Parisian Phoenix Publishing

As our local community college finishes up its spring semester, professors there invited me to participate in two different areas. I spoke to Laurel Wenson‘s self-publishing class and I served as an evaluator/employer at the Communication Design Portfolio Review, which is a capstone experience for students completing any of the design programs.

I spoke with ten different students on Tuesday as part of the Communication Design Portfolio Review and started each conversation with, “Tell me about yourself, your passions and your career goals.”

Some looked at me like a deer in headlights– and I quickly explained this would help me give better feedback. If someone is an animator, it makes no sense for me to spend time talking about book design.

I found some truly talented and dynamic designers and had some great conversations.

The week earlier, I spoke to Laurel’s class. The hour went so fast that I felt I didn’t have enough time to answer all the questions asked of me. But, good news is no one had time to get bored!

What’s great about small community colleges like Northampton is that they offering an economical stepping stone for people looking to better themselves, for career, for knowledge, for skills. Different schools have different strengths.

From what I’ve seen at Northampton, they try to stay connected to the community needs, marketing as much to what employers need as to what students need. Northampton Community College options for special classes, certifications and associate’s degrees in areas that connect with not only student goals but also what local industry is looking for.