<p>Education and isn’t a “one size fits all” situation. People learn and thrive in different learning scenarios.</p>

<p>Those who perhaps struggled in a traditional learning system can really thrive when focusing on a single subject, working alongside like-minded people in smaller classes and having more creative freedom.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Since graduating from the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ucw.ac.uk/courses/graphic-design-top-up-ba-hons/">Graphic Design BA (hons)</a>&nbsp;in 2021, UCW alumni Dan Swan now works as a Graphic Designer for multinational technology company&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dyson.co.uk/en">Dyson</a>&nbsp;(yes, THE&nbsp;vacuum cleaner company!)&nbsp;</p>

<p>Before studying his degree, Will went to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/graph… College</a>, studying&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/graph… 3 Graphic Design and Digital Arts UAL Extended Diploma</a>.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Dan said:&nbsp;<em>“School was very difficult for me.&nbsp;School’s always pushing you to get your GCSE’s and doing exams and I think not having to do exams and not having to write as much, allows me to shine through my practical design work instead, which is a better representation of what I’m capable of. I came into Weston College just having like my own creative mind and yeah just trying to apply it some how.”</em><em>&nbsp;</em></p>

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<p>Passing college with flying colours, Dan then went on to study at UCW, being the first in his household to go and get a degree.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>“When I started studying Graphic Design I kind of had the realisation, that was like ‘oh yeah THIS&nbsp;is going to be my job.&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><em>“Design is a very broad concept to wrap your head around, and creativity is even broader. Having dyslexia, I learned so much more about&nbsp;why I am able to see and understand things the way I do. I think with images and I really don’t calculate words as well. I realised that I had the skillset for design prewired in my brain, knowing what I want to see because I can already see it in my head. I think that was something I learned quite early on in my degree. My degree helped me realise that I don’t have a learning difficulty, I have a learning difference.&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><em>“At university,&nbsp;being able to try stuff, and just see if something doesn’t work – I mean for me, as like a visual learner, that helps me grow and learn rather than passing or failing in an exam situation.&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><em>“I now see my dyslexia as a strength. I mean for anyone who knows that they have dyslexia and don’t feel like they are at the same level as everyone else… it’s because they’re comparing themselves to other people with different strengths. You have strengths, they’re just completely somewhere else.”</em></p>

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<p>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ucw.ac.uk/courses/graphic-design-top-up-ba-hons/">Graphic Design BA (hons)</a>&nbsp;is a full-time Level 6 degree course, taught in Weston-super-Mare delivered in partnership through&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bathspa.ac.uk/">Bath Spa University</a>. Dan graduated this course with a First Class Honours…&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>“I don’t think I could’ve really done it without the support of some of the staff here, and also the support of friends for feedback on work.&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><em>“You need to be able to learn from the people around you, I think something I’ve heard once before was that you always want to be the dumbest person in the room so you can just learn and sponge from people.&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><em>“The technicians at Loxton Campus, were astronomical. They were so good at helping me I can’t thank them all enough. Tracy, Nick and Ash, Charlie – they all had the time for me, because I was ready to apply myself and say ‘I want to do this, how do I do it? Can you tell me how, can you show me how, what should I do?’. They were always really nice and used their expertise to help me improve my practical and digital design skills.”</em></p>

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<p>With a job at Dyson lined up thanks to meeting a contact and hearing about the opportunity through his course, Dan is now&nbsp;working in the industry…&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>“At first I was very anxious going to a job, how different it would be, the pressure going on but the desire and passion to do the work, I think that’s what pushed me and made me ready.&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><em>“The subjects we covered in uni really set me up for my career. The core values of design are shared through most things, you can be designing for an editorial piece or maybe a magazine cover and now I’m designing stuff for the application that I’m using now which is the same sort of concept, but just different ruleset that you can follow.&nbsp;</em></p>

<p><em>“The facilities helped too. I was quite impressed when I first came here as a College student because I’d seen anything like it before. I’d never tried any sort of traditional print method but now I understand loads more methods that I can bring into my work. For example all the different sorts of lino printing and using the roller press, it was just so exciting to do to see what textures come out. Being able to use those practices and then try it for myself to see what I like the most. It was a great way to learn.”</em></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Huge thanks to Dan for sharing your journey with us. We hope you continue to thrive in your job and can’t wait to check back in and see your career progressing! A very bright future ahead.&nbsp;</p>

<p><a href="https://www.ucw.ac.uk/courses/graphic-design-top-up-ba-hons/"><strong>C… here to learn more about our Graphic Design BA (hons) degree programme</strong></a></p>

