Ganz๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฐ
I still remember my first day at a private art university in Singapore about 20 years ago. Some guy stood up in front of the class and said most of us would fail or quit this program. Not exactly inspiring.
I wasnโt some wide-eyed teenager. I had already taught men and officers in training during my three years in the army. And here was someone, dimming our hopes before weโd even begun.
Ironically, I did quit. But not because I couldnโt handle pressure.
I left because I realized I was paying for mediocrity.
That moment shaped how I teach today.
Iโve never once looked at my students and said, โYouโre not going to make it.โ
If a student struggles, my mindset is simple:
โYouโre a problem I want to solve.โ
What do I need to adjust?
What do they need to hear, try, or build to take the next step?
Yes, some might quit the program. Some might move on a few years later.
But it wonโt be because I gave up on them.
Discouraging someone takes almost no effort and what good does it do?
Helping someone, believing in them, that can change their entire lifeโs trajectory. And despite all the noise online, real change happens through quiet, consistent effort.
Today, while talking about Industrial Light & Magic to my ACE-005 group, I checked something:
Over the years, 35 of my former students have worked at Industrial Light & Magic, 14 of them still do. In Vancouver. In London. In Sydney.
Across compositing, lighting, paint and creature departments.It happened because they found mentors, people who believed in them, guided them, and walked beside them until the dream became real.
They didnโt need warnings about the odds.
They needed someone to help tilt the odds in their favor.
I see people online telling schools to โdo better,โ to โbe more honestโ about the state of the industry.
But letโs be real, are students really that naive?
People spend hours researching which phone to buy, which gym to join, which restaurant has the best reviews.
You donโt think they know what industry theyโre walking into?
And if youโre going to critique, at least bring data.
How many jobs were lost in VFX last year?
How many artists are working globally right now?
How many new roles opened this quarter? Where?
Everyone has an opinion. Few bring facts.
Humans lie. Numbers donโt.
Sure, numbers can be spun to tell a narrative, but smart people can tell the difference.
In Singapore, we all know this song.
We sang it in school growing up:
There was a time when people said
That Singapore wonโt make it, but we did!
Thatโs it.
Singaporeans made a plan. Singaporeans worked that plan.
Was it a perfect plan? Hell no.
But it sure beats some guy standing in front of a room full of students saying, โYou wonโt make it.โ
Because guess what?
We did.
And if we didnโt, he wouldnโt have been standing there in the first place telling us that we couldnโt.
P.S. Former Students who had worked at ILM above