I had the huge pleasure of guest speaking at Loyola Marymount University the other day… and it got me reinvigorated on an old goal of mine: Teaching cartooning at the university level.
The Director of LMU’s Small Business Development Center asked me to come over and talk to his upper-level business class, and it was a blast. I gave a short, 10 minute presentation on how artists like myself are able to make a living online — sans mediation from publishers, syndicates, distributors, etc. — and it evolved into a 50-minute-long, rapid-fire Q&A session with the students. Needless to say… I loved it.
When we were done, the Director stood up and gave me one the nicest compliments I think I’ve ever received. He said that, in the “ten or so years of inviting people in to talk, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Q&A session last that long, or with that much energy.” Which is great by me. I absolutely swam in the back-and-forth with the students.
But now it has me all fired up to start teachin’. See, back when I was pursuing my two graduate degrees in cartooning… I did so with the hope-beyond-hope that I could one day not only draw as a cartoonist, but also teach as a cartoonist. And the energy of this guest talk got that all stirred up again.
So, a huge ‘thank you’ to the students for a great Q&A… and know that you stinkers have me looking for my academic resume on my hard drive, now. 🙂