My SFU Graduation: Reminiscing My SIAT Undergrad Experience

It's been real, SFU. Who would've thought I'd make it out alive (and with a degree) !! — I officially graduated from Simon Fraser University's School of Interactive Arts & Technology with a Bachelor of Arts in Media Arts & Design on June 9th 2017. All those years of grinding out coursework and pulling all-nighters before finals have finally paid off. A few of you know that I started working in the tech industry before I received my undergrad degree. Since that sparked some curiosity around how it all happened, here's my journey; the good and the bad.

My roots in fine arts & design — I've always known that my strengths lay in fine arts. Since the day I learnt how to hold a pen, perfecting my penmanship led to sketching, painting, print making, then experimenting with mix media; there was no end to my love and curiosity for visual art and design. Having said that, I also learned my weaknesses as an artist throughout the years. I'm most comfortable creating art with visual references, I'd be fantastic with life drawings but found it difficult to freestyle. During my last term of high school, my art teacher told me that I was too much of a perfectionist and needed to practice letting go to fully embrace creative "mistakes". Trust me, this took me a long time to understand and accept.

On how I ended up studying IAT at SFU — Unlike the traditional Chinese upbringing, I never had the desire to attend a university with a good ranking or reputation just for the bragging rights (sorry mom!). Call me stubborn, call me difficult - but at one point, I just realized that life was way too short to be wasted on anything that I didn't see value in. I didn't want to do what everyone else was doing, I didn't want to view my next couple of years as a graduation checklist. I needed my post secondary education to be as nurturing and rewarding as possible for my own sanity. Funny enough, it was actually my math tutor who introduced me to SIAT (TechOne at the time). "Interactive Arts and Technology" sounded manageable after my extensive experience in hacking together Xanga and MySpace layouts, right?

The objective of this assignment was to create a video sculpture with a RGB LCD screen keeping the installation as artistic as possible and avoid making a functional tool. As my concept, I used digital media to recreate the experience of receiving a hidden message, similiar to traditional origami fortune tellers.

The challenges of SIAT — The IAT program was extremely project heavy, mostly in groups or with a partner so there was no time to waste on being shy. The first couple weeks of each course felt like speed dating cause communicating my strengths and weaknesses was key to connect with peers who could them balance out. Finding teammates did get better in time as the size of each IAT class was about 20-30 heads per workshop, so you end up getting to know everyone in your year. Mastering how to manage my workload and completing assignments to strict deadlines was crucial too, you don't want to be a bad team player or have a bad reputation.

Depending on the area of design, the interpretation and critiques can be fairly subjective. I had to constantly remind myself not to lose heart if I received a lower mark than I'm used to - it just took time to adjust to the grading style of each professor. Additionally, SIAT (TechOne at the time) was in their early stages when I joined the program, so I found a lot of overlap in the course materials. When I felt like I wasn't expanding on new skills or knowledge, I found it difficult to stay engaged and motivated especially in my second year.

The highlights of SIAT — I knew I had the skillset and knowledge to be a decent graphic designer but my biggest struggle was convincing the real world that I had it in me. Being turned down was really exhausting, but that never stopped me from trying to make my mark in the design industry. I did everything from volunteering my time doing odd design jobs to co-finding Designers In Progress, a community designed to connect fellow design students with industry professionals to gain insight on the nature of their career aspirations. Simply conversing with likeminded individuals was so inspiring; made me less afraid of networking events, and hungry for so much more in life.

Somewhere along the way, I was offered my first *real* design collaboration with two of my role models from SIAT and for an extremely meaningful cause. They gave me the biggest gift by believing in me when I didn't believe in myself, and for that I am forever grateful!

A Blooming Disposition is a harmony of the natural world and the scientific world. Using MAX/MSP & Processing, I used the audio components of the song to conduct this reactive visual.

The most rewarding moment of my degree — Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. My friend, Lillian, was the true definition of a go-getter. After spending some time together, she reminded me to always go the extra mile to secure an opportunity when I’m chasing after a dream. I was fortunate enough to have this blog established as a creative outlet, joined the school’s co-op program, went for a couple of job interviews, got an offer, and never looked back. Well not quite — I actually had a mini heart attack in between securing a position because the company hired someone else for the position I originally applied for — but thankfully they wanted to hire me too.

Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life.

My one advice to future SIAT students — Attending university really taught me self-discipline and to hold myself accountable to my goals and responsibilities, so my one rule I kept throughout my degree was to never submit work that I wasn't proud of. Take all the time you need to graduate, it's not a race. Anyone in your design faculty could potentially become a client or employee in the future so make sure you kick-ass and create some solid portfolio pieces while you're in the program.

There aren’t a lot of occasions that I celebrate, I rarely even throw myself a birthday party but graduating from university was a milestone. During summer, House Special in Yaletown has got the best patios. It's a bonus it's so close to work for the convenience of my coworkers.

The moral of this story — Take your time with your degree, and make sure you make the most of everything you commit yourself to. Never stop fighting for the things you believe in and love.

Thanks to all of you wonderful people who supported me along the way!

Hope you enjoyed reading about my journey at Simon Fraser University and all the graduation celebrations after. If you have any questions or would like to share your own personal experiences, remember to leave me a message in the comment box below!