“I can remember learning how to button a button and zip a zipper in that big house that really did feel like a home." -Justinian Difo, Red Oaks alumnus

In a world where art and technology are becoming more and more intertwined, those who have expertise and passion for both areas are prime candidates for fulfilling, dynamic careers. Justinian Difo is one of those lucky people who was able to take his interest in film and combine it with his expertise in IT to build a career where he enjoys the best of both worlds. After completing high school at Westtown, a small Quaker boarding school in Pennsylvania, Justinian attended the Art Institute of Philadelphia where he focused on Painting and Digital Film and Video Production. Throughout college and after graduation, Justinian worked on short films, feature films, sports videography and commercial video shoots. After a few years, joining a union was an inevitable next step, but instead, Justinian decided to pivot to a career in Information Technology. Now he works as the Network Administrator for Music Choice, a service that provides music channels and video content to cable providers. In this endeavor, not only does Justinian get to keep one foot in the creative industry, he also gets to use his film background shooting interviews and operating cameras for the service’s video production needs. “It’s the perfect combination of logical and creative,” Justinian explains. “It’s everything I love to do.”

Justinian recalls his time at Red Oaks fondly both for the practical lessons and the guiding principles he learned there. “I can remember learning how to button a button and zip a zipper in that big house that really did feel like a home,” he shares. “The idea that everyone was different, but we were all equal and the open mindedness there set the stage for the principles of the school I would attend later, and those have really stayed with me and guided me throughout my life.”