While it’s been five years since he graduated from Full Sail’s Recording Arts program, Sean Sullivan hasn’t forgotten how difficult a student’s schedule can be. Sean recently came back to campus not only to talk to students about his role as Associate Producer at Manhattan-based animation studio Psyop, but also to, in his own words, “let them know that there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

Sean initially enrolled in Full Sail’s Recording Arts degree program, but he would find that his passion was in digital media.  “I had a friend who was close to graduating from the Digital Media program, and I always got him to give me lessons in what he was learning here and there,” he says. “I was always fascinated with that world.”

Beyond balancing two academic worlds, Sean also worked two part-time jobs while in school to support himself. “My school experience was definitely a challenge, but I believe that those circumstances really helped prepare me for my professional career after graduating,” he says. After moving to New York with the money he had saved, he eventually got his foot in the door with a temp position at Psyop, whose top-notch client roster includes Nike, Nintendo Wii, Target, and Mercedes.

He quickly became the head of Psyop’s Digital Media Department, but still wasn’t satisfied. “I started to take time aside to try things, learning from the 3D department, the 2D department, our rotoscope guys…that led me to production. I started showing up to the weekly production meeting they had every Tuesday at 8:30am. They were surprised what I was doing there, but I just told them that I wanted to get a better idea of what they did so that I could do my job better,” he says, pausing to smile. “Of course, what I really wanted was to learn exactly how to become a producer.”

By 2009, he was an Associate Producer on a spot for Playstation 3, acting as the main liason between the agency and the client, and he’s been going at full-speed ever since. In his time at Psyop, he’s been involved in projects for clients like Ford's "Sync Force," and Nestle, and continues to learn more as he bridges the gap between ad agencies and his creative team. The hard work and hustle that went into his quick career trajectory was a big part of what he shared with current students during his visit.

“I wanted to come back to Full Sail because this is where it all started for me. It sounds corny, but this school really gave me all the tools I needed to succeed,” he says. “I want to be able to share my fortune with kids who are about to step out into this world. Where they’re at right now is a beautiful place – I know classes can be long, but it all pays off. It’s really important that students cross-network and work with people from different degrees. I mean, look at me – I was a Recording Arts student who thought outside the box and followed his curiosity into a great career.”