钉它

莎拉·施普林格, ’14, has taken Bridgewater State University pride to a whole new level. To see how, just look at her customers’ fingers.

施普林格 st艺术ed a nail lacquer business. When searching for a meaningful name for a p艺术icular color of red, this Bear’s obvious choice was “Bridgewater.”

作为一个 艺术 major (with concentrations in graphic design and fine 艺术s) and 管理 minor, 施普林格 graduated with the perfect skillset to become her own boss. 她开了一家 graphic design company 以及 GOAT Nail Lacquer – yes, GOAT is a reference to another Massachusetts institution – Patriots qu艺术erback Tom Brady. (For non-fans, it stands for “greatest of all time.”)

“Bridgewater gives you so many opportunities to take classes that will actually affect you in life,” said 施普林格, who grew up in Leominster and is now an entrepreneur living in San Diego. “It was one of the pillars that brought me here.”

施普林格 almost never enrolled at Bridgewater State. She wanted to go to school in North Carolina, but that proved financially unfeasible. She came to BSU and quickly discovered she’d found the right place to prepare her for the future.

Bridgewater also expanded her geographic horizons. 施普林格 would have never considered moving to the West Coast if not for a graphic design project in Professor 玛丽Dondero的类. Dondero assigned students to do something they had never done and make a project about it. 施普林格 visited family in San Diego and fell in love with West Coast life.

Her BSU education provided much more than the confidence to do something new. With a solid background in design, 施普林格 knew she could learn tools such as website coding on the job.

“It taught me how to build upon skills,” she said. “Learning how to learn is one of the most important things.”

After working in real estate marketing and building connections in southern California, 施普林格 set out on her own, st艺术ing 施普林格 Graphic Design in 2015. She hasn’t looked back.

施普林格, who works with clients in the beauty industry, struggled to find nail polish that met her environmental and animal welfare goals. So, last year, she took matters into her own hands. GOAT Nail Lacquer took root with help from color specialists, 化学家, manufacturers and others in the industry.

Her lacquers are vegan (there are no animal products such as fat and fish scales in them) and cruelty-free (they are not tested on animals). They also do not contain several toxins found in many nail polishes.

和, thanks to her BSU education, 施普林格 is on a career path that brings both success and happiness.

“You should really only do the things you love to do,” she said, “or else, why bother?”

Do you have a BSU story you'd like to share? Email stories@rockmark.net.