First Place Information Technology Essay
Milton P. Higgins Technical Excellence Award 2004
Liam Horrigan, Assabet Valley Technical High School
My Vocational Education Experiences
Receiving a vocational education has been a tremendous asset in preparing myself for employment, the military, or college. I am in the Digital Media program at Assabet Valley, and after graduation I hope to attend an art college to further my knowledge in the field. I have already learned many important skills during high school, and I am confident that, if I chose to, I could easily get a job right after graduating.
Digital Media provides many opportunities to show my reliability and prove how well I can work with others. We work with many real clients, and there are always deadlines to meet. In my sophomore year, for example, my class worked on designing a logo for the Renfield Pest Control Company. The project involved multiple meetings with the owners, who ended up choosing my design for their logo. It was essential for me to be reliable to them, and that I could meet their deadline. I also had to desing business cards and letters for them to give to potential clients. Everyone involved was very pleased with the final result, and the logo was put on thousands of letters and cards, as well as the company truck.
Proficient math and reading capabilities are essential in Digital Media. Without any communication skills it is impossible to do any work. I must be able to read a tutorial or consult another person if I want to learn anything. Further more, to be a graphic designer you must have math skills so you can design your work correctly. It is important that projects always have the correct measurements and markings, because small mistakes can mean big problems down the road. Social skills are also crucial in my vocation, because to get business a person needs to interact with others and have a good attitude. There isn’t a day that goes by in which I don’t talk with someone else.
I am constantly learning many valuable tools of the trade in Digital Media. I have learned to use computer programs like Adobe Photoshop, Quark Xpress, Macromedia Dreamweaver, and many others. I constantly learn more and apply it to projects I am working on, whether they are live jobs or simple tutorials. In the past couple years, I have done many things, such as design a new school website, create an ad campaign for a fictional beverage company, design brochures, posters, CD covers, logos, and more.
I have many aspirations in life, most of which are related to Digital media in some way. For example, some of the professions I would like to pursue include filmmaker, artist, graphic designer, or game designer. All that I am learning now prepares me more and more for getting into these professions, whatever my choice may be. I believe my vocational education will give me an edge over regular students and provide me with solid credentials when applying for a job.
