Full Sail Stories

When Daniel Miliszewski left active duty after five years in the Army with the 82nd Airborne, he wasn’t fully sure what came next – only that it was time for a change.

“I wasn’t prepared for college right off the bat,” he says about his early experience with higher education. “Going to the military was something I always wanted to do… and it ended up being one of the best decisions I made.”

With his GI Bill benefits available and a new perspective guiding him, Daniel returned home, finished his undergraduate degree, and began adjusting to civilian life. That period included four years working at Chicago’s iconic tavern, Butch McGuire’s. “It was like another family. It kind of felt like how I was in the military, where everyone was really close,” he says. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the instability of bar work pushed him to rethink his path.

A friend suggested he go back to school – fueling a direction sparked by a spontaneous creative project. One night, Daniel recorded a Sea of Thieves LAN party with friends and decided to edit the footage. “I just downloaded some software… and I fell in love with it,” he says.

He enrolled in Full Sail’s Film bachelor’s program, opting to attend on campus.

“Remote learning is not for me. I'm more hands-on. I’ve got to be there,” he says.

Once in the program, Daniel explored every role he could – directing, producing, AD work – but it was behind-the-scenes photography that stuck. Photography quickly became the skill he “never put the camera down” from.

As he approached graduation, Daniel realized he needed business knowledge to match his creative abilities. That led him to pursue his master’s degree in Entertainment Business.

“I picked Entertainment Business because I enjoy management. If I'm going into photography and what I ultimately want to do is make films, I'm going to have to be reliant on myself,” he says.

The program gave him the structure and confidence to launch his own freelance company, teaching him the financial, managerial, and client-facing skills needed to build a sustainable creative career.

Throughout his Full Sail journey, the Military Student Success Center was a cornerstone of community and support.

“I encourage everyone who's a veteran to go there… The people that work there are great. They help you in every single way that they can,” he says. It also expanded his network: “The networking… was very helpful at the VSU. I made really good connections.”

Today, Daniel works full-time as an event and convention photographer, running his own LLC and collaborating with business clients across the country. Much of his work comes through CNTV, a company that sends him to conventions, trade shows, and special events nationwide. “I have my own company and do freelance photography. It's mostly business-to-business.”

His assignments rotate between corporate gatherings, industry expos, private galas, and city-to-city travel – offering him a front-row seat to moments and environments he never expected to document professionally. “It affords me a lot of interesting things to see.” And with every new assignment, the scale and variety of his work continues to grow.

One standout opportunity took him to Washington, D.C., where he photographed the Auto Care Association’s lobbying efforts for the right to repair. He captured groups in front of the Capitol, shadowed representatives through legislative buildings, and even received unexpected access. “We walked through the tunnel to the Capitol building… I was just walking around the Capitol building a little bit with this visitor’s badge.”

While photographing in a hallway, “someone was walking by who was giving a tour… he pointed to me, and he's like, ‘And then there's media over here.’ And I was like, ‘Wait. What?’” It was the affirmation he didn’t realize he needed.

Daniel's advice for current students is straightforward: “When you find out what you want to do… you have to go all out, and you need to utilize all your resources. Full Sail is an amazing start.”