Gary Bulkin said he entered Southwestern College under the cloak of night.

Well, it was a night class, but it sounds cool.

Even so, Bulkin’s telemedia and film students insist he is a source of light.

Bulkin said he enjoys being the guy who throws the switch or lights the fuse.

“Their enthusiasm to make a film, and my enthusiasm to be unbounded and have the freedom to do whatever we wanted to do, became a really good explosion,” he said.

Bulkin was raised in the arts. His father is a drummer father and his mother a dancer. His sisters sing and dance. Switching to filmmaking was a natural, he said, because it is another form of creativity. He has been making documentaries and music videos for 30 years with no plans to stop.

Teaching is also an art, he said, and learning goes two ways.

“I want to learn as much, maybe more than my students,” he said. “I like to be shocked, amazed, and awed by the world around me.”

Class often starts with Bulkin asking students if they have heard anything interesting in the news.

“I love to wake up each day and ask, ‘What is going on?’” he said.

News and current events can inspire art, Bulkin said, because they provide a common framework for society and set the conversational agenda.

Bulkin said he is always looking for his next adventure. Instead of resting on his laurels and showing off his five Emmys and 21 Tellys (Television Awards), his walls are covered by film posters and other art.

“I don’t like to look at those things, they kind of have the reverse effect on me,” he said. “Awards always made me anxious (that I had peaked), but art always calms me down.”

Bulkin said he teaches students to study media and art critically so they can understand the messages. Consuming art is like eating fast food, he said, but understanding art is to be a chef.

Zemn Al-Jaber, vice president of the SWC Film Television and Media Arts Club, said Bulkin encourages students to be the best they can be.

“We’re all so different and diverse, but he takes the time to get to know us,” Al-Jaber said.

Bulkin said he practices “First Five,” whereby professors take five minutes at the beginning of class to talk about the college experience. It can be seen as career counseling or academic counseling, he said..

FTMA Club President Dora Montufar said Bulkin pushes students to think beyond SWC.

“He argues for higher-education and talks about why a college education is important for learning, socializing and meeting others,” she said.

Bulkin said he wants students to become the best version of themselves. Sometimes, he said, they just need encouragement.

“If no one ever said to you,‘Get a Ph.D.’ you may not consider it,” he said. “I say, “Why not?”