Pairing a business savvy with a creative mindset, I think is one of the most potent tools for success.

Entrepreneurial studies in art and design prepare students to be, you know, really leaders when they graduate. But then we also provide students with a lot of resources in this course. We talk about things like how artists right now in the field, who are making a living selling their work. We examine how they're doing that, what their workflow looks like. Entrepreneurial studies is important right now, because of the different ways in which marketplaces have opened up, and allowed artists to connect directly to their audience.

Skills specific to starting a small business, they can be applied to many areas of life as you enter the workforce as an artist. Those skills can be applied to getting a job working for somebody else, or just entering the workforce in general. I currently have an internship with a small business in the area, who does branding for local small businesses also. And as part of that internship, I've gained first hand experience into dealing with clients and client meetings, managing client relations or managing projects, or even employees. I've gotten to see how my boss does payroll and how she decides when to take on clients and that kind of thing.

If you instill students with those, you know, ideas of creative business savvy, you know, in their undergrad years, I think they're going to be well suited for the next, you know, few decades to be able to accomplish their dreams and goals through art school.