Nathan Billington’s years in college rivaled those of most of his peers. He graduated with two degrees from the University of Colorado — one from Boulder, the other from the Denver campus. And he graduated with a 3.5 grade- point average, despite the demands of commuting between the two cities and the tough courses.
Billington, 23, stood with thousands of students during the University of Colorado commencement ceremony at Folsom Field on May 7. He graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in integrative physiology. A little more than a week later, he was back standing with the masses, graduating from the University of Colorado Denver, with a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Digital Animation Center at the College of Arts & Media.
While the super-student managed commuting and classes, he made time for the important things in life. Like watching the magic the animators wove when depicting the characters in “Coraline,” admiring the sweetness of Pixar’s “Up,” or soaking in the scenery of James Cameron’s epic “Avatar.”
“It’s crazy, I know, and sometimes scary to think about, but my goal is to work in animation,” says Billington. “What’s scary is that now I’m in the real world. When you’re a student you’re invincible. You can walk up to a pro in the industry at a conference and they talk to you. They think, ‘Ah, you’re a student, you’re not begging me for a job.’ So they spend time with you.”
His passion for art and filmmaking began when he was very young.
“My parents, who are wonderful, have always supported me. I’ve been drawing my whole life,” he says, and a broad grin lights up his face. “My parents figured out that I’d leave them alone if they threw paper and pencils at me.”
“Oh yeah. I have two degrees on the wall,” says Billington, glancing around the crowd at the Bookend Cafe in Boulder. “I’m not sure it was a smart idea to get them both at the same time. It was rough. But I’m not going to lie. I’m proud of those degrees.”
A love of science led the Colorado native to first enroll at CU-Boulder. While he was heading down the pre-medical-school route, he worked summers at Children’s Hospital as an assistant, and part time during the school year. His father, an engineer, and his mother, a psychologist, alerted him to the animation courses at UCD.
“To be honest, they were more enthusiastic than I was at first,” says Billington, whose parents live in Littleton. “I was a little reluctant. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be the starving, self-righteous artist.”
His skill set as an animator and his knowledge of the medical field may come in handy, Billington says.
“Medical animation is a huge field,” he says. “If you’re teaching complex surgery, learning it through animation is so much easier. One day, our professor pulled out a 3-D animated film showing molecules and DNA interacting, and it made so much sense. It helps if you’re a visual learner.”
But medical animation would not be his dream job, Billington says. He’s intent on working in cinema, which likely means moving to California.
He’s applying to all the biggest studios, including Disney, Pixar, DreamWorks and Sony.
“Yes, I have a backup plan, but I try not to even think about that. If you want to pursue something like getting into Hollywood, you just have to go for it.”
His course work at UCD prepared him well, he says. “A Complex Villainelle,” a short animated film created by his senior class, highlights the talent of the 20 digital animation students, as well as two recording arts students. (See it at .) Batman’s Penguin, portrayed in the days before he became an overweight villain, comes to life as he and Mary Poppins drift above and around a city, clutching umbrellas. Humor, pathos and sweetness are wrapped up into the film, which has been accepted into several national and international film festivals.
“Our professor gave us the story, which was written and narrated by Jonathan Goldstein of National Public Radio, and told us to animate it,” Billington says.
Professor Howard Cook, head of the digital program, says the class exceeded his expectations in creating the film, which he’s confident will be an award winner.
“We’re a small school, but we’re really starting to draw attention,” Cook says. “We’re very selective and hand- pick the best. They learn to work as a team, and they leave with real experience. Every one of those students has a good chance of working in the field.”
Billington, he says, was an exceptional student.
“He’s a great artist; a talented modeler. He knows how to draw, but he’s also one of those guys who can do everything. I look at some of his work and I’m jealous of it.”
To his fellow graduates of 2010, Billington has some wise advice. “I was part of a great team working on ‘A Complex Villainelle,’ ” he says. “Every one of my classmates is amazing, and we worked so well together. You can be the best artist in the world, but if you can’t work with people, you’re useless.”
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Taking the real-world plunge
Lisa Severy, director of career services for the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Jonne Kraning, director of the career center at the University of Colorado Denver, offer these job-hunting tips to recent graduates:
Put the effort in:“Looking for a job is hard work, probably harder than some upper-division classes they have had,” Kraning says. “The days of handing over a job with a signing bonus are over or very rare at best.” Severy notes that landing a job will likely take time. “They’ll probably get a lot of rejections before they find that job,” she says. “Patience is important, and reach out for emotional support when you need it.”
Multitask: “There’s a buzz around the idea of ‘giganomics,’ ” Severy says. “That means you work multiple gigs at the same time. I think that happens a whole lot, whether by choice or circumstance. People are quilting careers together. For some people that’s great. If you’re a multitasker and consider each of your individual jobs a client to you, this works well. Some want a regular job, but others love that flexibility.”
Focus on your target: With competition so tight, new grads must have a highly targeted resume, and excellent interviewing skills and connections, Kraning says. Severy adds that networking is all-important. “Networking can sound like an overused term, but what college grads need to realize is that they’ve been networking since Facebook was born,” Severy says. “While it’s important not to rely only on electronic job searches, this can help your job search. Just make sure your profile puts you in a positive light.”
Hone interviewing skills: CU career counselors will document a person in a simulated interview, and often, the interviewee is surprised bt what they see on the screen. “They realize they’re tapping a foot, or not focusing on the question asked,” Severy says. “We teach them how to cope with anxiety and nervous habits in job interviews. And we teach them to never skip the basics, like sending a thank-you card after an interview.”
Just ASK: The Career Center at the University of Colorado Denver teaches the “Just ASK” approach to career planning: Assess-Search- Knock. Students need to assess who they are and be able to communicate their strengths to employers, they must learn and be effective in the many facets to job search, and know how to start knocking on the doors of opportunity. Most new grads have concentrated on the academics and left the job search to chance.
All alumni included: Career counselors at the University of Colorado at Boulder, offer programs for alumni to help them build job skills. “For obvious reasons, our center now helps not only recent grads, but alums who have graduated 10 or 30 years ago who are looking for work,” Severy says. Go to career for more information.
