To our GDD students and grads,
As we celebrate the last weekend of our design showcase, our graduating students, and the end of a very strange academic year, I wanted to reach out and share my deepest gratitude for your dedication and perseverance over these past months with GDD. It has not been easy. It would be understandable for you to feel that this was not what you signed up for, and that you have not had a fair chance to complete your studies in the way that you should have been able to. My sincere regret is that we couldn’t be with you in person as this year ends and to give you all a proper send off as some of you complete a very intense time in your lives. But please know that the faculty and staff in GDD recognize how difficult it has been and admire your commitment to see things through, despite the challenges, and prove that through adversity can come fruitful and exciting results. The work that many of you produced this year was phenomenal, and we have continually been inspired by the positivity and genuine consideration for your fellow students as you navigated a completely different way of working together and learning.
Whether you are graduating and moving on to a new chapter in your journey as a creative in the world, or taking a break to recharge for a while, we whole heartedly wish you the very best and congratulate you on your achievement this year. We look forward to the time when we will see you again; when you will come back and in person, share your experiences with us and your fellow students, and continue to be part of our very special community of designers from UFV.
Thank you to the students who contributed work to our design showcase and dealt with our brutal deadlines and requests at the busiest time. We know that we were not able to feature everyone’s work at Highstreet but appreciate your work none the less. We value your patience as we charted new territory this year! A special thank you to the students who helped put the showcase together in a very big way: Jade Choo, Vanessa Beckmann, Adria Quon, Kait Botha, and Anoop Dhaliwal.
We look forward to seeing many of you in person for classes in September. All the very best for the summer!
Sincerely,
Jen
