Ashley Piasecki — College of Visual and Performing Arts

Ashley Piasecki is an example of how the path to career success is rarely a straight shot.

She enrolled as an art student four years ago, in part because she didn’t want to follow the pack. Everyone she knew was going to study business. She wanted to do something different. So she chose to pursue her passion and majored in art.

On an internship this past year, Ashley helped artisans in Mexico better marekt their wares.

When it came time to select classes to fulfill her foreign language requirement, her desire to take the road less traveled manifest itself again. Everyone she knew was taking Spanish, so she chose Italian, figuring it might come in handy in her art history classes.

What happened next? Not surprisingly, something different than what you might expect.

Examining what she liked about her summer jobs, she realized that she was pretty good at tasks related to marketing and promotions….so she took a couple of business classes, and she graduatef with a minor in marketing.

Through the College of Business, she also landed an internship…in Mexico (where they speak Spanish, not Italian, by the way) where she got to work with local artisans to help them more effectively market their wares.

The trip opened her eyes – and her mind. She says that the experience helped her realize that she could create a job for herself that was meaningful.

She hatched an idea that will allow her to combine her passion for art with her head for business. It will allow her to work on behalf of talented artists wherever they may be. One of her first clients, she says, will be her father, a talented artist who was among the first to cultivate her love of art.

With Victor E. Huskie at a football game.

Without giving too much away, she envisions something along the lines of an Auto Trader-type website for people looking to update their homes with original art, but who have no idea where to start.

Of course, based upon her history, it could end up being something very different. One thing is for certain, whatever the final product it will be fully invested with her passion for both art and business.