At a glance
“I chose Alfred State based on reputation and some of my family members had attended. I wanted to leave behind the work I was doing that did not require a degree and focus on my writing.”
DA Burton
DA Burton (Los Angeles, CA) is excited to take his love of writing to the professional level with his studies in technical communication and emergent media at Alfred State.
DA has always had a passion to write creatively. He has written and performed music and has written manuscripts for an eight-part book series while driving across the country as a truck driver or working in a factory.
He came to Alfred State as an individual studies major and was crafting his own degree when the technical communication and emergent media major was introduced at the college.
Watch DA's Pioneer PROfile video
“I chose Alfred State based on reputation and some of my family members had attended. I wanted to leave behind the work I was doing that did not require a degree and focus on my writing.”
DA was one of the first students in the new major after transitioning from individual studies. “I have been extremely impressed with the quality of instructors here. The faculty has been unbelievable. There is a good mix of practical work coupled with projects and assignments that are interesting and that you are more excited to sink your time into.”
On top of his classroom experiences, DA has enjoyed being part of writing projects outside the classroom like Ergo Magazine. “I have been both an editor and a contributor to Ergo and it is nice because there are outlets to further prepare you for leaving school with what you have learned.”
“The program is broad and well-rounded. It has a lot of practical applications and is a relevant job with jobs available with healthy pay.”
As an adult student, DA has felt right at home. “I thought I would be a little less comfortable being surrounded by teenagers, but everyone has been great. It has been comfortable, and I really enjoy taking classes in person.”
DA would suggest this major to anyone that has a passion for writing. “It is a perfect marriage between creative writing for file, media, or news and the more technical writing for instruction manuals and insurance. At the end of the day, it is a communications degree which really opens doors.”
DA has been writing his whole life and Alfred State is helping him publish the next chapter.