Page 25 of The Examiner

Jonathan Danners

I like to think I would have studied for a BA in Fine Art at the usual time, but it wasn’t to be. So I’ve come back to education relatively late in life. I’m thirty-one and the last decade has been challenging. My mother was seriously ill during my A-levels, so I gave up a uni place to look after her while my father ran the family art gallery. It’s a small place in Gloucestershire, but it has a good reputation. My mother passed away ten years ago, even though she had overcome the cancer, so the doctors said, but her immune system was weakened and she contracted pneumonia.

My father was devastated because they’d always run the place together and he was convinced she’d recover. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the last tragedy. My sister had very complex health needs from birth. She was always part of the family, even though from her early teens she lived in residential care. Whether it was connected to my mother passing away we’ll never know, but my sister had a sudden decline and after a couple of months she too passed away.

By this time I was running the gallery with Dad and, strangely enough, it was a very successful time, despite all that went on behind the scenes. We launched several local artists and hosted some exhibitions straight from London. I started to look at BA courses, but had to put that aside again when my father was diagnosed with a heart and lung condition.

He took a back seat during his treatment, while I ran the gallery full-time. It was years before he was well enough to come back. I’m cautiously happy to say that, for the time being anyway, his condition is improved and he’s feeling better than ever. I know it played on his mind that I’d missed out on my uni years, and he was very keen for me to go back and complete my education. That determination got him through some of the darker times.

When I came to apply for a course I was more than a decade older than most BA students and, rather than study with people from another generation, I decided to opt for a more commercial programme. That’s why I chose the Multimedia MA.

Tutor’s Report

Jonathan’s essay was certainly very personal. However, it did little to sell his work to a prospective employer. In our group exercise Jonathan was encouraged to use his experiences as a springboard, but to avoid coming across as maudlin or appearing to play the sympathy card. Grade: C

Alyson Lang

See the special-consideration form I sent to Hannah.

Tutor’s Report

Alyson detailed her personal reasons for not completing this assignment. Her grade is based on the quality of her previous work. Grade: B

Ludya Parak

I’m a fast, creative graphic designer with fifteen years’ experience in many diverse organisations and for a wide range of products and services. I started my career in the design department of a film distribution company, working on posters and DVD covers for world markets.

I went freelance in 2010 and focused my skills on UK-based FMCG. Brands I’ve worked with include Persil, KitKat, Nivea and Heinz. My integrated social-media push for Night-Night Nappies won Best Online in Vision magazine’s Advertising Awards 2018. The brand generated a 72% uptick in consolidated sales for the duration of the campaign.

What I will bring to your product or service is my unique brand of original thinking and many years’ experience working with new media to deliver your brand message directly to your future customers. I am now studying for an MA in Multimedia Art. This is to build on my skills and help usher in a new personal era of creativity and inspiration. There is no better person to hire for your next award-winning campaign, and no better time to hire me.

Tutor’s Report

Despite being shorter than the required word count, Ludya’s essay proved to be a lesson in effective, succinct personal marketing. She was also an outstanding interview candidate. Her experience of pitching herself and her work in the real world showed. Grade: A–

Cameron Wesley

Cameron Wesley studied marketing and promotions at Greenwich Institute of Marketing. Cameron Wesley has vast experience in team management. Cameron Wesley can motivate people to maximise sales and operations in a progressive lean environment. Cameron Wesley is equally exceptional as a team member and as a leader.

Cameron Wesley has acknowledged and addressed some personal shortcomings in his current role and, rather than fight them, has decided to take positive steps and move his career sideways from team management to creative. Cameron Wesley recognises that, in the long term, this route provides greater personal fulfilment and financial returns. That’s why I’m doing this course.

Tutor’s Report

Not only is Cameron’s essay too short, but it fails to deliver the task set by the assignment and displays an over-reliance on business-speak, with a complete absence of personal communication. More than this, it is lifted directly from the archived personnel page of a company he worked for six years ago and has been poorly edited – he deleted the bullet points but failed to remove the repetitions of his full name. While Cameron was an excellent interview candidate with boundless confidence, his style is more suited to middle management than to freelance presentation of artistic work. His grade reflects his non-completion of the essay. Grade: Ungraded

Doodle message group [Private] Hannah and Cameron, 7 November 2023:

Hannah O’Donnell

Hi Cameron. Just to let you know, the work you submitted for Assignment Two is set to be ungraded. What we do in this situation is give you the opportunity to rewrite and resubmit that work. It’s nothing to worry about, but we need to organise it as soon as possible, so you don’t fall behind the group.

Cameron Wesley

When’s the deadline?

Hannah O’Donnell

This Friday.