Prattfolio connected with the members of Pratt’s Young Alumni Leadership Group, a program of Pratt Alumni Engagement, to talk about where they landed after Pratt, changing paths, and what’s energizing them now. Deepa Shanbhag, BFA Communications Design ’13, says she’s used her degree in ways she didn’t expect, and has expanded her view of what being a creative means.
What was your first job after graduation from Pratt?
My first professional job after graduating was as a freelance designer in the marketing department of LOFT. I had struggled for over a year to get a design job (I wanted to work at a magazine) so I was excited to be in the industry, putting my degree to use in a way I didn’t predict but was ultimately prepared for, thanks to Pratt.
What’s your favorite part of the work you’re doing now?
My work now is centered around joy vs. leveling up a specific career track. I’m still a creative within marketing, but after an unforeseen layoff a couple of years ago from a job I loved, I decided to reprioritize and protect things I really care about. This has led to freelancing as a designer, returning to teaching, and making time to study a new industry with the aim to pivot at some point. I still have career goals, but I’ve let go of the idea that there’s only one way to achieve them.
Is there an experience you had at Pratt that prepared you especially well for your career?
The biggest takeaway from Pratt for me was the ability to be scrappy. I was challenged to make my big dreams a reality with a minimal budget and developing skill set. Learning that skill so young helped as I grew within my career. Instead of seeing something as impossible right away, I can break down a task into approachable chunks and assess potential success based on resources on hand.
What’s a great piece of job advice you’ve received? What advice do you have for a student about to enter their next chapter, work after graduation?
The best career advice I’ve ever received was to never ask for PTO. Tell your manager these are the times you need off. The act of asking invites someone with different priorities to dictate your time. Telling is still professional and polite. As for advice for a new grad entering the workforce, I always share the following:
1) Being a professional creative allows for flexibility and pivots more than a lot of other professions. Be open to them! Keep learning for fun and not just to have an end goal.
2) Do good work and don’t be a jerk. While most won’t remember every aspect of your portfolio, they will remember what you’re like to be around. You don’t have to be extroverted or especially social. It’s more about listening and meeting deadlines and making clients and coworkers feel heard.
What’s inspiring you now? For the past year I’ve been learning about the film and TV industry through one-off workshops, courses, and discussions with professionals in the industry. I love being a student again. I structured my time at Pratt and most of my career around a narrow definition of success, which limited my education and prevented me from maximizing all Pratt had to offer. While I’ve been fortunate to make a living doing what I love, I wasn’t as prepared for curveballs and briefly lost my desire to create. Now I’m energized, and instead of seeing what I’m doing and what I’m studying as separate things, I view it all as part of being creative.