Joash, a visual story-teller

And when he does, the Fyzabad- born aspiring director will graduate with an outstanding achievement award for academic and creative achievement.

Berkeley, 22, will be one of two students to receive the award on June 3.

One project which may have caught the attention of his lecturers is a live action short film, Sovereign, which he wrote and directed over the spring break. The story is deeply personal, Berkeley told Sunday Newsday.

“(It is) of people finding the goodness that life tries to hide from them. It is inspired by the true events surrounding my father’s experience with cancer,” he said in a series of emails from the United States.

Sovereign was a senior thesis film which Berkeley, a graduate of San Fernando Central Secondary School, did with fellow international students.

His work, he said, aims to empower audiences by addressing societal misconceptions about the human struggle. The team is currently in the post-production stage and editing of the film.

Berkeley’s talent is not only film directing but he is also a motion graphics designer and animator.

From June until the first week in December, he will be on an internship with Buck TV in Los Angeles, as a 2D animator.

The opportunity, he said, was a god-send.

“(I’m) extremely excited and honoured. Earlier on in my degree, I had no estimation of where I would land after graduation and Buck was certainly not achievable in my mind. But God has carved out favourable opportunities for me to give Him glory. I’ll be entering Buck with a healthy balance of humility, excitement, anticipation and intimidation; after all, if it doesn’t scare me a bit, then I’m not challenging myself enough.” Berkeley considers himself a flag-bearer for TT which he wants to see on the map on the international creative industry.

Before his US studies, Berkeley placed first in the graphic design category of the TT leg of the World Skills competition in 2012.

He then took part in the London showcase, which he described as the “the Olympics of vocational skills”.

Motivated by the experience, he subsequently applied to SCAD and has been active in many of the college events, including leading, in 2015, an ad campaign at SCAD’s Hong Kong campus. He said the message to students was regardless of their background, or negative opinion, “we can determine our own success”.

Berkeley is an example of this, as last year he placed second in the motion graphic category of The Rookies, a global competition for young designers, creators, innovators, and artists. It is hailed as the “Oscars for young creative minds”.

“This win allowed me to spearhead my college, the Savannah College of Art & Design, to win the title of School of The Year in motion graphics for our overall dominance in the category,” Berkeley told Sunday Newsday.

Also last year, he worked at Apple in California as a motion graphic designer on a productivity design team, which he sees as a stepping stone.

“My career goal is to tell compelling visual stories through design that is thought-provoking with the intent of positive human development.” Berkeley said he tries to spread his learning as wide as possible to equip himself for projects that require different design and animation techniques.

“This means I try not to get too comfortable in one style for too long. I can certainly say my comfort zone is 2D graphic illustration and animation, and it’s a medium I find very easy to communicate visually with. But I’m aspiring to be a creative director, and therefore I put a lot of critical thought behind the message in my work and how the design elements follow suit.” He wants his work to inspire the best in people.

“Though the actual projects I work on may not be directly affiliated with my faith, the principle of what I live by is what I want to communicate through my work: ethics, diligence, partnership, humility, etc. Professionally, my ultimate goal is to be a creative director spearheading my own team of creatives. Through my work, I want to empower people’s lives positively, even though it might be something as commercial as a TV show package, or a movie title sequence.” Berkley sees what he does as a calling.

“Success for me has been doing what I’m called to do, and with that in mind I think I feel successful.

I’m fortunate enough to do something I enjoy - an opportunity many people do not get - and it has inspired other young professionals to see that all that life has to offer isn’t all within making the popular decisions, but having faith in what you believe you’re truly called to do. I hope that I continue to positively shine for others so that God’s will inside my life would be noticed.” His advice to aspiring creative designers is to believe that can accomplish their goals despite challenges locally.

“There certainly are many options within our local industry.

However, the thing that hinders us from discovering these options is ‘discoverability’ itself. I want to show young people that we do have options, that the world is smaller than we think and that we can choose to follow something we’re passionate about rather than what pays the most, or what seems most popular – redefining what a successful and ethical career can be.” Berkeley plans on living in the US to build his network, learn as much as he can, then return to Trinidad to either work as a freelancer, to teach as a professor or open a studio and be a creative director.