Hi Ho, Hi ho, it's off to school we go

Since landing in Canada Akis has been spending time working on finding a job, which in turn prompts the question ~ what do you want to do with your life? This question has been somewhat daunting for Akis and as taken a while to answer. His immediate reaction was to go to what he knows ~ Network Support. While I know he is able to do this type of work, I also know that this is not his real passion. Many nights Akis can be found sitting up until the wee hours of the morning working on making digital pictures. He has thus far been self taught and receives a number of compliments on his work. When I asked him about whether or not he would go to school to do this as a job, he is concerned that the money won't follow the passion.

Shortly after arriving in Canada, Akis was approached by Heritage Canada to do some freelance work for their website. While this never did pan out, I had hoped this would show Akis that he can make money at what he loves.

We then ventured a bit further and went to an open house at BCIT for Digital Arts. After seeing what was being offered, Akis continued to think about 'what if', and became very engaged in figuring out if this could work. At the end of April, Akis decided to go back to school, the question was now, which one.

Seeing what programs were offered in Vancouver, Akis has decided to enroll in a program with VCAD. (Vancouver College of Art and Design) While they are new to Vancouver, they do have a campus in Victoria which has been there for 30 years. The program is 1.5 years long and will be starting in July. Akis will be graduating with a Diploma in 3-D Digital Animation. The options in Vancouver for this type of work are increasing as Pixar ~ creators of A Toy Story and Up! ~ are opening an office in Vancouver increasing the market here.

We are looking forward to a very exciting, but also a very busy year as Akis gets started.