Kellogg Community College graduate Sara Way is well on her way to turning her passions into a career.
Way, 20, finished up her Associate in Applied Science in Graphic Design degree at Kellogg Community College this year and plans to study advertising at Western Michigan University this fall. She hopes to combine her studies with another of her passions: rock climbing.
Her ultimate goal is to move out west and to work in advertising or social media for a rock climbing company.
“I started getting into rock climbing and realized I wanted it to be more of my life than just a hobby,” Way says. “The nice thing about advertising is that it applies to so many things, so potentially I would be able to incorporate the two.”
A 2016 Harper Creek High School graduate, Way decided to pursue graphic design after dual-enrolling in the Calhoun Area Career Center’s Graphic Communications Technology Program, where she was exposed to creative forms of communication like photography.
Since then, Way has gotten hands-on experience in the field through her job at the Battle Creek Community Foundation, where’s she done Web design, photography, videography and marketing/advertising work.
She’s also done work with BC Vision, a community economic development initiative in Battle Creek, through which she volunteered for KCC’s annual Bruin Boo! Halloween event last fall. Way said it’s nice that KCC draws the whole community together through such events, not just college students.
“For some kids it was the first time they were seeing a college campus,” Way says. “Now they know what it looks like and it’s in their minds when they go to graduate.”
Over the past two years at KCC, Way says she’s gained more than just an education. She’s also made many friends with students, faculty and community members alike.
“Within the Graphic Design Program, I had so many similar classes with the same people, it was almost like a little family,” Way says. “We would make jokes and had humor that I don’t think would have happened in a larger class size because we all knew each other and worked well with each other.”
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