Meet the Execs: 2025 - 2026

Hello everyone! This week, we're excited to present you with an exclusive interview featuring all current members of VGDC's executive board as they share some insight on the internal operations of our club!

Aslan: "Hi, my name is Aslan. I'm the president."

Andrew: "I'm Andrew. I'm the events director and the treasurer. I'm overworked."

Breanna: "Hi, I'm Breanna. I'm the vice president and newly self-appointed outreach director. I am also overworked."

Ethan Carter: "Hi, I'm Ethan Carter. I'm the tech director."

Ethan Schwartzman: "Hi, I'm Ethan Schwartzman, and I'm the projects director."

Olivia: "Hello! I'm Olivia. I'm currently the marketing director for VGDC."

Ethan Schwartzman: "Projects team is responsible for bringing you all the big game-making events of VGDC. That includes our game jams, workshops, and large projects like Forge and TCP."

Ethan Carter: "Tech team handles two main things: VGDC's arcade machine and the website. The arcade machine displays some of our past games made by our members—people love it. We serve to augment the club. We're kind of in the shadows, providing little benefits."

Breanna: "As the vice president, one of my main tasks is acting as the glue that keeps the club together. I pick up tasks within almost every committee, wherever I can. Let's say one committee needs something from another; I will then recognize that and pass on the corresponding information."

Breanna: "One of our main focuses right now as outreach is trying to get resources for those interested in attending GDC. Something else that I'm currently working on is trying to get more sponsorships for our club, especially because we're growing so rapidly. We want to be able to bring tech and software to our members to make game development more accessible."

Aslan: "As president, I really don't do all that much. You can think of me as handling logistical stuff. I organize full officer meetings, try to set goals for the club, and do a little bit of everything."

Andrew: "My role as events director requires filling out a lot of forms, as well as managing the committee responsible for planning out and thinking of ideas for events. The role itself is sort of the backbone of the club. "

Andrew: "As for treasury, we have to do max funding appeals because our club keeps growing. Naturally, we need a bigger budget. We want to invest into the club's future and set up more systems in place to make it easier for not only the next treasurer to take over, but for the entire club to operate more smoothly."

Olivia: "Marketing is in charge of club advertising and photography! We make the graphics and write up announcements for Discord and Instagram to get the word out about events."

Olivia early into the process of creating the fall 2025 Halloween Social graphic.

Aslan: "When I took this president role, my biggest priority was growing our presence to be statewide—that's a little ambitious, but we've definitely grown our presence on campus. Being statewide would mean having more connections with game studios, other schools' video game development clubs, and sponsorships."

Breanna: "We brought back the outreach committee because I want to push on the pre-professional side of VGDC and implement more rigorous methods to get companies interested in us."

Breanna: "One idea that I've talked to some potentially interested professionals about is bringing industry in to do resume reviews, or sort of present methodology that they use within the workforce. "

Ethan Carter: "For the tech team, what I'd really like to do is find ways to automate the processes that VGDC's other teams have to go through. Creating teams for our game jams, for instance; I think there are a lot of opportunities to streamline those processes."

Ethan Schwartzman: "This year, the projects team has been delighted to introduce Project Forge, as well as host our first ever teeny-tinyware. The same as every year, we seek to continuously improve and iterate upon our currently existing projects. Last year, we were able to have our first ever Steam release; we hope to keep that same momentum for the rest of this year."

Olivia: "Marketing's come really far from when I first joined VGDC. We're getting more consistent and comfortable in illustrating our mascots and other elements!"

Olivia: "In terms of improvement, I'd like to make marketing more social with other officers…that's my own shortcoming as an officer as well. We could also improve in proper critiques and assignment pickups, but it's mostly reliant on the availability of officers."

Olivia finalizing the fall 2025 Halloween Social graphic.

Andrew: "If you're reading this, I assume you're either interested in or already part of VGDC. I think you shouldn't be afraid to apply for an officer role; involving yourself in clubs is one of the greatest things you can do in your experience as a student here."

Ethan Carter: "Thanks for checkin' out the website."

Breanna: "Before joining VGDC, I'd never made a game before. This club helped me find my passion, and I've made so many friends. Don't be afraid of us! We don't bite, and we're super cool."

Ethan Schwartzman "Make games! Game dev is super interdisciplinary. No matter if you're a programmer, artist, writer, musician, designer, or producer, there's a place for you in games! Whether you're a seasoned professional or someone just learning for the first time, the best way to improve is to actually do it!"

Aslan: "If you're an introvert like myself, don't be afraid to put yourself out there. There's a ton of other introverts in the club in your position, and they'd love to get to know you."

Olivia: "Thanks to everyone for reading and wanting to learn more about VGDC's inner workings—and thanks to Josh for the interview! Please don't hesitate to ask us questions in person if you're curious to learn more."

Thank you to Aslan, Breanna, Andrew, Olivia, Ethan Schwartzman, and Ethan Carter for agreeing to speak for this post. Check back here during week four to read all about Project Forge, VGDC's newest game development project—as always, thank you for reading!