Above: Roy Leibowitz (left), Angel McMullan and Chris Wilson. Roy and Chris tutored NSW AWARD School 2019 winning graduate Angel while they were both senior creatives at INNOCEAN Worldwide.
Ahead of the AWARD School Application Workshops in November, we chatted to senior creative at BMF Roy Leibowitz, one of the 2019 AWARD School winning tutors, about his tutoring experience and about the upcoming Application Workshops where he will be one of the Sydney presenters.
TCC: What were the most exciting aspects of being an AWARD School tutor this year?
Roy: Just meeting new people and seeing what they came up with. Both our groups were full of interesting, smart, creative students, so we were always excited to get in and hear how they responded to the briefs.
TCC: And what did you find most challenging about your role?
Roy: Avoiding eating all the Cheezels!
TCC: The AWARD School program is pretty intense for students and tutors alike – how did you approach maintaining your energy and enthusiasm throughout the course?
Roy: Honestly, I didn’t really find that part difficult. A room full of people making jokes is a pretty fun room to be in. And we had plenty of great students who came in with weird, interesting thoughts, so it was hard not to be enthusiastic.
TCC: AWARD School students take the course to learn – but as a tutor did you also come away having yourself learned something new?
Roy: Totally. I think when you start tutoring you pretty quickly realise that it’s easy to spot a good idea that you could have come up with. It’s much harder (and much more valuable) to spot a good idea you couldn’t have come up with. Tutoring AWARD forces you to do the latter. You learn to notice and help develop voices that aren’t your own.
TCC: What would be your main advice to anyone considering applying for AWARD School in 2020?
Roy: Do it. The worst that can happen is that you have a heap of fun, learn some new things, and meet some cool people. The best that can happen is that you find a pathway to a career you genuinely love, where you wake up every day excited to go to work. Pretty good odds.
TCC: What do you hope to pass on to applicants in this year’s AWARD School Application Workshop? And how important is it for applicants to do the workshop?
Roy: There are two things I’d like to pass on to applicants.
- Try to have fun and be yourself. Your perspective is valid, and what makes you unique is probably going to be what helps make your ideas unique.
- Don’t try too hard to be the smartest person in the room. People can fall into the trap of thinking it’s about finding the trickiest solution to a problem. It’s more about finding the simplest answer that nobody else has come up with.
The workshop? I think it’s important. Getting into AWARD school is competitive, so a little advice from people who have been in your shoes is going to help.
All the details of the AWARD School Application Workshops can be found here.