Graduating college can be one of the most terrifying experiences for students. SCAD’s goal is to give its students the opportunity to become professionals in their creative field. The graduating class of 2011 is about to find out if they can make that happen.
Janie Stamm, fifth-year printmaking and animation student, is graduating as a gallery-featured artist in the upcoming show “Monsters” at Kai Lin Art in Midtown Atlanta, where her pieces will be shown for the rest of the year. “I currently have four pieces in the gallery, but over the summer there should be more coming. And I sold my first piece last week,” Stamm said.
At the most recent Savannah Film Festival, Stamm’s senior film, “Elephantis,” was featured as the festival’s opening film. It was also featured at SCADanimate! last September.
Although the nerves that accompany graduation can’t be shaken, students are encouraged to prepare for graduation by learning about job placement opportunities through the career services office. The career service advisers can provide students with the tools to find employment in their chosen field. SCAD also offers a College Central account that link students who are seeking art and design careers to employers.
With the country’s current economic state, it’s understandable for graduating students to be worried about gaining employment, especially in their field of study. Students like fourth-year illustration student Hilary Smith, are putting their best foot forward by working on their portfolios.
“It’s really important, even as a freshmen, for students to work on their personal work, because when you become a junior or senior getting your portfolio together, you need to have personal work in your wholesale,” said Smith.
For these seniors the light at the end of the education tunnel shines brightly. They are looking forward to their post-graduation lives. “It’s all really surreal, but I’m getting excited,” said Smith. With a portfolio filled with work, and a mind filled with ambition, graduation can be the scariest time of a young person’s life, but also the most liberating.
