With the academic year in full swing it's time to announce our first Course Rep of the month for the 25/26 academic year!
Hey Everyone!
We all hope you're having a great year so far at the University of Staffordshire!
We thought'd we'd mix it up this time with our Rep of the Month and ask them to do a little interview with us!
For the month of October our Course rep of the Month is... Jackson Devlin!!
Jackson has worked incredibly hard to provide opportunities on campus for students to sell their art and wares. Here is the interview Jackson did for us!
What originally made you want to do something like StArt Con?
Initially, the uni had a convention that was organised with an external, and as part of Cartoon and Comic Arts we were involved in managing the student element of Stoke Con. As of current, we haven't had a Stoke con Trent in a year or 2, and the impression was we may not have one in a little while. So I thought to myself, how hard would it be, and by that point, I was halfway into it. So with the students already a part of Stoke con Trent we thought, why not, we already had the facilities in place and the resources available. We had the students, we had Ember, so why not!
What does it mean to you to run these events?
It means quite a lot; it's great to showcase my own art and to allow artists to network across the course. At uni, it feels like some of the art courses are somewhat isolated due to their own techniques and styles. It's really great, not just from a business aspect but also for showing each other our work. It's something that helps students to build up their own confidence and to work together on something big. It's also great for allowing students to make some money on the side, and it's all around a great experience!
Has helping run these events changed your perspective at all?
It has yeah, the courses prepare you for attending something like StArt Con but not really for running an event, its great to have the support from the SU and the uni so the experience and understanding has been really interesting for me and has definetely broaded my horizion in terms of do I want to sell at these types of events or do I want to work on the more organisantional side!
What about your time at Staffs in general?
I've really enjoyed it here, obviously Cartoon and Comic Art is a niche area, and I genuinely believe the course is one of the best, if not the best, in the country. Having a thriving on-campus community has been really important. It's something I didn't really experience in college, and being from a quieter part of the UK, it's really helped. It's meant a lot being here as I've felt like it's a place that I can belong. It's why I've come back to do my master's and why I love it here.
What would you say to anyone looking to study at Staffs or get into something creative?
I would say that uni is a good time to find out what it is that you want to do with your passions. You come into uni with some idea of the field that interests you. But for people who aren't on Creative Industry courses but who feel like they want to diverge into another passion, there is a community that can inspire you and give you a push to do something you wouldn't normally do. When running StArt Con, I've interacted with students studying game dev and criminology who have gotten involved. It's been amazing to see students who aren't studying a creative course get into the creative community at staffs. It's brilliant to see so many people collaborating. Everyone has the capacity for art in some way or form, and it's about finding out what works best for you, and it's all about finding out what that is!
