Part 1: 4-Year Degree Plan

My four-year degree plan so far for college is to follow Interactive Game Studies as my major. I was able to skip most of my core classes due to excessive AP credit acquiring so being able to immerse myself into a work-intensive creative major feels like it would be the most fulfilling to me, so that’s why I mostly plan to follow my major/minor during the course of these four years. Being located in Austin, Texas, practically the biggest center for video game development in the United States outside Silicon Valley, is another perk to the major- it lends itself to prospective work more easily. I could take up internships with the companies nearby, going indie, while still arduous, would be more successful around a community centered around individualism, and the creative atmosphere would benefit me greatly. Plus, I have connections back home in San Antonio, only an hour away, consisting of professional game developers and an organization prioritizing showcasing new creators’ work.

However, I do have numerous backup plans in case Interactive Game Studies doesn’t work out for me. My artistic abilities lend myself to creative categories, so I could always join Graphic Design or Advertising since I do also have an eye for creating things that pop out to people. I’ve expressed an interest in acting before, so the drama club might have opportunities for me. And, I also have a passion for teaching people about my interests, so I’ve highly considered dropping the fine arts altogether to pursue Education.

Part 2: Minor

I currently already have a minor that I plan to keep for my plan, Fine Arts. I chose Art for two reasons, one, that it’s another one of my major passions, being able to express myself in a creative fashion while also making others around me happy, and two, that it greatly benefits my major. As a game developer, it’s a note-worthy skill to manage multiple departments of the game- including coding, developing sounds, writing dialogue/story, and, relevant to my minor, designing the visuals. Of course creative writing is another field of expression I enjoy heavily, but I mainly focus on developing my art since I feel I already have the skills required to write an effective game story, but feel less confident with art. I want to grow the skill more, so it’s natural to choose it as an area of study to learn more about a field I carved my life around.