We asked some of the brightest folks from within the community to reflect back on their days in school and to share with us a story of when they learned a particularly important or impactful lesson. We’ve shared highlights below.
Kelly Tenkely
In my educational journey, I encountered numerous structures in school that, while well-intentioned, often conveyed unintended and limiting messages. Some of the structures and the connected messages I got in my school experience were: Read more>>
Kalisha Price
In college (and even post college), I learned a crucial lesson about the power of pivoting. I was a senior at Parsons in New York City, deeply immersed in a design project, passionately following a concept for a womenswear collection for my senior final. However, as the project unfolded, unforeseen challenges arose, time was running out, the fabric I planned to use was no longer available, and the initial approach proved impractical. Read more>>
Colin Helm
The most important lessons I learned in college was scheduling, organization, and project management. When you start a company, you will need to wear a wide range of different hats to have any chance at success. Whether it be managing finances, selling your concept to investors, selling a future project to potential clients, project management, and marketing. Read more>>
Tina Mai
No matter how much you think you know, you will always learn more. In my senior year of high school, I had taken up the role of being editor-in-chief for journalism class; at this time, I had taken three years of journalism going into my fourth, and becoming editor-in-chief was the upmost position that any student could get. Read more>>
Caiti Sullivan
I completed my Bachelor’s thesis in installation sculpture; a fine art field that could include any manner of artmaking including painting, woodworking, photography, videography, printmaking, etc, etc. I had a few wonderful professors who encouraged me to be open-minded to learning new skills, mediums, and disciplines. Read more>>
Dr. Natasha Patterson
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to value the village and cultivate it over time. From a young age, I noticed that there were some adults who were doing great things and I wanted to be next to them. I was inspired by them. I doubt if any of them knew how closely I watched them. Read more>>