Media Arts and Science: What Can You Do With That?

As many of you know, I am going to school at IUPUI to get my BS in Media Arts and Science. Many times I am asked by friends and family members, “What can you do with that?” I guess there are two reasons they ask me that: 1.) they don’t understand what Media Arts and Science is or 2.) they want to know what I plan on doing with it. If its the first, are you for real? Nearly everything you see and hear had to be designed. Somebody spent much time designing that commercial you watched, that song that you listen to, that building you work in, etc. But if it’s the second, I’m glad you asked. First off, I want to say that I love nearly every area of media. I love getting my hands on creative tools and using my imagination to make something great. Sometimes people don’t appreciate it’s ‘greatness’ but that doesn’t bother me. But, what am I going to do with this degree when I graduate? More importantly, what am I going to do with my life?

When I was about 11 years old, I became really interested in ‘media stuff’. I would spend hours on my mom’s computer just playing around. She had a program called Print Shop Deluxe, and I would create these banners and flyers finding different fonts and clip art to portray whatever message that was on my mind. I believe this was the beginning of my career path. Through high school, I got away from it somewhat due to interests in sports, girls, and ministry. At fifteen I was dead set on being a missionary. I felt that God was calling me to that. Now, 11 years later, I still feel God’s call on my life to use my abilities to spread the message of His LOVE. I don’t necessarily believe that I am ‘called’ to another country, but I do believe my life should impact all people. After high school, I was fortunate enough to find a really nice job. I was making more money than most people will ever make in a year, plus I had great benefits. I was there for about 3 years and realized that even though I was at a place that many people would be very content, I never was. So I quit my job and went to Conversion School of Ministry in Alabama. I was there for a year and I regained that desire to be creative. I started messing around with graphics, video, and web design. When I got home I married the love of my life, Janan, and knew the responsible thing to do was to get a job. So I started working at Cummins and I advanced pretty quickly. After two months, I became a Designated Trainer in the area I worked. Then again after about a year, I advanced to Team Leader. During this time, my wife and I had a son, our second child. I was spending my time at work longing to be home more. I was miserable. Many things took place that I felt I was short changed, so I quit. I didn’t know what I was going to do, but I was spending hours and hours being creative. I volunteer at my church in the Media Dept. and I was using a lot of my free time to better things there. I started thinking about going back to school and had many conversations with one of my friends, Davy, who also volunteers in the Media Dept. at our church. He too was thinking about going to school, so we both decided if we don’t go now, we’ll never go. We enrolled at IUPUC and began our college career. Now, we are 3 semesters in and enjoying every minute of it. We aren’t the students that sit in class and could care less about what was going on. We love what we do.

So, now that I have begun down this path, what am I supposed to do? Do I graduate with a degree and find another job? Or do I use my new skill set to advance that call I feel on my life from God? It would be easy to go get a job and make good money. It would seem responsible to others and it would make my family happy enough. But, down inside I would know that I am not doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

My immediate plans after school would be to find a full-time position with a church using my abilities to make their ministry better. But I have a desire to work with one of the largest churches in America. Sometimes I feel very inadequate, but I know that I have many valuable assets to offer. My 5 year goal would be to obtain a position with Northpoint Ministries in Atlanta, Georgia. They are cutting edge and reaching a broad group of people due to their out-of-the-box thinking. A lot of traditional Christians would look at their church and condemn them, but I look at them and appreciate that they understand that this world is what it is. You can’t reach people unless you offer something familiar with them. I’m not saying that churches should be ‘edgy’ for the sake of being edgy. But when you target an audience and use your resources to attract that particular audience, I think that is a huge obstacle to overcome. Yes, many people, even friends will get ticked. But you can’t let others expectations hinder you from reaching your goals, and hopefully your goal is to change people’s lives.

Media Arts and Science: What can you do with that? Many people won’t understand me. Many people may even condemn me. But I plan on using my degree to change the world.