a social media intern for UMass Lowell’s Art and Design department, and junior Attioui was a communications intern at the Ragon Institute in Cambridge before this opportunity came along. When Associate Teaching Professor Melissa Schrenker was asked by Tietjen to recommend two students for the internship, she knew exactly who would be a great fit.
“It's been such a privilege working with these students, as their level of expertise was incredible,” says Tietjen.
The partnership between UMass Lowell and MassBay started in the spring of 2026 with former graphic design students Isabella Faulkner ’26 and An Nguyen ’26, who created videos that explored how trauma can influence procrastination and learning in the classroom. Finding a pattern of great work ethic and professionalism with UMass Lowell students, Guttilla wanted to continue the collaboration.
“The UMass Lowell interns were really able to take on the project and produce the content we were looking for,” she says.
Image by Celia Hoffman Graphic Design students Oumaima Attioui, left, and Annalee Barbar want to create a more accessible world.
The students were tasked with using Adobe After Effects to create the animated videos, featuring a main character, Skyler. The videos explore how a lack of reliable transportation to campus can pose challenges to academic success for students. Both videos feature helpful resources and strategies to help overcome those barriers.
Tietjen and Guttilla were impressed by how well Barbar and Attioui were able to bring life to the character, who was inclusive and relatable.
“It’s a really powerful skill to be able to represent so many different identities that we see on our campuses,” says Tietjen.
Barbar and Attioui did a great deal of collaboration, which made the challenges they faced easier, they say.
“The whole point of an internship is to learn and face these challenges within your field,” says Attioui.
Both Barbar and Attioui credit their success to the Graphic Design program, noting the sense of community and the opportunities for career-connected experiences in which they can apply what they’ve learned in their coursework to real-world assignments. Both students are able to add this project to their portfolios, which they will complete in their senior years.
“It was a great learning experience for me, because I want to do motion in the future,” says Barbar.
Barbar and Attioui’s videos have already gotten attention. After Tietjen sent the videos through a listserv of the institute’s subscribers, Eastern Tennessee State University’s Strong BRAIN Institute shared them with its community.
“I started getting all these emails from professors around the country complimenting the videos,” says Tietjen.
Both Tietjen and Guttilla hope to continue working with UMass Lowell students. They praised Schrenker for really understanding her students and their capabilities.
“I’m very proud of Annalee and Oumaima and all the work that they put in,” says Schrenker.
Barbara and Attioui share the strong desire to impact the world in a positive way. For Attioui, that aspect of the project made it all the more meaningful.
“After graduation, I would like to be a designer who can help the community,” she says.