So, you want to be a Radio Arts & Entertainment program? Well, you may have some questions going into it. BCIT has many great programs for you to take but the Radio Arts & Entertainment program is one of the best ones you can take. It’s not exactly what the name implies as you will be learning a plethora of things. Whether it be performance, production, writing, filming or whatever it may be, there is so much you can learn in this program that will help you in your journey in the media industry.
But before you go in, you may need some advice on some things and that’s why I’m here. As someone who is just about to graduate from the program, I thought it would be only fitting that my final article is used to help the next wave of Radio Arts students. So let’s get started because you have an incredible journey ahead of you!
Your first day of school is going to be a weird one. You will have a lot of information thrown at you and it can seem pretty overwhelming at first. But trust me, it’s not nearly as bad as it seems. You probably won’t know anyone on the first day and that is totally okay, but I will tell you that you will make friends with your classmates very quickly. Since this program is done in cohorts, you have the same people in all your classes. Very quickly you’ll get to know everyone and I recommend trying to at least talk and try to become friends with the people you meet. Your classmates will be more than willing to help you learn things you may not know and you may get the chance to collaborate in projects you may not have thought of before going into the program. So talk to as many of your classmates as you can because it will be useful in the long run and you will likely make some great friendships out of it.
(That’s me in the white long sleeve)
The first semester may seem like a lot but it’s manageable if you just manage your time well. Don’t leave things off until the last minute and try to create a schedule to get things done because it will save you so much stress. One class that may seem odd at first is Media Performance. The reason being that you have to do yoga in this class. While it may seem weird at first, I would recommend trying your best with the yoga and vocal exercises because it can be very useful for finding your voice and helping you relax as a performer. The yoga techniques may not be for everyone but give it a shot because you may find some useful things out of it.
The other thing I would mention is to try your best at everything you do. You may go into the program thinking you want to be a sports play-by-play announcer, for example. You may think you mainly need to focus on just the performance side of things but make sure you do your best at the other aspects as well. The classes you take on audio production and video production and incredibly useful to learn and will really help you out with the rest of the program and as you go throughout your career. You may think you want to do one thing in the program but then decide you want to do something else because of what you’ve learned. I mostly wanted to be a broadcaster but have now found myself very interested in pursuing avenues in writing and video production as well. Keep your mind open because it will be useful in the end.
When you start the program, you may be scared by some assignments you’re given. An example of this is the digital stories in Rachel Hunter’s second Business Communications class. While it seems very intimidating at first, trust me, you will be fine. I was very nervous when I first heard of the digital story assignment but that assignment is probably my favourite assignment I’ve done in the entirety of all my schooling. There are some assignments where you will get nervous at first but things will be okay if you simply just ask for some help.
Never be afraid to talk to your teachers and do it as often as you can. Obviously don’t go to their office every day and ask them things, but do go as much as you can because you will learn so much from them. They are there to help you succeed and they are excited to give you advice on how you can do that. You may notice that some teachers will give you different advice than what some other teachers will give you but that’s not a bad thing. Having different perspectives on how to go about things in this industry is very important. What worked for one person may not work for another person. All these teachers have very unique experiences in the industry and are here to share their advice with you. There’s no right or wrong way to go about things so don’t take conflicting advice as a negative. Find what works for you and go from there. There are no wrong answers about what you want to be.
As you go through the two years, one of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is to take advantage of the opportunities while you’re there. Don’t skip class all the time and actually show up and talk to your peers and your teachers and get to know them. They could be your co-workers in the future and just good friends as well. Go have lunch with your classmates, try in all your classes and don’t half-ass anything. The amount of great things that have come to me in this program just from making friends with people has been amazing. I’ve made some of my closest friends in the program and have learned so much from the instructors. There’s so many tools you can use for your projects so use them while you can. Brian will also send you opportunities of things you can do outside of school and they’re pretty cool to try out if you can. Use the facilities as much as you can because you only have them for so long.
There’s so many other things I could tell you but this is going to get too long and probably a bit emotional, but jut know you’ll be okay if you just put in the effort and try your best. And don’t ever be afraid to ask for help from anyone.
The last thing I’ll say is just enjoy you’re time while you’re there. I expected to have fun going into this program, but it was a lot more fun than I thought. I can honestly say that my two years in the Radio Arts program may be the best two years of my life and that has a lot to do with the amazing people I’ve met and how much this program has helped me grow as a person. On the first day of class, I was so nervous to say anything to the class, and now I have much more confidence to do anything like speak in front of the whole class and I’ve learned and achieved so much in my time here.
I’m going to miss spending time in the workroom with friends and talking about utter nonsense, but it was such a fun time and really brought us all together. You’re going to enjoy working in the workroom. Trust me, you’ll make a lot of memories in there.
It’s very bittersweet to say goodbye to this school because it has been an absolutely incredible journey that I will never forget and I hope you will enjoy the program as much as I did. So buckle up, because you’re in for two of the most incredible years of your life. You got this!