When I was in college, I never could see myself as a SOTA. That grey haired, old person sitting in the front row asking lots of questions and sharing too much personal information. Wishing, that they would just be quiet so the professor could get on with the lecture. But here I am, and I can tell from the vibe I get from younger students, that I'm a SOTA. Did you have SOTA's at your college or university? Did you wish they'd shut-up?

Do you even know what a SOTA is? Well, it's a Student Over the Traditional Age. Yep, it's a person who's gone out into the world, worked for at least ten years, then gone back to school. Crazy thing is, this time I signed up for classes being seriously interested in the subject matter. I mean I don't have to go back to school, I WANT to.

I wanted to go to college and study marketing, don't get me wrong. But the classes I wasn't interested in were like torture. I didn't care to know statistics. I wanted to only know about subjects I was passionate about ,that I would actively be doing upon graduation. The goal was to get a education or degree that would lead to a career. It was a gateway. Once you've got experience, you go back to school to learn what you KNOW will help you further your career.

When you're in college, you sort of know what you want to do, but not the exact job when you graduate. You kind of wonder where each job will lead. There is doubt that comes with the first few jobs. Is this what's going to make me happy? Is this the career I should be doing to maximize my potential? I was very lucky where every job I've had, every promotion I've gotten, has lead me in the right direction. Each step was a confirmation that I was doing the best job for who I was as a person.

So this time, going to school feels different. I'm more interested, engaged. I want to ask questions, be sure that I understand the concepts being communicated. I want to share my experience and hear if what I did was done well. I'm paying for it myself and I know that if I learn what's being taught I will enjoy myself and my job that much more. I have no doubt about it. Where in college I think I lacked some drive because I wasn't 110% certain that what I was being taught was something I'd use.

So here I am after a decade of working in action sports, doing business planning, marketing, putting on events and running my own consulting business, that I find myself back in school. Part of it has to do with following a passion. I love the creative process and would like to be a "creative." That's the person that comes up with the "big idea" or is a "problem solver." In the past, I've been the planner, manager, and executor of programs, but at the same time come up with the ideas and creative. I think it will be a hard path to attain an official creative position at an agency. That's what has brought me to enroll in the Summer Boot Camp at the School of Visual Concepts.

In another life, I'd love to have been an art director with graphic design skills. I love Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Final Cut, Keynote and any creative layout type of software. It might not be too late, but that's what the classes are for. The Summer Boot Camp consists of a bunch of different classes crammed in a five week period. I'm taking Creative Thinking & Concepting, Photoshop, Copywriting, and HTML/CSS. Since my graphic design skills are ammeter, I'm going the route of Copywriter. Help come up with the idea and then work with a partner to bring it to life visually.

It's funny. Part of what makes the classes worth while is the experience of other students. Unfortunately there is an overflow of WSU graduates, fairly fresh out of college. They don't have personal experiences that they can share to add to class discussions. Well, time to get back to my homework.