Putting yourself “out there”

The following story was posted on the Skills Canada – Ontario Alumni Facebook page. Jennifer Stuber was a Photography Competitor in the Ontario Technological Skills Competition in 2009.

Before participating in the Skills competition, I was terrified of putting mysel ‘out there.’ When my teacher first suggested it, I almost turned her down out of the fear of competing against other photographers.

After constant encouragement I found myself wide-eyed in front of a computer screen with a man giving me instructions on what to do for the day. During the competition I could see other students work and immediately began to feel self-conscious. I thought to myself, “I have no chance at winning, look at these people!” Some people had much more expensive cameras than I did, I had only bought mine a few months before after saving for what seemed like forever in order to afford it.

While walking around with camera in hand, I began to realize what the competition really was; a chance to showcase what us students loved and wanted to do with our lives. I could see the intense look in the competitors eyes and did my best to capture it, maybe borrowing a little bit of their intensity to participate in my own competition. In my wildest dreams I did not imagine winning and placing first, but it happened. The announcer called my name and I just froze. It wasn’t until my classmate next to me said, “That’s you!” that it really registered. I had won gold in the photography competition of 2009. The proudest moment of my life was climbing to the top of the podium, I was probably just beaming, hearing my teachers encouraging words and my classmates cheering me on. Since then, the Skills Ontario staff have continued to support me throughout the past year.

The competition pushed me to start my own photography business that very summer with the help of the Small Business Centre. I used my experience in the Skills Competition to show how confident I was about my work, which landed me a spot in the Summer Company Program. I also signed up for the Photography program at Fanshawe College, which I start in less than a week. While I am a little nervous, I am more than excited to get to study what I love. The competition helped me to realize what I really want to do with my life, and that is to develop my skill, photography. Thank you!

- Jennifer Stuber, London, Ontario.