NASHVILLE, TN – Valerie Graves started her advertising career as a copywriter and ended up working as a creative director, chief creative officer, and a creative consultant for Fortune 500 Companies, for ad agencies, for the iconic music brand Motown Records, and for a president of the United States. She has been breaking racial and gender barriers since she began her creative career, and Nossi College of Art is honored to introduce Valerie Graves as our 2020 Commencement Speaker.
“Valerie Graves is a perfect example of a creative and one that our graduates can aspire to emulate,” said Dr. Byron Edwards, Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Her successful years of experience in advertising are impressive and inspirational. We truly thank her for taking the time to address our 2020 graduates.”
Graves is an award-winning creative achieving titles like Advertising Age’s “The 100 Best and Brightest” in the entire ad industry and “Legend” from ADCOLOR. She is also the author of “Pressure Makes Diamonds: Becoming the Woman I pretended to be,” a PEN World Voices Selection, and winner of the 2017 African American Literary Award for biography. She will share personal experiences, tips, and the importance of giving back to your community.
“If you engage with the community not worrying about what you are going to get out of it, all kinds of things can happen,” said Graves about her experience in the creative industry. Engaging and helping your community is an important lesson taught at Nossi College as well.
On Saturday, August 22, Nossi College will offer a hybrid in-person and virtual ceremony for graduates in four degree programs: Photography, Videography, Graphic Design, and Illustration.
During the event, we will highlight student successes, allow graduates to walk and receive their diploma, and we will announce special graduate awards including eight Kappa Pi members, academic student leaders on campus, and 10 Alpha Beta Kappa (ABK) Honor Graduates.
A brief history of the College: Nossi began as an art school in 1973 and evolved into an art college in 1982. Ms. Nossi, an artist herself, taught the important aspects of commercial art to her college students. Nossi outgrew its classroom space multiple times before investing $10 million in its new Nashville campus in 2010. Nossi’s instruction also evolved over time, from a fine art focus to production art in the 1990s to a design and technology concentration today. Nossi College of Art offers five degrees: photography, video & film, web & interactive, graphic design media, and commercial illustration.
For information or to conduct interviews, please contact Libby Funke Luff at the College, lfunke@nossi.edu.