Young Talent

BY jennifer hillier
2010/11/09

Every day I receive a number of résumés, requests for informational interviews, calls for “a quick chat about career opportunities”, pleas for internships etc, etc. These requests come from University, College and increasingly, High School students.   Unfortunately, I can’t set up meetings for everyone (or most) who requests one, and Dashboard doesn’t have the capacity for more than 1 or 2 interns over the course of a year.

When I first started at Dashboard, I would personally respond to each request, meeting with individuals either in person or by phone. This was a priority for me.  Though it had been many (many) years since I was in University I still remembered how difficult career decisions were, and now that I was able to, I wanted to help when I could.  However, over the past 24 months as my work load increased, requests increased and Dashboard grew, my attention to this aspect of my job has decreased. In fact, I must admit to becoming increasingly at best disinterested in, or at worst, irritated by, the seemingly never ending requests.  “Don’t these people know how busy I am?”

A short film produced by two very talented young film makers/university students is making me rethink this position on the importance of supporting students.

In early October I had the opportunity to screen the first short film by university students Matthew Purcell (Texas A&M) of Fort Worth Texas and Mary Schilleci (Academy of Art University) of New Orleans Louisiana,   Mother Earth: All’s Fair In Love For Oil.

I was blown away. Truly impressed by what these students had achieved.

Full disclosure, Matthew is my cousin. But while I will admit to a slight bias, I think you will agree after you have viewed the film, the work these two undergrads produced is impressive.

But why I am I discussing this on the Dashboard blog?

Matthew was a Dashboard Intern. Though it was for short periods of time, over the course of three summers during the High School and University years , Dashboard was able to provide a view into a the creative world of Advertising and expose him to possible careers opportunities.  This winter Matthew will be attending the San Francisco Academy of Art University to begin a Masters in Advertising.  I don’t know what career Matthew will ultimately choose, but I know that there is a good chance that the advertising world is going to be hearing from him in a few years, and the smart agencies will be listening.

While Dashboard can’t take credit for this possible path, I think we contributed to the possibility and sparked his interest in the field.  Bright, creative talent is always a good thing. We all need to do what we can to help foster it.

Obviously digital advertising isn’t for everyone, and Dashboard won’t have the capacity to meet with everyone or offer internships to all who request one, but I do promise to be a little more receptive to the requests when they come in and to be as supportive as possible.  Who knows what our next intern might achieve?

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  • 11/11/10

    Suzanne says:

    Fabulous! Very encouraging for young people who are entertaining the idea of a career in advertising.
  • 17/09/12

    Chetan says:

    Hey Amos,People usually tune down for a few rosaens. They're either looking to make the strings easier to bend, to fatten up their sound, or to make the songs lower and more easily singable. I use and tune down to Eb for all three of the above rosaens. Your friend probably went to 13 s to keep the same feel as the 11 s with the now decreased tension. Also, the bigger the stings you use the more metal thats over the pickup, the bigger the sound, which is noticeable. I don't recommend going that heavy unless you work up to it- I used to play 13 s tuned down and it was much, much harder than playing a set of 10 s( ) in standard tuning. Those are the pros. The biggest con is every time you go to play with someone else and tell them you're tuned down they'll look at you like you just shot Oprah. However, if you have a good grasp of barre chords, flat keys and or a capo (I use a ) you can probably get away without telling anyone! As far as the bass on your amp goes, it will make your sound a little darker, but it won't do anything to the feel of the guitar.Standard Tuning has only been the standard for 50 or 60 years- there are tons of tunings out there, and a half step down is one of the most popular. I say try it!Play on!