Ashley Haber '21 | Arts Entrepreneurship
Major | Marketing
Minor | Theatre and Entrepreneurship
Hometown | Syosset, NY
Creativity is the backbone of the world we know. However, I have grown up in an academic environment in which creativity is often neglected and more straight-forward ways of learning, such as memorization are celebrated. In the world of entrepreneurship, however, creativity is celebrated. Today at Adobe, I finally found someone else who understood that while memorization and straight-forward thinking is absolutely pertinent in many areas of certain fields, creativity is just as necessary. Being a very creative thinker who does not naturally process things in a calculated and uniform way, I have constantly struggled with it throughout my academic career. However, here creativity is an asset: not a hindrance. I have now seen living proof that my biggest strength, my creativity and uniqueness, can make a difference and bring great success along with it.
Being able to receive advice from someone as knowledgeable and successful as Maria Yap from Adobe was an absolute privilege in it of itself. Resonating with her as much as I did, however, was something I wasn’t prepared for. She believes in learning through physically doing and that is exactly how I feel I learn best. She used the phrase “pursue what fits you” and my eyes immediately widened. She truly knows that uniqueness and diversity are so important to a team in that efficient teams are constantly pushing against each other. She understood that not everyone has the same way of thinking and to “Own your own way of thinking. Think in a unique way, own it, and capitalize on it” and I am ready to venture out into the world and do just that. I am going to capitalize on my uniqueness and my creative thinking, and today was just living proof that it is, in fact, possible.