The number one thing we hear from entrepreneurs and artists and creatives when we ask them about their education is about how irrelevant it was to their story. Sure, some folks had wonderful educational experiences, but for many their experiences left them feeling ill prepared for life and their careers. So, we wanted to create a space for folks to share their experiences and ideas for how we can improve our educational system.

Erica Whitley

One of the biggest changes I would make to design education is incorporating lessons on negotiating value and pricing for client work. While there’s a strong emphasis on building portfolios and mastering design tools, there’s often little guidance on interviewing, freelancing, and setting fair rates. I remember landing a freelance logo design gig in college and asking my professor about pricing—he told me he would’ve charged more, but I had no idea how to determine my worth in the first place. A course dedicated to real-world, post-college scenarios like this would better equip students for their careers. Read more>>

Kelsey Sorenson

I think the biggest thing I would change about the education system (especially on a upper/collegiate level) is really helping students to know and understand that success is not linear, and you don’t have to choose between things that you love.
Let me start by telling my own story and why I feel so passionate about this.
I went to college to be a dance major. As I went through high school I never really questioned what I wanted to do in college, I just knew I wanted to dance and make that my career. While of course it wasn’t perfect, all in all, I really enjoyed my time in college and learned so much about dance, career choices, and about myself. Read more>>

Calla Lily Rainwater

I believe one of the biggest shifts we need in the education system is moving away from viewing a four-year college degree as the ‘only’ pathway to success. While higher education can be valuable in many fields, there are plenty of career paths where hands-on, direct experience and training are far more effective at building relevant skills. By reinvigorating trade programs, apprenticeships, and real-world internships, we’d give students the chance to learn by doing, rather than spending years in a classroom without practical application. Read more>>

Kalen Olson

While the education system teaches essential skills like reading, writing, and mathematics, nurturing a student’s innate gifts can be one of the greatest contributions to learning itself.

Helping people connect with and live from their natural talents is something I’m passionate about—something I first discovered while teaching in the classroom.

Too often, we separate students from their gifts, both in school and at home. The artist sketching in the margins of their notebook, the budding geologist digging in the backyard—these are powerful curiosities, ways of engaging with the world that deserve to be encouraged, not overlooked. Read more>>