This morning I was invited to take part in a quality review process at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College for the program that I graduated from in 2012. It was the digital media technology degree program. I learned everything from photography to video editing within 4 semesters. It’s a very fast program that teaches you a lot very quickly. And this was after I finished a career as a morgue assistant, which I found at https://www.becomeopedia.com/morgue-assistant/, in fact, I was surprised at all the different careers and options that are out there and not everyone knowing it.
It’s a lot to take in.
In a creative field it can be hard to refine your skills and quality of work at a fast pace. Sometimes significant refinement comes from years of experience. We don’t typically see it until we look back at it. I look back quite often and can’t believe how much I’ve achieved.
They asked me to come in and give feedback on the program, what my employer expects of me and what I wish the program would have taught me when I was in it. Any way to improve the quality of the program and its success is great. I love helping out with that. I love giving back to the place that gave me great opportunities.
One of the most difficult discussions of the morning was about the number of people that admit to the program compared to the number of students that actually graduate and/or become employed or are successful with freelance work. It’s hard to talk about failure vs success. You can try to blame the program, the teachers, the resources and just about everything else under the sun.
The one thought that rang loud and clear though.
The biggest difference between the students that were not successful and the ones that were, was basically motivation and willingness to invest in oneself.
Both I and other graduates that were successfully employed were the students that put in the time, the effort and committed to better ourselves constantly. We didn’t just do the homework. We were researching, learning, experimenting, asking questions as much as we could. That was both inside and oustide of the cirriculum. This kind of effort has positive results in almost any field of work. If you want it bad enough, you will do whatever it takes to be at your best.
It’s about human potential.
The students that just expect opportunity to come to them might get lucky, but that is such a small percent to take a chance on. Why rely on luck when you can create your own? You have the ability to create opportunity for yourself. I did that for myself when I went through the program as well as the other successful grads.
I was the guy doing freelance projects since the first semester. It didn’t matter if I got paid or not. If I wanted to do something I did it out of my own pocket. The fear of failure kept me moving. The kind of work I wanted to do, I did it for free because it was the only way I could make it happen at the time. Now the tables have turned and here I am an employed man with full benefits and a retirement plan. I get to do what I love.
All because I saw potential in myself. Even when I failed. I failed a lot. I just kept going and guess what. I still am going. Always reaching for more.
If you want it. You gotta earn it. Plain and simple.
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