hi

be respectful to everyone in the department bc they aren’t just professors/faculty, they’re going to be your connections, do you favors, and stick their necks out for you when you really need them (peggy and adam do a ton of behind-the-scenes work for students).

take a story writing/scriptwriting class if you can, a lot of the animation program here is based on learning technique and using different mediums/programs. knowing how to write a story quickly will rly speed up your creative process.

buy at least two large external hard drives, i use LaCie hard drives. you get unlimited space on a google drive with your student account, but once you graduate you’ll lose that drive, and you’ll still want an external drive while ur a student anyway!!

if ur going to b on campus, don’t spend a night in the Uberkitchen alone. it’s rly fun to get ur work done sleep deprived with ur friends instead of going crazy on ur own

also, it’s really tempting to get swept up in the pressure to just be the best, make the most, learn the most, have the highest following/best style/ most connections, etc. especially if you’re an incoming freshman, no matter what age. do your best to ignore as much of that as you can, all that matters is you’re a good learner and an honest, kind person. professors here can tell right away the students who are just trying to climb a ladder and have no intention of learning anything. art style impresses your peers but in the end it’s your work ethic and honesty that will get you places. if you’re struggling, can’t finish homework, can’t go to class, be honest. there’s very few people in the department who haven’t been where you’ve been and are sympathetic to the stresses of life.