Tien Dat Le, Graphic design is my passion

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"I chose Vanier because it's one of the best schools to study graphic design," states an enthusiastic Tien Dat Le, in his third year of Vanier's Office Systems Technology: Micropublishing and Hypermedia Program. "Graphic design is my passion!"

Tien Dat travelled far to follow that passion, arriving from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, in 2008 to study in Canada. "My family wanted me to attend university to be a businessman, but I'm not good with numbers," he says. "All I was interested in were festivals so that I could do posters." Tien Dat had no doubt that it was graphic design he wanted.

Tien Dat started developing his skills as a graphic artist and his abilities with a computer at a young age. As soon as his parents got their first computer in 1997, the year the Internet came to Vietnam, Tien Dat began surfing the web. What he discovered excited him and pointed the way to what he was interested in learning to do, namely, graphic and web design.

"My aunt who lives in Montreal, offered to have me come to Canada to study graphic design," he explains. "I looked at different programs and realized that I wanted something practical rather than theoretical. Vanier offers that possibility. Not only can we do a stage during our program but also, the teachers find opportunities for students to work for companies."

In 2010, Tien Dat who is on the Dean's Honour Roll, won a $15,000 bursary from Cégep international offered to outstanding international students. Not only does he work hard to maintain that scholarship but he also contributes to the Vanier community putting his artistic talents to work for the College. In February, Tien Dat won a poster contest when his poster was chosen to represent and publicize Black History Month at Vanier. His mark is also to be found in the lively logo of the Green People who work on sustainability projects at Vanier.

Even before coming to Vanier, Tien Dat had bought programs like Photoshop, Illustrator and Dreamweaver and taught himself how to use them. "I'm a high tech guy, he says. "I trouble shoot other peoples' computers."

"Tien Dat is an outstanding student," indicates his teacher, Joan Fee Taylor. "He not only does exceptional work, he also contributes to the atmosphere and the learning that takes place in the classroom. Tien Dat helps students who are not able to follow, he has a very positive attitude and he is extremely hard-working." Tien Dat's enthusiasm is infectious. After five minutes talking with him, he has you laughing and just feeling good about life and graphic design in particular.