College degree, The U of M: not for everyone
By: Beth Spencer
Issue date: 6/18/09 Section: Other Stories
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Mick Parrish, a former film theatre major at The U of M, dropped out of school after his first semester.
"I was doing way too many drugs, and I was up all night playing music in clubs," he said. "I don't remember much."
But Parrish said no one thing led to his withdrawal.
"The program was acceptable, nothing more, nothing less," he said. "The people were decent. I think the importance of a degree is slowly dwindling away. Luck and hard work are the way of a depression."
Parrish said he may finish college someday, but not at The U of M. Neither the degree nor the city are priorities, he said.
"I mean, it's home, and I can't put it down, but my dreams are bigger than the violence and filth of this place," he said. "I'm doing well enough, and why work when I can make a living at play?"
Another former student, Andrew Leggett, also decided a degree wasn't for him but left for different reasons. During his senior year in 2003, he left The University's film program to work in the movie industry in Los Angeles.
"I felt the film and TV program was not good, and it was very outdated," he said. "I felt the school was not trying to help me with a career afterwards, also. I felt that leaving the school and pursuing a job in film would be better."
Leggett continues to work in film editing and said he has no plans to return to school.
While some former U of M students were content without a degree, Randall Cooper said he wants to return to school. Cooper, a former art major at The U of M, said he dropped out during his first semester to pursue leisure activities and make more money.
"I also hated my math class," he said. "I skipped all the time because I couldn't understand my foreign teacher."
Cooper said he plans to take classes at Southwest Tennessee Community College because it will cost him less. After working construction full time for two years, Cooper said he has almost finished paying off his loans to The U of M.