Jajuan Davis Class of 2019
Interview by Aneara Burns. Photo courtesy of Jajuan Davis.
Collegiate has always made sure to pour encouragement into its students so that their talents and intelligence can grow, thus providing a plethora of programs for students to participate in. I had the privilege of talking to Jajaun Davis about his college experience, time in FNN and career aspirations.
Aneara: What college do you attend, and what is your major?
Jajuan: I currently attend the illustrious University of the District of Columbia, majoring in photography and videography.
Aneara: What has your college experience been like so far?
Jajuan: UDC is like the worst school ever. It’s very unorganized and classes are, for some reason, scheduled the same day and time with only one teacher. Photography is technically under studio art and while there are a lot of studio art teachers, there aren't a lot of photography teachers. You can have a million different teachers for painting, drawing, ceramics, whatever you want, whatever studio art thing, but for videography, there are only two. So it's been really unorganized and a real struggle to take classes throughout the years I've been there.
Aneara: What made you choose your major?
Jajuan: I was in a little program called Friendship News Network in high school. When I first took it during summer bridge, I instantly fell in love with that type of work. I was an athlete as well, and I used to sometimes skip football practice to participate in the FNN program because I really enjoyed it. So when I went to college, I took a studio art class and a photography class to see which one I preferred, and I chose to do photography from there.
Aneara: What are your plans for your career?
Jajuan: Well, I would love to work at Friendship if wages were a little higher. I also want to work for the government, if I'm being honest, so I can have a stable job like media coordinator. I’d also like to use the skills I've learned with photography and videography to do my own thing. I do YouTube—videogames and vlogging. And finally, I’d like to continue with photography, which I currently do.
Aneara: What advice would you give to current Collegiate students?
Jajuan: Get it together. That might sound a little harsh, but I feel like a lot of younger kids I see nowadays are really different. They don’t seem to have their heads on straight. As you get closer to graduating high school and turning 18, you need to start planning your life, and coming up with ideas of who you want to be and what you want to do. I feel like that's what I mean when I say get it together.
Alumni Editor Aneara Burns is a junior at Arizona State University and a 2020 graduate of Friendship Collegiate Academy.