Donʼt give up your day job 

Thereʼs an ad sliding through Youtube streams right now that resonates.  

A dude sits on the sofa, scrolling his phone screen with little enthusiasm. Heʼs  bored by what he sees (arenʼt we all) and yet unable to look away (feels  familiar). A voiceover starts, a rallying cry from his inner champion. It tells him  (and us) that heʼs not the brands he wears. Heʼs not what his friends think he  should be, look like, or do with his weekend. Heʼs not his current job title. And  heʼs not the person he is right now, forever – not if he takes responsibility for  becoming the man he wants to be.  

And as the ad goes on to show, his self-transformation can be carried out  within the rut heʼs running along. The commitments heʼs made. The life heʼs  already living. To demonstrate, we see him rush home from work, slip onto the  sofa, and press play on an online art tutorial. He follows along furiously with a  tablet and stylus pen – heʼs already a Monet in the making! Later, he reels  through an online recipe tutorial while slicing swede with over-egged  enthusiasm. Heʼs now a master chef! The popular online learning platform heʼs  signed up for will – we are told – transform his life and his soul. All around his  day job.  

Itʼs a forgettable ad. But it captures something similar to the SCA online  experience. This year, along with the new online syllabus, SCA has taken on  students whose lifestyles and livelihoods made study in Brixton impossible. And  while diversity is evident across both the Brixton-based and online cohort, itʼs  the latter that seem to have the wildest timetables and unconventional  backgrounds. Many juggle families and jobs around the full-time course.  

Itʼs too early to make a pros and cons list of the online portfolio experience. But  whatʼs clear is that, just like you are not the contents of your wallet or preferred  choice of cheddar, an SCA student is not just an SCA student. You can join the  school and hold onto the stuff youʼve already signed up for – or been dealt with  – in life. You can put your whole self into SCA, and still eke out extra hours for  the bread and butter job. The family member who needs support at home. The  absolutely necessary lie-ins on a Friday.