Meghan Stewart knew what she wanted to be since she was in kindergarten. Growing up with a father who was both a graphic designer and an oil painter, and having an encouraging art teacher in high school only added to her passion for art.
"It's all I ever wanted to do," Stewart said.
Stewart graduated from Auburn with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in December. Soon after graduation, she got a job at a church in Birmingham.
During her years in Auburn, Stewart said many of her friends believed her major didn't require much work.
"I would say a lot of people think you don't have to dedicate a lot of time. My friends seemed to think it was an easy major," Stewart said.
Stewart added that she didn't necessarily believe her major was difficult, but instead one that was quite time consuming.
"There are a lot of studio hours required outside of your normal class time--sometimes 20 to 25 hours a week extra you had to come and put in time," said Stewart.
On top of all that, she said there was the constant pressure to be creative, which can be difficult for anyone.
Stewart now works for the Dawson Memorial Baptist Church in Birmingham as an administrative assistant to the minister.
"I do a lot of busy work, but they don't really have a graphic designer in house, so I do some design," Stewart said. "It's fun that I get to do some graphic design."
Stewart also said she is able to apply many of the compositional skills she learned while at Auburn to her job now.
She also loves the environment she works in. "I really like working for a church," Stewart said. "That's one of my favorite things, and I like that I'm getting to use some art."
While there are job options open to those with a degree in art, Stewart said she believes it is necessary to attend graduate school to really succeed, which is something she also plans to do in the future.
"You pretty much have to go to grad school," she said. "I think some might argue with that, but I've found out that there are not a lot of jobs unless you go to grad school."
Stewart thought for a while about attending graduate school for education so that she could later teach art.
"I might go to grad school for art and be a college professor; so there are options," Stewart said.
Additionally, Stewart said she knows who of her fellow graduates currently have jobs.
"Out of those people, I think I'm the closest to actually doing art," Stewart said.
As for students still majoring in art at Auburn, she has some advice.
"I would say be prepared for what the job field is like," Stewart said. "I wish someone had told me. Be looking for jobs and realize you probably have to go to grad school and it just might take some time to really get into your field."
She said that an art major is much different from other majors--there's not an exact track laid out, and that while the job might be harder to find, it will be worth it in the end.
"All my professors said that you'll get there, but it's just not immediate like other majors," Stewart said.
Stewart has set her sights on graduate school within the next two years.
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