Art and Design Foundation

Graduate, 2013

Graphic Design

Graduate, 2016

The journey Vicky took that led her to the School of Design at George Brown College started more than five years ago while she was studying Geographic Analysis at another university.

At first, she loved designing maps, but gradually came to realize that the data management part was leaving her unfulfilled and unhappy but not the design part.

She found her way to George Brown College to find out more about design and started learning the basics in Art and Design Foundation and loved it!

In one year, she saw how design could open up possibilities for the future and took the next step by enrolling in the three-year Graphic Design program.

She knew she was going in the right direction, but it wasn’t easy when insecurities and self-doubts from her university days began to resurface.

In time, Vicki saw that the path she had chosen at the School of Design was going to take her places she hadn't known existed and her future would hold so many opportunities for personal growth.

She credits great teachers who treated her like a person, and not just a number. Vicki says: "They encouraged me and fairly critiqued my work when it was bad and praised it when it was good. Hearing you nailed it, showed me that I did have the potential to take on this path to a career!"

It didn’t take her long to see what great aptitude George Brown College had unlocked for her, when one day in her second-year, she stood in front of fellow students, professors and real clients to pitch a design idea for a well-known, local community-based charitable organization.

As Vicki recalls: "Five years ago, my anxiety issues were so severe I would never have taken a course where I would have had to speak publicly. I realized this journey had taken me to a place where this wasn’t just about school anymore. This was about me in a position that I fought for, where I’m working for real clients and I’m not only capable, but worthy of doing a good job!"

As a graduate, she is ready to take the next step on her journey and be passionate about how she designs. To find out what excites, invigorates and empowers her and be a stronger person along the way.