From my perspective as a writing student, who usually spends the majority of her time secluded in Ivy Hall, it seems there isn’t a lot of student involvement from those attending SCAD-Atlanta. The Ivy Hall Writers Series invites big name authors to come and speak to students and do readings, and student attendance is incredibly low. Now the the writing program is small but it’s not small enough to warrant a student head count at these events of two to four.
The quarter system rushes our courses and piles on workloads, so it is easy for my fellow students to use the excuse of “I have too much to do.” I have a lot to do as well. On top of being a full-time MFA student here at SCAD, I am doing two internships, I work for student media, I’m the editor of Ivy Hall Review, and I freelance. And yet I still carve time out of my pretty packed schedule to become a part of the local writing community as well as the SCAD community.
I try to do it all, because I know what it is like to be a recent college graduate and be holding onto a piece of paper but still have a pile of people ahead of me for available jobs. Employers are looking for employees who can do it all and still remain sane, people who can multitask and stay involved. They want people to know your name, as well as you knowing others. It is not enough to just say you graduated. You have to do the extra work to make a truely good impression.
If your school offers the opportunity to have face-time in front of an industry success, then go and take advantage. Ask questions and shake their hand. If your school has student media publications and you think you might want to write one day, or you have an interesting opinion or voice on a topic, then go and join. Student media, especially SCAD’s, is an arms wide open atmosphere. It gives everyone the chance to make something of themselves, all you have to do is commit and produce. Unfortunately these are things that SCAD students are throwing to the way-side and ignoring.
Here’s my advice from a seasoned student’s perspective: If someone offers you an opportunity to better yourself and learn something in the field you have chosen, take it. Never say no, never go take a nap and say you’ll attend the next one. Get involved and the rewards will eventually find their way to you. Law school students and even those brilliant medical school kids are having trouble finding success in today’s world. As art school students, we need to do more, learn more, and fight harder to remain in our beloved fields.
I’m willing to do it, so who is going to be my competition?