AYLA
Major: English – Communication option
Hometown: Arvada, CO
Year: Senior
The joyous moment has finally arrived: my last semester of college…gasp! The disbelief is mixed with the overwhelming excitement of what is to come May 3rd, which is graduation, on into the rest of my life. Being an extremely traditional student, having been in school constantly since pre-Kindergarten, the thought of school not being my first priority is a strange idea to digest. Hearing conversation between professors and fellow students about next semester that doesn’t apply to me anymore is a bittersweet feeling. I could not be more excited about what is to come but am saddened to be coming to the end of a monumental time in my life…college.
Now onto the most popular question that bombards me regardless of where I am: I could be home for the holidays, working at my jobs, having a conversation with professors or even a casual encounter at the store. Whenever anyone finds out that college is coming to an end for me I get asked… ‘So what is next?’ This is quite a loaded question, but my response is honest in its broadness… ‘The world.’ As the months of my undergraduate career tick by, there is a sense of freedom that is truly stimulating. Through my last semester I know that working with the professors who I have built relationships with during the last four years will aid in my transition from the safe padded world of college into the reality of the real world.
A possibility that starts piecing together my dreams of living in New York City arose from my video production professor. As I sat in his office, which I do often, proving as always to be a learning experience outside of class, he introduced me to the Director Guild of American (DGA) Training Program. It is a job like internship where individuals learn how to become a Director’s Assistant while working on TV shows, film, and commercials in no other place then NYC. Dream opportunity! While multiple steps are required to reach the final interview process with the DGA Board Members, the first step is underway and I made it past the paper screening process and qualified for the online exam. It is huge country-wide program that receives, according to their website, 500-700 applicants and only a select 5-7 will be awarded the elite honor to partake in the training program.
Through the rest of the semester I will be working my way through the remaining requirements, but I am left with a confident and reassuring feeling. I poured my heart and soul into the DGA Training Program application process, perfecting my resume and essay questions, knowing I have one shot to impress the world of NYC Directing. I know now, not that I had any doubts, that my abilities as well as my education and training as an English Communication major at Fort Lewis College, holds its own. The accomplishments and knowledge I have compiled though my college education will take me where I am meant to be. The success and happiness I crave is just around the corner.
Durango has become my home. As I fill out my application to graduate, a wave of emotion crushes over me… the realization of reality ever so apparent. I know the questions of what is to come after graduation will not end until I have solidified my answer. But I am left with the wise words a man I met at my waitressing job passed along to me. “If you don’t know where you’re going…any road will get you there.”