Once you start as a student at Reeves College, you become part of a network of individuals who want to see you succeed. We had the privilege of interviewing Dami, a professional graphic designer who graduated from the Graphic Design Technology program at the Calgary City Centre campus in October 2020.
Changing Career Paths
As a newcomer to Canada in 2019, Dami felt that getting her Canadian credentials would be the first big step towards creating her career as a graphic designer. Dami has an impressive background, previous being an architect. She has a bachelor's and a master's degree in architecture. However, after three years as an architect, she realized that architecture was too broad of a subject and wanted to focus on the field's design components instead.
“My love for graphic design started as a hobby, and I used it for different jobs. For the first few years, I was self-taught and learned design software skills on my own. Despite my progress, I decided that I wanted professional training.” Dami says.
Memorable Student Moments
A favourite memory was when she took a course on brand development, where she created brand style guides and learned about brand design techniques. Dami also enjoyed video editing using Adobe Premiere Pro. Although at first, it seemed daunting, she later got the hang of it and even created a video advertisement for her course. This was valuable to a professional portfolio.
Getting Work Experience
Two months into starting the Graphic Design Technology program, Dami was employed as a graphic design intern at an IT firm. Her instructor had told her about the job opening. Working part-time as an intern and full-time as a student allowed her to gain essential experience for her resume while being in school. She earned relevant experience that she found applicable in the classroom and workplace. Additionally, Dami appreciated how much her instructor shared career opportunities with her and her peers.
Overcoming Obstacles
Dami said working while in school was challenging, especially when her schoolwork load increased.
“I let my employers know if I had a busy schedule with school, and my instructors also understood because I was working. Both my instructor and employers trusted me to deliver my best work around my schedule, and I did deliver every single time. " Dami says.
She overcomes this by communicating with her employers and instructors and letting them know her current workload. Her advice to current and future students is to set goals and work towards them.
Last Day Of School
Dami also shared an emotional day, which was the last day of the school year. Since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, Dami hadn't been to campus, but her instructors and students stayed close-knit online. On the last day of class, the instructors said nice things about her and even wrote her recommendation letter without her asking. She shares that this was a special moment as she felt acknowledged as a professional in her field.
Where Are They Now
Due to COVID-19, Dami could not keep her job as an intern at the IT company after graduating. She quickly bounced back into the job search and has just started a new position as a graphic designer at a non-profit. In her free time, she enjoys learning about the latest design software.
We wish you all the best with your new career endeavours, Dami!