Confessions of a Creative

On my final exam in statistics, next to the 97% written at the top of the page, my college professor had scrawled in red ball point pen, “See me after class!” I was worried he thought I had cheated. Instead of accusing me of dishonesty my professor said, “You scored higher in my class than any woman ever has. If you want a job doing statistics for the citrus industry let me know.” Graduation was the next week and I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living. I only knew that I would be miserable dealing with numbers as my life’s work.

I was creative. My head buzzed with ideas. I loved coming up with the unexpected. Starting my freshman year, before sun-up on Valentine’s Day, I secretly covered the college’s sidewalks with colored chalk drawings and little anonymous notes of admiration to friends, instructors, acquaintances and Evelyn the amazing cafeteria lady who made everyone feel special. I would write those nice thoughts you think about people but never tell them because it would be awkward. The next day was so fun watching everyone read their compliments and wonder who had written them. I didn’t know it at the time but what I was doing was practicing the skills needed to create great advertising: concept, design, writing, and user experience.

When you apply to Miami Ad School we ask that you submit a few samples of your creative work. People often ask “What should I submit?” The answer is absolutely anything that shows who you are as a creative person. Some people submit examples of ads they concepted, logos they designed or photographs. Other people share kookier things like their stand-up comedy routines, sculptures made out of scotch tape, stop-motion animations, cartoons, poems and a zillion other fun ideas. Here are two amazing videos that people submitted with miami applications. But don’t be intimidated. These are just a couple of our all-time faves.

Humberto Belli Application Video

Tanya Karpitsky Application Video

P.S. After getting additional training that taught me the specific skills needed to put together a portfolio I was hired as an art director in an advertising agency. My first week on the job I called my mom and said, “Mom, this is so fun I would do it for free.” She said, “Shhh! They might hear you!”