Help us start a new photography group!

It was recently brought to our attention that Valencia does NOT have a student photography group. Of course with my own personal interests in photography, I’ve jumped at the opportunity to help lead in this upcoming endeavor as an adviser to this potential student group. We’ve been doing research into how to officially begin a student group through the college and among the many steps to get started is to meet with a group of students who have an interest in becoming members of the group. We need to recruit a minimum of 10 Valencia Community College students who have a GPA of 2.0 or higher.

In order to begin the stages of starting this group we’ll be holding an interest meeting the week before spring break. Here are the details:

When: March 5th, 2009, 12-1pm
Where: Valencia Community College East Campus, Bldg 1-215
Who: Any Valencia student who has an interest in photography

A FEW QUESTIONS…
I realize many of you are curious and so lets see if we can address a few questions you might have now.

Do I need to have taken any photography classes before to join the group?
No, it’s okay if you have never taken a class or if you find yourself completely inexperienced with any aspect of photography. All you need is to have an interest in any aspect of photography.

What if I don’t have a fancy digital camera like professional photographers?
We’re looking for anyone who has an interest in photography, regardless of the type of camera you own. You could own a film, digital slr, point & shoot, or heck – even a polaroid. You really don’t need to own a camera to join the group – just an interest in learning more about photography.

What will we do in the photography group?
At this point we are still planning the objectives of the group, however, the goal is to form a group of students who are interested in learning more about photography. Through the group there would be learning opportunities through workshops, guest speakers, and mini seminars. Additionally you would be participating in a network with other students who have similar photography interests.

Do I need to pay anything?
Currently while we are still working on forming the group there are no dues.

When do you anticipate the group being active?
It’s generally a 90 day process to plan, apply, and have the group approved by the college. If things work as planned we should have an official student photography group set up with the college by the summer, but possibly the fall 2009 semester.

What will we be doing at the upcoming meeting?
First we need you present to form a list of students interested. If we can’t prove to the college that there are a minimum of 10 students interested in the group then they won’t approve the group. We’ll also be discussing ideas such as the official name of the group and the types of activities everyone is interested in learning and participating in.

LET US KNOW YOUR THOUGHTS!
So though we won’t meet for two weeks – we’re quite interested in hearing your thoughts about this potential group. Let us know if it’s of interest to you, if you plan to attend the meeting, as well as any other suggestions you might have. We’re interested in forming a super motivated group of students who we hope to inspire to learn more about photography. So post a comment with your input & suggestions ~ I assure you that we’re listening.

We’ve also started a group in facebook for those of you interested.