Insta-moments of FIDM Grad: Class of 2013

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Waiting for Superman

I recently watched a documentary called "Waiting for Superman" that addressed the issue of America's failing public school system.

As unfortunate as this is, while watching this documentary I could not help but question my own education, specifically here at FIDM.

There is not a single day, or single quarter that goes by when I don't hear complaints about FIDM's administration, politics, and policies.

You hear it every day, Alumni not being able to find jobs, students complaining about tuition, teachers complaining about the curriculum and yet this seems to be the topic of discussion that reverberates throughout the institutes hallways, relentlessly.

It's almost as if our school anthem has become the students complaints followed by disregard by our administrators that echo back with a tour for prospective student's who are witnessing the same false promises I dreamed of not too long ago.

I can't help but think of where my own education stands as a graduating student and why outside these halls, my pride falls short when I state the name of my school. I think of the competition that my peers here at FIDM will face from other schools, and if we are up on the same level as students graduating from other universities. I can't help but think this because, this is the security that FIDM did promise me when entering this institute, and now I am doubting if I could even compete with students from other schools?

I think the reason for this is doubt comes from our schools structure itself and the fact that it is a for profit university. Although I do believe that there are good, and qualified instructors at fidm, I feel as if though the problem is the lack of interest, as students learning enrichment and education to be the schools top priority. I think of how the school is more focused on expansion of endowment, instead of the cultivation of their current student body. Do not get me wrong, again, I believe that FIDM does have instructors who are great not only at their profession in the industry but in educating students as well but, I believe that the numbers of these instructors fall short. For what we pay for in tuition, and for our own school being an accredited university, I believe that every single one of our instructors should be an outstanding educator, and professional. I am baffled by some of the instructors, and even the curriculum that is taught at FIDM. Since FIDM does run as a for profit, it has the ability to higher professionals who have industry experience even if they only have an Associate of Arts degree. Although I do believe that many of these teachers are great in the industry, many of these instructors do not have the formal educational background, or a Masters, and in some cases even a Masters Degree. I can't help but think of how we are supposed to compete with schools, even HIGH SCHOOLS with more educated and qualified educators. I can't even begin to fathom how difficult it was for me to find out that my own classes at FIDM were not transferable, and that I had to take another year at a Junior College to apply to a 4 year university.

What I don't fully understand is that I do believe FIDM does have student's and instructors who are passionate, and most of all, it has every possible resource to change and be at a competitive level.

What I don't understand is why there has not been opposition, or at least why no one has exposed the school for what it actually encompasses, I can only hope better for current and prospective students, and that one day FIDM will be able to not only teach industry practices, but challenge them on an academic and intellectual level so they are not only preparing students for the industry, but for a well rounded education as well.

~ FIDM Advanced Studies Student

Around Campus

I procrastinated for my Trends assignment, and ended up taking a bunch of the photos on campus, so I thought I'd share them here. Just people walking around campus in the morning :)












-Olivia

DEBUT 2011 - the main event!

FIDM proudly presents the DEBUT 2011 Runway Show. The only runway show of its kind on the West Coast, DEBUT annually attracts more than 8,000 people over 3 days and features design by graduating students in FIDM’s Fashion Design and Theatre Costume Design Advanced Study Programs as well as work from the Interior Design, Graphic Design, and Textile Design Students.

	Thursday, March 17 at 5:30pm - March 19 at 10:30pm
Location	Barker Hangar in Santa Monica

For more info, click here.

First Quarter FIDM Student TIPS!

Hi! I'm Olivia, and I was invited to join this blog a while ago, but didn't have the courage/info to post anything up until now! The thing that drew me to joining this blog was that I am a Beauty Industry Merchandising and Marketing major, and there aren't many posts on my major so I wanted to kind of help with that... These are just some tips for people who are going into their first quarter at FIDM. I'm positive there are things I've left out, so feel free to comment with some tips! I hope they help!

1. Don’t count on your teacher knowing your name: I had a teacher that didn’t know my name until week 9. Because you only see teachers once a week, sometimes less if there is a holiday, it is hard for them to get to know you. But here is my suggestion to make yourself stand out. Volunteer/PARTICIPATE a lot in class. If you are constantly raising your hand, the teacher will ask for your name until they know it.

2. Talk to everyone in your classes: I don’t live on campus, so it’s really hard for me to make friends. I’ve kind of been in my shell for this quarter, which I definitely regret. In January I definitely plan on engaging more with my classmates. You never know who may hit it big in the next few years. They might need a job from you, or the other way around. Networking is essential at FIDM

3. Start any final projects the first day you hear about it: for my retail class, we had a huge course project. I was slacking and didn’t start on the binder until the weekend before it was due. I definitely regret that because I had both internet and printer malfunctions when I still had things to do. It’s easy to get ahead of the game when you first hear about a project. You can revise your homework when it’s handed back, buy your binder/folder to display it in, start looking for and printing out pictures, etc. Working at the last minute isn’t good because then you discover after you turn it in, that there are components missing, which happened to me.

4. Use folders for your classes: I bought binders for my classes and they hardly got used. However, one teacher required a folder, so I did it, and ended up finding it much more useful than a binder. I put handouts on one side, and all of my completed work on the other side.

5. Prepare for the worst: be prepared for your computer to not work, your printer to fail, etc. I’d definitely recommend to start printing and organizing important homework assignments a week before it’s due, especially if it’s a final. Carry it on a flash drive or email it to yourself just in case, so you can print it in the annex (free) or library ($) before class.

6. Arrive early: I take the metro to school, and arrive 1-2 hours early to school every day. Plan for traffic, etc. it’s also good to be early to ask the teacher questions, print out work, or do some extra studying. When you appear early in class, it makes you stand out, and may help the teacher remember you. I think there’s a quote somewhere that says “15 minutes early is late”- I’d go by that. Especially because FIDM likes us to be 15 minutes early to class. However, if you have a class right before that in a different building, it’s totally acceptable. Just try your hardest to be early or on time.

7. Wake up at 6am to register: when you have to register for your 2nd quarter on your specified date, you can do it any time in the day or after. I’d definitely suggest going on the portal at 6am to get all the classes you need. First of all, the early bird gets the worm, and second of all, you can see if your internet is working. If you try to register at the last minute and it fails, you’re not registered! But, when you’re registering for 2nd quarter you kind of get shafted because it’s one of the middle/last days to register, so if other students register before you, they may take the class times you need.

8. Don’t let your grades suffer for anything: drop the social life, school is more important. Don’t slack on studying/doing homework. FIDM is only 10 weeks per class/quarter…so it would suck to pay around 1k to take a class you failed. It’s easy to get good grades in classes if you do your work and study a fair amount.

9. Check the newsletter and portal: there was a good opportunity for people in my major (beauty) a few weeks ago. I don’t really read the newsletter, so I saw it the day after it happened, and I was very pissed. FIDM isn’t that great with communicating major-related things in my opinion. So to avoid that, just pick up the newsletter at the beginning of each week.

10. Deal with group projects: always have your end, and if you have a slacker in your group, be prepared to do their part. Keep in touch with all group members and try to have things done early. Always have a back up of any presentations or homework assignments on your flash drive and on your email to eliminate risk of losing the paper/technology failure. Try to get along with all of your group members so it becomes less stressful. But, don’t try to do everything for the group. In a group project I had, I felt like I was putting in too much work compared to everyone else, and it stressed me out, and kind of made me drop the ball in my other classes. Try to keep it as proportionate as possible.

Hope these tips help everyone out! Best of luck!

To hear more from Olivia Frescura about the beauty major at FIDM, follow my blog! http://www.oliviafrescura.com