For Drumheller resident Kelly Kuhl, acceptance into a New York school may be the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
Kuhl, a graphic designer at the Royal Tyrrell Museum, has yearned for years to start her career as a fashion designer.
“I always wanted to do fashion. I’ve always known that I wanted to be an artist and I really enjoy being a graphic designer, but that’s not where my passion lies,” said Kuhl.
This past year, Kuhl started to take that dream and make it a reality. But, having already established a career as a graphic designer, doing a four year degree was not an appealing option.
“I have been looking into fashion school for some time,” said Kuhl. “I’m a graphic designer, so it’s not my field, but related, because they’re both visual arts. At this point in my career I didn’t want to go into a four year program, I want to get into the industry as quick as I can.”
During a trip to New York last year, Kuhl visited two fashion schools, the Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons New School for Design.
“I’ve always known about Parsons and wanted to go, but it wasn’t until this year that I decided to try,” said Kuhl.
Kuhl also applied for and received conditional acceptance in Montreal.
Two weeks ago, the letter arrived informing Kuhl that she had been accepted to Parsons. The school is one of the priciest schools to attend, plus it would require obtaining an American visa.
However, the list of alumni is impressive and cannot be matched by the other schools Kuhl applied.
“Mark Jacobs is one of the alumni from Parsons and he is a huge star, it would be great to meet him,” said Kuhl.
After graduating from high school, Kuhl looked at her options and headed to the Alberta College of Design for an education in graphic design and graduated in 2005. From there, Kuhl worked at the Tyrrell Museum, headed to the west coast for a year, then came back to the Museum in 2009.
As part of the Tyrrell Museum design team, Kuhl has worked on the exhibits, promotional material, and more.
Between now and September Kuhl is left with the decision about which school to choose (Parsons deadline is in May) and raising the funds to head to school.
Parsons is as pricey as it is elite and Kuhl will be fundraising to raise money for tuition. The tuition for a term in fashion design is just under $20,000 American, plus the cost of living in New York.
However, Kuhl remains determined to find her dream career.
“I think I was meant to do fashion,” said Kuhl.
