Lindenwood Magazine - Spring 2018: Connecting to Alumni and Friends

GAINOR PROUD TO BE AMONG MANY ‘FIRSTS’ AT LINDENWOOD BELLEVILLE by JENNIFER FERGUSON When O’Fallon, Ill., native Victoria Gainor (’15) accepted a scholarship to participate on the dance team at Lindenwood University-Belleville in 2013, she didn’t anticipate being part of an inaugural group of students who established so much for the Belleville campus’ history. “I’m very proud of all the ‘firsts’ I made at Lindenwood Belleville,” said Gainor. “I was on the first dance team to make it to nationals and the team’s first captain, the first student to have a solo art exhibition on campus, and a member of the first class to graduate in interactive media and web design.” Gainor, who started her educational career at Southwestern Illinois College, transferred to Lindenwood Belleville and graduated with her bachelor’s degree in 2015. She said the degree she pursued fit well with her love of art and graphic design and that Lindenwood Belleville was the right university for her. “I loved the environment at Lindenwood Belleville,” she said. “It was small, but not too small, the staff was amazing, and the support system there is something that you can’t get at a larger university.” Gainor said that she is extremely grateful for the opportunity to study with professors like Danielle Oser, who taught several of her design courses. “Danielle was extremely helpful with diving deeper into the programs to make sure I fully understood what we were doing,” said Gainor. “She was also able to meet before class, after class, pretty much whenever to answer any questions I had or help me solve a problem I was having. She was supportive of all my work both while I had her and after I graduated.” Upon graduation, Gainor said she immediately started job hunting and was looking to find something in the field of graphic design, which had been her long-time passion. “In March following my graduation in December, a friend of my mom’s said her company was hiring a marketing and website manager” said Gainor. “Though I didn’t have much experience in marketing, I applied for the job anyway because of my design and web background and was offered it shortly thereafter.” Gainor held that position for two years but decided she wanted to pursue something more closely related to graphic design. With that, she recently accepted a position as a lead designer at a company called My Scratch Offs, LLC, in Swansea, Ill. In her new position, Gainor manages the design of custom orders like wedding save-the-date cards, business cards, gender reveal items, and company contest items. “My degree from Lindenwood Belleville definitely impacted my career,” said Gainor. “Without the information and tools I was exposed to as a student, I wouldn’t have been able to be as successful as I am. I’m thankful for all the memories and grateful for the lessons that will last a lifetime.” Victoria Gainor Without the information and tools I was exposed to as a student, I wouldn’t have been able to be as successful as I am.” Victoria Gainor “ Lindenwood University-Belleville ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT 10