SCAD — Amplifying your Voice, Amplifying your Career
SCAD students are creators, designers, artists, trend setters, and influencers. They are changing the world through their passion, creativity, and determination. They are the future leaders of fashion houses, designer labels, design firms, and boutique businesses. They are entrepreneurs at heart, and the faculty and staff at SCAD are dedicated to providing them with the tools and skills necessary for success.
SCADamp is a new initiative dedicated to empowering SCAD Bees to reach their career goals. The program is designed to amplify their voices and connect with new audiences — from future colleagues, to customers, to employees, so that when Bees speak, others listen.
Allison Steinweg, Director, SCADamp:
SCADamp is a professional presentation studio that helps creatives amplify their stories through verbal, visual, and interpersonal communication. We understand why young creators, designers, artists, and entrepreneurs come to SCAD. They are hungry to share their art and perspective with the world. They know that we are going to, and are excited to prepare them for the road ahead. SCADamp is just one of the many resources SCAD provides to ensure their success and deliver on our mission.
According to recent studies, over 90% of employers say that strong communication skills are necessary for the roles employees perform in their companies. Those same studies show that communication skills are lacking in terms of quality, clarity, and persuasion. We heard similar feedback from our industry partners as well. Today’s professionals need to improve across the board, and that is why we have developed this initiative.
Our focus is simple; Speak, Visualize, Connect. By honing in on these three simple ideas, we are able to prepare creatives to amplify their stories here at SCAD and well beyond.
Over the course of the last six months, we have observed improvement among students that have taken our workshops. From increased poise, to more succinct and defined talking points, to better visual presentations, we are consistently seeing that student confidence improves across all data points as a direct result of SCADamp.
One way we are able to see significant improvement is through our focus on helping students craft clearer messages. Every time we communicate with someone regardless of the medium or size of the audience, it is essential we understand how to connect within that moment. If our students are to stand out in the crowd, their message and point of view has to embody who they are as creatives and artists in a way that is memorable, relatable, and desirable.
Our seniors and graduate students are looking to improve their communication skills specifically as it applies to teams and group work. Most of our graduates are going to be entering a workplace where they will work on a team, so it is imperative that they are able to share and shape ideas within a group dynamic. Since that is exactly what they are practicing in their coursework and their graduate programs, they tend to recognize the value of these workshops immediately and therefore dive in fully to the process.
We are also ensuring that these workshops complement our other SCAD initiatives. Every touch point. Every class. Every chance we get to help our students strengthen their skills, gives them an advantage when it comes to realizing a creative career. From President Paula Wallace down, our faculty and staff are aware of the power this program will have on our student’s success and are working hard to incorporate it into every aspect of our curriculum.
Currently we have six full time staff dedicated to SCADamp, and the team is growing as we add more programming, all in an effort to accommodate the growing number of students eager to take advantage of the resource. We are on the leading edge of ensuring SCAD Bees find and secure the creative careers they envisioned for themselves on the day they applied to our university.
We love helping our students achieve their goals and are excited about the future of SCADamp.
By Robert Almand
