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Caitlin Patey

Caitlin Patey '10
Hometown: Kennebunkport, ME
Major: Graphic Design
Was getting freelance gigs after her freshman year

Caitlin Patey knows something is right when she sees it.


That's how she ended up a graphics design student at Champlain College. She first heard about Champlain when she accompanied her sister on a college search in Vermont. Right away, she knew she was meant to be here — even before she took a campus tour and met with an admissions counselor.

"I'm the type of person who sees something and says, 'Yes, that's what I want,' so I only applied to Champlain," she says. "I really liked everything it had to offer, and so I knew this was where I wanted to spend the next four years."

Graphic design has been a passion for Caitlin since eighth grade, where her middle school teacher got her hooked on the subject. She's since expanded her expertise with industry standard software programs — Illustrator, In Design, and Flash — and has widened her designer's vision beyond traditional drawing and into layout design for books and magazines.

She credits the Upside Down curriculum for immersing her into her field of studies early on, allowing her the opportunity to take on freelance work within her major after only her first year at Champlain. "I have benefitted a lot from having those intro courses in my major early on. If I hadn't, I may not be where I'm at with my design. I was able to narrow down what I need to take as electives, based on my major."

Caitlin has been an Orientation leader for two years straight, and loved the experience of meeting new students and helping them get acquainted with each other, and with the school. She also worked at Alternative Spring Break and is an active member of the DREAM mentoring program for local children.

Caitlin Patey

Studying abroad is another experience that Caitlin is very familiar with. She spent a semester in Montreal, a decision she said one of the best she's ever made. She made close friends with the group of students she lived and studied with, and brought back fond memories of living in a foreign city where small cultural differences are just a way of life. "I loved the professors and the smaller classes, and the lounges where you could make a cup of coffee before class started," she says. She currently works as a Study Abroad assistant recruiter at Champlain College, and will be traveling to Dublin, Ireland for the Spring 2009 semester.

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