In high school, Ivonne Perez (BFA '19) thought she might become a doctor. Her high school offered a specialized medical track and she liked the idea of caring for people, but she found herself distracted.

“I did like it but I didn’t see myself doing it my whole life,” Perez said. “Instead of writing notes I would be drawing with colored pencils and I was much happier doing that.”

Unsure of her path, Perez enrolled in community college as a biology major. Her family was supportive of her artistic endeavors, as a hobby.

“I have been doing art all my life, but I come from an immigrant family who wanted me to get a practical job,” she said.

But after two weeks, Perez knew she needed a change and switched to studio art. Her family still hoped she’d study nursing or another more traditional career trajectory but Perez needed art in her life.

A professor saw Perez’s talent and encouraged her to continue studying after getting her Associate’s degree in studio art.

She chose PAFA for the Foundation Year curriculum.

“I was very interested in figurative work because while I knew how to draw I didn’t know how to draw people,” Perez said “I knew the first year was going to be really based on learning to draw and relearning the basics again.”

In their first year, students develop a solid foundation in traditional skills. They gain functional competence with visual organization in two- and three-dimensional forms, study color theory, and hone their abilities in drawing. They learn to observe closely and understand light, form, space and human anatomy.

Not that it was an easy first year for Perez and her classmates.

“I want to tell kids who are coming in that it’s gonna be really rough. I saw a lot of kids who were overwhelmed,” she said. “But for me, I worked so hard to get here. I had to fight really hard and I was going to push through and get this done.”

Now in her third year, Perez is studying illustration. She balances a full course load of art classes with learning how to make a career as an artist. The Professional Practices class with Illustration Department chair Jessica Abel helps students prepare for the professional working world.

In the class students learn how to promote themselves and work with agents, agencies, publishing houses, set up a business, deadlines, contracts, editors and legal aspects of the field and develop appropriate outlets for their portfolios.

“Jessica wants to make sure we’re prepared to go out into the world and know that we’re going to have to work hard to make it,” Perez said. “She kind of gives us this little tool box to say: this is where you can start, this is how to control your money, and how to save money for taxes. I’m thankful she’s doing it.”

Perez plans to use the art education and business skills she’s learning at PAFA to work in publishing after she graduates. She has always been drawn to narrative storytelling.

“I think I want to write a book or do illustration projects and editorials,” she said. “It’s about looking for a job, searching for it and letting people know you’re here and willing to do work.”