by Hannah Holden, BFA Writing ’14

Prattfolio asked recent alumni for the playbook that got them to the next level. Find out how they navigated challenges, what skills they relied on, and the pro tips they wish they’d known from the start. Explore their Q&As to learn from their journeys.

Headshot of Catherine Chattergoon against a yellow background. Catherine has curly hair and smiles at the camera. She is wearing a black blazer over a dark top.

Catherine Chattergoon, BArch ’24
Project Team Member, Adjaye Associates

“Your work is not just about big ambitions, but also the daily journey of creation, experimentation, and exploration.” Read more.

Portrait of Suhyeon Lee against a yellow background. Suhyeon smiles, holding a large bouquet of flowers wrapped in white paper. He wears a black T-shirt with a design featuring bricks and abstract shapes.

Suhyeon Lee, BFA Fine Arts ’24
Visual Artist and B2B Sales Associate
Craver Corporation

“Many creative projects happen because passionate people meet each other. Get out and meet as many people in the city as you can.” Read more. 

Headshot of Jonathan Lin against a yellow background. Jonathan has short black hair and is wearing a white polo shirt.

Jonathan Lin, BFA Communications Design ’25
Founder, New Studio Partners

“Talent matters, but clarity and curiosity will take you much further.” Read more. 

“The pace of the world continues to intensify, and as designers, creators, inventors, and artists, we are compelled to stay ahead.”

Headshot of Julia Martinez against a yellow background. Julia has long dark hair and is wearing a black high-neck top, looking directly at the camera with a neutral expression.

Júlia Martínez, MS Packaging, Identities, and Systems Design ’25
Graphic Designer and Visualizer, OXMAN

“The pace of the world continues to intensify, and as designers, creators, inventors, and artists, we are compelled to stay ahead.” Read more.

Headshot of Ananda Ray against a yellow background. Ananda is smiling and looking at the camera. She has shoulder-length locked hair and wears a light-colored shirt and a checkered blazer.

Ananda Ray, BFA Digital Arts ’24
Associate Creative Technologist at Doner 

“Eventually, something will stick and a door will open. You just have to be ready to walk through it when it does.” Read more. 

Portrait of Leda Tsoutreli against a yellow background. Leda has long, dark hair and stands with her arms crossed, wearing a gray tank top and multiple bracelets and a watch.

“The more you give to your work, the more it gives back.” Read more.  

Headshot of Yvette Yoon against a yellow background. Yvette has long, wavy hair and is looking over her shoulder. She is wearing a white, puffy-sleeved blouse.

Yvette Yoon, BFA Communications Design ’23
Brand Designer at EliseAI

“The more you seek critique and keep expanding what you can execute, the more prepared you’ll be when new opportunities open up.” Read more.

The Early Career Strategy Guide

Read on for tips and ideas from the alumni featured in our story.

To pause animation, click on the image.

Build Your Community, Not Just Your Network

Alumna Catherine Chattergoon stands in a group photo taken from the side with two colleagues in front of large shelves filled with building models.
Pratt alumni in the New York office of Adjaye Associates, left to right: Kazeka Mbekeni, MArch ’25; Pascale Sablan, BArch ’06; and Catherine Chattergoon, BArch ’24. Courtesy of Catherine Chattergoon 

While networking is important, Pratt alumni emphasize building a genuine community of peers, mentors, and collaborators. This community is a vital source of support, inspiration, and opportunity. 

Catherine Chattergoon joined a student organization where she met a fellow alum, Pascale Sablan, an accomplished architect, advocate, and leader. Ananda Ray leaned on The Black Alumni of Pratt and departmental mentors during her job search, while Yvette Yoon’s professor gave her the confidence she needed to land a role at Apple. The advice is clear: invest in relationships, because as artist Suhyeon Lee notes, “Many creative projects happen because passionate people meet each other.”

Treat Your Education as a Laboratory

Your time at Pratt is an opportunity to experiment and connect ideas across disciplines. 

Martinez, wearing a white lab coat, is examining plants in a greenhouse-like lab environment filled with greenery.
Júlia Martinez in the wet lab at OXMAN, 2025. Capsules in the wet lab function as living fragments of ecosystems; advanced growth chambers capable of recreating environments from Earth’s deep past or projecting future worlds. Photo by Nigel Young

Júlia Martinez advises that “design is powerless unless it is grounded in the realities of other disciplines,” stressing the value of exploring science, cinema, and architecture alongside design. This approach prepares you for complex, real-world challenges. Catherine Chattergoon found her most influential project was a multidisciplinary collaboration with NYCHA residents that clarified her career ambitions. Similarly, Yvette Yoon’s experience turning static designs into motion graphics for class projects became a key part of her portfolio that opened new doors.

Develop a Professional Mindset Early

Adopt the perspective of a professional practitioner while you are still a student. This means understanding both the creative and business realities of your field. 

Alumnus Jonathan Lin sits at a table beside a colleague, reaching over to point to their laptop screen.
Courtesy of Jonathan Lin

Suhyeon Lee points out that artists are “essentially small-business entrepreneurs” who must handle everything from production to marketing. He was also surprised to find that the corporate world relies heavily on data and Excel—a practical skill he wished he had learned sooner. For studio founder Jonathan Lin, the key is to shift your thinking from “making what is asked” to “identifying what is needed,” which is the foundation for creating true value for clients.

Master the Art of Articulating Your Work

Having great ideas is not enough; you must be able to communicate their value and intention to others. 

Yvette Yoon’s motion graphics for EliseAI on a billboard in Times Square. Courtesy of Yvette Yoon

Leda Tsoutreli notes that Pratt taught her essential skills like how to write an artist statement and critique work, which are fundamental to a professional practice. Yvette Yoon learned to look beyond a design’s flaws and focus on what it is “trying to communicate,” a shift that still shapes her work today. This skill of telling a compelling story around your work is what Jonathan Lin describes as his primary job: to “create clarity” for clients and his team.

Embrace the Pivot and Stay Adaptable

Almost every alum’s story involves an unexpected turn or a conscious pivot. 

A person wearing glasses and holding a camera is framed by a green rectangle with stats of emotional percentages.
Ananda Ray ’24, ALL EYES ON U, 2025

Ananda Ray successfully transitioned from art into advertising by figuring out how her creative skills could be “applied differently” in the marketing industry. After receiving feedback that he would be effective in art sales, Suhyeon Lee leaned into that strength and launched a new career in a field that felt natural to him. The key is to see your career not as a straight line but as what Catherine Chattergoon calls a “continuous project altered daily,” where you remain open to new directions.

Let a Deeper Purpose Drive Your Practice

A large oil painting features swirling patterns in light green, blue, orange, white, and purple.
Leda Tsoutreli, Playing with Cy, 2025, oil on canvas, 66 x 64 inches. Courtesy of Palo Gallery

A sustainable creative career is often fueled by a strong sense of purpose. For Catherine Chattergoon, this means knowing that art and design have a “fundamental role in change.” This ethos guides her work in creating socially conscious architecture. For Júlia Martinez, a major professional challenge was ensuring her skills were applied meaningfully, advising students to find a role where “what I do and why I do it are aligned.” Even for a fine artist like Leda Tsoutreli, this drive is essential; her advice is to “just paint and make things,” because the commitment to the practice itself is what ultimately yields results.

Designer: Jina Alhenawi
Developer: Douglas Little

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