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MICA

anniversary

Today, January 14, 2020, marks 1-year of being employed at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) 🥳

This year flew by, and I spent some time reflecting what transpired, what I learned, and some milestones that happened.

For context, this is the third full-time job I’ve had post-college (circa 2006), and from 2016 - 2018 I was consulting + working from home as a brand and marketing strategist for people and organizations in the wellness, tech, startup, retail, government, HR, and supply chain industries.

What I learned & experienced:


  • Directing and leading the marketing, advertising, and brand direction of the Office of Open Studies has engaged more brain muscles than in years past, which means that I continuously have to synthesize a ton of information, to make informed decisions - quickly.

  • Stability & structure feels great. For a free-flowing libra, the thought of having a structure coming off a 3-year work-from-home lifestyle actually made me nervous, but little did I know this was precisely what I needed. Also, knowing I’ll have a paycheck every two weeks, and have generous health and employee benefits definitely eased anxieties I’ve had previously and provides brain space to work on other fun & meaningful side-projects. This opportunity is not lost on me.

  • It’s refreshing and motivating to work with an agency that speaks my language. Shoutout to Mission Media. They push me to be better and to share my big, bold & crazy ideas.

  • I am constantly in awe and inspired by student & alumni work. Deyane Moses, Morel Doucet, Stephanie Bulante, and Sara Hagstrom, and Zoe (a 5th grader in our YPS program!) to name a few.

  • Recruiting and encouraging young people (K-12) to participate in programs, providing scholarship opportunities, and reviewing said applications is extremely hard. Factoring in and running in to the difficulties of the education system in Baltimore, transportation issues, housing issues, etc. Every policy that fails to create & provide equality and justice for our most vulnerable communities is connected and it’s a constant reminder that it is my duty to help reduce barriers for students to experience quality art & design education.

  • I work with some of the smartest and hard-working folks in the higher-ed, research & policy, and creative space, and feel incredibly lucky + grateful.

  • I also realize that I also work in a museum, with exhibitions constantly in rotation throughout the year. If I ever feel the need to get out of the office and go for a walk on campus, I’m more than likely to see new art displayed.

  • Deciding which art & design events to attend, and ultimately saying no to talks, discussions, and gallery openings is really, really hard.

  • The need to continue to level up in this career is ever more present, so I’m keeping my eyes and ears open for an executive coach with a focus in the higher-ed and/or marketing space… is that you? :)

Milestones in year one:

This year also challenged me in more ways than one. I had to learn & re-learn ways to stay in productive flow, how to stop doing work after 5p, how to balance a social life, get over imposter syndrome, speak up during meetings to challenge ideas & implement new ways of thinking and doing work with our communities, and constantly remind myself that I am the best fit person to be in this role at this institution.

All that to say, I am extremely excited for what’s ahead and I feel like I haven’t even scratched the surface.