Communication major Diamara Pagan has always had a passion for graphic design and wrote in her college essay that she had dreams of one day becoming a designer. While life’s obligations dimmed her passion for a while, the rising senior has found her spark again here at Mitchell College, putting her on track to pursue the career of her dreams.
“I live a very hectic life outside of school and part of me lost my passion for design,” Diamara said. “I am a full-time student, work a full-time job, and keep watch over my little sister.”
Her desire to pursue a creative job was reignited, however, through a spring semester internship with Dream In Color Marketing.
“I knew I wanted to do an internship in graphic design and reached out to Paul Dunn for help. I had not taken a graphic design class since high school, so it was hard to find one that would take me as a graphic designer. But we persisted. Paul walked me through the process of creating a new resume, putting together some samples of my work, and sending them off to possible employers. Towards the end of the process, we found the owner of Dream In Color Marketing who was willing to take me remotely.”
Prior to finding and starting work in her internship, Diamara said that she had a few worries.
“I was worried that I would have to sacrifice working in my career of choice for another internship experience. Once I secured my internship, I had so much anxiety that I didn’t have the knowledge to work for Dream In Color Marketing. But I was able to overcome that after a few meetings, and I learned that it’s all about learning new things, informing yourself, and truly listening to the person you work for because you might learn so much from them. The internship was eye-opening.”
Diamara worked 6–8 hours per week, mostly on her own. She met with her supervisor twice a week to discuss expectations for the variety of projects she worked on, including a speaker sheet, a logo, and a workbook template.
“I used examples and notes that I took at my meeting with my supervisor to guide my work, and I looked at her as my ‘client.’ I also researched other work to help inspire me. I also drew on lessons from my communication classes, including Effective Presentations, Organizational Communications, Interpersonal Communication, and Visual Communication. There’s a level of professionalism that you must show in your job and these classes helped me with that.”
In addition to communication skills, Diamara also practiced problem-solving and technology.
“In my work I had to actively use email for communication and know how to ask the right questions to create a perfect product and figure out how to fix something if it wasn’t working right.”
Already proficient in Adobe design products, Diamara was introduced to Canva.
“It is easy and user-friendly and where I did most of my design work. Using it to create something professional and creative made me enjoy my internship experience even more.”
Grateful to have completed an internship using graphic design skills, Diamara looks forward to the future.
“My internship experience was life-changing for me. It brought back my motivation to be creative again after feeling a little lost in my talent. I look forward to pursuing life as a junior graphic designer after college and working my way up from there.”
She attributes the support at Mitchell for helping set her up for success after she graduates.
“There is such a strong sense of community here, hands-on professors, and motivational support from everyone around you. The faculty and staff are very adamant about helping you achieve success. My writing has gotten better, and I have learned how to be successful in interviews. Mitchell College has also shown me not to be afraid of what comes next because my decisions are meant to be learned from, not avoided. The skills and intelligence I can expand on will bring me to greater heights in my life. It makes me feel positive about my future!”
