Germar began college as a music major, but jumped on a bandwagon he believed would get him to the end goal faster. He bolstered his curriculum, and became an interdisciplinary major in multi-media. “Sony and Diddy weren’t calling, so I took courses in film, journalism, public relations, and graphics – thinking that no one could pass up that versatility. They could, and did,” said Germar.
Initially, his gamble paid off. A local church hired him, right after graduation, as a director of all video production and audio engineering. “That was a great job and it gave me the clout to freelance a bit.” Germar left after only two years. He said that at 26 he “might have made it work.” They hired him at 22. He wanted to see the world, attend grad school, and find a soul-mate. And he would surely find something comparable, or better, right?
He made it to grad school, but was homeless soon after. The debt mounted. The economy collapsed. Every employer promised the moon, but those businesses folded within a year. After years of part-time, minimum wage jobs, Germar found himself in law school. What could go wrong? “Every problem that I’ve ever had is tied to money – tuition, loans, default, debt, eviction, cold nights . . . and surprisingly no drugs. I didn’t even have a beer until I was 25.” After 7,000 applications, three degrees, and eight internships, Germar is still looking.
No one gave Germar an opportunity, so he decided to make an opportunity through Kickstarter. Kickstarter is a popular crowd-funding website – a new way to fund creative independent projects. “When I designed that degree, I had ownership in mind.” Germar is using Kickstarter to fund a web series – an alternative take on the news of the day. It’s the perfect storm of creativity that he imagined when he quit music theory and concert band, and began studying journalism, mass communication, and film.
For additional information or to support Germar’s journey: www.kickstarter.com
Email: g_derron@yahoo.com
