Amanda de Souza is living proof that anything is possible if you set your goals high and work hard to obtain them.

A 2007 Advertising and Marketing Communications Management (formerly Advertising) program graduate, de Souza is a successful graphic designer and artist living and working in New York City (NYC).

Although she has learned much and evolved in her career, she still remembers and values the lessons she learned while a student at Durham College.

“The classes I took and projects I worked on in my program were very similar to the kind of work I’ve done in the real world,” de Souza said. “We had also focused on portfolio development and interviewing skills, so by the time I was interviewing for jobs I was extremely confident.”

Prior to graduation, she completed a field placement that allowed her to work as a writer/producer for three years at a Toronto-based digital agency post-graduation. The position furthered her marketing and advertising skills while fostering her natural love of art.

She then moved to NYC and worked for a number of agencies in various roles including as an executive account assistant, a graphic designer and a community manager.

Today she works as a senior designer at W Magazine with Condé Nast with an impressive client roster including Proctor & Gamble, Universal, Starbucks and Panasonic. In addition, she shows and sells her art in galleries in Manhattan and Brooklyn.

De Souza was also selected as a 2013 artist for Sing for Hope Pianos, a public art project that saw a piano she painted displayed in Central Park, included in a concert at Lincoln Center and featured in the New York Times.

“It was surreal to be selected and I was overjoyed. I was so surprised at how much of a reaction it received from visitors and New Yorkers alike,” said de Souza.

She credits her success to hard work, a positive outlook and a willingness to tackle new challenges, qualities she feels current students can benefit from as she did.

“If you are passionate about what you want to do and put in everything you have, opportunities will open up to you. Surround yourself with people who lift you up and encourage you. Have courage,” she said. “Each time I reached a milestone, getting an internship, my first job, a promotion, moving to Toronto, moving to New York, I always kept thinking, what’s my next challenge? I’ve realized there is no limit, anything is possible.”