What you need to know (about me)
My name is Blake (everyone in the office calls me Jake or Balakay)
I have a twin sister (she’s pretty cool sometimes. I feel like this is an important fact about my life)
I work at DatAchieve Digital (obviously because I am writing this blog post)
I will be studying at Salisbury University in a month (I still feel like a freshman in high school. Saying that is bizarre)
Deciding to take an apprenticeship during my senior year was genuinely scary, but it was the best decision I have ever made:
I came into this spot with little to no experience, but I knew in the future I wanted to work in the design/media industry. You have to start somewhere. I’ve always had a passion for photography, but I knew I wanted to do more than just that. The job description for the apprenticeship spot here at Datachieve briefly mentioned photography so my interest peaked. It was thankfully so much more than that. Once I started working I was learning so much everyday. It was overwhelming some days, but I also couldn’t get enough of it.
I was so worried about missing out on ‘senior year stuff’, leaving school everyday for work. But I think what I gained was much more valuable. As someone who played two varsity sports and was in multiple clubs, I don’t think I missed anything. I also believe I’m more prepared for my future than my peers.
Sometimes I felt like I wasn’t productive enough or felt discouraged that what I was doing wasn’t influential. I was constantly reminding myself that I’m still learning, and everyone else here is a professional. It’s going to take time to find what I’m good at, what my niche is. Embracing that was something I had to get used to. I learned to take things slow and to absorb as much information from the crew here as I could.
Thankfully this is the best team I could have asked for. Everyone worked with my busy senior year schedule and I’d say I was able to accomplish (with their help) more than I could have expected. This included working on two websites by myself in the production stages, photoshoots, and many video interviews. With so many opportunities, along with hurdles and valuable lessons, I have learned an unbelievable amount of information regarding this profession and the industry itself. In this case, the risk was worth the reward.
