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by Trevor James
As an example of South students going on to pursue major careers after they graduate, Shaun Budhram, class of 1999, now holds a high-profile job at renowned film company Dreamworks.
After graduating from Kansas State University in 2003 with an undergraduate degree in computer science, Budhram worked for a year at Garmin designing GPS systems.
He then graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2006 with a graduate degree in Entertainment Technology and worked at Eidos Interactive for two years designing the “Tomb Raider” video game series before finally settling on a career at Dreamworks.
“I had no idea what I wanted to be when I was at South, which is probably pretty normal,” Budhram said. “Looking back now, I think the most important thing was doing well in all my classes so I could do well in college and beyond.”
Budhram started working at Dreamworks in May of 2008 and performs two separate jobs there. The first, character technical director, creates an animated character for an upcoming film and develops its features, anatomical structure, facial expressions, etc.
The second, character animator, takes the rig that the character technical director has created and makes it act on-screen through compiling thousands of images of the character performing various actions.
“This job is entirely artistic- you are creating the performance the audience will see,” Budhram said.
To current South students interested in pursuing a career in the same field, Budhram recommends taking many math classes, such as Calculus and Linear Algebra, as well as art classes, such as anatomy and drawing. He also suggests getting involved in drama and theatre, as character animators are essentially “acting” through an animated character.
“High school is very early to learn anything directly relevant to this career, but it forms the basis for doing well in everything you do afterwards,” Budhram says.
by Seokwon Kim
“Non sibi sed patriae.”
This saying, in Latin means, “not self but country.”
Trevor Stevens, senior, and Jack Dwyer, junior, do not by any means have ordinary plans for the future.
Instead of pursuing their own endeavors, both students have decided to answer the call to serve their country, accelerate their lives, and join the United States Navy.
Stevens plans on quickly joining basic training next August while Dwyer hopes to get into the naval academy in Annapolis, Maryland, which commissions officers to the Navy and Marine Corps.
Naval Academy candidates for acceptance are judged on academics, leadership, and character and it is much more difficult than people think.
Once graduating from “the boat school,” Dwyer would have to serve for five years in places all around the world.
When cadets are accepted, they receive tuition, along with room and board, which is all paid for by the U.S. government.
The one thing about “the academy” that does make Dwyer nervous is the tear gas chamber where first year students have to go in for 5-10 minutes without any masks.
Despite the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both students don’t seem to mind the risk of being sent into dangerous places.
“It’s just part of the job and when you join; you know what you’re getting into,” Stevens said.
Dwyer is interested in becoming a Navy explosive ordnance removal technician, which is the job of the main character in the film “The Hurt Locker.”
These technicians disable bombs in dangerous situations.
Among other things, both Dwyer and Stevens hope to gain “integrity and discipline” from future experiences.
by Jenny Dwyer
The long-awaited time is almost here for the seniors, graduation.
As seniors prepare for college, we asked some past graduates how they got themselves ready for college and how they have dealt with the many issues that come up.
Lauren Van Loo and Levi Dermyer, freshman at the University of Kansas and Jacob Weiss, freshman at the University of Texas at Austin, were all able to share their insights about college.
Being independent is a huge step that takes place between high school and college.
“You have to learn to guide yourself through it,” Van Loo said.
Besides lacking a built-in support system, there will also be many more students in college than in high school.
“You are a much smaller person in a much larger world,” Dermyer said.
Seniors need to realize that they are going to be on their own and that someone will not be guiding them like in high school where teachers care if students do well.
Another part of most college students’ world will be roommates.
“The number one tip for dealing with a roommate is compromise,” Van Loo said.
Dealing with a roommate can be tricky, but if worse comes to worse a student can always look for another one.
Seniors also need to consider that people will also be living on either side of them and they might not be as generous as their roommates.
“One thing I will suggest, though, is invest in some good headphones, especially ones that cancel noise,” Weiss said.
In addition to communicating with a roommate, students may also need to talk with professors.
Getting hold of professors can be tricky unlike high school where students can just walk into a classroom at anytime during the day and get help.
“Everything revolves around e-mail,” Weiss said.
Students may also have the opportunity to make appointments during office hours with teachers to get help.
Overwhelmingly, e-mail seems to be the fastest and best way to get hold of a teacher if a problem does come up.
The past grads emphasized that college is a completely different world than high school envirnoment.
“Pay more attention to the college preparation that they give you. It seems pointless until you get to college and realize they were all right,” Van Loo said.
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