Another DJCC alumni heading for SCAD

I got a nice visit today from Jason Diaz, a graduate of DJCC and Hebron HS, '09. He came by to tell me that he was leaving for Georgia on Sunday, headed out to the Atlanta campus of SCAD. We have had several DJCC students go to SCAD in the past, but Jason is the first one with an interest in motion graphics and special digital effects. It is always such a nice feeling as a teacher to watch students head off toward their futures. Jason will be studying Motion Media Design and was awarded a $10,000 per year portfolio scholarship. He earned this scholarship for his State blue ribbon motion graphics project that he entered in the Ad Design contest last year at SkillsUSA, and also some excellent work that he did as a student in Mr. Ruuska's media technology class. I think that Jason's ultimate goal is to work in advertising, specifically producing special digital effects for commercials. He especially admires the work done by Digital Domain and is trying to prepare himself for a career that combines his love of motion and design. There are several things that make me proud of Jason, number one is his tenacity and lack of "give up". Last year, Jason found out that no one had ever entered a motion graphics piece in the commercial advertising category last year, and he thought it would be cool to be the first. He worked hard to produce a project in After Effects. To be frank, he had little guidance and took ownership and responsibility for learning software on his own, much like Conner did this year when he started working extensively with After Effects. The results were very nice, and he was awarded a very high score on his project at State. I know that Jason will go after what he wants, and he is sure to end up a very successful young professional.

If you know Jason, you know his silly side too. He isn't all business, and we learned that in class last year when he ended up in the nurse's office at DJCC one day. For some reason, he decided to see if he could stick a Twizzler up his nose. (PLEASE, never do this? Duh.) Anyway, he said that he had stuck a noodle up there before and it came right out. Playing around during break, he stuck a Twizzler in his nose because he just knew that, like the noodle, it would slide right out. Wrong. It began to disintegrate because of the (ugh) moisture, and when he pulled on it, only half came out and half stayed in. That is when I came on the scene and hauled him down to the nurse. She helped him to extract the remainder. I don't think they pay school nurses enough.

With a little luck, the SCAD nurses won't be faced with such a situation. Jason does learn from his experiences. We love him and wish him all the best.


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