It's never too late to return back to school, and ambitious students like 68-year-old Rob S. are living proof. We had the privilege of getting to learn more about Rob, a Graphic Design Technology student at the Surrey campus.
Rob is currently retired; however, he spent the majority of his employment working in construction in British Columbia and Alberta.
"Now that my wife and I are retired, I always want to keep learning and doing new things. I've always had an interest in Graphic Design, so it was the perfect opportunity for me to sign up for the course," says Rob.
"I traded my hammer and saw for Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects. I was initially nervous and never used most of the tools. [We had] an excellent Graphic Design Technology instructor who taught us how to use these creative tools to make beautiful graphics. I now have professional skills in design that I can build on from the program," says Rob.
Rob shares that despite him nearing the end of his Graphic Design Technology program, he is finding new tips and tricks daily to further his graphic design skills and passion.
Rob adds another valuable lesson he has learned from his time at Vancouver Career College.
"I now see graphic design everywhere, whether it be on a bus, building or a website. I always knew that there was a graphic designer at work or judge cases where the graphic design could be better. I love being able to evaluate, analyze and learn from other people's work. It has opened up a whole new world for me," says Rob.
While he was retired, Rob volunteered to create newsletters for the community group. He found it challenging to use InDesign and wanted professional training to gain robust Graphic Design skills. Rob found Vancouver Career College's program to be practical and has developed life-long skills that he can use daily.
During his time as a student at Vancouver Career College, Rob learned three key things in the classroom. The first is he got a solid foundation of graphic design knowledge that he can build upon. Rob also learned how to appreciate graphic design derived from visual design fundamentals. Lastly, he learned that you need to be willing to put in a lot of effort if you want the outcome to be worthwhile.
The challenging part of the program was learning and trying to understand how a tool works. Photoshop was one of the most difficult tools to learn, but it moved from a classroom activity to a hands-on project where we applied what we learned on actual projects.
Rob has an average score of 100% in all of his coursework. With all the hands-on training that he was able to gain at Vancouver Career College, he now has a modern and impressive graphic design portfolio. You can see his work here.
Learn more about the Graphic Design Technology diploma program at Vancouver Career College here.