Staff Series: Joe Sparks – Multimedia Development Director

I direct the Multimedia Development department here at Seton. I’m blessed to collaborate with a fantastic team of artists and designers, all of whom are passionate about what they do and bring considerable talent and professionalism to their work.

The Multimedia Development department is responsible for anything involving multimedia, which is quite a lot when you stop and think about it. Any new book or lesson plan redesign goes through this department, where our designers and artists make the materials as beautiful, intuitive, and useful as possible for parents and students alike. In addition to book and lesson plan design, we are also responsible for all SetonOnline high school courses.

But even outside of the course materials, plenty of other tasks keep us busy: things like the Seton podcast, photography, videography, and the audio-video work at the annual Seton graduation are handled by our staff. The variety of work can sometimes be dizzying, but such an assortment brings excitement to our daily tasks and ensures that we always have fresh challenges to face.

In all of our design work, whether a new book design or a SetonOnline course, our goal is to provide a design that is beautiful, helpful to the student and permeated with a strong and traditional Catholic identity.

How it Started

I was introduced to Seton back in the early 1990s. After a few years in the public school system, my parents decided to homeschool me and my siblings. In total, I was homeschooled with Seton for almost ten years. That experience gave me a solid and robust Catholic education and a deep familiarity with the Seton program, which has proven invaluable in my work here.

Another element that strongly defined my experience with Seton was the online community. While in high school, I had the opportunity to participate in online message boards for Seton students and eventually worked with a few other Seton students to build our own student forum.

Through these venues, I met numerous fellow Seton students with whom I went on to develop strong and abiding friendships. Through these online student communities, I met Draper Warren, currently head of Seton’s Admissions department. Draper eventually recruited me to come and work at Seton many years later. Catholic Harbor, Seton’s student message board, was inspired by our shared experience in these student communities.

The Rewards

Realizing that every new book we design or every online component we develop helps students receive a thoroughly Catholic education is immensely rewarding. I am blessed to be able to work for an institution that helps guide students to academic success and assists parents in transmitting the Catholic Faith to their children.

A little about myself, I live in Front Royal, up in the mountains outside town, with my wife and seven children. Of those, five are of school age and are enrolled with Seton.