Exploring Her Options
Since she was a toddler, Kristin Powers loved to doodle. And while art was always her favorite class, she imagined she would one day become a veterinarian—or perhaps a marine biologist.
But in 2001, Kristin enrolled in the Summer Pre-College Program for High School Students at the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University.
"By the time I completed the 5-week course, I knew what I was going to be. A graphic artist."
But she had another agenda brewing in the back of her mind. Inspired by the tragedy and the heroism she saw on 9/11, and a growing desire to serve her country, Kristin began to think about a career in the Air Force. That idea took hold in her sophomore year at Suffolk.
"I fell in love with a couple of courses in my core curriculum—German and Government. I didn’t expect that. But it made me wonder what value graphic arts would have to an officer in the Air Force. It was just a huge disconnect. It was kind of scary."
At mid-year, she changed to a major in German and a minor in International Affairs. In her junior year she signed up for ROTC through Suffolk at Boston University. By her senior year, Kristin’s primary focus, and her major, was in International Affairs. "I figured that would be great preparation for a career in the Air Force. I thought I was all set, until I realized that the Officer Corps just wasn’t what I expected
"I started thinking I could accomplish more if I went to graduate school, and prepared myself for a career in diplomacy. I was weighing all the options. Becoming a Foreign Service Officer in the State Department. Or maybe a civilian advisor in military intelligence. But I had plenty of time to make up my mind. The one thing that never occurred to me—not then, anyway—was changing my mind entirely.”
That’s exactly what she did. A combination of events—a growing propensity to doodle in the margins of her notebooks during classes and a chance conversation with Sarah Medina in the Creative Services Department, where Kristin was a work-study student—made her realize how much she missed her artwork.
Kristin had to postpone graduation to transfer back to the School of Art and Design, so she could catch up on her graphic arts requirements, but she knew it was the right choice, and she has no regrets.
"I got to stay an extra year at Suffolk. Most kids, when they’re seniors, can only wish for that. And I’m back doing what I’ve always enjoyed, and loving it more than ever.
"I think the choices I’ve had at Suffolk made it possible to try different things... really different things. I’ve had the chance to move in different directions, and learn things I never would have learned. I got to try them. To experiment. And ten years from now, I won’t have to look back and say, I wish I did that, or I wish I did this... I got to do it all."