ADMA graduates Faustin Niyigena, a video journalist with The New Times, and Cyril Ndegeya, a freelance photographer, visited the campus this week to speak with students about their journeys to becoming professionals and what it takes to be successful.
First to present was Faustin Niyigena.
His message included "always be learning", "never give up", and "it's OK to make mistakes."
These philosophies are part of what we teach at ADMA.
If you are making no mistakes, then you are not trying new things and you are not learning.
One could even say that professionals have learned all the mistakes, because they have made them, and since they never repeat them, their work is mistake-free.
The SECRET is... LEARN FROM YOUR MISTAKES AND DO NOT REPEAT THEM!
Next to meet with the students was ADMA Graduate and Rwandan Freelance Photographer Cyril Ndegeya. His discussion with students included topics such as being a professional freelance photographer in Rwanda, Africa, and around the world.
Cyril’s discussion included going over some student photos, giving feedback, questions and answers, and making it real for students what it takes to be a success in the industry.
You can check out some of Cyril's amazing work here.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/widepix/albums
You can see a short video of Cyril Ndegeya here, praising ADMA, explaining how his skills in photography improved in just a short time thanks to the academy. (The footage is from ADMA's official launch video in 2012.)
You can see also see a sample of Faustin’s award winning video work here:
https://youtu.be/xKmzGGZ5XE4
We are very thankful Cyril’s and Faustin’s generosity, taking time out of their busy schedules to come back and help inspire the next generation of Rwandan digital content creators.