Alumnus John T. Quinn III (BFA 1992 Media Arts) is a champion of continuing education. After graduating and having the good fortune to build a career with the Walt Disney Company as an art director and illustrator for their consumer products division, he wanted to pursue interests he hadn't as a student. Over the years he has taken countless classes and workshops, at SVA and beyond. "I feel so fortunate to have built a career as a commercial artist and enjoy the steady flow of challenging and interesting assignments," he says. "As a father and husband, I enjoy the steady paycheck. But I'm working for a corporation and have to balance my corporate duties with my personal creative impulses. So I take classes to inspire me and satisfy my curiosities about different forms of art making. I also believe that by continuously working on myself and building a more varied skill set, I am buttressing my capacities as a leader in my day job. First and foremost, you've got to have the chops. If you can't do it, no one respects you when you offer direction. In addition, peers and subordinates alike can clearly see I am curious and constantly working on self-improvement and creative growth. I suspect it contributes on some level to the respect I enjoy as a leader of creative people."

Need some inspiration? Take a page out of Quinn's book and jumpstart your creative practice today—enrollment for SVA's spring 2019 continuing education offerings is open, and classes begin on Monday, January 28.

For more information about SVA Continuing Education visit sva.edu/ce. To stay current and connected, and for a complete list of alumni benefits, visit sva.edu/alumni.

A version of this article appears in the fall 2018 issue of the Visual Arts Journal.

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