Next Up: Artistic Ambitions

Catherine Owens enrolled at Brightpoint without a clear career path. With the help of the college, Catherine discovered her interest in fashion design, and found the support she needed to achieve her artistic ambitions, from being featured in an Apple TV series to starting a vintage clothing business.

Hone In on What You Want

After graduating high school in 2020, Catherine enrolled at Old Dominion University and was determined to become an art teacher. But when the COVID-19 pandemic made it impossible to have the traditional college experience she had dreamed of, she took a step back.

“I chose Brightpoint as a way to continue my education while also slowing down and deeply considering what I wanted to do before making a huge leap to another four-year college,” Catherine said.

She heard about Brightpoint’s “exceptional” two-year art program and hoped that a degree in visual arts would lead her in the right direction.

While taking courses for her degree, Catherine realized she enjoyed working in hands-on creative environments. She became especially interested in taking her foundational skills and figuring out how to apply them to a career in fashion design.

“Since beginning Brightpoint, I am a lot more focused and clearer on my career goals and future path,” she said.

Be Open to Creative Exploration

During the fall of 2022, when Catherine was studying at Brightpoint, she appeared as a recurring character in season two of the Apple TV series, “Swagger,” which happened to be shooting in Richmond, VA.

“I had a business professor named Cherice Jackson who helped me and pushed me to take care of myself during this time,” she said. “I ended up taking the fall semester off to focus on the role but was easily able to come back and finish my studies.” 

Through acting on “Swagger,” Catherine found confidence in her ability to achieve her goals and express herself creatively.

“As artists, we can be very hard on ourselves and on our work,” Catherine said. “But I have learned that even through difficulty, I am a lot more capable of hard things than I believed.”

Transfer In-Class Learning to Real-World Success

After finishing her television role, in 2023, Catherine returned to Brightpoint and launched a vintage clothing company called CMYSOUL.

“Brightpoint really helped me to propel my business,” Catherine said. “I implemented graphic design skills I picked up in my computer graphics class, I used skills related to color theory from my 2-D design class, and I later finished up my business class, where I learned basic economics and how to market my products.”

In Spring 2025, Catherine graduated Magna Cum Laude with an associate of applied arts (AAA) degree in visual arts. The foundational art courses she completed at Brightpoint have allowed her to transfer to Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, where she will be studying fashion design in Fall 2025.