Student finds passion in graphic design

By Mallory Stiles
Associate Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic meant a lot of things to a lot of people. As a country we lost a lot and continue to grieve and rebuild. For LCC student Erin Prince, it meant an opportunity to discover a new passion.

Prince, 24, is now a graphic design major who was formerly on her way to Michigan State University in an unrelated field. But when COVID shut down the dorms, she deferred for a year and decided to explore a new world.

“I have always been a relatively artsy crafty person,” Prince said. “My original plan was to be a nurse but I didn’t like that. I wanted to do something I was good at and interested in.”

Her decision was rewarded almost instantly as she fell in love with the field that allowed her to be more expressive and engaged.

Prince said she is now planning to get her associate degree in graphic design, with a focus in graphic communication. She then plans to take advantage of LCC’s 3+1 program, which would allow her to graduate from a bigger school with a bachelor’s degree.

She is currently enrolled in Color and Design, Web Design II, Graphic Design Publications and Graphic Design Branding for a total of 12 credits. She is also interning for the Leona Group, assisting the marketing department in whatever ways she can.

Even though her schedule would be seemingly jammed packed, she still finds time to work out at the fitness center on LCC’s campus and at Empower Lansing, a boxing gym on Michigan Avenue, where she met Brian Daniels.

Daniels is the owner of the gym who has a back story, look it up … seriously. He has trained Prince since she was 16. She offered a shout out to the entire staff, but mostly to Daniels for always keeping her motivated.

“I made the mistake of telling him earlier this year that one of my soft goals would be to compete in amateur boxing, and since then he has been super on me about my form and everything,” Prince said, sporting an affectionate smile.

She also is teaching herself to play the bass guitar and practices whenever she can. She said her entire family is musical and inspired her to really give it a shot.

Prince will choose a Twix bar when in the candy aisle and is a New Year’s Eve baby. She names her all-time favorite song as “Do I Wanna Know?” by Arctic Monkeys and her current favorite song as “Liar” by Jake Daniels.

She is a Lansing native, born and raised in the capital city, first on the west side then to the east for her high school years. However her favorite place in the world, she said, is Malta.

“I went there once when I just started high school, my grandfather’s family is from there so it was just always a cool thing,” Prince said. “My cousins and I, basically my whole family, just always thought, ‘How cool, grandpa is from an island.’”

“My mom, brother and I all went. We met distant relatives there and they showed us around, it was really cool. It was really warm; the food was amazing. Essentially, it is all Italian food. It is in the Mediterranean Sea, so right next to Italy and everything is delicious.”

Prince said the hardest thing she faces at the moment is finding a balance between school, work, family and friends. She continues on, however, with a little help from her professors, who she said are definitely some of the best reasons to stay at LCC.

One of her LCC teachers, Professor Susie Antcliff, offered a few comments on Prince’s presence in the classroom.

“What makes Erin Erin, is her personality,” Antcliff said. “She’s fun. She’s a fun student to have in class. She’s outgoing and personable. Easy to talk to, and treats all of her classmates with respect.

“What really makes her enjoyable to me is that she shares parts of her life with me; stories, likes, dislikes, just generalities of life … Those kind of connections with students are what it’s all about for me.

“Sure, teaching design and helping students reach their educational/personal goals is great, but feeling like a student can talk to me about life, in addition to what we are learning about design, is really what makes this job be more than just a job for me. I have that connection with Erin.”