Animators, Activate!

Animation, taught by Mr. Murray, is among one of the many interesting electives offered to students at San Dimas High School. In addition to Animation, Murray also teaches VisCom, or Visual Communications, a class which he recently took on a field trip to Mt. Sac. One of the students who joined him on this field trip, Junior Abbey Dibelka, was asked about her involvement in his class and her experience on the field trip. 

Dibelka mentioned that she’s spent some time in Murray’s animation classes, “I joined animation my freshman year because I really wanted to be an animator. I realized later that wasn’t my final career path, but Mr. Murray’s class is so welcoming that I’ve stayed all three years.” The class Dibelka finds herself in this year is VisCom. For her, the class has taught her, “business and advertising skills that can be applied to many jobs today.” Dibelka believes that the pay off of the class is more than worth it, as well as simply being a class that she enjoys. As an artist in her spare time, she also feels that animation has benefited her because, “In animation I discovered a new part of my talent that I didn’t have access to because of the resources that Mr. Murray provides us with. 

Dibelka was one of Murray’s students that joined the class on their field trip to Mt. Sac. On the topic of the field trip, Dibelka shared that she found it, “really interesting and it gave her a new outlook on community college and the level of professionalism that the school has.” Dibelka explained that during the field trip, students “met with professionals in animation, graphic design, theater tech, photography, and drone use among other things.” Just like with her class, Dibelka felt that there was a really important takeaway from the field trip for herself and her future. She mentioned that, “the best part was being able to use professional equipment and being taught in real college classes.” Being that she will soon be pursuing higher education, “the whole experience on the field trip made college seem less scary.”

Murray’s field trip to the college and the experiences he offers students is just another example of San Dimas’s ability to engage their students in learning. On the trip, as well as in his classes, students were given a diverse experience and a wide variety of knowledge that will benefit them in their futures.