After establishing a successful career in financial services, culminating as Associate Director of Finance in a large healthcare organization, Xinh Beardmore wasn\u2019t satisfied. It was important work, but to her, balance sheets and fiscal projections didn\u2019t feel like a tangible outcome. She had a growing sense that she wanted to make things, and needed a career that allowed her to express herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to get back to my creative roots and let the artistic side of me come out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those roots went back to her early childhood in the south of Vietnam, where her family lived in a poor rural rice village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy mom says, as a young child, I was gifted with my hands and had an artistic eye.\u201d Her mother reminded her that toys were a luxury in that time and place, but she was always content to draw or use clay dirt to mold miniatures of things that she wanted to play with, like pots and pans for her own kitchenette.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When she was seven years old, her family immigrated to the United States and settled in St. Cloud. Her creative passions continued to flourish in grade school. \u201cI gravitated toward drawing, painting, and ceramics,\u201d Beardmore said. By the time she graduated from St. Cloud Apollo High School, she had earned an art scholarship to the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, she did not pursue an art degree there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor many reasons beyond my true interests, despite the art scholarship that allowed me to attend the College of St. Benedict, I graduated with a degree in accounting,\u201d she said. \u201cI landed a very stable career in finance for 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy yearning to be creative never has subsided,\u201d she said, which is why she began to search for a more hands-on, creatively fulfilling career. On the advice of a career counselor, she checked out the Graphic Design & Production program at Dunwoody College of Technology and attended an Open House shortly before the 2022 fall semester began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She was impressed right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe wide breadth of topics this short, two-year program packed in sold me,\u201d she said. \u201cSo, when I toured Dunwoody and saw their mission statement \u2018Born to Do\u2019, it felt instantly like home.\u201d A personal conversation with Pete Rivard, adjunct professor, further convinced her that this program would help her transition to a new career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With help from Admissions staff to quickly process her enrollment, she was a student just two weeks later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beardmore credits the wide range of technology and tools available to students\u2014from the latest Adobe software, DSLR cameras, CAD table, and laser cutters in the Fabrication Lab\u2014for bringing her creativity to life. Structural Packaging\u2014which focuses on design and production skills for retail packaging\u2014was her favorite part of the program, in part because it involved math.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis class was a good blend of both left-brain and right-brain thinking, which was nice for me, coming from a finance background,\u201d she said. \u201cI love most that it allows you to bring your work into physical form. After a career crunching numbers, it is thrilling to have your work tangibly exist in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beardmore\u2019s drive, skills, and leadership, in and out of the classroom, have stood out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her first year, she held internships at Imagine Group and CBX. In these positions, she experienced real-world production in press operations, estimating, CAD, prepress, and design. In her second year, she chose to devote herself to classwork, and took on leadership of G.R.A.S.S (Graphic Design Student Society). As President, she led successful fundraising efforts to support the organization, promoted its visibility, and mentored her fellow board members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Beardmore was named a 2024 Academic Excellence Award winner for the School of Design. Pam Glander, Assistant Professor in Graphic Design & Production, nominated Beardmore for the award.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cXinh actively assists peers across different cohorts and departments,\u201d Glander noted in her nomination. \u201cAs a non-traditional student forging a new career path, she wholeheartedly embraces her leadership role, generously sharing her knowledge and displaying a commitment to continuous learning and mastery beyond the confines of the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an honor to receive this award,\u201d Beardmore said. \u201cAn external validation (beyond my friends and family) of my belief that I am creative, and that I do belong on this career path.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the final weeks before graduation, Beardmore is putting the final touches on her portfolio and exploring career opportunities. She is especially interested in 3D\/ virtual design, and design for User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX). She has had employment offers, but is carefully reviewing her options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI have never been in a position where I don\u2019t know what my next job is, and the planner in me is terrified, but also thrilled at the possibilities,\u201d she said. \u201cDunwoody marks the turn of a chapter in my life that I never expected to get to. It is the start of something new and brave.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Xinh Beardmore receives Academic Excellence Award for School of Design After establishing a successful career in financial services, culminating as Associate Director of Finance in a large healthcare organization, Xinh Beardmore wasn\u2019t satisfied. It was important work, but to her, balance sheets and fiscal projections didn\u2019t feel like a tangible outcome. She had a growing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[363,178],"tags":[361,314,94],"class_list":["post-7137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-excellence-award","category-student-news","tag-academic-excellence-award","tag-dunwoody-college-of-technology","tag-graphic-design-production"],"yoast_head":"\n