Graduating Design Student Ready to Tackle Tech Industry

Jailyn Easley Landed Career Opportunities Through Strong Connections to Professors

MEDIA CONTACT: Damita Chambers, dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 (mobile)

(BOWIE, Md.) – As she prepares for graduation next week, Jailyn Easley knows that her strong connections with her “gem” Bowie State University professors enabled her to take advantage of professional opportunities of her dreams.

This spring, she was one of 99 students from historically black colleges and universities selected for HBCU@SXSW, an initiative designed to expose them to the technology world by sending them to the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference in Austin, Texas, a technology conference that attracts close to 100,000 attendees annually.

“Bowie State has prepared me to move on to the next level,” said the visual communication and digital media arts (VCDMA) major.

Easley is one of about 600 students who will graduate at the Spring Commencement on Tuesday, May 23, starting at 10 a.m. at the Xfinity Center in College Park. President Mickey L. Burnim will address the graduates and their families. Watch the ceremony live online.

Because of the guidance she received from her professors, who are actively involved in their fields, Easley maximized her opportunities to network at SXSW with representatives from some of the industry’s top firms, including Google.

“My professors are constantly sending out internship information and critiquing us to make sure we are the most competitive amongst ourselves before we step out into the world of design,” she said.

This semester, she landed an internship at the National Association of Counties in Washington, D.C., and continued to gain real-world experience in her field. Because of her experience at SXSW, Easley is considering a career that would combine her love for graphic design with the technology industry.

Now, she’s prepared for the next step in her life: pursuing a Masters of Fine Arts degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design.

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