Hi, my name is Andy Poystila, and this is my short introduction so you can get to know a little bit about me.
I grew up on Salt Spring Island where I attended K-12 grade school. I spent my childhood out in the woods and going sailing with my mom, brother and friends. My hobbies in school were mostly visual arts and the performing arts. Most of my time in high school was spent in the art room or the drama room, learning a lot about myself in both those subjects. I believe if you lay yourself open, bare, and honest to your peers without judgement, when there is mutual understanding, respect and appreciation, you can build a small family with your classmates. I have had that experience many times as a student of art and theatre, and it is something I will carry on and cherish forever. I hope to bring this welcome to any group of people I meet, whether it be a group of coworkers or a whole new classroom.
I currently reside in Vancouver with my partner Bells, where we both study at Capilano University. While Bells works on character design and animation in their second year of the 2D Animation program in the BOSA Building, I design and paint in the IDEA Program in the Arbutus Building. Discovering the world around us has been both been exciting and challenging as we become adults together. We have had a great summer, exploring places like Lynn Canyon, Cleveland Dam and Queen Elizabeth Park. Our next destinations will include much further places like Eastern Canada, Disneyland, Thailand… we have been thinking about travelling to Bells’ hometown in Scotland (when we have the time to of course).
Since I moved to Vancouver last year, I have met many new and different people. I have learned so much about others, myself, and my future career just from getting to know others and their stories. I believe that everybody has something to teach you if you let them.
In the past year, I have been working hard to achieve my dream of pursuing a degree at a university level. At a younger age I was so frantic at choosing what I want to practice- I struggled to choose between working as an artist, psychologist, musician, actor or mortician. It’s been a hard choice to pick one path and follow it. I always knew one thing about myself though; I have always trusted that my need to create and design will draw me into a fulfilling life.
After much hard work and decision making, I chose the IDEA Program, the School of Design in Visual Communication at Capilano University. I believe the choice of IDEA will give me a wider spectrum of different specialties that I can choose from to master that pertain to my creative passion.
Hoping to see you around campus!
- Andy