Our First Page

A day in the life of a professor/student

Hey, it’s Suj.

Between my 2,872 iCloud notes, my planners, my calendars, and my organizers, I am always anticipating what comes next. As a professor who has been teaching for the past six years, who has also been a full-time student for many of those years, I’ve learned the importance of setting goals, identifying priorities, and keeping them organized.

I am the type of person who happily stays up at 3am working on something I’m excited about. When I enjoy the work I’m doing, there’s never a time limit (until the sunrise winks at me). My track record is in two published books, two degrees, three college programs I’ve taught in, and two podcasts I’ve directed.

I love being creative. But creative life without structure gets messy. 

To the outer world, I was doing the thing, and doing it well. With years of experience in teaching, in learning, and in learning to teach, I now have a fair understanding of what it takes to set and achieve your goals while staying organized. 

At the age of 22, mid-master’s degree studies, I was approached with the opportunity to teach at Sheridan College’s Faculty of Animation, Arts, and Design. In the span of a few weeks, credentials were verified, a contract was signed, and I jumped straight into teaching my first college course. At the same time, I was entering into my second semester as a masters student and still struggled with the idea that I had tricked the admissions committee into accepting me. It took some time to claim my space in the faculty, but soon enough I felt at home. A secret: I’ve learned how to greet imposter syndrome and I only sometimes let it humble me.

I had big goals and I continuously achieved them (somehow), BUT, part of me felt like I wasn’t the real deal. Life directed me through some unexpected experiences that led me to two personas of the classroom: the professor, and the student. It surprised many people to see a twenty-two year old professor. A lot of people thought there was a trick to making it that far. Others considered it luck.

People have often asked me, “what’s the secret?” or “how did you start?”

The secret is that there is no secret. It comes down to hard work and consistency, every time. Consistency and strategy are a dangerous couple.

I noticed that many people had inspiration, ideas, and talent, but when it came down to beginning the projects they spoke of, they wouldn’t begin.

Consistency to me means putting in the same amount of effort continuously, but not repeating the same failed behaviours and expecting a different outcome. The secret is in brand slogans like Nike’s  “Just Do it,” Adidas “Impossible is nothing,” or even Sephora’s “We belong to something beautiful.” Once we know who we are and what we stand for, the rest is on us to follow through.

I started to take note of my students, artists, and creatives in my circle. I sought to understand why this was happening. It seemed to me that they had everything they needed: curiosity, ability, talent. The missing link often came down to clarity, organization, and strategy.

My students were able to sustain their own projects once they figured out where to start. This applied to course work and their personal goals. Every time I mentored my students on how to start, where to look, and how to see their ideas through fruition, they succeeded.

When it comes to setting and achieving goals, there isn’t a standardized model that always works. Although there is no guarantee, the thing approach that works most often is creating structure for your goals while maintaining consistency.

I hope with the addition of this website and blog, those of us who are contemplating a beginning will find some clarity. I love watching inspired people achieve their goals. It’s a pleasure to witness those journeys.

Cheers to many beginnings (and happy endings),

— Suj.