To Be a Vessel
You know it was a successful first week of school when you found all of your classes without getting lost, were able to collect your stack of textbooks without spending a Benjamin and discovered that you somehow have no classes on Wednesdays, even though you’re taking a full load of 18 units. Oh, the glory of three-hour digital media courses!
So because all of these are true, I say with confidence that, indeed, I had a very, very successful first week of school!
But this week, for me, has been more than just a successful one. This week has been chalk-full of new beginnings, including the new beginnings of old passions that I have swept under the rug for much too long. As a belated Christmas gift, I sketched family portraits for my roommates, allowing me to fall back in love with a passion of mine that I normally don’t have the time for. I received a phone call offering me the Conference and Events job that I applied for last week (praise the Lord!), and I am excited to begin involving myself with that opportunity to serve the school… But most exciting is the new development which happened just days ago: I became a Vessel.
Vessel is an up-and-coming CBU program for CAVAD students who are interested in using their God-given skills and passions for graphic arts and digital media, to impact the world around them. As a team, led by CAVAD professor Dirk Dallas, we will meet every couple of weeks to discuss ideas for projects that could help our local community thrive – and, who knows, maybe someday we’ll go international!
Whether it is offering our skills to design identity packages for local churches, helping with community restoration, teaching local children about digital media, taking a weekend trip to assist in projects in San Diego or Los Angeles… you name it, Vessel would be willing to discuss it. Quite literally, we have been told that there is no cap on the ideas we bring to the table, and that we are only limited by our imaginations.
Together we will also be working through a book about designing for today’s worldly culture. Often, when a graphic design student is asked about what he or she plans to do with his or her major, the asker already has an idea – logos, business cards, product labels, etc. But what this book emphasizes to us is that the potential of designers is worth so much more than simply “selling dog biscuits.” As designers, our minds center around the creation of new things – new products and labels, for sure, but also new ideas, new endeavors, new tools, new plans, new adventures… with that kind of a mindset, in truth, designers have the potential to change this world.
My decision to come to CBU was one that took careful planning, questioning, touring and many other factors, as it was on the table for months against one other school that I was having a hard time giving up. Truthfully, I feared that after my first semester here, I might regret my decision, as I might if I had chosen the second school. But now, entering into my second semester as a Lancer, I observe the ways in which I have grown, and the opportunities that I have been given and I’m certain that I am in the right place.
After all, I couldn’t have been a Vessel anywhere else.
Have a blessed rest of your week! Until then,
Natalie
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