With an interest in all things—ever, and little certainty about their future, Christopher Arndt sat in the passenger seat of their career journey and let the universe take the wheel.
“Historian, archaeologist, architect, and even policeman if you go back far enough.”
Arndt started in university before quickly realizing that way of learning wasn’t for them.
“I planned on taking horticulture and was told by a teacher who believed in me that I’m a good writer and should try journalism.”
Arndt wanted to take in everything the journalism program offered and use it to their full advantage, and that’s what they did.
“I went into this program thinking, ‘screw the high and mighty plans that I was going to have a career in whatever I had a degree or diploma in, I just wanted to learn the skills they were teaching’,” Arndt said with certainty.
As Arndt soared to the top of their class, opportunities quickly started to come their way. By the end of the third year, a lot of their time was spent helping other students with their assignments, especially the video side of things.
Talks with the journalism program coordinator included tutoring the other students and possibly transitioning into teaching one day.
A few months after graduation, Dave Smillie, the program coordinator, was in Arndt’s inbox, asking if they wanted to teach a class with Mohawk College City School, an extension of Mohawk College that provides free post-secondary and employment pathway courses to low-income community members.
Arndt was teaching the foundations of writing, and by the end of the semester, they were hooked.
“I loved working with students who didn’t exactly see their own potential, and being able to elevate their skills and instill confidence in them—that really filled my bucket,” Arndt said with a grin.
They wanted to keep teaching, and the work kept coming.
Arndt taught from 2019 up until September this year, when they decided it was better to move on from teaching in the non-resuscitative journalism program to the Digital Creativity Centre (DCC) as a digital skills technician.
Although they don’t have the freedom as a teacher to choose the direction of the class, they are really loving the job because it’s a blend of teaching skills and technical videography.
“A perfect blend between the two,” Arndt said.
The DCC just went through major upgrades, bringing in a fully equipped, top of the line computer lab. The upgrades allow for a lot more digital skills awareness, something Arndt loves to reinforce.
“I love it in here, I can come and blow off some steam between classes or use the space to bang out my assignments,” said Jeremy Thyer, an active gamer in the DCC.
The space does a good job of balancing the academic and social aspects of college, allowing students and faculty the creative freedom to do whatever they please with their free time.
Arndt told Ignite News they are very much enjoying their switch from teacher to DCC employee, but if the journalism program wasn’t ending, they would have loved to continue teaching.
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