Hopkins is a school that sets its students up for success, and it’s no secret that well-funded programs are a surefire way to do so.
This year saw the birth of the Hopkins Game Dev Society, a club that I’m very passionate about. It was created by a few dedicated students and founded on two fundamental ideas: teaching people about game development and helping people get their game ideas off the ground. The club capitalizes on university funds to support sponsored projects, providing a stipend to developers to spend on whatever they need to assist their development process. These can be pre-made models, like skyscrapers for a game based in a city, sound effects, music, visual effects like fog or rain simulators, or anything else that a developer may need to outsource to finalize their game.
And the help doesn’t just stop at development; if members wish to take it a little more seriously, the Pava Center—Hopkins’ hub dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation—is open to funding startup indie studios (and hosting Showcase Events for Hopkins students and other college students in Maryland). I’m even on my way to developing a pitch to turn my dream game projects into a sponsored project.
Hopkins Game Dev Society’s Alpha Game Showcase at the Pava Center
The support doesn’t stop at passion projects. Hopkins provides premium subscriptions to students for various job-search assistance platforms. The main one you’ll see is Vmock, which is what I use the most. Your Hopkins account allows access to Vmock’s in-depth scan tool for your resume. It’s comparable to Grammarly but for resume layouts and content instead. It also gives you access to their mock interview tools. While I haven’t had the chance to use them myself, they allow you to go through an interview scenario according to the job description you provide.
In addition to Vmock, there’s a platform (I recently started using) called Top Resume, where just like Vmock, Hopkins students get access to their premium feature. You can send your resume to a job recruiter who will review and revise your resume and/or your cover letter. When I was applying for internships, these platforms were unbelievably helpful in revising everything. Eventually, I landed an Online Assessment from Amazon, which I attribute to my carefully refined resume.
For those thinking globally, opportunities to go abroad are totally within reach. Studying abroad is on my bucket list, and because I’m taking an eligible language class, my international studies will be entirely funded by Hopkins through the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships grant. This will allow me to dedicate 100% of my time abroad to enjoying the new experiences and my studies and 0% to worrying about the finances on my flight home.
With an abundance of well-funded programming at Hopkins, students have the flood gates of opportunity open for them to take full advantage of. Just as a first-year student, I’ve successfully entered the job market and started planning my future schedule in anticipation of studying abroad. I’ve also met so many like-minded people with a passion for video games, and some who are interested in helping me get my own idea developed and out there. Who knows, maybe next year you may see my game in the lineup of active projects on the game dev club’s front page!
