In our new Student of the Month feature developed, in partnership with the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation (PGSF), we profile a promising student in a graphic communications or related program. The goal is to raise awareness of graphic communications programs, as well as help students get a “leg up” on entering the industry after graduation. 

This month’s Student of the Month is Sofia Pereda, a student in her fourth year at Clemson University majoring in Graphic Communication. Associate professor Carl Blue, on his nomination form, said of Sofia, “She has consistently demonstrated initiative and professionalism, producing large-scale branded installations for world-class clients, developing innovative instructional content that enhanced student learning, and delivering high-quality design solutions under tight deadlines. Her diverse experiences—from structural design and digital media to marketing and photography—reflect not only her talent but also her adaptability and dedication. Sofia is also a recipient of a PGSF scholarship.

While she majored in Graphic Communication, when she started college, she was headed in a completely different direction.

“When I graduated high school, I went to Clemson to study biology,” she said. “I had a huge passion for biology. I loved it.” After her first year, she started to look into what she could do with a degree in biology, and while she loved the subject, the opportunities were decidedly less appealing. “I didn’t want to be a professor, or anything in the medical field, and I didn’t want to do research. So, what’s something else that I could go into that I would want to pursue after I graduate?”

And the answer was literally hanging on her walls. “My sister was still at Clemson at the time, and she  said, ‘Have you looked at your room?’ I have art all over my room, all over the walls. I’ve always made stuff, and I’ve always liked to create new things.”

She investigated the majors that Clemson offers, but also wanted to find something that could be tied to business and marketing—and she ultimately came to Graphic Communications. “I thought it was kind of crazy that a lot of other universities don’t have graphic communications programs,” she said, “because I think it offers so many things that you could go into after you graduate, such as marketing, accounting, printing, graphic design.”

The program started with an emphasis on design and creativity, but got increasingly practical. “The more you take classes, you’re learning a lot about printing, and then you’re taking some management and marketing classes,” she said. “I feel like I’m getting really well-rounded and it’s really preparing me for when I graduate.” One advantage to Clemson’s program, she has found, is the requirement to serve two internships in order to graduate.

Her first internship was doing photography and marketing for The ID Agency, a Los Angeles-based experiential marketing company. She had partnered with the owners of the company that manufactured Tapatío hot sauce to develop a heightened brand presence. She also built and maintained relationships with other clients as well. Moving out to LA was a daunting—yet exciting—experience for a 20-year-old, she said. “I drove all the way out there,” she laughed, “and I was living by myself for close to four months in a place that I’ve never been.” She gained an immense amount of practical experience, but there was one truly important benefit: “It builds your confidence as a college student, that you’re capable of doing what you’re trying to pursue,” she said. “That first internship was definitely a wake-up call that I’m capable and while the adult world can be scary after you graduate, but that it’s also very much possible.”

The internship recharged her and motivated her to try to gain as much experience as possible, so she took on a marketing position at Clemson’s Office of Major Fellowships, helping students acquire scholarships. “That job felt like I was really making a difference because marketing is definitely something that I’m interested in, but it was also marketing these scholarships that were helping students be able to afford college,” she said. “I really appreciated that experience.”

That led to her second internship serving as a structural and graphic designer for The Imagine Group, a Charlotte, N.C., commercial printer for which she designed and produced structural displays, register graphics, and custom print solutions for clients in the services industry sector. “I was making seasonal pop-up displays for places like Pivot Sports and Hibbett Sports and it was really cool to, having not had experience with corrugated structures, to then work on a design and then see it in a store,” she said. “And that was another wake-up call: if I go into this industry, I can really create something that’ll stand out in a store that and, again, at this point I was realizing everything that graphic communication could lead me into doing.”

After returning from Charlotte, Sofia worked as an instructional designer for Clemson’s College of Engineering, where she designed and refined visual content for online mechanical engineering courses, developed courses, and created digital and AI-illustrated instructional videos. “I was able to work on software for mechanical engineering students that will help them learn what they’re doing in their courses,” she said. “I got really good at working in Illustrator. And the deadlines were insanely tough, so that also helped me learn how to strategize what I had to do.”

She has also worked as a TA, teaching freshmen how to print using flexo and screen printing.

Sofia is bullish on the future of print as a core component of graphic communication. “I don't think enough students realize how much the printing industry does, because everything around you is printed,” she said.

She graduates this month. Given the range of jobs and experiences she has had in her academic career, what is she looking to get into post-graduation? “I have a few interviews for a marketing position and one for a sales position,” she said. “I know I don’t really have much experience in sales, but in two of my internships I was working a lot with sales, so I have experience communicating with them. I’d like to expand my experience in that department because I feel like having sales on my resume would definitely help me move on from there if I wanted to go into something else, like maybe management.

“I’m glad that I chose Clemson and that they had this major because I feel like I’m more than qualified because this major allowed me to go out and get experience,” she added. “I feel like it’ll be easier for me to be able to find a job, especially now with the job market and how difficult it’s been. I’m just fortunate for the experience that I have and the knowledge that I gained from the major as a whole.”

You can follow Sofia and see more of her design portfolio on LinkedIn. 

We wish Sofia the best of the success as she heads out into the print industry.

Are you an educator with potential Students of the Month? We’re calling on professors and instructors to nominate students they feel are worthy of recognition and whom they feel have the potential to be tomorrow’s printing industry leaders. A nomination form is available via here. Educators are welcome to nominate as many students as they see fit. Feel free to reach out to me at [email protected] with any questions.