(Watch excerpts from my video interview with Chans here.)
In our Student of the Month feature, developed in partnership with the Foundation for Graphic Communication Education (formerly the Print and Graphics Scholarship Foundation), 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 Chans Montgomery, a fourth-year student at the University of Houston majoring in Digital Media. Professor Jaime de Vega, on his nomination form, said of Chans, “Over their tenure as Print Ambassadors, Chans have ignited student engagement with Houston’s print community. For two PIA MidAmerica networking events, they motivated more than forty students, many of whom had never considered print careers, to drive across the city after class to meet and network with over sixty professionals.” Chans also worked on this program with fellow student Kyla Vargas, whom we profiled in February.
As has become a common theme in these Student of the Month profiles, Chans’ interest in the graphic arts derived from an early artistic inclination. “I was always a really artistic child,” she said. “I loved anything that had to do with drawing, listening to music, sculpting, any of that. So naturally when I went to school, I said, let me find something where I can apply those artistic capabilities, but also get a stable job. The Digital Media program at the University of Houston was the perfect option for me. It really just has avenues for whatever area of artistic ability you’re interested in—videography, photography, UX design. You name it, they’ve got it.”
As we highlighted in our profile of Kyla, the University of Houston has a Print and Packaging Industry Initiative, a collaboration between PIA Mid-America and the university’s Digital Media Program. The three “pillars” of the initiative are:
- Spark student interests in print-related careers.
- Increase the professors’ awareness, knowledge, and teaching of current printing technology.
- Enrich the University of Houston’s print-related courseware.
(The UH Digital Media Advisory Boardmembers overseeing this initiative are Andy and Julie Plata, co-CEOs of The OutputLinks Communication Group.)
As part of this initiative, Chans got an internship serving as a Print Ambassador, helping foster student engagement with Houston’s print community and organizing networking events for UH students and local printing and packaging providers, working closely with PIA Mid-America. “The Print Ambassadorship has a print pathway where they educate students on the different areas of print and how to operate printing machines,” said Chans. “As someone who is more on the artistic side, it kind of interested me. But when my professors would mention that there are careers in print for you to look into, it was always a question of, OK, they’re there, but how do I find them? When one of my professors came to me with the offer to work as the Print Ambassador, I jumped on it because it just made sense. I can learn more about this area that I’ve been interested in and I can also help my peers learn more about it and potentially get careers. And really that's been the most rewarding part about it.”
Chans graduates next month, and she acknowledges that while the job market for graduates is tough at the moment, the Print Ambassador program has given her and her peers a leg up. “I feel like a lot of people my age getting ready to graduate are feeling kind of like downtrodden with the job economy right now and they’re not really sure where to go,” she said. As the Print Ambassador, I bridged the gap between the employers who are looking for the fresh blood and the students who are looking for a career in print. And it was just an awesome reward.”
As Chans prepares to graduate, she’s keeping her eyes open for opportunities, specifically in art direction or social media management but, she said, “honestly, anything where I can take my artistic vision and put it into the real world, anything customer facing. I just want to be able to share my little piece of the world, what’s going on in my head and also have a nice stable job where I can thrive professionally and socially.”
One of the big challenges she sees in attracting young talent into the printing industry is lack of outreach. “You hear a lot that print isn’t dead and that there are careers out there, but there are very few resources for students who are actually looking for those jobs outside of going and knocking on the door of every print shop,” she said.
Another big challenge she sees involves AI. “I know a lot of people say that all AI is bad, period,” she said, “but as an artistic person, I don’t think that using generative AI for promotional materials and stuff like that is bad, it just lacks heart.” She remains realistic about AI and its continued proliferation. “It’s definitely something that, if you’re a professional, regardless of what field you’re going into, you need to familiarize yourself with it and you need to be aware of the ins and out and you need to know what to look for when spotting something that is generative AI.”
She is also sanguine on the adoption of new technology in general.
“Be aware of the new doors that are opening,” she advised. “Always keep an eye out on new technologies. Maybe they might look a little wacky at first, but before we know it, we’re all going to be wearing VR goggles in the digital oasis or something. So just keep your eyes peeled and be ready to adapt to that change.”
We wish Chans the best of the success as she heads out into the print industry.
Are you an educator with potential Student 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 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.
