By: Kyle Budge
For me, coming to Sheridan was life-changing. I was not a very good student in high school. I wasn’t interested in learning, didn’t apply myself, and worked just hard enough to pass and graduate. This left me with limited opportunity, and I made the best choices I could, but it didn’t lead me toward building a career or a future. I enrolled in the Bachelor of Game Design program but knew my grades were not enough to get me in. I was 26, had previously attended another game design program at another school, but that had left me with nothing but debt. I couldn’t even transfer over any credits to Sheridan.
Luckily, I received a conditional acceptance. I had to attend one course during the summer leading up to the fall term, and if I passed then I was in the program. I was so excited. I was nervous going into my first class, but meeting my professor eased my nerves. His name is Adam, and he made the transition back to school so easy. The experience with him was completely different than any teacher I had at my other post-secondary program or ever had in high school. He made learning interesting. I started applying myself and my grades for the course ended up being fantastic. I cleared the requirement and got into my program!
From there, I put everything I could into my program. I tried to learn as much as I could, make new friends, and set myself up for maximum success. It was easy to be inspired, stay motivated, and want to do my best when my professors were all willing to help me when needed and wanted me to succeed. This was so foreign to me, but I made the most of it. It made me feel like I had the opportunity to succeed and do well at Sheridan. However, eventually, the program became just another part of life for my classmates and me. The program got more demanding, work was more time-consuming, and life got in the way.
I, along with everyone else I knew, struggled to stay on top of work in the later years of the program. Most people had to work part-time, pay rent, had other life commitments, and it was tough to stay motivated and inspired. Morale in the program dropped from year to year. As work piled up and became more demanding it became more difficult to want to be there anymore. Group projects burst into flames, some people disappeared for weeks at a time, and professors had more demands which were harder to achieve. However, I did my best to stay inspired, motivated and focused. I leaned heavily on specific professors, I tried to build morale for my peers, and I distanced myself from those who weren’t there for any reason other than to pass and be done. It was hard, but it made a big difference.
In my time at Sheridan, I have had to live through the Teacher’s Strike, the changes from the government’s Student Choice Initiative, the undoing of the Student Choice Initiative, and now The Great Pandemic of 2020+. I also managed to plan a wedding and got married too, so there were some good things mixed in. If I could give any great wisdom from my time at Sheridan, it’s that you can do it, no matter what you might think or how hard it might seem. Lean on professors, ask for help, take care of yourself and your mental health, and distance yourself as quickly as you can from toxicity and negativity. You can be as successful as you want to be, just do what’s right for you and be who you want to be.
You’ve got this!
- Kyle
In a time of incredible change, we are all experiencing this monumental shift together. With a global pandemic, the transition into online schooling and so much more, members of the Sheridan community have become chameleons to welcoming change into their daily routines.
But not every situation starts and ends so easily. There are hardships, challenges and struggles that we experience to come out successfully on the other side. In this blog series, students, Sheridan Alumni, and members of our Sheridan community will share their stories of resilience and how they were able to overcome these obstacles.
The obstacles will vary from physical, emotional and mental, and our hope is that there will be something for everyone to read and grow from.