Seven students stepped into the role of career ambassadors for the College of Visual and Performing Arts’ (VPA) Office of Academic and Career Advising program’s inaugural year.
Career ambassadors are current VPA students who serve as leaders at career events, assist with social media ideas, moderate panel discussions at events, and receive one-on-one mentoring from a member of the college’s career services team.
The ambassadors’ backgrounds vary, representative of the School of Design; Department of Communication and Rhetorical Studies; Rose, Jules R. and Stanford S. Setnor School of Music; School of Art; and Department of Film and Media Arts.
Ambassadors’ academic pursuits reach beyond VPA to incorporate other disciplines into the arts. Talia Metcalf ’26 combines a passion for art with an interest in the human mind, majoring in illustration and psychology.
“I was drawn to illustration because I love the idea of being able to make art that tells a story,” Metcalf says. “Psychology also interests me because I want to know more about how humans work and interact with others.”
Each career ambassador walks a unique path. Jiuzhen Deng ’24, an industrial and interaction design major, found study abroad helpful to understand other perspectives in design. Others use University-available tools, like LinkedIn Learning or Adobe software, to advance in their field.
The VPA community itself provides an invaluable resource. “Our fellow peers and classmates are the best resources we know,” says computer art and animation major Sara Aparicio ’26. “Being able to share knowledge among one another is the key to success.”
In addition to Aparicio, Deng, and Metcalf, the career ambassadors include music industry major Bridget Baker ’26, communications design major Yesmene Chikha ’25, communication and rhetorical studies/English and textual studies double major Alex Milchovich ’26, and industrial and interaction design major Xinyi Wang ’24.