Williams didn’t give up on his dreams of being behind the camera and began taking classes at NVCC full time in 2017. Today, he is enrolled in NVCC’s Digital Arts Technology (DAT) Program, a member of the DAT club, and taking six courses while continuing his work as a night-shift EMT. While internships are not required for students enrolled in the program, Williams knew that hands-on experience was one way to better prepare himself for success in his future aspirations. Last summer, Williams obtained internships at two major Connecticut media organizations, Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) and Newtown, CT’s Charter Spectrum. He is grateful for the assistance and encouragement he received from NVCC professors Lisa Shuchter, Ray Leite, and Amy Lenoce whom he credits with helping him put together vital materials such as applications and letters of recommendation for the internships and scholarships he’s applied for.

At the internships, Williams says he was able to gain valuable experience in cinematography, editing, production, and operating 4K digital cameras and studio cameras. At CTPV, Williams took part in the Connecticut Public Learning Media Lab program where he was one of several interns representing various colleges and universities throughout the state who produced the “Working It Out” video series, an effort to identify specific reasons causing the gap between people and placement in the manufacturing industry. During his internship at Charter-Spectrum, he produced a program for channel 192, a local channel for the Western Connecticut communities served by Charter Communications. At both of these internships, Williams says he felt very prepared thanks to the knowledge he gained in the classroom.

Williams says his near-term goals are to secure a job at either ESPN or NBC Sports. An avid comic book fanatic, he beams when he talks about his favorite movies such as Iron Man and Thor and says his “dream-job” is to one day produce movies for Marvel. 

“NVCC provides a great atmosphere with professors and educators who provide ‘hands-on’ education. I would recommend NVCC because of the quality of education you receive and the amount of money you can save if you start here,” Williams says.

NVCC’s Digital Arts program provides students with an in-depth understanding of digital media creation and production. The aim of the program is to produce digital media designers for jobs in training, marketing, advertising, web development, broadcasting, audio production, graphic art, production and electronic publishing. Digital artists have become an integral part of the mainstream communications medium; positions in digital media design and development exist in business, industry, government, education, and entertainment. Learn more at nv.edu/dat.