College grad-turned-stripper says 'my soul has been darkened' Special

Fort Lauderdale - An honor student and graduate from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale has watched a dream of success in her chosen career become crushed by a tanked economy and frauds connected with the for-profit college industry, leading her to an unimaginable job.

While it might not be difficult for some of us to imagine a college education rife with inferior instructors, most of us would be hard pressed to imagine that same education connected to Senate hearings, undercover probes, a Government Accountability Report on college fraud which in turn is directly related to financial white collar crime, and a tanked economy with a focus on massive unemployment. Yet that, and much more, is exactly where an art institute graduate currently finds herself. Searching for a way to blow $70,000? Would you let your parents sell their home for your college education? Interested in an education from a for-profit institution of higher learning? Follow, then, ever so briefly, the footsteps of Carrianne Howard, a young college graduate-turned stripper. In a heartfelt interview, Ms. Howard talks with Digital Journal about her education at the Art Institute (AI) of Fort Lauderdale, the pitfalls associated with it, and her life-altering experience. Here’s her story. DJ: Was there a single incident that clued you in that something was amiss with your education at AI? Was it a sudden revelation, or were there a series of doubts?

CH: "It’s not like the Art Institute didn’t know that I was going to complain about the school. I found out half way through school that there was something wrong. I’d gone to numerous gaming events. I went to the Women In Games Int’l event in Austin, Texas. That’s when I found out I wasn’t receiving an education. "I also found out while attending classes that my instructors were not properly certified. I have many examples of instructors who were not doing their jobs. One instructor showed up late, a few times he showed up an hour late. Students would be doing classwork and he would just disappear, walk out of the class without telling anyone for two hours and then come back to class. My 3D character modeling skills suffered because he was never there. I left that class unable to model a basic 3D character. "I had him for my texture and lighting class. For our mid-term and final, he would teach things at the very last minute, a week before they were due. There was not enough time to practice or ask questions. This class was very important, as it was to teach us texture unwrapping. We only did one class assignment on texture unwrapping which is not enough teaching or practice for this vital skill. That’s only one instructor. "There were instructors not 3D Studio Max certified, not licensed to teach, a majority of them were former students, coming back to teach. A lot of them had Art Institute animation degrees. "One had an Associates degree in animation. He taught my Unreal Level Design class. He had no experience or knowledge to teach an Unreal Level Design course. He was hired at the last minute and they put him in there. He had no idea what he was doing. He would put in an Unreal Editor dvd and that was our class. A lot of the instructors in general taught very basic stuff. "The software I was using was out-of-date. you have to keep up with the gaming industry’s software, it’s completely changing." DJ: In your particular case, can you discuss any promises made regarding your education or a career afterward in the gaming industry? CH: "Yes, they did make a promise to me. Before I attended, my mom and I visited the school. We visited with the department chair. He told me after I graduate from the Art Institute I would move up very fast in the gaming industry, and would most likely retire after ten years because I’d be making so much money. "What’s happened is people aren’t retiring after 10 years. They’re moving to different professions.The gaming industry’s very hard on people. People were working from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m., seven days a week. Some were working 48 hours straight. They did not tell me the industry was like that." DJ: I’ve read that you are considering furthering your education, yet most of the classes you took at AI are non-transferable. Can you offer any information on that?

CH: "I tried to apply at Florida Institute of Technology and they would not accept any of my credits whatsoever. They don’t recognize Art Institute credits. I also called the San Francisco Academy of Arts, they would not take my credits." DJ: Do you have any future plans in terms of the gaming industry?

CH: "No, I have no drive for it at all. I’m over it. I don’t draw anymore, I don’t model anymore. I don’t even play video games. I sold all my video games to pay the rent. I can't touch video games anymore because it makes me think of the Art Institute. I'm just ruined." DJ: What advice would you give prospective students considering enrollment in for-profit institutions?

