As a mature student, I had a fair bit of experience with websites and creating print pieces, but I knew there were some large holes in my skill set. When I reviewed College for Arts and Technology’s program, it offered a solid core of the technical skills I wanted to learn, but also touch on areas like photography, video, audio, law, and otherwise, that are complimentary skills that I can now offer to my graphic design clients.

My favourite part of the program – and that which you can’t get by just learning design programs on your own – was the interaction with other like-minded students. The school attracts such a wide variety of people with different skills and interested, and it was amazingly powerful to interact with my classmates on projects. Getting opinions, providing feedback, and working together allowed me to create projects that were greater than the sum of the techniques used to create them.

Since graduating, I have been freelancing under my own company, Digital Ink Media. I initially thought I would like to work at a larger agency, but the program helped me decide that freelancing was the way to go for me. I always listened carefully to the industry advice given by my instructors, including growing my network and getting involved in community projects. This has allowed me to build my business straight out of school and has really paid off!