By Kyle Durham, Student Services Coordinator CLE Costa Mesa

I met Jack on my first day working for College Living Experience. As most staff members who start their journey at CLE, I was excited and nervous to meet the students because honestly, I wanted them to like me. As an academic tutor, I realized the importance of communication as well. And like most staff members, I was sold upon meeting our incredible and intelligent students.

Jack and I immediately hit it off and while he had a separate tutor for his film certificate classes, I was able to spend time with him in the screenwriting social—the “writer’s guild” social—as well as the acting workshop. I had the opportunity to watch him not only grow within our program, but also graduate with his certificate in Film Studies and continue on to a fulfilling and independent life both professionally and personally.

One of the things that most immediately stood out about Jack was his ability to have an idea and see it through. Many times have I heard students discussing how cool it would be to have a YouTube channel, for example. Well, Jack had that same conversation and then created it. He currently has and maintains a film review YouTube channel that is as thoughtful as it is hilarious.

After finishing his Film certificate, and producing high-quality content, Jack transitioned out of CLE. We were all sad to see him go, but I was excited for the excuse to reach out to him and see how he has been doing.

Jack has held a few different positions since his time at CLE and is now gainfully employed as an Uber driver! In addition to employment, Jack spends much of his time acting in plays for his local community theater. This is all to support his goals for his dream career. What is that?

Voice acting.

For as long as I have known Jack, he has been professionally interested in voice acting. From being able to pick out the voice of any animated Batman, to the fine mechanics that go into the professional development of one’s voice, Jack is rapidly becoming a pro. This field is competitive, it is saturated, and Jack is determined to make his mark regardless. He has implemented many of the tips and tricks he learned while attending both OCC and CLE. He has visited voice recording studios, he has become familiar with the equipment, and he has been actively engaged in the one thing that separates the successful from the unsuccessful: practice.

Whatever the future holds for Jack, he will greet it as an independent adult and that feels like an absolute win from a CLE perspective.