CH: "I would recommend going to a regular college, pay the money, make sure you check their accreditation, and do your research. I wouldn’t even attend a for-profit college. All they’re interested in is your money, especially the schools that advertise on the internet and TV. "When you visit these schools they will pump you full of information and make it sound really exciting. That’s where people get stuck. And they won’t stop calling you. "A lot of students don’t think about whether their credits will be transferable. They think they won't go to school again if they receive a good education, so it’s not going to matter." DJ: What propelled you to create the Sueainow account?

CH: "I met a former Art Institute student after graduation. He has a story to tell. He was kicked out of the Art Institute after 60 days because they couldn’t find his enrollment information, after they enrolled him. When I’d met this guy, he’d been homeless for three months. It just broke my heart. I told myself I have to get involved, I’m not the only one in this situation, there are other students out there who need my help. "I’ve met many students, and they’re not just in the gaming industry, that have graduated and they have to go work at Subway, gas stations, at Blockbuster video. And this happened before the economy crashed. "This has been going on for many, many years, and no one is doing anything about this. "There was a lawsuit against the Art Institute of Houston over much the same issue as I have, a false bill of goods. "They did not give me what I needed to be prepared for the gaming industry. And, they took my seventy grand. "I found the Art Institute while searching for scholarships and this pop-up came up about the Art Institute in Santa Monica. My parents wanted to move to Virginia, but I didn’t. I couldn’t afford to stay in California so I moved into my grandmother’s place in Hollywood, Florida and attended the Art Institute in Fort Lauderdale. "I was aware that the gaming industry was in California and Texas. My plan was to get a job after graduation and move to one of those places. But I never got job offers. I did all my research but I didn’t have the experience, or the knowledge, or the skills. My portfolio is not even a game or InDesign portfolio. It looks like a graphic design portfolio. There’s no 3D work in there, there’s no animation, there’s no game. "Another thing, the Art Institute does not do portfolio reviews upon entrance. They allow anyone into this school. As long as you have money they’ll let you in. If you can draw stick figures they’ll let you in. I’ve seen students in class who have no concept of how to draw, they’re only interested in playing video games. And the instructors would pass them, telling them their work was good. "Students who couldn’t speak English were being passed. There were no interpreters at the school. How can you pass if you can’t speak or understand English?" DJ: What led you to make the choice of a second career as a stripper?

CH: "I had no choice. "I graduated from the Art Institute one year before the economy crashed. I found my own job. The career office had no connections in the gaming industry. I took it upon myself to apply at GameRecruiter. I was a researcher with GameRecruiter. It’s not a gaming industry job. It’s a recruiting company that specializes in gaming and is highly connected with the Art Institute. "I worked there for a year, making $12 an hour. I wasn’t a recruiter, I was a researcher. When the economy crashed, none of the gaming companies could support themselves. People stopped buying video games. If the gaming companies weren’t hiring, GameRecruiter’s not going to thrive, so they laid off my department. "After that, I was on unemployment benefits for over a year while looking for a job. I’d put in over 400 applications but the problem was with a bachelor’s degree I was overqualified. I couldn’t get a design job with the skills I had, but I couldn’t even get a $7 an hour job because I was over-qualified. I couldn’t get a job in the gaming industry because it had crashed. It was a catch-22, I was either under-qualified or over-qualified. "I kept looking and looking and looking. No one would hire me, and no one wanted me. I had nothing to do and nowhere else to go. That’s when I went into the web cam business. That’s how it started. "It was really hard on me. I come from a Lutheran background where I used to attend church every Sunday with my mother. "I had to break all my moral standings. I went into this and I was scared to tell my parents, I was afraid my family was going to disown me. I was afraid what my friends were going to think. I was so completely embarrassed and appalled for what I had to do to keep myself going. "I was working in the webcam business for six months, but because of the economy it has become very saturated with girls looking for work. After doing some research, I found this club down the street and have been working as a stripper for almost six months. It’s been very rough on me, I feel like a dirty person. I try not to think about the Art Institute when I go to work there.This school has made me a complete, emotional mess. It’s the only way I can make any money. Nobody is hiring. My soul has been darkened.”