For Jaidah, the reality of graduation hasn’t quite set in yet. “By the time this article is out I’ll be officially graduated, but I don’t think academic life is done with me,” she says. “I’ll probably end up doing some sort of graduate program in the future.”
After four years in York’s Media Arts program, her path has been anything but linear. “I still visit York frequently for work or to meet up with some friends who are still here,” she adds. “So, I doubt that the truth of it will hit me for a while. Luckily, it doesn’t seem to be hitting me all at once or anything.”
Finding her voice
When she arrived at York, Jaidah had her sights set on a Film Production program, but was accepted into the Media Arts program instead. “I didn’t even know what it was at the time and planned to take it for a year before switching into film prod and pursuing my desire of becoming a full-fledged filmmaker,” she explains.
But that twist opened unexpected doors. “I discovered so many different mediums… from sound art to video games to Alternate Reality Games (ARG) experiences (and that’s just the tip of the iceberg),” she says.
“I still want to create films but now I consider myself a multimedia artist with a lot of different creative avenues to explore rather than just film.”
Moving at her own speed
Like many students, Jaidah battled comparison in her early years. “Almost everyone I knew had been practicing filmmaking… I had only ever written stuff,” she recalls. “Most students were creating their first shorts made for a university class while I was making some of my first shorts ever.”
Although she struggled with feeling behind, she found peace in her progress. “It still makes me sad that there’s no films from first year I can really look back on with pride… But I find solace in the fact that for someone who started out feeling a little behind the starting line, I have caught up with the rest of my group (mostly)!”
Creating space and building community
One of Jaidah’s proudest accomplishments at York was co-founding Beyond Fine Arts, a club where students can create projects outside of coursework and collaborate with others.
“We started it in our second year and have been running it successfully for the past three years,” she says. “We’ve hosted a lot of workshops, made some interesting projects and most importantly, created a space for filmmakers, artists, musicians etc. to come together on campus and exist together.”
Facing the future
Now that her undergrad is complete, Jaidah is focusing on what comes next. “I’ve been trying to keep myself busy. I’m applying for a lot of different things and doing my best to focus on the future,” she says. “Distraction isn’t always the best plan and I’ll probably bawl my eyes out at graduation, but I think I’m at least mentally prepared to start working full time.” She’s hoping to secure a job in a creative field while continuing her personal projects. “Eventually, the goal is to be able to quit my day job and have my creative projects be profitable enough to sustain me full time.”
Words for future grads
Jaidah knows how hard it can be to plan for the unknown. Her advice? “It really does take time for things to come together. Like years… There’s no magical button that will have everything ready for you when you graduate.”
Her encouragement to current students is simple but powerful: “Take those extra steps; take every single one of them!”