Jenna Vandenberg: Outstanding Graduate, School of Art + Design

May 29, 2019

After graduating this spring with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design from San Diego State University’s School of Art + Design, Chelsea Jenna Vandenberg hopes to work as a freelance designer specializing in creating stationery, packaging, brand identities, and hand-lettered products. She also hopes to launch an online, retail store in which to sell her designs.

During her time at SDSU, Vandenberg interned with a National City-based planner and the stationery company called Passion Planner. At Passion Planner, Vandenberg took on a myriad of responsibilities including assisting with social media, online content creation and working alongside the marketing team in the areas of product advertisement, prototyping, and photo editing.

Participating in an internship program provided Vandenberg a valuable opportunity for personal and professional growth. “I learned the importance of effective time-management, how to work cohesively as a team, as well as owning and expressing my individual talents,” said Vandenberg.

Vandenberg also overcame the difficult challenge of finding her “personal niche and style.”

“I knew I wanted to do art and design but I had no idea how to define and individuate myself,” said Vandenberg.

Vandenberg is proud of the endurance, perseverance, and persistence she demonstrated while at SDSU. She spent countless hours and late nights working on design projects with tight deadlines, requiring multiple design variations and revisions. She’d like people to remember how she always went above and beyond expectations to get the job done. More importantly, said Vandenberg, she’d like to be recognized for her “passion for design and stationery products” and for her “personal self-expression.”

The content within this article has been edited by Lizbeth Persons.

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