News: Former Punk-Rocker Lectures on Web Design
 

CAMDEN, N.J. — Many people around here know Reesa Marchetti's name from her stint as a local punk-rock star in the 1980s.

But the former musician recently proved her current reputation as an award-winning Web site developer. The CEO of Sheer Web Design in Glassboro, Reesa creates Web sites for clients around the world. She shared her knowledge with the E-Commerce Society at Rutgers University during a guest lecture here on “Myth v. Reality: Search Engines and E-Commerce.”

A crowded conference roomful of business and graduate students participated in the session. Reesa discussed using search engine technology to improve marketing efforts on the Internet.

In answer to a student's question on how Reesa made the career transition from music to Web design, she answered, "I'm still a musician." She then played an online video of her band to show how she relies on her music skills to develop multimedia for Web sites.

The students, as well as their teachers, expressed their appreciation with a round of applause at the end of the mini-seminar.

Teacher Ken Kendall, who heads an E-Commerce Project Management course, called Reesa's presentation "superb."

"The students felt encouraged by your attitude and by all of the things you have accomplished," Kendall said later in an e-mail to the former rocker.

"The way you described getting into Web site design via your keyboarding technology — as well as the way you detailed how music still plays a critical part in your life — were especially interesting to us, since we have been working with the Web presence of non-profit, off-Broadway theatres ..."

Kendall and his wife, Julie, who also is a Rutgers professor, plan to refer to the lecture in future lessons, he said.

"We'll certainly be demonstrating your Web sites to our students, and reminding them of your myths," his e-mail continued.