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<p paraeid="{a114325b-554b-44f2-8e9b-4c06ef318458}{183}" paraid="1026450446">Here at Weston College, we take great pride in prioritising industry experience over teaching backgrounds. This means our staff bring relevant stories from the world of work as well as valuable insights and connections into the classroom to maximise the career-boosting qualities of our courses. Afterall, we’re all about shaping careers and not just courses!&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{a114325b-554b-44f2-8e9b-4c06ef318458}{197}" paraid="1391145625">However, this ethos is not just exclusive to our teaching staff... Our talented team of creative technicians at Loxton Campus play essential roles, providing specific expertise to support learners to develop their techniques.&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{a114325b-554b-44f2-8e9b-4c06ef318458}{211}" paraid="805190023">A recent edition to the <a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/creat… and TV Production</a> team is technician Kate Heaney. Joining the Digital Design department in 2021, Kate brings an invaluable wealth of knowledge gained from her impressive resume thanks to her diverse experience in the media industry.&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{a114325b-554b-44f2-8e9b-4c06ef318458}{221}" paraid="1734040542">Having studied Film &amp; Television Production at the University of Westminster, Kate started working mostly as a Clapper/Loader or camera assistant on short films in London before ceasing the opportunity to move to Dubai for work after visiting on holiday!&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{a114325b-554b-44f2-8e9b-4c06ef318458}{227}" paraid="505188209">She commented: “I loved working in Dubai! I started out working for a photography and videography studio who were in desperate need of a female video editor as they started to shoot ladies only events and weddings. I had so many amazing opportunities whilst I was out there, as I also worked on all sorts of projects from weddings to corporate and fashion/events.”&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{a114325b-554b-44f2-8e9b-4c06ef318458}{247}" paraid="1474387150">After being promoted to Senior Videographer, Kate won a prestigious contract with Ritz-Carlton, shooting architectural videos for their hotels in Moscow, Bahrain, Muscat, and Abu Dhabi.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{4}" paraid="517760144">To get a better idea of some of the things she worked on, take a look at Kate’s stunning showreel:&nbsp;</p>

<div style="padding:42.5% 0 0 0;position:relative;"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/154341137?h=804fb0b596&quot; style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></div>
<script src="https://player.vimeo.com/api/player.js"></script&gt;

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{27}" paraid="1343888707">Kate continued: “I then decided to go freelance and managed to get on the royal wedding circuit and shot as part of a team for the royal family in Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. I did this for about 3 years before returning to the UK (Spending around 6 years working in the Middle East overall).&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{37}" paraid="1775368201">&nbsp;“Working for the Royal family, and winning the contract for the Ritz-Carlton hotel group were definitely highlights for me.”&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{55}" paraid="421859203">After retuning to the UK and working in school photography, Kate decided to come and work for Weston College to accept a new challenge and work within a team again.&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{69}" paraid="842915966">Kate said “It's great how every day is different as a technician. Seeing the projects students are working on is so interesting as it is a completely different experience in comparison to the courses I studied when I was younger. Technology is always changing and its refreshing to see the courses here keeping up it in more ways than one.&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{91}" paraid="783266512">“I'm so impressed by the equipment that the department has. Everything is industry standard which is amazing for the students to have access to in order to properly prepare them for the world of work.&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{103}" paraid="1747084270">“My advice to learners is to explore all avenues within the industry. Some are vastly different and if one is not for you there are so many other types of photography/videography/filmmaking you can get into!”&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{109}" paraid="810121835">What amazing accolades. Thank-you to Kate for sharing your story and continuing to help our learners reach their full potential.&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{113}" paraid="1056987518">&nbsp;</p>

<p paraeid="{ecec5e23-dc8f-4c1f-8187-67f0a669d84e}{113}" paraid="1056987518">Kate assists students studying the following courses. Click each course to learn more:</p>

<h3>&nbsp;</h3>

<h3><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/creat… 2&nbsp;Creative Media Production, UAL Diploma</a></h3>

<h3><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/creat… 3 Media Production, UAL Extended Diploma</a></h3>

<h3><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/photo… 3&nbsp;Photography, UAL Extended Diploma</a></h3>

<h3><a href="https://www.weston.ac.uk/what-can-i-study/courses-16-18-year-olds/level… A Level</a></h3>

<h3><a href="https://www.ucw.ac.uk/subject/art-media-and-design/">Media and Photography Degree Programmes at University Centre Weston</a></h3>