Commemorative Speech I gave on 12/4/07

In about two weeks, I’ll be graduating with an Associate’s Degree in Visual Communications from Western TC in La Crosse, WI. It’s something that I never thought would happen since I graduated high school in 2000 and told myself I’d never go back to school again.

However, I’m not just graduating with a degree. I’ve gained a lot of experience in my extra cirricular activities such as being an RA at Western TC’s dorms, Student Government, and City Affairs.

If it weren’t for my instructors and advisors here at Western, I wouldn’t have gotten involved in these things. The instructors here at Western have really shown me that they’re interested in students being successful here. It doesn’t matter what department you’re taking a class in. I’ve interacted with so many instructors here on campus, and all of them have the interest in helping students achieve their goals. Some instructor’s personalities may be different or harder to work with, but if you show them you’re putting in the time and effort, they will work with you.

I hate math. I really hate math! I needed to pass math! It came down to final exam time at the end of my first semester. My math instructor handed out a practice exam to the class. I didn’t want to do it, but I did. I took the exam to my instructor during my free time. He graded it, and then handed it back to me. I told him to give me another one. I completed it and brought it back to him. I did that about twelve times. It probably annoyed him, but I wanted to get a good grade.

It was Final Exam day. My instructor handed out the exam. I looked at it for a minute. It was the same practice exam! It wasn’t a mistake either. This goes to show that instructors do value hard work.

Denise, Shelley, Dave, and Mark are a few faculty members and instructors that have kept me motivated and really listen when it came down to where I want to go with myself.

Whenever I go visit Denise, one of the Vice Presidents for Western, she always makes me feel at home in her office. She offers me candy, and goes out of her way to answer a question that she doesn’t know.

Shelley has been a mentor to me since the first day I set foot in her office. Shelley is the boss that oversees the hall director and the RAs. I wasn’t an RA my first year, but I was having problems with my roomate. I kept putting up with things that I shouldn’t have to deal with. As soon as I went to her, things got fixed. She also was my advisor for Student Government when I became Vice President in 2006. She taught me great time management tips, and I learned from her that it’s easier to manage time when you have a busier schedule.

Dave is a very well known instructor on campus. He really cares about his students. I’ve developed a personal relationship with him, and he has given me great advice about things happening in my life. Last fall, I went over to his house to rake leaves for some extra cash. I got to meet his family, and they cooked me an awesome breakfast while I was there. He is also a big supporter of my efforts with Operation: River Watch and promoting alcohol awareness in La Crosse.

Mark is my Visual Communications advisor. He has given me tons of info on what directions to go after my time here at Western. He’s also the person I have the most in common with. We both like technology, and tend to discover the new breakthroughs before anyone else. He’s given me the time to figure out my own creativity. Video projects in our classes tend to take uncanny amounts of time to complete. Today he still uses a couple of my projects as example for incoming Vis-Com students.

I got what I needed here at Western, and that was confidence. I needed confidence that I could do well in school. Everything that happened on the side was a bonus for me. I never saw myself getting involved as much I have here in La Crosse, because I was a really shy person in High School. I’m going to personally thank all the people I mentioned, and more. It’s been a great ride, and I’m ready for the next step.

This was an awesome vacation, despite the main reasoning behind it was to visit a school. It’s Spring Break, and I went Orlando to visit a school??

Full Sail is an amazing place. The Behind the Scenes Tour was a pretty fast walkthrough of what the school has to offer, but I stayed the whole day in order to learn as much as I could. Full Sail has more than one degree program that I’m interested in.

Recording Arts, Show Production & Touring, and Film

My first tour was for the Film program. They have a lot of facilities outside of the main buildings that hold the classrooms and labs. Full Sail has taken over (what used to be) an entire strip mall, which is now used as studios for casting calls and more I’d assume. The students make their own sets, write scripts, and produce short films.

Some of the tour took a peek at the Digital Arts & Design program, which is aimed at people who are interested in Graphic Design, and Computer Animation. Graphics aren’t really my thing. I’m taking Photoshop and Illustrator this semester at my school. It requires sitting still for an extremely long time, and little to no movement on your computer screen. If it became my career, I’d probably have a mental breakdown sooner or later lol. If you aren’t into designing, animation, or creating still objects, it probably isn’t for you either.

After the first tour was over, I headed straight for the FREE FOOD. Just as a note, I had to walk 7 miles to Full Sail. My hotel was supposed to have a FREE shuttle to the school, but the front desk said it was “subject to availability”. Taxicabs are too expensive, so I walked.

I went on the Show Production tour next. This one was more interesting to me. I love the whole aspect of live television or productions. This program teaches you how to program lighting, set up the equipment, how to direct, and control audio during a live studio show. It doesn’t really head in the direction of television, but I saw the same types of things I’m doing in my TV class at school. The switcher in the main control room at Full Sail, is called the ROSS SWITCHER.

How ironic? lol. Anyway, this program seems to be the one that fits me the best. However, I didn’t get to see much of the Recording Arts program. I really enjoyed doing my Audio Dialog Replacement assignment last semester, which simulates some of the duties involved with audio postproduction. I currently use Garage Band, Audacity, and Soundtrack Pro for any audio related projects. Pro Tools is another program I use, and is also used by Full Sail. All of those things seem to be a target in the Recording Arts program.

As far as tuition goes for Full Sail, it is EXTREMELY expensive. The school is open 24/7, so you’ll probably have a lab at 1am sometimes. Labs are 4 hours long, and so are lectures. I suspect there will be no time to even have a part-time job and handle the school schedule. You also have to find a place to live, which isn’t cheap either.

The biggest perks about Full Sail are job placement, networking, and knowledge you’ll learn. There are a lot of controversial reviews about the school, but I think overall you have to be totally cutthroat about success in order to make it through there. It’s not for everyone. Some people find themselves in debt for the rest of their life, or accomplishing their dreams. It’s a risk, but life is full of them.

Ross