Chris Onorati
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Teaching Services

Lab Manager

DigiPen Institute of Technology  |  January 2019 - Present
As the lab manager for DigiPen Institute of Technology, I oversaw the use of the school's two computer labs by students and student game teams. In this position I was responsible for

- Managing space allocation in two computer labs seating approx. 750 students each semester.
- Providing IT support for software and hardware installations on lab-issued machines.
- Training TAs to handle software installation and interpersonal management tasks.
- Working with students to ensure proper working conditions for 50+ student game teams each semester.
- Entering student games, when applicable, to competitions to represent the school.
- Inspecting student games for live release on Steam and the DigiPen Game Gallery.
- Coordinating with internal PAX Team to get student projects downloadable to a public audience for events.

Pre-College Program Instructor

DigiPen Institute of Technology  |  June 2019 - July 2019, May 2020 - June 2020, June 2021 - August 2021
​For the 2020 Pre-College program at DigiPen Institute of Technology, I was the Lead instructor for the Game Project Lab Course, as well as the primary instructor for Game Design students in their supplemental courses. These courses provide foundational game development knowledge for highschool aged students who are interested in pursuing a career in the games industry. For these courses, many students come in without any previous experience in game design or game programming. Between the three courses I was responsible for

- Converting courses to an online platform due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Overseeing and advising 8 student teams, with feedback ranging from game production, design, programming, and art direction.
- Teaching the fundamentals of programming languages via the C# scripting language.
- Covering lessons on the fundamentals of game deisgn using Tabletop Simulator.
- Designing assignments which incorporated programming fundamentals talked about in class as applicable to game development.
​- Grading and providing feedback on assignments.

For the 2019 Pre-College program at DigiPen Institute of Technology, I was the Lead instructor for the Game Project Lab Course, as well as the Applied Computer Science Instructor for students in the game design track.  These courses provide foundational game development knowledge for highschool aged students who are interested in pursuing a career in the games industry.  For these courses, many students come in without any previous experience in game design or game programming.  Between these two courses I was responsible for

- Coordinating with the admin team event planning and publication.
- Implementing the first ever pipeline for pre-college students to release their games online.
- Overseeing and advising 7 student teams, with feedback ranging from game production, design, programming, and art design.
- Teaching the fundamentals of programming languages via the C# scripting language.
- Designing assignments which incorporated programming fundamentals talked about in class as applicable to game development.
​- Grading and providing feedback on assignments for both the Game Project Lab and Applied Computer Science Courses.
- Uploading student projects to the online DigiPen Game Gallery (games.digipen.edu).

Lead GDSP Teacher's Assistant

DigiPen Institute of Technology  |  September 2016 - December 2018
As the lead GDSP TA, I served as a lab manager, Design mentor, and the a TCR (Technical Certification Requirement) Verifier. As the Lead TA for this department, I was responsible for

- Mentoring freshman level teams in solving design and technical problems within their games.
- Organization and preparing for the yearly Student Showcase and DigiPen Game Awards.
- Ensuring all students had an effective environment to work within.
- Communicating to the IT and Facilities departments the needs of the students and GAM instructors.
- Assisting teams with minor technical issues.
- Moderating any team space issues.
- Inspecting team spaces to ensure tidiness of the work spaces at the end of each semester.
- Communicating with Student Affairs department when severe issues and arose within teams.
- Evaluating the stability and usability of over 50 student-created level editors.
- Testing the stability and performance of over 200 student games in custom and pre-built engines.
- Verifying all student projects do not infringe on 3rd party copyrights.
- Ensuring all student projects contain appropriate content as required by the school.

Awards​ and Honors​

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Computer Science Teacher's Assistant

DigiPen Institute of Technology  |   September 2015 - December 2018
Among many candidates I was selected to be a tutor and TA for the freshman and sophomore level computer science classes at DigiPen Institute of Technology.  As a teacher's assistant/tutor, I was responsible for

- Grading assignments made in Adobe Flash Professional 5.5, ActionScript 3.0, and C++.
- Tutoring students in the fundamentals of scripting languages and basic programming.
- Tutoring students in the fundamentals of the C++ programming language.
- Tutoring students regarding how Adobe Flash and it's scripting language ActionScript work and communicate with each other.
- Aiding students in learning how to work in the Unity Engine and C# scripting language.
- Notifying faculty members of students who were at risk of not passing class(es).

Awards​ and Honors​

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Game Design Teacher's Assistant

DigiPen Institute of Technology, September 2016 - December 2018
Starting in my junior year, I was hired by DigiPen faculty to be the sole tutor for freshman and sophomore game design classes, as well as one of only two teacher's assistants for the first Digital Game Design classes.  As a teacher's assistant/tutor, I was responsible for

- Tutoring students in analyzing video and board games.
- Instructing students through the conceptualization and implementation phases for digital games.
- Notifying faculty members of students who were at risk of not passing class(es).
- Providing assistance to students struggling with good time management practices and techniques.
- Guiding students through the implementation of gameplay mechanics in solo projects using C#.
- Helping students iterate on their level and mechanic design based on comprehensive playtesting data within technology constraints.
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