I’m very excited to announce the first CampusByte Head-to-Head Challenge. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now, but I needed to meet a large group of people first. This is the first of several rounds which I hope will inspire and motivate you to achieve your dreams.
The idea behind this challenge is to pick the brains of some of the most influential bloggers on the web. After reading their responses, vote for the blogger you think did the best job. The first match up is between the creative minds behind HackCollege and LifeNotion.
Questions & Answers
Tell me a little bit about yourself.
Kelly Sutton – I’m a super-senior at Loyola Marymount University studying computer science and film production. I grew up in Everett, WA. I started the website HackCollege during my sophomore year of school. I’ll be working for blip.tv after I graduate!
Derek Jensen – I always say to people in one sentence what I am about. I tell them “I’m a college student that’s defining my true self through connections, conversations, and media.” I say this because the web has really changed me and has so much potential to help out so many people in all areas. Thus, I have created LifeNotion.com for college students and plans for further growth into different groups of people.
Kelly Sutton |
Derek Jensen |
| What’s the most important thing you learned in college? | |
| The most important thing I learned in school was to use your free time wisely. You could spend every minute of every day reading every assignment, but you will quickly pass the point of diminishing return. Always ask yourself, “Is this exactly what I want to be doing right now?” Make sure the homework gets done though! | Networking. Without networking and establishing many relationships with people I would not be where I am today. Additionally, academics is not everything. Surely we come to college to get good grades, but there is so much more that college has to offer you for things like your personal development. |
| College relationships – Good or Bad? Why? | |
| I’m not an authority on the subject, but I’d say it depends on the person. My philosophy: Don’t get too tied down. Call me a guy, but I wouldn’t sacrifice flexibility in lifestyle to be in a relationship. I’ve been told I’ve been tough to date. | As I previously touched on, relationships are so very crucial and college is the perfect time to be on the same playing field with everyone else if not exceed and be better than a majority of the students. I have had many good relationships and don’t regret any of them, because they have all been apart of my desired transformation. |
| What’s your favorite tech tool? | |
| iPhone. The iPad definitely gives it a run for its money though. Touching the Internet is definitely as cool as people say it is. | My favorite tech tool would have to be my Blackberry Smartphone. It takes pictures that can be uploaded directly to Facebook, write notes on WordPress, tweet on Twitter, see what my friends are doing on Facebook, and stay updated 24/7 at a fast pace on the latest emails and news. This has been very helpful when I am on the road or away from my computer in general. |
| What’s the best way to choose a major? | |
| I chose my majors on (1) what I was interested in at the time and (2) financially viability. Film production fails the second test. Some of the geekier degrees will give you the flexibility to apply them to the arts. (Computer generated or assisted art comes to mind. Or just something to blow off steam.) I find that the arts are better kept as hobbies rather than majors. | Choosing a major is always a battle you have to play with yourself. I do not find the career tests you can take to be that useful. I do find that simply writing about everything you like, everything that you think needs to be changed in our world, and gathering insights from your friends and family that you might be missing about your own personal self.
So, the best way is to analyze yourself by looking at what you would like to do the rest of your life and knowing the qualities that you could bring to the field. Finding someone to look up to is key for inspiration. As a junior I have just switched to advertising, because throughout the transformation that I talked about earlier I was not happy with what I currently was studying and it would not satisfy me in the long-term. |
| What advice would you give someone who is struggling in school? | |
| Figure out how you learn. It’s probably not something you needed to consider in high school. I don’t take notes, but I do ask questions in class. I remember things by thinking of their visual position on the page and through homework exercises. Simple pictures and diagrams also help me. | College really is not for everyone, but you do need to know that you have to at least try. The specific advice I would give them is to always stay positive and look back at your mistakes as ways for improvement. |
| Who or what is your biggest influence? Why? | |
| No one in particular, but I have a host of sincere people that I look up to and keep tabs on. | My biggest influence would have to be Gary Vaynerchuk and Tim Ferriss. Gary is a man that is dedicated to loving his family and friends and always doing the best that he can everyday, being transparent, and always striving to be happy. Tim never seems to give up and is always exploring and trying new things. Together they have been my biggest influence because I admire what they stand for.
So really picking up the hobby of blogging (this is how I met them) has had an influence on me. |
| How do you balance school, work and social obligations? |
|
| School always comes first and then social obligations. Work fits in their somewhere, but is usually dependent upon how well I’ve been saving. | Plan out each individual week by using multiple ways of remembering what you need to get done. I personally utilize iCal and Tasks on Gmail. The sooner you get work / school done the more socializing you can do which usually takes place later, but this all is weak when you procrastinate and are just lazy. DO WORK! |
| What are your plans after college? | |
| I will be moving to New York City to work for blip.tv, a web video hosting company, as a software engineer. | My plans are to get a paying internship in an adversiting firm and further grow the LifeNotion site with the help of my other venture that helps build and improve people’s online presence (NotionUp.com).
I have always wanted to own my own business so I will do that and hope to inspire many. |
| Define the reason for your success in one word. | |
| Persistence | Passion |
6 Comments
Yo DEREK! Passion is the thing man! Loved your answers! XD
Thanks King! I will talk or hear from you later! ;)
Just voted for Derek! Great guy and a cool person to connect with :-)
just voted for D!!
Go Derek!!
Just voted for the big D, too :)
Quite an interesting challenge! I would love to see a round 2!
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