Concord Graduate on Achieving Your Dreams

The belief goes that to achieve something big you first need to have a dream or a passion. Daria Nikolaeva, Russian, who graduated from Concord University in 2015 double-majoring in Studio Art and Graphic Design, just started her first semester at Boston University. She is pursuing her MA in Graphic Design and following her passion for art. The long journey to studying at the University of her dream started when she came to Concord to see friends; she snuck into a typography class and fell in love. She talked to Jack Sheffler [Chair of the Division of Fine Arts] and transferred from the Russian university that she was attending to Concord, changing her major from Advertising to Graphic Design. “When I just started my classes, I often did two versions of my homework. I just couldn’t do one, I had more ideas and I tried to do them all. When I enrolled into Honors Program, I just kept working at two projects at the same time for my classes”, says Daria, “The more you do, the more you think, the more you develop yourself”.

    She fell in love with Boston when she first traveled there with a friend. To live in the city of her dream, she applied to Boston University before graduating from Concord. Last year, their Graphic Design program was recognized to be the best in the U.S. They kept her on a waiting list till summer before they told her she that wasn’t admitted. So, she just got her Optional Practical Training Visa (visa allowing international students to work after graduation for 1-3 years) and moved to Boston, having no internship, but a strong desire to make it happen. It was hard at first – she worked two jobs and constantly looked for a better opening. When she got a full time job at ISO Developers as a graphic designer, she could relax a little. Daria reapplied for Boston University again in February 2016 and the same day the application submission was over she received an email saying she was admitted. “I was squealing with delight in the office when I got it”, Daria smiles.

    The truth is, though, she didn’t rework her portfolio after the first refusal. “When I applied the first time the senior show wasn’t over, so I didn’t send them works from it”, she says. “The second time I sent them my senior show works and they loved it. They just wanted to see something more dramatic than a class work”. Daria says achieving this dream wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be, “I learned everything at Concord. I just did all my homework”. She says that “to achieve your dream you should just work, and work, and work. And really want it. Even if sometimes you are not sure what you want, you should keep going, because you are going to get somewhere anyway”. However, it is important to understand that having a dream doesn’t necessary mean wanting to change the world or become famous. “If you dream to live all your life in Athens, West Virginia, there is no problem with that. You just should never stop developing yourself. Let’s take Kevin [Kevin Bennington, Assistant Professor of Art at Concord University]. His professional level is very high. His classes’ requirements are as hard as my professors at Boston. You don’t have to leave the place you love for a big dream, because that could be your big dream. But if you feel like you want to leave - then leave. Take a risk”. She adds that the trick for anyone who wants to achieve professional success is to trust professors, because they always are only trying to help and never mean any harm.