Joel Dunstan

Joel Dunstan used to find school work uninspiring; that was until he enrolled in CPIT’s Jazz School. As one of CPIT’s under-18 international students, Joel has found CPIT both challenging and rewarding; its holistic approach to learning, in particular, providing the ideal atmosphere in which to develop and apply learnt practical skills to everyday situations.

“I used to dislike school because what we learnt wasn’t being applied to anything I would do in the future. But now everything I learn, I can physically see as a small piece of a big puzzle. CPIT is equipping me with all the basic tools I need to get started and, at the same time, the contacts I’ve made in school are invaluable.”

Having moved to Christchurch from Singapore, Joel felt instantly motivated to study at CPIT because of its approach to practical teaching rather than just theory-based learning.

“The teachers at the Jazz School are currently in the Christchurch music scene and it is much more inspiring to see your tutors ‘walking the walk’ as well as talking it, rather than seeing your tutor as someone who is only capable of teaching. Also, the teaching style is much more self-motivating compared to back home. There are also fewer curriculum hours, yet I can spend more time in school working on what I feel necessary, which I feel is much more sensible than ‘training a duck to run a sprint’,” he says.

The highlight for Joel since he began his study has been his involvement in the 1^st Year Concert. He was given the opportunity to showcase to an audience just how far he had come in little over a year. Joel has also enjoyed the social environment at the Jazz School.

“Campus life within the Jazz School is great due to the small number of students in the course. The camaraderie between everyone is cool and it’s a good environment to work in.”

Joel’s future career aspirations include teaching, performing and perhaps ‘being his own boss.’ In the meantime, he had some advice for students thinking about studying at CPIT.

“Seriously consider how passionate you are about what you’re doing. Find out as much as you can about your course. Don’t hesitate to head into CPIT to make enquiries, because if you don’t ask, you won’t know.”