Hillsdale College hired a new art director to revamp its graphic design game: Shanna Cote, a self-taught digital art savant with ten kids.
“Art has always been a part of my life,” said Cote, who first fell in love with it when she was in high school. She used to collect her favorite magazine ads and tack them to her bedroom walls.
“My dream was to be living in New York City in a penthouse apartment working as an ad executive, designing at some big ad agency,” Cote said.
After high school, Cote worked for small start-up companies and jumped into website development. She dabbled in Photoshop, too, and eventually began freelance work in graphic design and digital illustrations. In 2011, she decided to go back to school and make it official: In 2013, she graduated from Full Sail University with a degree in mobile development.
Her son, Mason Clutter, a junior at Hillsdale College, recalls observing his mother’s passion for art throughout his childhood. He grew up seeing her work, and said he’s happy that his peers can witness and appreciate her talent.
“I’ve heard a lot of talk from people about her designs,” Clutter said. “People are getting kind of hyped about the new CCA designs. She does stuff for the baseball team, the football team; she’s creating new designs for the tickets to the games. I’ve actually been stopped by some people who know she’s my mom and they’ll be like, ‘I’m so excited that we finally get some cool designs.’”
Clutter said it’s cool his mother works at the same college he attends.
“It’s great because I get to see her all the time,” he said. “I stop by her office and get snacks.”
Although students get to admire the finished product, they don’t see how much work Cote puts in every day at the college.
“Normally what I do is graphic design for pretty much any of the print publications,” Cote said. This includes Imprimis, commencement invitations, and tickets to sporting events.
It’s a big job, and there’s never a dull moment, she said.
“A typical day is ‘hit the ground running,’” Cote said. “As soon as I get in there’s always something to do. I’ll just start going down my list, knocking stuff out, getting stuff done. It’s like that for the entire day until close of business, and then it starts over the next day.”
Cote said this isn’t a bad thing; she genuinely loves her job.
The new position has brought big changes for Cote’s family. Cote and her family moved from Columbus, Ohio to Hillsdale and reside in apartments above Rough Draft coffee shop on Union Street. The family of 12 shares three bedrooms and one bathroom. This is also Cote’s first time working outside her home in 15 years, so she hired a full-time nanny, former Hillsdale student Olivia Brady.
“I’ve loved working for them so far,” Brady said. “I admire her determination. The fact that she was self-taught … really impressed me. She lives out her vocation as a mother in a very unique way, in a way that works for her personality and for her kids. I admire that she does work full-time for the college, but you can tell by interacting with her kids that they’re loved and given attention.”
Cote said she believes all these changes are a good thing for her family. Although there are downsides, like no longer having the convenience of a Costco five minutes away, there are definitely perks to their new small-town life.
“The nice thing is [my kids] are finding new freedoms,” Cote said. “They can walk up to Coney’s & Swirls, things like that… They wouldn’t be able to do that in a bigger city.”
“It’s gonna be a really great year,” Brady said. “They’re such a loving and open family.”
