A year ago, I wanted to be a producer.

I am in the process of finishing a 52-week program at BCIT called New Media Design and Web Development. I will be at BCIT for longer than the alloted 52 weeks however, as I’ve failed 3 classes — but more about that later.

How I got here, what I’ve done, and where I’m going is a story I love to tell. Let’s start with the question we’ve all had to answer at least once…

What do you wanna be when you grow up?

Okay, I know it will sound cliche if I say I’ve always known that I wanna be an artist. It’s a bit like hearing supermodels say that modeling was their dream since they were three. (Do three-year-olds even know what models are?) But I knew there had to be some use somewhere in the world for my love for matching colors, and making things fit together.

Until Grade 6, I told everyone I wanted to be a doctor, just to have an answer. No one likes it when you say, “I don’t know yet.” That couldn’t have been farther from the truth– I’ve spent way too much of my life in hospitals.

It was in high school when I realized the possibilities.Through to Grade 7, archaeologist was my default answer. The next year, I joined the newspaper committee and realized how much I actually really liked writing. Aside from articles, I wrote a few short novels for English class and decided I wanted to be a freelance journalist.

Summer’s Music

It was around this time that American Idol aired it’s first season. Because I liked singing so much, I was very interested in this show, and I watched it through all the way to the end. I followed up with all the finalists’ career efforts after the show and fell in love with music on the way.

Somewhere during these few months, it occurred to me that my dream of singing professionally could only be a dream, but it was still entirely possible that I could be a part of the music creation process behind the scenes — recording engineering and audio post-production.

A World of Sound

For the next three years–through to graduation, I was bent on becoming a recording engineer. I learned all I could about the music business and popular recording studios around the world. My church’s praise band started recording a few things and I got involved with that.

My entire senior year consisted of searching for post-secondary schools that offered programs that included recording arts or sound design. The one that appealed to me the most was the Art Institute of Vancouver, and after an info session and touring the school, it was suggested to me that I try SWEAT.

SWEAT 2006

Student Work Experience and Training (SWEAT) is a program that the Art Institute of Vancouver holds every year during spring break. It is a 5-day, 30 hour program that allows students who are interested in attending the Art Institute to “test-drive” their program of choice for a whole week.

Its a good mix of hands-on working experience, instructional time, and training, so it also fulfills the Grade 12 graduation requirement of 30 hours volunteer experience–another incentive to get involved with SWEAT.

Needless to say, that week was one of the best things I have ever experienced. All our classes took place inside Studio M, which was a classroom that was set up like a theatre with an adjoining recording studio. We completed audio post-production for a 3 minute animation, and composed, arranged, and recorded 2 songs during my group’s 5 days there.

As soon as the program ended, I applied at for the October intake right away.