Fall — 2008

Stevie Ochwat

Film

“I took Counseling 20 [Student Success Seminar], and it really helped with my time management and how to study. I recommend that class to everyone who’s starting out here.”

“Do everything you can at this college. Join up with a club or get into the extracurricular activities,” advises Stevie Ochwat, now an ‘old hand’ at SMC in his second semester. “If there are any classes you didn’t get to take, take them now, because this is your time to do it. And whatever you do, don’t quit because—if you do—you’re most likely not gonna come back. Just do everything you can to make yourself succeed.”

Stevie’s own success—so far—he attributes to a lot of positive SMC influences that he’s discovered on his way to becoming a filmmaker. “Yeah, the Counseling 20 class really helped me out. But I think it’s more the teachers here that made all the difference. They get to do a lot more of the one-on-one thing than you get at a university. Like my English teacher, Mr. Daughtry. He always makes his classes enjoyable by telling us stories of his past, because he’s had a very unusual life. But that just always made us more interested in whatever he was teaching us.”

Stevie came to SMC to “get away from a lot of people that I didn’t like in high school. And I knew I’d get a very good education here. And even the other students here help you out. They make you feel motivated, because they’re working hard to succeed, so they want you to succeed, too.” Already working in TV production, Stevie plans on a transfer to UCLA. “I’d really like to get my Master’s in Film,” he says. “And if I keep working hard at SMC, I don’t have any doubts that I’ll make it over there.”

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